Chapter 1917 Found
County Magistrate Zhai certainly knew this. Even if the case was really brought to court and he ruled in favor of Zhou Man, Zhou Man might not be able to really snatch the land from them. Even if she did, could she still cultivate it herself?
Most of them are to be rented out to others, but the Xia family’s Hongtian Village is powerful, and their clan has spread the word, so who would dare to rent her land?
It was a confrontation of such proportions that both sides would suffer losses in the end. It depended on whether the Xia clan leader and the elders could understand the hints from him and Lizhang Xu.
Zhou Man obviously wants to end the war quickly and doesn't mind reconciliation.
Yes, after all, she is an official appointed by the court and does not have that much time to waste with these people.
Magistrate Zhai walked to the backyard with his hands behind his back, unable to hold back, he said, "Tomorrow the Xia family's people will arrive. Go meet them first and feel out their attitude. If they hold onto the things and refuse to release them, try to persuade them. It won't do them any good."
"Yes, but sir," the lawyer whispered, "this Mr. Zhou's surname is Zhou, not Xia. I'm afraid the Xia family will seize on this..."
Magistrate Zhai said, "I was worried about this before, but I don't think they're too apprehensive. Come to think of it, the Zhou couple raised her from childhood, and their gratitude for her upbringing is long gone. And she's an official now, so how can she just change her name if she wants to?"
The master thought so too, but he was still a little worried.
Bai Shan, who was riding out of the city on horseback, also brought up the subject, "I'm afraid the Xia family will keep clinging to your surname."
Bai Erlang said: "Of course it will happen. What will you do then?"
"What else can I do? I won't change my surname even if I'm beaten to death," Manbao said, "My child will have the surname Xia in the future. I won't change my surname. If I change my surname, my father will cry to death."
Although her grandparents are important, her parents are also important. The most important thing is that she doesn't take someone else's surname, but her biological father's surname.
Man Bao said, "Besides, the Xia family is different from the Zhou family. If I change back to the Xia family name, I don't know how much trouble will happen in the future. My future property and my official reputation, who knows what trouble they will cause in the future?"
Even though her fourth brother is such a good person, she still occasionally worries that he might be using her name to mess around outside, so she has to warn him from time to time.
If it were the Xia family, who knows what would happen?
So she will not change her surname. Even if her child has the surname Xia in the future, the relationship will be more distant, and she can then consider separating her grandparents' branch.
Manbao's eyes lit up when she thought of this. Wouldn't her son or daughter be the clan leader in the future?
The patriarch sounds very majestic.
Bai Shan originally had a lot to say, but when he turned around and saw Man Bao's smug face, many words were stuck in his chest.
He shook his head and simply stopped talking.
Forget it, they even brought down the King of Yizhou, so they won’t be wronged here.
The four of them followed the county yamen runner to Da'an Mountain. He didn't know where the tomb of Xia Yan and his wife was, but after listening to the description, he led them up the mountain in a short while. "They said it's around a big banyan tree, so it should be around here..."
Bai Shan had already stopped and asked Man Bao to look down the mountain: "Does this place look like the Feng Shui treasure land that Dao and Daoxu and the others talked about?"
Manbao turned his head and looked down the mountain. He saw that there were trees in front of him, but the view was wide and there seemed to be a strip of water in the distance.
Manbao blinked, then glanced up the mountain and said, "This isn't good enough. Let's go up a little further?"
So the four of them hurried up the mountain.
Bailiff: ...An official can also do the work of a Taoist priest?
After walking up the mountain for a while, they saw a large banyan tree. They walked around it and searched among the bushes and grass. Daji, who had the best eyesight, immediately pointed behind a tree and said, "There's a stele there."
Manbao went over immediately and saw it after walking around two trees that were close together.
Two brick and stone tombs stand behind the tree. There are two tombstones on the tombs close to each other. On them are not only the name and origin of the deceased, but also the person who erected the tombstones.
Manbao withdrew her gaze from the other tombstone and fixed it on the one in front of her. She reached out and touched the tombstone. The words "Xia Shi Shan Yan" were still clearly visible on it.
Manbao looked up and took a closer look at the tombstone and the grave. He found that there was grass growing on them, but it was not tall, and the tombstone was not damaged. He knew that someone had been cleaning it.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Shan squatted down and touched the incense ash in front of the tombstone. He said, "It looks okay. Someone must have come to pay homage during the Qingming Festival."
Manbao stood between the two tombstones for a while, then stood up, knelt down and kowtowed to each tombstone, and Baishan joined her.
Bai Erlang stood by with his hands hanging down, watching. After they finished bowing, he asked, "I wonder who performed the tomb sweeping? Was it Master Xia?"
Bai Shan said, "Although this is a bit troublesome, it's not difficult to find out. I just saw on the way here that there are indeed many tombs here. And probably because of the good feng shui, most of the tombs here have tombstones."
Except for wealthy families and some particularly particular families, few people erect tombstones, let alone build tombs with bricks and stones.
Therefore, it is not difficult to find the family of the tomb owner nearby. The Qingming Festival is basically held on those two days, and people who come here to sweep the tombs will definitely meet him. You can find out by just finding his family and asking.
Bai Shan said, "I'll write down the name and ask my servant to find out later."
Manbao nodded, turned around and smiled at the stunned yamen runner, "We are not familiar with Shangzhou. We will ask you to help us find the whereabouts of the family who erected the monument in the future."
The bailiff nodded blankly.
Bai Shan took Man Bao's hand and walked away. They found three tombs nearby, two of which belonged to the same family.
Bai Shan wrote down the name and asked the yamen runner.
It turns out that the yamen runner actually knew one family, but he had no impression of the remaining one. Bai Shan didn't mind. He wrote it down and planned to go back and ask someone to inquire about it.
The group then walked into the city in the afterglow of the setting sun.
When they returned to the inn, Zhou Dalang and Zhou Wulang had already returned, had already finished their meal, and were waiting for them.
Old Zhou was worried, but when he saw Manbao and the others coming back, he breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately pulled her aside and asked, "Are you hungry? Are you tired?"
Finally, he asked, "Did you find the person?"
Qian was disgusted by his impatience, so she pulled him aside and said to Manbao, "Go wash up and change your clothes first. Order whatever you want to eat and come down to eat later."
Manbao agreed and comforted her father, "Don't worry, Dad. I can still be bullied."
After saying that, he ran away.
Old Zhou felt relieved immediately, then touched his stomach and said, "I just ate, and now I'm a little hungry."
Qian: ...
Old Zhou waited for Manbao and the others to come down and had another meal with them. Everyone talked while eating.
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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