Chapter 110 Lord Xie has arrived
The teacher at the school also went home to pay the grain tax, so Sanwa returned from the school.
As Sanwa applied the medicinal wine to Song Chunxue, he listened to his mother recount the events of the morning, his heart clenching with increasing anxiety.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have gone to school today, and Mother wouldn't have been beaten." Sanwa wiped his eyes angrily, got up and walked out.
"Whatever the plans, as long as we can get Cheng Yuan out of his post as village head, and all the grain measures have to be replaced, we'll be able to pay less grain. I think it's worth it."
"Then you can't take such a big risk. You and the fourth brother, even with the eldest brother, how can you fight against so many officials? Have you forgotten what happened a few years ago when you fought over grain and were beaten so badly by the officials that you couldn't get out of bed?"
"How can Mother be sure that an imperial envoy will come? What if Cheng Yuan, that burly thug who's as big as a mountain, gets pushed too far and gets beaten to death?"
Sanwa was both angry and anxious. "We only have our mother left. Since you have a plan, why didn't you tell us?"
"..." Song Chunxue was speechless.
She didn't intend for the children to get involved.
You can't say she's lived once and is certain that a high-ranking official traveling incognito will come.
Seeing Sanwa crying in anger, she felt a mix of emotions.
"Mother, have you considered what would happen to us if we went head-to-head with those people and something bad happened?"
Seeing Song Chunxue's indifferent expression, Sanwa's eyes reddened with anger.
"It was my fault," Song Chunxue quickly said. "It won't happen again. Don't scold me yet. I'll go cook. Lao Si should be back soon."
"You rest, I'll go cook." Sanwa flung down the curtain and turned to go to the kitchen.
Song Chunxue was both amused and exasperated; this child had quite a temper.
However, Sanwa's cooking is quite good, so she'll just wait.
Not long after, the fourth brother returned from outside and went straight to the kitchen as soon as he entered the yard.
He cried out excitedly, "Mother!"
Sanwa turned his head and looked at him indifferently.
"Third child?" The fourth child was a little surprised. "Why are you back? Where is Mother?"
"How did it go? Cheng Yuan has been released and sent home, right?"
Sanwa had no hope whatsoever about the high-ranking official his mother mentioned. He believed that officials had always protected each other, and it was all just for show. There were plenty of wealthy and powerful people in the Cheng and Li families, and it wouldn't be resolved just because someone made a fuss.
Two years ago, he was beaten by Cheng Yuan for half a month after trying to stop Cheng Yuan from kicking the grain measure. At that time, there were also officials who came to inspect.
As a result, Cheng Yuan slaughtered a sheep for them and treated them to a good meal and wine, but the matter was still dropped.
The thought of killing a sheep made him pause, his hand holding the wooden spoon still.
If they can kill, why can't we?
"Cheng Yuan has been taken to the county jail."
"What?" Sanwa took three bowls off the dish rack and almost dropped them on the ground.
The fourth brother was extremely excited, his face full of admiration.
"That Lord Xie Zheng is truly an upright and honest official. It is said that he used to serve in the capital, but because of his integrity, he offended the imperial relatives and was punished and exiled to our area."
Although Sanwa was still not quite convinced, the fact that Cheng Yuan had been taken away meant that he didn't have to worry about Cheng Yuan coming to cause trouble tonight.
“Do you know, Sanwa, that official’s clothes actually have patches! Right on the cuffs. His attendants are dressed better than him, except for those official boots that look a bit impressive.”
The fourth brother leaned on the stove, now polished to a shine with red clay, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Have a meal."
Sanwa's tone was indifferent; all he knew was that his mother had been beaten today.
What does it matter to ordinary people like them whether they are high-ranking officials or not?
The fourth brother pouted, took the two bowls of rice from his hands, and snorted in dissatisfaction, "So what if you're studying?"
"..." Sanwa sighed helplessly.
He suddenly realized that he wasn't as careful with his fourth brother as he used to be.
He admitted that it was because of his studies that he was no longer so self-conscious and timid.
At the dinner table, Sanwa mentioned the eldest son.
"Did Big Brother lend a hand today too?"
The fourth brother said irritably, "He only came out after he saw that Cheng Yuan was about to hit him. Before that, he was hiding in the thatched kiln and could not be seen."
"But I don't understand why he and Chen Feng have been so quiet these past two days. They haven't been arguing or talking, and even the child hasn't been crying much. What do you think my brother is thinking?"
The fourth brother, after much suspicion, couldn't help but ask the third brother, "Why doesn't he divorce Chen Feng? She's already used such disgusting tricks against our eldest brother."
Sanwa puffed out his cheeks and took a moment to say, "I don't know, but at least Chen Feng knows he's in the wrong and has behaved himself a lot."
"What, are you saying that if Xia Mulan did something like this to you in the future, you would forgive her?"
The third child was stunned and looked at the fourth child blankly.
Seeing this, Song Chunxue stuffed a piece of stir-fried meat into the fourth son's mouth, saying, "Eat your food properly."
The fourth brother chewed on the pork with a blank expression. If he didn't know that his mother didn't like to talk about the eldest brother, he would definitely have pressed him for an answer.
Staying at home with no one to chat with is really boring.
"By the way, where is that Lord Xie you mentioned now? Has he left or is he still at the estate?"
When Sanwa saw the bruises on his mother's forehead, he thought of giving up a sheep to treat the adult to a meal.
Even if we don't slaughter sheep, we recently slaughtered a pig, so the pork bones are presentable.
“It was at Li Mengchun’s house. Li Jingyi took him there,” the fourth brother said, almost jumping up. “I forgot to mention, that gentleman said he would come to our house to see our mother, to find out how badly she was hurt, and that he wanted to compensate Cheng Yuan for the damages.”
Song Chunxue and Sanwa exchanged a glance, then looked at Lao Si with some reproach.
"Why didn't you tell me about something this big sooner?" Song Chunxue hurriedly ate her rice. "Hurry up and finish eating so we can tidy up. The house is too messy and people will laugh at us."
"What's the rush? After they finish eating, they still need to visit other households to learn more about our farmers' harvests, so they won't be here for now."
The fourth brother ate his meal slowly, looking at the two of them with disdain as they rushed around.
Unexpectedly, just as the fourth brother finished eating and walked out of the north room with his bowl and chopsticks, he saw Xie Zheng followed by a group of people appearing at the gate of the courtyard.
He paused for a moment, then blushed and ran to the kitchen.
"Mother, Lord Xie has arrived!"
Song Chunxue took off her apron, wiped her hands, and walked out.
"Sister-in-law, have you eaten?" Xie Zheng greeted her with a smile as soon as he entered the door.
“We’ve already eaten,” Song Chunxue paused for a moment, then smiled and pointed to the north room. “Have you eaten, sir? Come inside and talk. We just slaughtered a pig a few days ago, so I’ll cook some meat for you.”
"No need for that. I've already had lunch. I just wanted to check on your injuries."
Xie Zheng frowned as he looked at the swollen bump on Song Chunxue's forehead, which was oozing blood.
“Cheng Yuan is too outrageous. He actually beat up ordinary people. He receives a salary of more than ten taels of silver every year, and the common people are his bread and butter.”
"His grain measure was specifically prepared for the destitute and helpless; it was utterly inhumane."
At this point, he clenched his fist and said, "Please rest assured, sister-in-law, I will get back the grain he has swindled from you over the years."
As he spoke, he took out five taels of silver from his pocket.
"I already know that you have had a hard time these past years, sister-in-law. Several officers even beat you. This silver is to compensate you for the medical expenses of those ignorant officers."
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