Chapter 88. He lowered his head, his chin gently rubbing against...
"Does the princess mean that this sweet potato can be planted in the wasteland? And that it can be harvested in three or four months?" The old farmer's voice trembled with disbelief.
“Then our family can cultivate five mu! Anyway, the wasteland is just lying idle, so we might as well plant a little bit.” The aunt, who was in charge of the household, slapped the thigh of the man next to her, smiling so broadly that her eyes disappeared. “My husband has plenty of strength!”
"Let's... let's not do it. We don't have enough people at home to help..." the frail new bride sighed helplessly.
Grain has always been of paramount importance. When the prefect heard that Feng Mian had found new superior seeds, he did not wait for Feng Mian to come to his door. Instead, he personally led his clerks to inquire about the seeds. Overjoyed, he immediately ordered his men to bring out the land registers and personally selected several capable village heads to accompany Feng Mian to persuade the farmers.
Even if a household had no wasteland, as long as they were willing to try planting, each household could apply to the government for five mu of wasteland. When the news spread, the reactions varied.
Some farmers readily supported the sealing of the barren slope, signing the agreement on the spot and taking it away. Others shook their heads and left, feeling that this was something they had never seen before, and that it would be a waste of their time if they worked for nothing. After all, farmers need to eat some nutritious food to work, and they should save their energy for the land.
After working tirelessly all day, only a little over seventy acres of wasteland were registered. The prefect looked at the numbers in the register, his brow furrowed in worry.
Feng Mian replied, "We didn't have these extra seventy mu of grain last winter."
Upon hearing this, the prefect realized that it made perfect sense, and that he himself had been greedy.
"Moreover, the condition of the seeds and the quality of the crops are still unknown, so it's normal for the people to be uneasy. If there is a harvest before the frost, the people will be willing to plant more, and there will still be time to plant another batch of seeds for the harvest next spring."
"Now I'm more worried about how to explain to them if the grain sent by Ruomitu is not enough to plant seventy acres."
In just a few words, the prefect's emotions fluctuated, but eventually settled into a relatively peaceful state.
Feng Mian bid farewell to the prefect and had just stepped out of the government office, preparing to get into her carriage, when she suddenly saw a small group of people surging towards the east of the city. Amid the clamor, she keenly caught the words "Madam Zhe".
Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stopped one of them to ask, "What happened?"
The person who was stopped hurriedly said, "Chairman Chen is in trouble!" and then quickly shook off his hand and ran forward.
Chairman Chen? Mrs. Zhe's husband?
Something happened but no one came to report it to the authorities. Could it be that they have suddenly fallen ill?
Just then, a servant-like man scrambled against the flow of people towards the government office, his face deathly pale, and cried out in a shrill voice, "Something terrible has happened! Someone has died! Our master... the master is gone!"
Upon hearing the words "human life," Feng Mian's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately ordered the driver, "Follow them and see."
Feng Mian turned around and got into the carriage. The carriage stopped shortly after it started moving.
Coachman: "Princess, the area in front is completely blocked."
Feng Mian lifted the carriage curtain and glanced outside. In the center of the crowd, a lavishly decorated carriage stood alone, blocking the alley entrance, the horses pawing restlessly.
The carriage curtains were drawn low, but through the gaps in the windows where the wind had rolled them open, one could vaguely see the slumped figure of a middle-aged man in a brocade robe, his posture stiff and eerie.
"Ah!" Liu Ying gasped, covering her mouth, and shrank back from the doorway in fear. Wu Liu put her arm around her shoulder and patted her reassuringly.
The onlookers were abuzz with discussion, their voices filled with shock.
"I heard it was Chairman Chen? I saw him inspecting the stores this morning, he was perfectly fine, how come he's gone in the blink of an eye..."
"They disappeared in the carriage? What happened? This is so sudden!"
"Didn't you see? A girl who sings jumped off the bus, disheveled, and ran away crying!"
"Tsk, could it be... a stroke?" someone whispered, speculating.
"That can't be right. Madam Zhe is so beautiful and capable, why would Chairman Chen..."
"Don't you understand? Men, no matter how beautiful their wives are at home, can they compare to the freshness of those outside? Besides, this Chairman Chen isn't exactly a faithful man. The Chen family may not have any concubines, but they certainly have no shortage of mistresses and lovers."
"This...this way of dying is far too undignified. How will Madam Zhe face the future..."
Feng Mian frowned deeply, looked around, but didn't see Madam Zhe's carriage. Perhaps she hadn't received the news yet.
The common people sometimes made unfounded speculations, perhaps Chairman Chen had another cause of death. If these foul words were heard by Madam Zhe before the coroner's examination...
Just as she was thinking this, the officials and coroner who had received the news arrived.
The officials dispersed the crowd that had gotten too close, and the coroner, carrying a box, solemnly lifted the curtain and went inside.
Feng Mian gestured for the attendant beside the carriage to come forward and wait for news.
A moment later, the coroner stepped out and whispered his report to the head officer.
Upon hearing this, the attendant hurriedly came to report to Feng Mian. His expression was strange, and he spoke with difficulty: "Reporting to the Princess, according to the coroner's preliminary examination, the deceased's face was flushed, her pupils were dilated, and her clothes were disheveled... She died suddenly from a stroke. The time of death was approximately within one incense stick's time."
"..."
Feng Mian was utterly at a loss for words when faced with this news. She wasn't familiar with Chairman Chen at all, and although a life had been lost, she felt no sympathy for him in this manner of death. Instead, she could only think about what would happen if Madam Zhe found out…
Just then, the crowd automatically parted to make way.
It's Madam Zhe.
She had clearly arrived in a hurry; her hair was not as elaborate as usual, with a few strands of black hair falling down her cheeks. Her face was pale and bloodless, like a fragile piece of jade porcelain.
She walked a few steps away from the carriage and stopped. Her gaze first fell on the hanging curtain, as if she could see through the thick fabric to the unbearable scene inside.
Her eyes were complex and hard to decipher, showing shock and confusion, but deep down there seemed to be little sorrow, rather a kind of cold indifference as if the dust had settled.
She didn't cry out, nor did she go forward to lift the curtain to check again. She just stood there, her body trembling almost imperceptibly, like a reed swept by the autumn wind.
The old nanny stepped forward, her voice trembling with tears: "Madam..."
Madam Zhe slowly raised her hand, stopping her from speaking. She took a deep breath, turned to the leading officer, and said in an unusually calm voice, though her voice was slightly hoarse: "I'll trouble you gentlemen... to proceed according to the rules."
After saying that, she didn't look at the carriage again and turned away resolutely.
In the instant she turned around, her gaze briefly met Feng Mian's worried eyes in mid-air.
A complex, indescribable emotion flashed briefly in Madam Zhe's eyes, but she quickly lowered her gaze to completely conceal it.
Feng Mian did not step forward, knowing that she needed to be alone at the moment. He simply watched as she straightened her back and walked away step by step, supported by her nanny and surrounded by servants.
"Take some men and disperse the onlookers. Don't let them see the body," Feng Mian whispered to his servant. Although this wouldn't stop the news from spreading, it was better than nothing.
As if sensing people's mood, the sky gradually darkened. Halfway through the journey, a fine drizzle began to fall, tapping softly on the roof and emphasizing the tranquility inside the carriage.
By the time the carriage came to a steady stop in front of the Prince's Mansion, the rain had already formed a thick curtain.
Feng Mian got up and lifted the curtain, only to find that the people waiting outside were not Liu Ying and Wu Liu, who had gotten off the carriage first.
In the misty air, Baili Xunzhou stood in front of the carriage, holding an umbrella. Rainwater gathered in strings on the blue cloth umbrella and fell in a drizzle, forming a hazy curtain of rain around him, making his tall and straight figure, as elegant as a pine or bamboo, appear even more handsome.
He leaned slightly forward, completely covering the car door with the umbrella. Feng Mian looked up, her gaze meeting his dark, warm eyes, which were shrouded in mist, as if they had absorbed all the light and color of the surrounding sky and water, focusing solely on her silhouette.
A few strands of hair on his forehead were dampened by the splashing rain, sticking casually to his temples, adding to his unruly handsome appearance.
"Slow down." He held out his hand to her. "Don't get wet."
Feng Mian then noticed that his posture exposed his shoulders and back to the rain, and a small patch of dark water had already seeped into his shoulder.
She quickly placed her hand in his slightly damp palm, which he held firmly. Just as she hurriedly stepped off the carriage, Baili Xunzhou subtly exerted force in his arm, pulling her a step forward and placing her completely under the umbrella's protection, shielding her from all wind and rain.
"Is this how you hold an umbrella? Your back is soaked through, isn't it? You didn't even ask Shanyi to hold another umbrella for you." Feng Mian frowned and reached out to touch his back. As soon as she touched the wet fabric, he grabbed her hand.
"This light rain won't hurt or itch me, but if you get sick from it, that would be a real problem."
"Let's go." He put his arm around Feng Mian's shoulder and escorted her towards the gate, the umbrella always tilted towards her. "It's chilly in the rain. If you want to scold me, let's go inside."
Feng Mian couldn't break free from him at all; he easily wrapped her up with one hand and led her into the corridor.
Fortunately, the Prince's Mansion had a winding corridor leading to the Hidden Bow Courtyard. Outside the vermilion railings, rain fell like a curtain, each droplet hitting the green tiles and stone steps with a sound like shattered jade. The dense curtain of water, like a thick fog, shrouded the eaves and flowering trees in the garden, creating a unique and charming scene.
But Feng Mian was in a hurry to get back to the courtyard so that Baili Xunzhou could change into some dry clothes. She pulled him along quickly, not paying any attention to the rain scene outside the corridor.
Baili Xunzhou could easily have walked faster than Feng Mian, but he deliberately lagged behind by a step, making it look like he was being dragged along by her.
He watched Feng Mian's hurried steps, her skirt fluttering as she worried about him, and a slight smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
After he changed his clothes, he saw Feng Mian leaning against the window looking listlessly at the rain, and the slight smile on his lips turned into a sigh.
He walked behind her, his warm fingers gently touching her temples, and began to massage them slowly with just the right amount of pressure.
"Are you upset because of Madam Zhe's matter?"
Feng Mian remained in the position of leaning against the window, gently closing her eyes, feeling the warmth and strength from his fingertips, smelling the crisp rain and the scent of earth and grass, but her heart still felt heavy, as if she had a damp, cold cloth pressing down on her.
"The thought of Madam Zhe, such a shrewd and insightful person, enduring such an embarrassing scene in front of everyone today, and possibly having to face this embarrassment repeatedly in the next few days, makes me feel uncomfortable."
"It's clear that Chairman Chen was utterly despicable, yet he died so easily, leaving Madam Zhe to bear all the criticism alone..."
Bai Lixunzhou's men continued their work without stopping. After a moment of silence, one of them said, "Madam Zhe is no ordinary weak woman. She has been able to support such a large family business amidst the ups and downs of the business world. Her resilience is far beyond that of ordinary people. Today's humiliation may be unbearable, but it may also be an opportunity."
Baili Xunzhou pulled Feng Mian into his arms, letting her lean against his chest. "She and Chairman Chen have been at odds for a long time, but their families have many business dealings. She has been constrained by the Chen family a lot in the past, and now she can take this opportunity to break free."
He lowered his head, gently brushing his chin against the top of her head, his tone tender yet firm: "I know you're feeling uneasy. Since you're worried, I'll go with you to the Chen residence tomorrow, okay?"
Feeling reassured by his embrace, Fengmian gently shook her head. "You shouldn't go. I'll go see her by myself."
She wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her face in his chest, and murmured, "A-Zhuo."
"Um?"
"You're pressing too hard, it hurts a bit."
Bai Lixunzhou: "..."
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