"Mother knows well, don’t worry. I will support you no matter what!" Lady Ding comforted her daughter while fiercely cursing, "It’s all because of that mean girl Ji Xinhe! All because of her!"
"Yes, it’s her! She must have framed me; no one else could have done it. She must have stolen my hairpin, and that golden lock from the Pork Seller must have been deliberately placed in front of me by her. It’s a pity I’ve fallen into her trap..." Ji Xiulan thought more about it and felt more suffocated. Finally, she just sobbed under her blanket.
Lady Ding’s face turned cold, "How did that girl suddenly become so cunning? I’ve really underestimated her."
"Fortunately, Zhiru left early yesterday to attend the private school in town. He probably doesn’t know about this yet. But he will eventually find out!"
"I won’t let you marry the Pork Seller no matter what. My Xiulan is meant to become an official’s wife, not to be with such a vulgar man. I will never let you jump into a fire pit. I need to discuss this with the Zhang Family..." Lady Ding’s mind was a mess. Regardless of whether the Zhang Family would be willing, even if things could be settled with twenty pieces of silver, what about Ji Xiulan’s reputation? What to do if Gao Zhiru found out about it?!.
Thinking about all this, Lady Ding lost her energy to curse Ji Xinhe.
Ji Xinhe quickly chopped a pile of pig grass and fed the pig. She patted her hands, then said to Xiao Bei, "Xiao Bei, I have to go to Wu Si’s house in the village later. Come with me."
Xiao Bei’s eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice, "Is it time to split the money from the wild boar hunt?"
"Brother Wu Si is a forthright man. He cleaned up the wild boar yesterday and sold it at the market. We agreed to split the profit, so we’ll collect the money today," Ji Xinhe laughed.
"Really? We’re going to have money! But Lady Ding might get angry if she sees we’re gone," Xiao Bei frowned.
"Are we afraid of her? Besides, she’s busy with her own daughter now and doesn’t have time to care about us!" Ji Xinhe snorted lightly and led Xiao Bei out.
"It’s a pity Big Brother went to work in the fields. Otherwise, he could come with us," Xiao Bei grumbled.
Ji Xinhe thought of Ji Dong, who was being treated like an ox, and felt upset. She said solemnly, "We should find a chance to separate ourselves from the family. We can’t keep living like this. Big Brother is treated like an ox, and we have to be on guard all the time to avoid being sold. We can’t even enjoy spending the money we earn."
"I want to separate too! Xiao Bei wanted to separate long ago!" Xiao Bei said immediately.
"But for this matter, we need to plan carefully in the long run," Ji Xinhe pursed her lips, deep in thought.
Wu Si was already waiting at home. When he saw Ji Xinhe and Xiao Bei coming, he hurried to greet them, "I was just talking about you, and here you are. Come in."
Ji Xinhe smiled, "Sorry for keeping you waiting, Brother Wu Si. How was the wild boar sold?"
Wu Si laughed loudly, "It sold very well! Here’s all the money. It’s a total of ten taels and seven coins of silver. The fur sold for five taels, and the wild boar meat and other parts were sold to the town’s restaurant by weight, making up five taels and seven coins. The invoice is here."
Ji Xinhe had a look and said, "Brother Wu Si is a forthright person, and I trust you."
"We’re all fellow villagers, so what’s not to trust? I thought the little girl might have been too frightened by last night’s incident and wouldn’t come out today. It turns out that a girl who can hunt wild boars is really special," Wu Si laughed.
Xiao Bei leaned in, "My sister is awesome!"
Ji Xinhe pinched his little face and then divided the silver on the table, giving three taels and seven coins to Wu Si, "This is what we agreed on earlier, and the extra seven coins should also go to Brother Wu Si. Thank you for helping me this time. I can’t thank you enough."
Wu Si hurriedly declined, "How can I take this..."
"Brother Wu Si, you must accept it, or else I won’t feel at ease. But remember, you have to keep this a secret for me. I trust you because you know my weakness, and I need to give you some benefits to help me keep this quiet," Ji Xinhe cunningly smiled.
Wu Si laughed loudly, "You clever girl! Alright, I’ll accept it!"
Ji Xinhe held the seven taels of silver tightly in her hand, feeling very happy. She showed it to Xiao Bei, "Xiao Bei, look, this is our money!"
Xiao Bei’s eyes shone, and he nodded repeatedly, "Yes! It’s ours! It’s our silver!"
Just as they were talking, a shout came from outside, "Li Zheng orders everyone in the village to gather at the entrance!"
Xiao Bei’s face changed, "Is something wrong again?"
Last night’s incident had indeed left a deep impression on him.
Although Ji Xinhe was also tense, she appeared calm on the surface, "Let’s go and see first."
Wu Si hesitated for a moment and then hurriedly called his wife to go with him to the village entrance.
When they arrived, the villagers had already gathered in groups. Ji Xinhe and Xiao Bei easily squeezed to the front thanks to their small size. It wasn’t that they particularly liked the commotion, but they were afraid that something had gone wrong because of last night’s incident.
Ji Xinhe glanced up and saw two government officials dressed in official uniforms, with shining sabers around their waists. She was surprised to see the officials in person for the first time.
Ji Xinhe had been in this era for quite some time, but she had never seen such a "big scene" before. Village disputes didn’t count as much, but everyone knew that if you offended the government, you would be in trouble for the rest of your life.
This was the first time she had ever seen a government official. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
"What’s going on?" Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but ask an uncle next to her.
The uncle’s face was serious, "Hush! Don’t talk nonsense. The officials are here; we have to be cautious. Didn’t you see how careful Li Zheng is?"
Ji Xinhe was confused and looked at the two officials blankly.
Both officials wore cold expressions on their faces and suddenly shouted, "Everyone, listen to the order!"
All the villagers, including Li Zheng, knelt down. Ji Xinhe didn’t dare to stand out, so she quickly pulled Xiao Bei down to kneel with her.
"Today, the late Emperor has passed away, and the New Emperor has ascended to the throne. A grand amnesty is granted to the world, and His Majesty’s grace is mighty. This is a special announcement!" the official proclaimed aloud.
Ji Xinhe felt relieved, as it turned out to be about this matter. It had little to do with the remote village they lived in, so information about it was limited. However, the great event of the Emperor’s ascension had to be communicated to every citizen of the Great Cold Dynasty, so officials were sent to announce it.
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