A Good Country Wife-Chapter 707 - 700 The Great Ending _1

Lin Yue and Huangfu Yi were discussing when a servant hurriedly ran in from outside. The commotion between Lin Yue and Ceng Lu earlier was so significant that everyone in Zhao Family village and the nearby areas knew that Lin Yue was at odds with the Magistrate, so they felt anxious when they saw Ceng Lu’s men accompanied by a large contingent of soldiers, and without even finishing their tasks at hand, they quickly dropped their hoes and rushed to deliver the news.

Both Lin Yue and Huangfu Yi were somewhat surprised upon hearing this. Huangfu Yi hadn’t expected Ceng Lu to have such audacity; after all, Zhao Erhu was indeed working for the Emperor and seemed to be quite trusted by him. Moreover, since Zhao Erhu had recently made contributions and returned with increased standing in front of the Emperor, and the Emperor even sent an eunuch to bestow rewards upon the Zhao Family, it was evident what the Emperor’s attitude toward the Zhao Family was. At this time, anyone with a bit of sense would know to restrain themselves.

The Ceng Family was not an Aristocratic Family; they had only risen suddenly in the past few years because a lady from their family was in the palace and the Emperor intended to use this chess piece to suppress the Aristocratic Families. Even though Ceng Lu had somewhat of a weak backing, it was bold of him to so blatantly misbehave. Huangfu Yi thought that at least after the displaced people incident, the Ceng Family would have sensed something was wrong, and subsequently would conduct themselves with more caution, tucking their tail between their legs. But now, it seemed he had overestimated the Ceng Family.

Lin Yue was also very surprised. She hadn’t expected Ceng Lu to act this way, as even though he had been arrogant in the past, he had still shown some restraint towards the Zhao Family. That’s why she had felt that she would be safe once she returned to Zhao Family village. She had not anticipated that Ceng Lu would actually send soldiers, nor did she know under what pretext he was acting. She was completely unprepared, and the Zhao Family, although it had many people, was still not strong enough to contend with the soldiers Ceng Lu had brought this time.

Thinking of how the family’s yard walls had been heightened and reinforced due to the displaced people incident, and how difficult it was for outsiders to attack, as well as the fact that there was an unknown escape route in the house to hide, Lin Yue finally felt a bit more at ease. If Ceng Lu truly intended to harm her, she had no choice but to temporarily find a place to hide for a while.

"Ceng Lu’s guts are indeed too big. The Emperor’s patience with the Ceng Family is nearing its limit, and besides, the Ceng Family’s value for utilization has almost been exhausted. If he continues to act recklessly like this, his fate will certainly be miserable," Huangfu Yi said.

Lin Yue had been focused on dealing with Ceng Lu, and when she heard that Ceng Lu’s men were coming with the army, she quickly gave several orders. Hearing Huangfu Yi’s comment, however, she felt curious. The head of the household seemed to understand the Court’s situation a bit too well. This could be attributed to the backing from Longhu Mountain in the Court, not too surprising. But the fact that even the Emperor’s thoughts and intentions were analyzed so accurately, and that the tone of his words was not speculation but certainty, this was truly thought-provoking.

Due to Huangfu Yi’s striking resemblance to Huangfu Jing, Lin Yue had more than once speculated about Huangfu Yi’s identity and his relationship with Huangfu Jing. But since this was a forbidden topic in the royal household, Lin Yue could only guess in her heart and dared not ask casually. She did, however, note this matter in her mind.

"The head of the household seems to understand the Emperor’s mind very well; could it be that you know the Emperor?" Lin Yue’s words carried a hint of probing, yet Huangfu Yi merely smiled, remaining silent.

Ceng Lu’s men arrived at Zhao Family village with great momentum and soon reached the front door of Lin Yue’s home. However, since Lin Yue had instructed that the doors be firmly closed, for the time being, those men couldn’t enter and could only shout and threaten from outside for Lin Yue to open the door.

It was under Quan An’s instigation, and with desires inflamed, that Ceng Lu had acted so brazenly. The military forces he had called in were also under the pretext of Lin Yue colluding with the bandits of Longhu Mountain.

"Madam, what should we do? Ceng Lu has captured the village head and our Great Uncle, threatening us to open the door. If we don’t open the door, he says he will take the Great Uncle and the village head away to prison for harboring suspects," a servant guarding the door reported hastily after hearing Ceng Lu’s threats.

Upon hearing this news, Lin Yue furrowed her brow tightly. She had wanted to delay them by keeping the door closed and buy some time to think of a solution to her current dilemma. She hadn’t expected Ceng Lu and his people to be so despicable as to use the village head and her Great Uncle as leverage. It was also because Zhao Xinglin had once worked in the government office that those scoundrels knew of the good relationship between Zhao Xinglin and Lin Yue’s family, which led them to come up with such a treacherous plan.