The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 1926 - 1901: Inside Story

County Magistrate Zhai invited Old Du and Elder Zhu to sit down in the study, but turned to go outside instead. After standing for a moment, an officer came to report, reciting everything Officer Xu and Xia Yi had said word for word.

The officer looked at County Magistrate Zhai’s expression, hesitantly asking, "Sir, should we send someone to stop Xia Yi?"

County Magistrate Zhai glanced at him and said, "Why stop him? He’s doing what we intended to do, saving you the trouble, isn’t it great?" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The officer looked bewildered.

County Magistrate Zhai had already said, "Choose someone smart to go to Hongtian Village. If Ms. Xia offers money, don’t refuse, accept more and then tell them the truth. Xia Xin and Zhou Yin’s daughter, Zhou Man, is not only a renowned divine doctor in the capital, she works at the Imperial Hospital and has treated the emperor, empress, crown prince, and other royal family members. She’s also a Chongwen Pavilion editor and can attend the grand assembly."

"And the Young Master Bai she’s engaged to hails from the Bai Family of Longzhou, a family of noble lineage. Just emphasize how remarkable she is, understand?"

Officer: ...Wasn’t their master just getting along quite well with Lord Zhou earlier? Why is he now setting a trap?

"Oh," County Magistrate Zhai called the officer back, saying, "Also tell them, Zhou Yin was posthumously honored as a Mianzhou Governor, and though Xia Xin has passed away, she was similarly honored. The emperor praised them as righteous individuals."

The officer walked away confused, thinking, by saying so much, won’t that just make Ms. Xia in Hongtian Village more cautious?

Is the master siding with Lord Zhou or Ms. Xia?

County Magistrate Zhai stood in the corridor for a while with his hands behind him before going to meet Old Du and Elder Zhu. Since reconciliation was needed, he naturally had to understand the nuances of the situation.

Old Du and Elder Zhu were not only of advanced age but also held some prestige within Officer Xu’s community. They would know something about what happened in the Xia Family, not to mention Old Du seemed to have a good relationship with Xia Xia.

County Magistrate Zhai went in to learn the details from the two old men, while Xia Xia was also speaking with Zhou Man about events from the past.

The servants and officers all retreated outside, leaving only the three of them with Xia Xia in the room.

Xia Xia originally wanted Bai Shan and Bai Erlang to step outside as well, but seeing Zhou Man seemingly didn’t catch his hint and those two had no intention of avoiding suspicion, he considered Bai Shan and Zhou Man’s relationship and could only sigh inwardly, pretending not to see them. He said to Manbao, "Your parents left some things for you."

Xia Xia said, "Fourteen years ago, your father only mentioned wanting to take your mother back home to see his elder brother and sister-in-law, selling two plots of land, but the rest of the belongings remained."

Xia Xia detailed, "What I know is, your grandparents’ home, in fact, there’s still a house in Hongtian Village, but during your grandfather’s time, it was given to the clan as a school, later used by the clan’s widows and orphans. I think your parents didn’t intend to reclaim it, leaving only the two houses in Songhua Alley."

Xia Xia said, "Besides that, there are three plots of farmland still in the village. They’re not small and are quite good. Back then, your father wanted to sell those plots of land too, but being ancestral land passed down through generations, the clan wouldn’t agree. Your father couldn’t sell them and temporarily rented them out for others to cultivate."

"There’s also a shop that our family has been renting..."

He clearly knew a lot about these matters and told Zhou Man, "Back then your father said he’d send a letter upon settling down back home because there were still lands and a shop here and rent needed to be collected. So he said every year, or at most every other year, he’d come back to worship your grandparents and collect rent."

"But once your parents left, there was no news. The agreed two years passed without their return," Xia Xia paused and then said, "After that, the clan thought your parents wouldn’t return. Though I was close with your grandfather, blood ties were distant, so I couldn’t stop the clan. Twelve years ago, they opened the ancestral hall and divided the assets."

Manbao understood roughly. They weren’t wrong in thinking her parents genuinely couldn’t return, so she wasn’t very angry about their asset division. What she cared about was, "Why did my parents leave Shangzhou back then?"

She said, "At that time, my father entrusted all our valuables with someone, my grandparents had just passed away, and I was still very young. Why go?"

Xia Xia fell silent for a moment before he sighed, "Your father was adopted into the family. Back then, the clan intended to have your grandfather adopt a successor, and before your father appeared, it was almost finalized..."

Though Xia Xia didn’t name names, Manbao understood that her father’s sudden appearance had obstructed someone else’s plans.

"Things were fine while your grandfather was alive, but when he fell gravely ill and passed away, clan members were saying all sorts of things. There were even rumors privately suggesting your father poisoned your grandfather. They couldn’t stay here any longer and decided to return home to evade the situation, hoping to return once things calmed down."

Xia Xia said, "Although your father was young, he saw matters clearly. Before leaving, he even told me, staying here would lead to conflicts and disputes with the clan, and your mother’s health was not good. During that time, she was distressed over these matters and your health was even worse. He worried that once you understood, it would negatively affect you, so he decided to return to his hometown."

Additionally, considering Xia Xin’s poor condition, Xia Xia agreed to their departure. Otherwise, with Jiannan’s distance to Mianzhou, how could he permit Zhou Yin to take his wife and daughter along?

Manbao understood and exchanged a glance with Bai Shan before conversing with Xia Xia a bit more. Finally, she pulled out a red string from her neckline, and Xia Xia immediately noticed the long life lock hanging at the end.

His eyes suddenly warmed, and he reached out to her.

Manbao removed the long life lock and placed it in his palm, saying, "I’ve worn this since I was little. My father... my uncle said my parents left it for me."

Xia Xia’s eyes turned red as he said, "I crafted this myself. Back then when your grandfather was still alive, though he wasn’t in good health, from the moment your mother mentioned she was pregnant, I started working on it. I chose the best silver to melt, worried about discoloration, I refined it twice."

He said, "It took over three months to finish this long life lock, engraved with the characters Zhou and Xia on both sides. Besides the capital’s precious sought-after long life locks, it’s the best one I’ve crafted in my lifetime."

In the next room, Old Du was telling County Magistrate Zhai, "Xia Dajiang came from a poor family. During the previous regime, when they conscripted soldiers, his uncle pushed him out to serve. He was only eleven and nearly dragged away. It was Xia Yan who couldn’t stand for it, convincing his parents to pay to have someone else serve in his place, and later sending him to learn silversmithing from the county’s craftsmen."

"His success today is owed to Xia Yan’s care earlier on. Originally, the shop belonged to Xia Yan, and Zhou Yin rented it out for selling groceries. Before leaving, Zhou Yin and his wife entrusted Xia Yan to look after the property and collect rent for the fields and the shop. Unexpectedly, they never returned."