Chapter 329: Treat Yourself Well

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Just as Zhou Jia arrived at the government office to settle his official business,

Lin Zicong and Lin Tong came to Zhou Jia’s room. They placed a dossier on Zhou Jia’s desk and bowed to Zhou Jia. “Sir, the evidence of what Tian Zhong’s family did is conclusive. Other than stealing and destroying the land, I also found out that they forcefully occupied the villagers’ farmland. I sentenced Tian Zhong’s family to 20 strokes of the cane, Tian Yin, and Tian Kuan to do hard labor for three months. Tian Zhong will compensate for the damaged seedlings and return the captured farmland. He will also be punished to pay 50 taels of silver.”

Zhou Jia looked at the dossier and returned it to Lin Zicong with a smile. “Alright, this way, the black sheep in the village should be severely punished as a warning to others.”

Lin Zicong cupped his hands and said, “Yes, sir.”

Tian Zhong, Madam Wang, and his two sons were beaten to a pulp with 20 strokes of the cane. Tian Kuan and Tian Mazi were pulled to serve as hard labor. Tian Zhong and his wife were pulled back to the Yang family village by the servants sent by the Tian family. Under the supervision of the bailiffs, they dejectedly compensated the villagers with the occupied fields and went to the Zhou family’s farmstead to compensate for the losses and apologize.

Outside the government office, Liu Yi and the bailiff accompanying him brought the two eight or nine-year-old girls back to the government office to report. Wu Ting glanced at the two children standing outside and frowned at Liu Yi. “What’s wrong with these two children?”

Liu Yi took two steps forward and reported in a low voice, “Sir, one of these two children is called Su Ling. She’s the youngest daughter of Scholar Dong Su of Dingyuan County. She’s just nine years old this year. The other is called Wang Xinrong, the granddaughter of an old scholar surnamed Wang in the west of the city. She’s eight years old this year. Their families are not bad, but the elders in the family have long announced to the public that their children have fallen ill and died suddenly. They refuse to acknowledge them no matter what.”

Wu Tingxian cursed in a low voice, “Even a vicious tiger won’t eat its cubs! These two families are either ruthless or pedantic. Fortunately, Sir and I expected it in advance. Take them to eat something first. I’ll report to Sir to settle them in the back office first and find two more families…”

Liu Yi looked at Wu Tingxian and said anxiously, “Sir, why didn’t you and Lord Zhou think of this? All children are controlled by their clansmen. It’s not safe to send the children over. In my opinion, it’s better to send them to Lord Zhou’s family and let them grow up with those children before letting them start a family.”

“That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that?” Wu Tingxian’s eyes lit up when he heard that. “There’s no need to give up what’s near to seek what’s far. Let’s go and talk to Sir.”

Wu Tingxian brought Liu Yi and the two children to Zhou Jia’s escort room and told Zhou Jia about the two children’s situation, Liu Yi’s words, and suggestions. “Sir, shall we send the money reserved for the children to your manor and send the two children to your manor to be raised? What do you think?”

Zhou Jia thought for a moment. There were already so many children in the manor, and two more would not make a difference. He replied readily, “Alright, get Liu Yi to send them to the manor and let Madam arrange for them to stay.”

Not long after Wu Tingxian and Liu Yi left, Chu Feng came to Zhou Jia’s room. He took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Jia. “Brother Jiahe, take a look at this letter left behind by the bank. It turns out that that bastard Tian Kun asked his brother, who is an official in the Censorate, to find something on you and get you out of Yunzhou.”

After Zhou Jia took the letter and opened it, he thought for a moment and felt that if Tian Peng wanted to scheme against him, he could only start from the old residence in the capital. However, the matter between him and the old residence was well known. Tian Peng s plans would probably backfire.

Zhou Jia threw the letter on the table and smiled faintly. “Brother Qingshan, don’t worry. I can’t think of anything I have done that can’t see the light. I wonder if you’ve found anything?”

“Shopkeeper Luo has already been detained. We found out that he sold most of the rice seeds to the Tian family. The Wang family and the He family also occupied a portion of them. The strange thing is that the Tian family’s fields don’t need so many rice seeds. I’m here to ask Brother Jiahe to help me check how many fields the Tian family has registered. How can they take on so many rice seeds?” As Chu Feng spoke, he stood up and cupped his hands at Zhou Jia. “Fortunately, Madam discovered it in time. The Tian family has already agreed with the grain shop on the corn seeds for next year. If anything happens to the corn seeds again, I’ll really be in trouble.”

“Sigh! There’s no need for us to go out of our way.” Zhou Jia smiled and pulled him to sit down. “Brother Qingshan is quite efficient! You found it in less than a day.”

Chu Feng frowned and sighed. “After Shopkeeper Luo was captured, he confessed everything. He even said that after he committed the crime, he was on tenterhooks all day and kept blaming himself for being foolishly filial. He allowed his silly mother to spoil his good child. Now, in order to pay off the debt of his son, he has caused a huge disaster.” Chu Feng thought for a moment and concluded, “Brother Jiahe, you can’t allow an unreasonable woman, especially an elder, to raise a child.”

When Zhou Jia heard this, he thought of the two wastrels in the old residence and felt the same. “That’s true.” The two of them sighed before getting up to check on the fish scales.

Liu Yi sent the two children to the farmstead and stood outside to listen to the sound of reading coming from the courtyard. He smiled and comforted the two children. “Don’t be afraid. Madam Li is the best person. The sound of reading you heard was from the children Madam Li took in. Just stay here and live well in the future.”

Wang Xinrong lowered her head and grabbed her collar tightly. Her grandfather’s cold and heartless voice echoed in her mind. “Official, my granddaughter died of an illness a few days ago. I have had no grievances with you in the past and no feud with you recently. Why are you tainting my Wang family like this? ”

Su Ling said in a hoarse voice, “Uncle Liu, even my parents don’t acknowledge me. They say that I’m dead and that I don’t have a home!”

“You child…” Liu Yi looked at Su Ling with heartache. This was the first thing this child had said since she came out of Dingyuan County. Scholar Su had committed a sin! He didn’t want his good daughter just like that. His heart would still ache for a few days if he lost a kitten and dog! He really didn’t know what these sour scholars were thinking.

When Li Yu came out and heard Su Ling’s words, she looked at her and said, “There’s nothing left. You still have yourself! Everyone will encounter different hardships and setbacks in their lives. The hardship is not the hardship itself, but our attitude when facing hardship. Some people face hardships and setbacks, while others give up and can’t recover. It depends on what path you choose.”

Su Ling looked at Li Yu, who was looking at her warmly, and tears flowed down her face. “Madam, why don’t they want me? Is it my fault that I was kidnapped?” Wang Xinrong also looked up at Li Yu with tears in her eyes.

Li Yu walked over and hugged the two crying children. She gently patted their backs. “It’s not your fault. What’s wrong is that this world is too harsh on women. It’s precisely because of this that we have to learn to treat ourselves well and work hard to live a happier life.”

“Wuwu…” The two children cried loudly in Li Yu’s arms. Liu Yi looked at the two children with red eyes and bowed to Li Yu to thank her before turning to leave..

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