Reborn as a Happy Wife in a Rural Family
Chapter 106: Escaped

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Escaped

He quickly summoned a bailiff to report back to Zhao Shijin and then arranged for several horse carriages to pick up Dean Lin and his family. The other bailiffs waited with Dean Lin and the others.

The bailiff spurred his horse and galloped back to the county government office, reporting the matter to Zhao Shijin.

Upon hearing the news, Zhao Shijin nearly leaped out of his chair.

Thank heavens, the Bodhisattvas have protected them! Dean Lin and his family are truly alright. I must go to the temple tomorrow to offer my thanks.

"Lord Fu, quickly, quickly! Prepare the carriages! We must go and get them at once!" Zhao Shijin shouted to the silent Lord Fu standing beside him. Delays breed trouble! We must hurry!

Lord Fu nodded and went to make the arrangements. Zhao Shijin acted with great efficiency and soon brought Dean Lin and his family back.

He was so overjoyed that he stayed up all night writing another memorial, instructing a yamen runner to deliver it to the Capital City with utmost speed.

Back in his home, Dean Lin looked around, and his heart chilled to the bone.

His house had been picked clean, cleaner than a whistle.

Looking at his large family, he had no choice but to have his wife remove her bracelet. He gave it to their steward, who took it to a pawnshop to procure the immediate necessities.

That night, Dean Lin and his wife, Ms. Su, stared blankly at each other. Ms. Su’s eyes welled with tears as she choked out, "My lord, what are we to do?"

This large Lin Estate... what will we use for expenses? How will we live in the days to come? We could try to sell a shop, but without the deed, how can we sell it?

Dean Lin’s face was grim. He wasn’t thinking about how to support the Lin Estate but rather about the gravity of his situation and its consequences.

What should I do now? How can I get us out of this and save my entire family?

Zhao Shijin said he had already sent a memorial to the Capital City. The Emperor will surely see through this matter. My mind isn’t slow; I’m quite perceptive. The fact that the Lin Estate maintained a private army will be exposed sooner or later.

Flee. Dean Lin exhaled. At the moment, it seemed like the only option. I never should have returned; I should have fled directly from Tiger Head Mountain.

He glanced at his still-weeping wife, a flicker of impatience in his eyes.

He got up and walked towards his eldest son’s room.

His eldest son, Lin Zhengwen, was in his room in a daze. Seeing his father enter, Lin Zhengwen quickly ushered him into the study. The father and son closed the door and only emerged half an hour later.

An hour later, several figures crept furtively through the secret passage beneath the Lin Estate, heading out of the city.

They were lucky; that fool Zhao Shijin hadn’t sealed the secret passage or stationed anyone to guard it. He and his three sons, along with two daughters-in-law, made their way out of the city unimpeded and quickly disappeared into the night.

However, a pair of eyes had locked onto their movements, and this information was sent to the Secret Sect.

The next day, when Ms. Su awoke, she didn’t see her husband and assumed he had gone to the academy early. Later, however, a servant reported that the Eldest Young Master, Eldest Young Madam, Second Young Master, Second Young Madam, and Third Young Master were all gone.

Ms. Su’s heart leaped into her throat. She quickly ordered someone to check the academy, desperately hoping it wasn’t what she feared.

Before the servant could even leave, the doorman reported that he hadn’t seen the master, the young masters, or the young madams leave the estate.

Now, Ms. Su was truly panicking. She rushed to the entrance of the secret passage herself and saw the fresh, chaotic footprints inside.

"Ah! My lord, how could you be so cruel!" Ms. Su collapsed to the ground with a thud, let out a wail, and fainted.

The servants scrambled to carry her out.

When she regained consciousness, she was completely dazed and seemed to have lost her wits.

Instantly, the news of Dean Lin fleeing with his sons and daughters-in-law spread throughout Qiyang County City within half a day, becoming known to everyone.

Zhao Shijin was dumbfounded when he heard the news.

What on earth is going on? Everything was fine, why on earth would they flee?

Vice Dean Sun had just received word of Dean Lin’s return, only to immediately hear that they had fled again.

Vice Dean Sun was baffled for a long time, unable to understand what madness had possessed Dean Lin.

Nevertheless, he personally went to the Lin Estate to see the miserable state of the female family members and servants.

He couldn’t bear the sight and gave the steward a banknote for two hundred taels of silver to manage the Lin Estate before he left.

The Lin Estate’s affairs would be handled by the Chief; it wasn’t his place to interfere.

When Wuyou heard the news, the corner of her lips twitched. That Dean Lin is truly scum, leaving behind all those women and children.

However, most of these matters fell into Xiao Yunjing’s hands; he only issued a few orders.

Back in Qinghe Village, after Xiao Yunjing’s departure, Gu Qingli resumed her leisurely life.

Seeing that Gu Dalin had some free time, she asked him to help secure the water gates of their twenty *mu* of rice paddies, and then she went to the river, caught some fish, and threw them into the paddies. Gu Dalin did the same for his own few *mu* of fields.

This move once again sparked a flurry of discussion in the village. Everyone said they didn’t know what crazy notion had possessed the father and daughter. Not only had they thinned out their perfectly good rice seedlings until they were sparse, but now they were damming up the water to raise fish. It would be a miracle if the fish didn’t eat all the seedlings! They’re really courting disaster!

Only Gu Chang’an diligently followed her method for his small plot. He wouldn’t say anything; everyone would understand come harvest time. Ever since he had thinned out the excess seedlings and applied fertilizer, he would go to check on them whenever he had time. Sure enough, the seedlings changed day by day, and he grew increasingly confident in Gu Qingli’s words.

As for Gu Qingli, after a few days of leisure, she was busy reclaiming wasteland again.

The sweet potato vines needed to be planted from cuttings.

Two *mu* of wasteland had been cleared, but furrows for planting the sweet potato vine cuttings had only been dug for one *mu*.

The rest of the planting work was Gu Qingli’s responsibility, as Wuqing and the others didn’t know how.

"Miss, what kind of vine is this, and why are you planting it like this?" Wuqing asked while massaging Gu Qingli’s shoulders.

"Something that can fill our stomachs."

Wuqing trailed off. Perhaps it’s best to change the subject.

"Miss, the first woman who came with the tumor has fully recovered and left. As her consultation fee, she left an ancestral box that she claims cannot be opened."

Gu Qingli chuckled. "Ha! It can’t be opened? How peculiar. We’ll go take a look in a few days."

"Great! In that case, that whole affair really has nothing to do with us anymore."

"By the way, Wuqing, what happened with that incident later on?"

Wuqing replied, "Can you guess, Miss?"

"I’m not a fortune teller, I can’t guess. Hurry up and tell me, or your Miss will have to resort to ’severe interrogation’," Gu Qingli said, forming her hands into claws, threatening to tickle Wuqing’s waist.

Wuqing, like her, was extremely ticklish.

HEE HEE HEE! Before Gu Qingli’s "claws" could even reach her, Wuqing jumped away, already laughing.

"Stop, Miss! This servant will tell!"

"Quickly, tell me."

"Alright, alright, Miss. The officials sent by the Imperial Court arrived in Qiyang County. The bandits of Tiger Head Mountain surrendered without a fight and were directly granted amnesty by the Imperial Court. It was confirmed that Dean Lin had raised a private army, but since the culprit fled, the Imperial Court could only issue a wanted notice. All his female family members were exiled to Liuli Island. As for the Empress, it’s said she was stripped of her title and sent to the Cold Palace. The Crown Prince was banished to guard the imperial tombs, never to be allowed to leave for the rest of his life. Tsk, tsk. That old Emperor is truly heartless. The Empress and her faction committed offenses, and now it’s as if the Crown Prince is no longer his son."