The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 202 - Six Years Ago

Chapter 202: Chapter 202 - Six Years Ago

Song Chongjin heard this and couldn’t help but glance over.

Wang Yongzhu looked back defiantly, what’s the matter? Just this petty, just this vindictive! Just this unkind and inconsiderate!

Song Chongjin shook his head, a hint of a smile flickering in his eyes, and even the corners of his mouth turned up.

Wang Yongzhu had never seen Song Chongjin smile before, and upon seeing it suddenly, alas, indeed the man was handsome; with a stern face, he looked cool, but with a smile, it was like a spring breeze rippling a pond of spring water...

Clutching her small heart, Wang Yongzhu finally felt the malice of the world!

That afternoon, Steward Lu indeed arrived at the guesthouse, followed by an ordinary-looking shop assistant.

After exchanging a few polite words, Steward Lu directly and unceremoniously expressed his sympathy for the Wang Family’s ordeal.

Wang Yongzhu expressed her acceptance and also very candidly stated that she wanted to ask the Tianfeng Escort Agency for a favor.

Steward Lu nodded and signaled to the shop assistant following him with a nod.

The shop assistant stepped forward to give a bow and clearly recounted all of Wang Yongan’s activities and associations since arriving in the county town.

Wang Yongan had come to the county town seven years earlier, initially intending to study at Changqing Academy. However, for some unknown reason, he did not pass the academy’s examinations and consequently settled for studying at Baiyun Academy.

Subsequently, through an introduction by a schoolmate, he began teaching at a small private school nearby, as a teacher. Handsome and gentle in demeanor, and given that he had become a Scholar at a young age, he received much praise from many people.

Over these years, he had not made much progress, and when asked, he vaguely implied that his family was not keen on supporting his studies. He owed his current status entirely to his wife, who had sold her dowry, and the support of his parents-in-law.

However, as a man, he could not always rely on his wife’s family, so after becoming a Scholar, he copied books for others in the countryside and started a school to teach young children to earn a living and support his family’s expenses.

His ability to come to Jing County to study was also because his family’s situation had improved and his wife strongly supported his decision.

Some people sympathized with his achieving the title of Scholar in his youth but lamented the loss of years due to his family’s financial constraints.

There were also enthusiastic classmates and teachers who highly regarded him; they recommended him for a position at the academy, specializing in lecturing to the young students.

Wang Yongan was very grateful and, once he had settled down, he brought his wife, daughter, and in-laws—who were said to have sold their own shop to support his education—to the county town.

Initially, the academy had allocated two rooms to Wang Yongan, but once his family arrived, the space was no longer sufficient.

It was his in-laws who dug into their life savings to buy a small courtyard next to the academy, allowing the family to settle down.

According to neighbors and classmates, until today, Wang Yongan was seen as very amiable in his dealings with others, polite and courteous. Wang Yongan’s wife, Lady Qian, though not a great beauty, was gentle and compliant, very virtuous. The only regret was that, after so many years of marriage, she and Wang Yongan only had one daughter.

But Wang Yongan never complained; instead, he was always tender and attentive towards Lady Qian, often using his scholarship money to buy her jewelry and cosmetics, saying that she had suffered with him and now he wanted to compensate her.

This greatly envied many people around them.

Wang Yongan was quite adept at social climbing and had no problem lowering his stature; at a poetry meeting two years earlier, he caught the eye of an official with the last name Gao.

This official, Gao, was also from Jing County and hailed from a town below. He was once a student at Baiyun Academy, and after finishing high up, he married a well-connected wife, said to be the niece of some important figure in the Capital City, and then secured a position as the County Magistrate of a prosperous county.

This trip back home was due to a mother’s passing, requiring a three-year period of mourning.

It was said that Wang Yongan was very close with an adviser under Prefect Gao, and a few days ago, finally Prefect Gao spoke up, inviting Wang Yongan to become his adviser.

After receiving this news, Wang Yongan borrowed a doctor employed by his household to visit his hometown once more, and after returning, he sold his house and transferred some of the family’s farmland in his old village to a fellow villager.

A few days ago, he followed Prefect Gao, boarding a ship heading south.

As for the land deed transfer, it was said that it was done with the Wang Family’s partition deed, which bore Old Wang Laozhu’s thumbprint, clearly stating that the two mu of paddy fields and ten mu of dry land under his name were all divided to Wang Yongan.

As for the remaining six mu of paddy field, the government office records showed that they had been transferred to Wang Yongan’s name years ago.

With his relations to Prefect Gao, Wang Yongan, who also had acquaintances in the Yamen, first had the two mu of paddy fields and ten mu of dry land transferred to his own name, then sold them to another fellow villager.

The procedures were legal and proper, and even if Old Wang Laozhu himself came, he wouldn’t be able to voice an objection, because when compared, the thumbprint matched the one on the Wang Family deed from before.

Wang Yongzhu was stunned for a moment, then asked about the government office records, when exactly had the family’s farmland been transferred to Wang Yongan’s name?

That shop assistant had a good memory, and since he was the one dealing with it, he didn’t overlook any detail, storing it all in his mind. When asked, he quickly recalled that it was six years ago.

Reflecting, Wang Yongzhu seemed to remember a time when Old Granny Zhang had mentioned that the government once conducted a general land survey, and at the time, Wang Yongan, being a Scholar, had handled the matter, which brought some prestige to the task.

Indeed, following that survey, the family hadn’t spent a single cent.

Because of this matter, at the time, Old Wang Laozhu was quite pleased with himself in the village for a long while.

Now that she thought about it, she feared it might have been that instance when Wang Yongan had altered the land deeds of the family’s paddy fields.

Six years! Six years ago, Wang Yongan had already begun plotting!

After the shop assistant finished his report, not to mention Wang Yongping and Song Chongjin, even Steward Lu was taken aback. This Scholar Wang, the second brother, had deep and far-reaching schemes, having begun his calculations against the family six years prior—it was terrifying!

Wang Yongzhu was silent for a while before she slowly said, "Big Brother Lu, I have a rather presumptuous request!"

Steward Lu stood up solemnly, "Please speak, Miss! Your family has been a great benefactor to our Escort Agency, so please give your instructions. As long as our Escort Agency can accomplish it, we will not decline!"

Wang Yongzhu gave a bitter smile, "I look like I’m exploiting my benefactor’s kindness for a little person. But this matter can’t be avoided now! Can you find out for me where my second brother has gone with which Noble Patron to assume his post?"

After pondering for a while, Steward Lu nodded, "It will take some time, we need to wait for the official government gazette to find out."

"Then I ask Big Brother Lu to pay close attention, and as soon as you learn of his post, please just convey two sentences to that Noble Patron and that confidant adviser of his!"

"What message?" Steward Lu thought that the young lady was going to ask the Escort Agency to knock her second brother unconscious, drag him back, or directly disable him, or seek connections to lodge a complaint to strip him of his titles—a troublesome request like that!

But unexpectedly, the young lady simply asked for two sentences to be conveyed?

Could she be a fool?