235 Autumn Harvest
Big Brother Qin looked at County Lieutenant Yu coldly and sneered as he threw Yang Meiniang and Old Madam Yang at County Lieutenant Yu’s feet. He pointed at the two of them and said, “Lord Yu, these two lowly slaves poisoned and harmed the mistress. Tell me what the punishment is.”
Of course, County Lieutenant Yu knew that a person found guilty of harming the mistress of the house would be hanged, but that was his own family matter. Wouldn’t he be a joke if he made a fuss in the government office? What would his colleagues in the government office think of him?
Lieutenant Yu looked at Yu Yan and Yu Chengyi, who were pulling at his lapels and crying in panic. He frowned and whispered to Brother Qin, “Brother, I know Yang Meiniang is in the wrong, but we can deal with her and Old Madam Yang in private! You didn’t discuss it with me at all. Have you no regard for me? Don’t you think you’re going too far?”
Big Brother Qin sneered and said, “Am I going too far? Putting aside the fact that you’ve been eating and living at my house since you were ten years old and that we’ve spent so much effort nurturing you, let’s talk about what happened after my sister and you got married! I, Qin Hu, helped you pull strings to make a name for yourself for my sister and her children, but you hooked up with this bitch from a brother. For you, my sister redeemed this bitch. For this bitch, you neglected your duties and were almost eliminated from the government office. When I tapped on connections everywhere to get you to Qingchuan, what did you do? You plotted to kill my sister, so why should spare any regard for you? Do you think my Qin family is made of mud?”
After Big Brother Qin finished speaking, he saw County Lieutenant Yu’s face turn green and pale. He ignored him and hauled Yang Meiniang and Old Madam Yang to Zhou Jia’s office. He threw them in front of Zhou Jia and took out Old Madam Yang’s confession and placed it on the table. He cupped his hands and said, “Lord Zhou, these two lowly slaves tried to murder the mistress. Are you going to judge them?”
Zhou Jia looked at Old Madam Yang’s confession on the table and shouted, “Guards, bring them out and lock them up.”
“Yes, sir.” Wang Cheng and Tu Hui walked into the room and brought them away. Zhou Jia cupped his hands at Brother Qin and said, “Big Brother Qin, let me investigate before replying to you.”
“Of course, I’ll leave them to you. I’m going back too.” After Brother Qin finished speaking, he cupped his hands at Zhou Jia and walked out.
Zhou Jia returned to the back office and told Li Yu about the Yu family. He sighed and said, “Yu’er, you didn’t see it. Brother Qin dragged her to the government office just like that. Lieutenant Yu didn’t even show his face in the county office. How dare such a person dote on his concubine at the expense of his wife? I think County Lieutenant Yu is soft-hearted. He lost his will after being coaxed by his concubine. That is why today’s situation happened.”
Li Yu glanced at Zhou Jia from the corner of her eye and tapped the tip of his nose. “Why do I seem to hear that you mean that you won’t be coaxed by your concubine to the point where you can’t find your way? Did you mean you won’t be like County Lieutenant Yu who can’t settle your wives?”
“I’m innocent!” Zhou Jia shouted exaggeratedly. He looked at her with an aggrieved expression and held his chest. “Yu’er, you’re wronging me. I only have you in my eyes and heart. Don’t say such things again in the future. I’ll be sad.”
Li Yu looked at his strange expression and burst out laughing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his face. “Can’t you tell that I’m joking with you?”
Zhou Jia sat on the chair with Li Yu and said gently, “I know, you’re joking with me! I just want to make you happy.”
Li Yu leaned into Zhou Jia’s arms. “Yang Meiniang and that old woman have already been detained, right? Madam Qin is going to split her assets with County Lieutenant Yu!”
When Zhou Jia heard this, he understood. “Oh! No wonder Eldest Brother Qin looks so carefree. It turns out that he no longer treats County Lieutenant Yu as his brother-in-law. There is concrete evidence that they murdered the mistress and they have already been detained. When I saw County Lieutenant Yu looking lost, I asked him to go back and settle the family matters before coming.”
When County Lieutenant Yu heard that Madam Qin wanted to split the assets, he revealed a pained expression. “Madam, why would you have such thoughts? I know that I was a little careless with you in the past, but I never wanted to harm you! I really don’t know anything about Yang Meiniang poisoning you. Even if you don’t do it for me, you have to think about the children!”
Madam Qin looked at County Lieutenant Yu and said indifferently, “If not for the sake of the children, I wouldn’t have asked to separate from you. I would have divorced you!”
County Lieutenant Yu looked at Madam Qin and Big Brother Qin, who was standing at the door. He felt that they had always looked down on him. Since that was the case, he would live without them. He sneered. “You’ve already thought about it. How can I say no?”
Madam Qin took out two contracts and placed them on the table. “I’ll take my dowry and leave everything at home to you.” County Lieutenant Yu signed without a word before turning around and walking out. Yu Yan comforted her crying brother and looked at Madam Qin, who was standing in the upper room, with hatred in her eyes.
The next morning, Madam Qin came to see Li Yu and bade farewell reluctantly. “Madam Li, County Lieutenant Yu has already agreed to split up with me. Thank you for your care during this time. I hope we can still meet again.”
Seeing Madam Qin’s relaxed and happy expression, Li Yu knew that she had really let go. She smiled and replied, “Alright, let’s meet again if we’re fated.”
Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, golden rice waves swayed in the wind in the rice fields outside Qingchuan City. The rice fields were filled with farmers who were busy harvesting. Li Yu stood by the cultivation field with a straw hat on. She looked at the cultivated rice that was obviously longer and fuller than ordinary rice. She nodded in satisfaction and instructed the long workers to split the wild rice and the cultivated rice and dry them in the field.
Watching the long workers transport the grains to the drying field one by one, Yang Wei smiled and said to Li Yu, “Madam, I estimate that these few acres of farmland can at least produce six to seven stones per acre. The long workers all say that they have never harvested such good rice before.”
Li Yu nodded, her face filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest. She instructed Yang Wei, “Leave an acre of the four newly planted rice seeds next spring. Just like breeding wild rice, cultivate them again with other ordinary rice seeds. Sell the remaining three acres of rice seeds to the villagers who came to register. Tell them what to pay attention to.”
Seeing Li Yu’s big stomach and sweaty face, Yang Wei said worriedly, “Got it, Madam. The sun is bad for you. You should go back to the city first!”
Li Yu looked at Yang Wei and praised, “Not bad! Ah Wei can also take charge and share the burden with me.”
Yang Wei looked at Li Yu and said hesitantly, “Madam, Uncle Dashui said that his family lives in Great Green Mountain in the west. He said that there’s a mountain clearing there that’s suitable for pioneering and farming. I think the place he’s talking about is a little like our Phoenix Village. I want to take a look after the farmers are busy and go there to reclaim and farm! Do you think I can do it?”