Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 77 Don't you want to breastfeed your baby?

Lu Jia watched as Zhou Sheng was taken away, then looked back at Guo Yi, who was talking to the prefect, for a while, lost in thought.

On the other side, Liu Xiyu had already taken the lead in bowing down and saying, "Your Excellency is wise."

Lu Jia also bowed down, and Guo Yi told them to get up. He then asked the prefect to come forward and guarantee the arrangements for the disaster situation in Shawan County and Luokou Town.

Zhou Sheng has made such a huge mess that even if the imperial envoy didn't speak up, the prefect would definitely do everything he could to handle the aftermath, so there's no need to worry about that.

The merchants and common people who came with Lu Jia and the others did not expect that the lawsuit would go so smoothly. After leaving the court, they were all beaming with pride and could not hide their joy.

Liu Xiyu excitedly told Lu Jia, "Your steward and two guards are really capable. If it weren't for them, how could we have succeeded so easily? This lawsuit has gone much more smoothly than ever before."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jia nodded.

“However,” Liu Xiyu continued slowly, “this imperial envoy is quite interesting. Even with sufficient evidence, there should be a trial in court, but this imperial envoy trusts us so much that he doesn’t suspect us of framing him. He even spared us the beating because he arrived in time. I feel like he’s showing some favoritism.”

Lu Jia glanced at her: "That's impossible. The Imperial Envoy is very fair! Isn't it precisely because of his keen insight that he could see through Zhou Sheng's villainy at a glance?"

Liu Xiyu neither agreed nor disagreed.

At this moment, Guo Yi's bodyguard approached and said, "Miss Xie, my master would like to ask you a few more questions about some details of the case. Please come in."

Lu Jia glanced at the back door of the courtroom, her spirits lifted, and after nodding to Liu Xiyu, she followed the guards to the back.

There used to be a passageway behind the courtroom, with two chairs and a tea table, facing the courtyard.

Guo Yi could have sat down, but he stood, watching Lu Jia from the moment she entered until she stopped.

He composed himself and said, "The people of Shawan have suffered greatly this time. The government will certainly handle this matter properly, Miss Xie, so there is no need to worry."

Lu Jia smiled and said, "I have already said this before. Thank you for standing up for the people, sir. Please speak frankly, sir."

Guo Yi was embarrassed. This girl! She looks so gentle and soft, why is she so direct from the start?
He cleared his throat and sat down, adopting a dignified posture: "Your two guards have done a great service this time. They seem quite different from the guards of other merchants' households. May I ask where you hired them from and how much salary you were paid?"

Guo Yi knew that this must have been instructed by Shen Qingzhou behind the scenes, but he wanted to know why He Qu and the other two had chosen this little girl in front of them.
He also knew He and Tang well; these two guards from the Grand Commandant's mansion were arrogant and haughty. How much silver would she have to give them to tame them?
Lu Jia said, "Sir, are you perhaps trying to poach my man?"

"What are you saying?" Guo Yi picked up his teacup. "I'm just concerned about the people's situation."

This girl is so meticulous; it turns out she's not a pushover after all.

Lu Jia chuckled twice: "If you don't say anything, sir, then I have something to say."

Guo Yi looked up: "What did you say?"

"Will Zhou Sheng really be executed immediately?"

Guo Yi's gaze froze, and he spread his hands, saying, "Otherwise what?"

Lu Jia sighed: "Although Zhou's official position is small, his influence is considerable. Although his crimes have been uncovered, it must be very difficult for you, sir."

Lu Jia didn't hear what Zhou Sheng said when he tugged at his robe, but judging from Guo Yi's expression, he could guess the gist of it.

Zhou Sheng is ultimately just a henchman; he works for his superiors. Zhou Sheng will definitely bring out his backers to challenge Guo Yi.

Simply put, convicting him is easy, but what's the use of just convicting him without punishing him? He still has the Liu family behind him. The Guo family are upright and honest, but they don't hold real power and can't do much.

If it weren't for the Yan and Liu families protecting him, Zhou Sheng's crimes would have warranted several executions. But he happens to have someone protecting him, making things difficult for Guo Yi.

"Sir, we just wanted to vent our anger. We didn't expect him to actually kill us. You don't need to be so persistent. As long as the government can appease the people and prevent them from suffering such a disaster again, I'll be satisfied for now. You've had a hard time too, so your safety is the most important thing."

Lu Jia hated the Yan family to the core, and Zhou Sheng, such scum, deserved to die, but the Guo family in her previous life had suffered too much.

From the moment Guo Yi decided to take down Zhou Sheng without hesitation, she was certain that Guo's eldest grandson was a good official and hadn't gone astray.

Precisely because they haven't gone astray, and given the Yan family's immense power, they must preserve their strength even more before launching an attack with sufficient confidence.

Moreover, in the previous life, they had worked so hard to overthrow the Yan Party, but six years later, Yan Shu still managed to turn things around. So, some sacrifices now are really unnecessary.

Guo Yi looked at the little girl in surprise.

He fully expected her to grit her teeth and beg him to bring Zhou Sheng to justice, since what Zhou Sheng had done directly caused their losses. He never expected that she would actually think of him.
"You seem to know a lot about officialdom."

“We merchants see a lot of people, so we hear things from others,” Lu Jia shrugged. “I also heard that you, Lord Guo, have a little baby at home!”
"By the way, you've been out for so long, don't you miss the baby?"

Guo Yi: ...

……

When Lu Jia walked out of the yamen, it was still dark, and it looked like it was going to rain.

Liu Xiyu and the others hurriedly helped her onto the donkey cart, still basking in the joy of winning the lawsuit. The journey was filled with laughter and chatter; the wealthy landowners and ordinary people, having joined forces to defeat the corrupt officials, had achieved an unprecedented level of harmony, a rare sight indeed.

Lu Jia peeked out to look for He Qu and the other man, but couldn't find them. However, there was no need to worry about them; what was there to concern about a pair of guards who could move freely within an official residence?
When the group that filed the complaint was halfway there, He Qu and Tang Yu had already arrived at Shawan.

After a night and a morning of hard work, the river had flowed steadily downstream, and merchants and residents throughout the county were cleaning up the docks. Although the Xie family's shops suffered only minor losses, they dared not be careless, as there were precedents of floods causing foundations to swell and collapse a few days later.

Qiu Niang had been busy all morning and was almost done. When she saw Shen Qingzhou return and say that he had won the case, she quickly sent Xie Yi and Li Chang to help the neighbors and shops in the area, while she rushed back to get him some food.

When He Qu and his companion arrived at the Xie family's house, Shen Qingzhou was sitting under the eaves eating fragrant roasted sweet potatoes.

The little yellow dog stood at his feet, wagging its tail from time to time.

"Young master, the matter is settled! Zhou Sheng is in prison!"

The two men bowed respectfully with their hands clasped in greeting.

Shen Qingzhou broke off a small piece of sweet potato and gave it to Xiao Huang: "Where is she?"

"Lord Guo is keeping Miss Xie in the back of the courtroom to talk. She'll be back in a little while."

The sweet potato stopped right in front of the puppy's mouth.

"Behind the courtroom?" Shen Qingzhou looked up. "What are you saying?"

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(End of this chapter)