Farmer girl swaps husbands: buys a sickly villain and pampers him

Chapter 221 Missing
When Zhong Lanhua's body was pulled from the lake, Zhang Zhaodi went to see it, and when she came back, she vomited profusely.

Zhong Lanhua died in a manner similar to that of her son. Everyone was saying that she had gone mad and, in a moment of despair, followed her son in death.

When Jiang Yihui died, Zhong Lanhua had a bout of mental illness. Although she gradually recovered, her mental state remained unstable, with relapses occurring from time to time. Now, her sudden relapse and her following her son is within the realm of what most people can understand.

The authorities investigated and concluded that the person drowned, with no possibility of homicide.

Jiang Yihuan has disappeared.

The officials wanted to question her, but couldn't find her. Her lovers also said they hadn't seen her for several days.

Xiao Yan resigned from the house and left the county town with Wen Shi.

With the results announcement date fast approaching, it's normal for Xiao Yanci to head to the provincial capital ahead of time.

Su Yaoguang stepped down from the carriage and bid farewell to Cui Rong inside. She was about to return to Taoyaofang when she saw Zhou Wangshu and Feng Chaoyang talking in a corner.

She walked towards Zhou Wangshu's direction.

Feng Chaoyang saw Su Yaoguang and greeted her with a smile: "Sister Yaoguang."

"What are you talking about?"

She seemed to see Feng Chaoyang make a throat-slitting gesture, his eyes fierce and dangerous, a stark contrast to his current cheerful demeanor.

Feng Chaoyang said, "Brother Zhou said he was going to the provincial capital to check the results. I told him that there has been a new group of bandits on the road recently, and they kill people without hesitation. I suggested that he hire a security escort agency to be safer."

"I see." Su Yaoguang was a little worried about Zhou Wangshu going to the provincial capital alone after hearing Feng Chaoyang's explanation. "It just so happens that the big orders I signed last time are due for delivery. I'll have them speed things up and get the goods out as soon as possible. I'll also hire a security escort agency to take us to the provincial capital."

They have plenty of money now, so they'll spend it where necessary, prioritizing safety above all else.

Zhou Wangshu winked at Feng Chaoyang.

Feng Chaoyang understood, said goodbye to Su Yaoguang, and turned to leave.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't send me to the provincial capital?"

"How was I supposed to know things would be so chaotic outside? Since we still need to deliver the goods anyway, we might as well bring this forward. That way, we can kill two birds with one stone," Su Yaoguang said. "Wait for me for five more days, and we'll set off in five days. By the way, what did Zhong Chushan and Chen Buyu say? Are they going to check the list?"

“Since we’ve taken the exam, of course we should go see the results,” Zhou Wangshu said. “We’ll go together then.”

"Row."

Zhou Wangshu soaked in the bathtub, thinking about what Feng Chaoyang had said.

Their people told Zhong Lanhua the 'truth' about Jiang Yihui's death. Knowing Zhong Lanhua's personality, she would definitely go to Xiao Yanci. Now that Zhong Lanhua is dead, Jiang Yihuan is missing, and Xiao Yanci left the county town ahead of schedule, these events are clearly connected. While the others didn't know what was going on, he had a rough idea.

Zhong Lanhua's death was likely related to Xiao Yanci.

She still harbored resentment over her son's death, and now that he was no longer her son-in-law, she didn't need to be polite when dealing with him.

Now that someone has provided her with evidence suggesting doubts about her son's death, regardless of whether the evidence is sufficient or not, she will definitely go to Xiao Yanci for questioning.

"Is Xiao Yanci too clever, or are my men's tracking skills inadequate? I already had them keeping an eye on him, yet he still managed to escape." Zhou Wangshu fiddled with the water in the bathtub. "Never mind, it's better that he's gone. At least she won't be in danger anymore." That Xiao Yanci can't be allowed to live.

Once we leave this county, it won't be so easy to deal with him again.

Laughter drifted in from outside, the loudest coming from Su Yaoguang and Zhang Zhaodi. This mother and daughter were truly mother and daughter; they shared many similarities.

Zhou Wangshu got out of the bathtub, changed his clothes, and went outside. He stopped a passing waiter and asked, "What's going on in the front yard? Why is it so lively?"

"Boss Chun'e is back," the waiter said. "The boss is very happy and says we're going to Jiang's Restaurant for a big meal today."

Zhou Wangshu understood.

He had even sent out Mingye Hall's best assassins to keep an eye on Chun'e. If that still didn't work, then Mingye Hall might as well give up.

"Wangshu, Sister Chun'e is back." Su Yaoguang waved and smiled when she saw Zhou Wangshu. "Why didn't you dry your hair after washing it?"

Zhou Wangshu looked at the jewel-encrusted Chun'e and said, "It seems everything is going smoothly. Did Boss Chun'e become rich overnight?"

"I followed Yao Guang's advice and first had that scoundrel transfer all his assets to my name. Once everything was settled, I went to the authorities to report the case and handed over all the evidence. Given his past crimes, the authorities will sentence him to death, and he can be executed in the autumn. As for that woman, she begged me to let her and her child stay, but I'm not running a charity, so of course I can't. I've suffered so much injustice over the years, while she's living the high life with him. Why should she expect me to be the scapegoat now? She says the child is innocent, but am I not innocent too?"

“You did the right thing. Sometimes you can’t be too kind. Being too kind will make you someone’s prey,” Su Yaoguang said. “If you meet someone you like in the future, you can still hire him to be your live-in husband.”

“That’s true. You have experience in this area, so it’s always good to listen to you.” Chun’e winked at Zhou Wangshu.

Zhou Wangshu said, "I'll arrange things at the escort agency. Once that's all arranged, can we head to the provincial capital?"

"I've been busy monitoring the goods these past few days and haven't had time to go to the escort agency. If you have some free time, I'll leave this matter to you."

Are you going to the provincial capital again?

"The results of the provincial examination are about to be released; we need to go and see them."

"Wangshu, are you fifteen this year?" Chun'e looked at Zhou Wangshu. "You should be soon, right?"

Zhou Wangshu: "...Two more months."

He glanced at Su Yaoguang.

Su Yaoguang coughed lightly, changing the subject.

A few days later, Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu followed the escort agency to the provincial capital.

This time, a considerable amount of goods were transported, so resources were not wasted.

Zhong Chushan and Chen Buyu originally didn't want to go to the provincial capital to see the results of the provincial examination. In their view, they were already lucky to have passed the county-level examination by virtue of Zhou Wangshu's good fortune, and they never expected to become a provincial-level scholar. If they passed the examination so easily with their limited knowledge, everyone would probably think that becoming a provincial-level scholar was an easy thing.

However, Mr. Zhong and Mr. Chen insisted that they follow Zhou Wangshu, and even said that they would hand them over to Zhou Wangshu in the future and let them follow Zhou Wangshu.

As for the family's gambling den and dance hall, they shouldn't even think about inheriting them. If they don't pass the imperial examinations and become officials, they'll become beggars. They'd rather hand over their businesses to outsiders than let them manage them.

This is clearly a way of leaving them no way out, forcing them to wholeheartedly follow Zhou Wangshu down the path of officialdom.