Miss and farmhand

When they heard that the house had been sealed off, the whole family was not quite sure what was going on until they saw that there were unfamiliar people guarding each of the corner doors, and even wooden beams nailed up to them. Only then did they really panic.

The servants in the kitchen were closest to the side gate, which was also under guard. When someone tried to rush out, the guards took out their weapons and knocked them back. The people inside continued to shout, but no one paid any attention, and the shouts were heard by the neighbors.

The servants of the two families were frequently in and out of contact. Suddenly, one side was trapped, and the news spread to the whole family of the other side in no time.

At this time, Luo Shutao was basically in charge of managing Huang Xingyu's household. Shen Yurui only had a few trusted confidantes from her own family. The others had to watch the master's expression, and even if they feared Shen Yurui herself, they had no say in many matters.

The servants reported to Luo Shutao that the gates over there had been sealed off, and that it was the master who had led the men to seal them off. Luo Shutao was very surprised and sent someone to inquire about the reason. She also went down to the hall to wait for Huang Xingyu.

I thought it would be a long wait, but Huang Xingyu came back very quickly.

"Master, what's wrong? The maids all say the gates over there are sealed off?"

She genuinely cared. Because of Huang Chu, although she knew that given her status, it wasn't appropriate for her to have close contact with either side, and aside from a period of indulgence during her honeymoon, she had obediently stayed at home as a concubine after the storm had passed. But she always heard news from her maids, and she was eager to know if Huang Chu was doing well over there.

Huang Xingyu glanced at her, but he was also impatient to explain in detail. He sat down, picked up his tea, and began to drink. Luo Shutao didn't leave either. She stayed by his side, serving him tea, adding water, and handing him a handkerchief. She didn't ask any questions and was very patient, but she didn't leave either.

Seeing this, Huang Xingyu couldn't really be too perfunctory, so he said, "It has nothing to do with you, you don't need to worry about it. My second brother did something wrong, and now he's handed over to the authorities and is confined to his home, unable to go out, awaiting punishment. Sealing the door is for his own good, to show that he's admitting his mistake. There's nothing else, it's not like they're really going to do anything to him, there's no need to be so nervous. And don't let the servants gossip."

Suppressing the pounding in her heart, Luo Shutao replied, "Okay, I understand."

She desperately wanted to ask Huang Xingtong what he had done wrong, what kind of punishment might follow, and whether his family would be implicated. However, she was already aware of this blatant probing and couldn't ask.

So he thought for a moment and said, "Isn't this very troublesome? There's a whole family over there; can't any of them get out? The servants can't get out either? How will they get food and drink?"

This way, Huang Xingyu wouldn't suspect anything, and the woman would only know how to manage these trivial matters of eating and drinking.

He said, "It's not like we're going to let them starve, so of course we have to take care of them. If they can't get out, we can send them in. Of course, the government won't bother with such trivial matters. If you're willing, you can go and do it. Just remember, you absolutely cannot let anyone out, and you can't smuggle anyone in. The guards at the gate will check. Don't do something good that ends up hurting us."

Luo Shutao hadn't expected to get such a good opportunity in just a few words. Now she was starting to wonder if things were really that serious, otherwise why was Huang Xingyu so indifferent?

Huang Xingyu drank his tea, and she stood beside him, observing him. She had just entered the room, and Huang Xingyu's kindness towards her was typical of a middle-aged man treating a young girl; he didn't necessarily tell her many things from the depths of his heart. She didn't have enough time to observe and explore, so she had no idea what Huang Xingyu was feeling at that moment.

After Huang Xingyu returned to the academy, she immediately instructed her servants to pack several baskets of vegetables and meat and take them over there. She waited nearby, intending to go over with them later so she could check the situation and gather information.

When she stepped out of the back alley corner gate, she saw two men who looked like door gods guarding the next door. Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt that they were sent by the government to guard prisoners. But after calming down and observing them carefully, she found that although the two men were wearing the same uniform, their expressions and figures were rather uncouth, and they were even less proper than the handyman in her own house. She then realized that they must have been hired temporarily.

The Huang residence wasn't too big or too small, and it would take quite a few people to guard it like an iron barrel; the yamen couldn't possibly empty its own resources to guard it. It was common for the yamen to hire help from outside when there was an emergency, and there was a group of people who were mostly related to the yamen runners and made a living that way.

Such people are slightly less talkative than the yamen runners, so Luo Shutao called over a pretty maid to ask her. She stood by the door herself, and the maid pointed in this direction. When the guards looked over, she gave them a curtsy and a smile. She was very polite without saying a word, and it was also a distant temptation. She was just a pretty young concubine, and it wouldn't be a big deal to ask her out of curiosity. This made them lower their guard and be willing to talk.

The details were quickly obtained, and the things Luo Shutao had prepared were delivered. She even gave the guards extra money for drinks, and there was no hindrance whatsoever.

The maidservant came to report to her, and the more she listened, the more alarmed she became. Even she could tell that Huang Xingyu had helped the government plot against her brother, changing his identity as the headmaster. If they'd resorted to such methods, mere confinement wouldn't have been enough; who knew what else might happen?

Luo Shutao only knew the general outline, and the guards didn't know the details either. Besides worrying about Huang Chu, her biggest concern was whether this matter would eventually affect them. The Huang brothers were so closely related, how could the younger brother be in trouble while the older brother was unharmed?

The old saying goes, "When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked." She vaguely felt that Huang Xingyu himself might not be able to see things clearly. Those involved are often blinded by their own interests; whether he was blinded by the title of headmaster or some other benefit she didn't know about, he was becoming an accomplice to the government. Although ordinary people might see the government as stable and infallible, if the government had a legitimate reason, why would it need Huang Xingyu to do such a thing? And what kind of reputation would it bring to imprison one's own brother? No matter what reasons they fabricated to deceive themselves, outsiders, seeing this scene, would say within a day that the elder brother had persecuted his younger brother. Was she supposed to explain herself to them one by one?

Luo Shutao had a strong sense of déjà vu; the government was just using Huang Xingyu and wouldn't care about his life or death afterwards.

This situation was exactly the same as when Shen Yurui initially tricked her into becoming Huang Xingtong's second wife! Both times, she was given many benefits on the surface, with only good intentions and no bad ones, but in reality, she did things that harmed others without benefiting herself. Later, when she got into trouble, Shen Yurui abandoned her immediately and wouldn't care about her. Although Luo Shutao didn't know what trouble the Huang brothers were currently involved in, based on her experience, she was certain that if something really happened later, the government wouldn't protect Huang Xingyu.

Luo Shutao unconsciously bit her nails. She certainly wouldn't dare tell Huang Xingyu these thoughts; he wouldn't listen and would just think she was a timid and overthinking woman.

Of course, she could also pretend she knew nothing, just send the food over on time, and deal with whatever came next later; Huang Xingyu would take care of everything if the sky fell. She had married him, so she should obey her husband's every command without having to think for herself.

But it was still based on Luo Shutao's own experience: if she had simply listened to others and hadn't thought about anything extra for herself, she wouldn't have been able to marry Huang Xingyu; she would have been sent to a nunnery long ago.

So she thought she had to find a way to learn more about the situation and try to contact someone next door, preferably Huang Chu, to ask what had happened.