Miss and farmhand

That's a ridiculous question. They're about to call in the officials to arrest someone, and she's still concerned about Hua Liang.

Both men were stunned by her question.

"No rush," Huang Xingtong said hesitantly. "Father will find more people this afternoon. There aren't many left anyway, so filling the gap will be quick."

"What gap are you filling? The person is still at home." Huang Chu hid her hands in her sleeves, twisting her fingers like a little girl being unreasonable, but she knew that she was panicking inside.

Such matters are absolutely not for a daughter to interfere in. The fact that she can still sit here is thanks to her father's doting on her and his complete trust in her. Zhu Xiaoxu is not an outsider; he treats her like a close brother, which is why he allows her to listen to some of the men's discussions.

Listening is a tacit understanding of acceptance.

But interrupting or offering opinions is a completely different matter.

This is similar to how Mother, Aunt, and Luo San shouldn't have told Father about those things; the two sides are clearly separated, and neither can interfere with the other.

My mother's affairs dragged my father into it, but it was ultimately like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It was a waste of a man's talents to manage the trivialities of women. Even the old women didn't complain; on the contrary, they felt relieved that someone was upholding justice. At most, if other men overheard, they would laugh at my father for always getting involved with women and saying how boring he was.

But Huang Chu's actions, in a more strictly disciplined family, would be considered a gross overstepping of boundaries. Han's mother, her face filled with terror, tried to pull her away to shut up, but in the atmosphere of her father and Zhu Xiaoxu discussing "official business," she didn't dare move an inch.

But Huang Chu had no choice. She couldn't forget how a single word or action of hers had saved her mother's life.

The man might not need her to save him.

He must have gone through all of this. In his past life, he had a similarly wicked master who bullied and beat him. He endured it, learned his skills, left the master, started his own business, made money, and became wealthy.

Even if Huang Chu doesn't intervene, all of this will pass, and he will pull through.

But Huang Chu couldn't do it.

She felt that if she watched him suffer like that again, she would be no different from Master Zhao.

She was perhaps even worse than Master Zhao. Master Zhao beat the man so badly, yet he survived. Huang Chu truly was the one who ultimately caused his death.

So even if it wasn't for the man, Huang Chu thought she should do it for herself, for her own conscience. Even if it crossed the line, she should try to help him and say a word for him so that they could say they were even and would have nothing to do with each other in the future.

Huang Xingtong seemed not to understand her meaning, thinking that Huang Chu was referring to Master Zhao.

Zhu Xiaoxu reacted even faster because he was already on guard.

He told Huang Chu, half-warningly, "After something like this, the authorities will definitely take them away for questioning. We can't obstruct the officials from carrying out their duties."

Huang Chu wasn't afraid of him. "What is it?"

Zhu Xiaoxu was second only to Huang Xingtong in academic achievement in the entire academy, and he was a reliable and steady person. Yet now he was raising his voice at Huang Chu, a woman.

"You're still young, Auntie. There are many things you don't understand the implications of, so don't assume things. Their scandalous affair has nothing to do with our family. We've already done more than enough by reporting it to the authorities. No matter how pitiful his injuries are, the authorities will decide. You're a woman, and you're soft-hearted, but a respectable family like ours doesn't get involved in such low-class private matters."

Huang Chu blinked, pretending not to understand.

"What scandalous affair between master and disciple? I don't understand what you're saying, senior brother. All I know is that a thief broke into our house and we were caught red-handed. The thief got angry and started fighting with the thief. Handing the thief over to the authorities is fine, but what does it have to do with anyone else? Are you suggesting that the thief catches the wrong person? If that happens, who will want to do good deeds in the future? Everyone might as well become a thief."

Zhu Xiaoxu was speechless.

Huang Chu deliberately used the willful and unreasonable tone of a little girl, as if she was impatient to listen to the adults' excuses. She insisted that the flowers bloom in autumn and bear fruit in winter, and if she said it was okay, then it was okay.

Finally, she turned to her father and asked, "Am I wrong? This is such a simple matter, why is it so scary and complicated as you and my senior brother made it out to be? I'm still waiting for the garden to be repaired so I can take Mother for a stroll. If we do it the way you say, who knows how long it will drag on. I don't care about any shameful matters, nothing is more important than taking Mother to the garden."

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Zhu Xiaoxu understood Huang Chu's meaning, and even knew that she was talking about a feasible solution to the problem.

But he didn't want to think about the possibility Huang Chu mentioned; he just found it incomprehensible and was angry.

His plan was that even if the matter went to court, it would only amount to the master beating his apprentice being seen by the master, who would then kick him out for bad luck. What could the authorities do? They would mediate for the sake of the apprentice's injuries, force the master to hire a doctor for him, and make sure the beating didn't result in death. That would be the end of it. He never thought that the apprentice being beaten by his master was a big deal; there was no such crime under the law. On the contrary, he felt that it was the apprentice's fault for not helping his master cover up his alcoholism.

But Huang Chu's method directly extricated the apprentice from the situation, leaving the master alone. To exaggerate a bit, wouldn't that be considered a form of betrayal and treason? He was willing to do this to protect that person.

Is this matter worth his junior sister's elaborate efforts? And is that person worth his junior sister's careful protection?

Suddenly, Huang Xingtong burst out laughing.

"What Mother says is true. It's Father and your senior brother who are too attached to this. Catching a thief is certainly a good thing. We can't let good people feel guilty."

He then gave the order to have officials summoned on charges of theft and to take Master Zhao away directly.

The officials were all surprised when they arrived.

"Just one bottle of wine?"

Huang Xingtong had served as an official in Beijing. After returning to his hometown to run a school, he was respected by everyone, not only the county magistrate but also the local government. He had an excellent reputation and didn't seem like the kind of person who would ruin his life for a bottle of wine.

Those servants who knew the inside story automatically kept their mouths shut.

The steward shook his head. "Drinking and causing trouble is no small matter. What kind of family do we live in? The master hates this kind of behavior the most."

"But that's not necessary..."

The liquor itself isn't worth much; for a case below the level of a commoner, there's no need for imprisonment. They'll just give him a beating and throw him out. The bigger impact will be on his future livelihood. There are only so many people in the county town; they're all neighbors. Everyone knows that if Master Zhao is taken away like this, he really won't be able to continue in this line of work.

The official was about to plead for leniency, but the officer in charge closed his eyes and said, "Then you should answer the question yourself when you see the sir. I dare not risk offending him."

Huang Xingtong himself was more reasonable than his supervisor, and even served the official a cup of tea.

"Thank you for your help."

No one knows what Huang Xingtong said to the officials, but in the end, when they took Master Zhao away, Master Zhao wanted to shout a few more words, but the officials just gagged him and took him away.

When Zhu Xiaoxu went over, Huang Xingtong was standing under the covered walkway with his hands behind his back. He hadn't taken the shelves or anything like that with him; they were still there. It seemed that the owner had just overslept during his afternoon nap and would have to rush back to continue working soon.

Huang Xingtong looked up at the unfinished white birds and pink flowers painted on the beam.

"Look what this is." He heard footsteps but didn't turn around.

Zhu Xiaoxu had a lot to say, but he had to swallow it all because of this interruption. He listened to his teacher and looked up at the beam.

"...Hibiscus and egret? Few painters depict this. Is it a secret design?"

Huang Xingtong reached out and pointed to the shelf. Master Zhao's diagrams hadn't been taken with him; they were left there.

Zhu Xiaoxu flipped through the pages, but there were no pictures of egrets and hibiscus.

"Look at the colors and patterns on this hibiscus."

"How can you apply so many layers of paint?"

"In the previous dynasty, there were a few masters who liked to paint flowers like this to please the emperor. I have seen quite a few of them in the capital."

Zhu Xiaoxu remained silent.

Huang Xingtong didn't think too much about it, and still looked up to examine it carefully, shaking his head with satisfaction.

"Yi Niang has a good eye; this is not a flaw that can be easily remedied. I'm afraid that even if I tried to do it myself, I could only manage to get it seven or eight parts similar at most."

"Sir, do you think it's possible to encounter some extraordinary opportunity and receive guidance from a renowned teacher..."

"I don't know. Let's talk about it when he's better."

They were also a master and apprentice, and their idle chatter here was about a talented but overlooked craftsman, while Master Zhao was no longer on their radar.

After Mr. Zhao was taken away, the man was moved back to their previous room. The doctor came to see him, applied medicine, gave him some water, and he rested quietly by himself. No one dared to go near him; everyone was wary of him.

Huang Chu originally came here like a thief, but found that he didn't need to, as there were hardly any people along the way.

She knocked on the door, but there was no response.

She pushed open the door and went in, not to say anything to the man, but because she brought a bunch of medicines, both internal and external, and placed them on the table opposite the bed.

Even men can't withstand much turmoil, so it's good that he's asleep.

But when she turned around, she saw the man lying on the bed, his back exposed, his wounds showing, his eyes looking at her with a calm and indifferent expression.