Miss and farmhand

"Why is Auntie here? Is something wrong with your mother?" Huang Xingtong hurried over.

"Mother is alright. Father, I heard everything."

"They're being outrageous. Don't worry, Dad won't let that happen. Go back quickly. Dad will handle everything here. Don't get involved."

"Yes, young lady," Han's mother said anxiously from behind, pulling hard on Huang Chu's lower back. "What are you worried about with the master here? Come back with me quickly."

Huang Chu broke free.

"When Dad argues with someone, has he ever won? Mom says that when Dad was a Hanlin scholar, he often disagreed with his colleagues and was left speechless with his arguments, only able to sulk by himself."

Huang Xingtong's face flushed, secretly blaming his wife for telling their daughter everything.

"This time it won't be like that," he cleared his throat, "This time it concerns others. Even if it's not for myself, I, as your father, must speak up for my cousin."

"Talk is useless. They no longer care about your aunt's reputation..."

Huang Xingtong sighed.

"Your aunt...you can't blame her entirely."

Huang Chu was taken aback upon hearing this.

"Doesn't Dad think it's Aunt's fault?"

Huang Xingtong didn't know how to tell his daughter about this. If he didn't tell her, he was worried that she would also make the same mistake.

"It's not easy being a woman... She may have done things she shouldn't have, but ultimately, the hope in her mind didn't just spring up out of thin air."

Huang Chu remained silent.

"That's so subtle," she thought. "No wonder Dad always loses arguments."

Dad could see the helplessness of the various shades of gray, and he always thought of recording these grays in one stroke, like painting, so that others could see them clearly and understand the reason.

However, most people only say that it is ink color, and there are only two colors: white Xuan paper and ink-colored brushstrokes. Darker and lighter shades of gray do not exist. By confusing everything and only referring to it as ink color, the logic is simpler and the benefits are clearer.

Huang Xingtong didn't understand this principle.

Huang Chu was also worried. With her father like this, her methods might not work. But this wasn't like before at home, where she had no right to speak up.

Her eyes darkened, she drew two circles on the ground, then slowly raised them again, looking at the man who had been standing to the side.

The man noticed her gaze and looked down at her.

Huang Chu didn't know what she was thinking, but she smiled at the man. The man was stunned.

After a while, Huang Xingtong led the man back to the front hall. They had already finished talking inside and told them to take Luo San to stay at a nearby nunnery until her parents came to pick her up.

Shen Yurui ordered someone to check if Miss Luo had woken up, but Huang Xingtong stopped her, saying, "Wait a minute."

"What else do you have to say, second brother? This has all been discussed."

Huang Xingtong was speechless. He turned around, but his daughter was already gone, and Master Zhao was standing behind him.

Master Zhao recalled that laugh and said, "It couldn't be suppressed."

"What did you say?"

"People from the yamen were seen coming and going from the Huang residence. They might not know what was going on, but they certainly knew it was related to this place. Even if the victim is pushed out, it won't quell the gossip, and it will still involve the academy."

He spoke softly and slowly, the kind of voice a trusted old steward in a large mansion would have, only he was too young and too calm. The people at the yamen assumed he was a disciple of Huang Xingtong or something similar.

"There's no better way," one of the constables said.

Master Zhao started by attracting attention and paved the way for Huang Xingtong, who then followed the conversation and went up to him.

"Yes," Huang Xingtong told the magistrate. "Zhao Dong and my family had a personal feud, which caused quite a stir at the time. Everyone in the neighborhood knew about it, and my family was definitely not immune. The main issue wasn't the conflict between him and my family, but rather the reputation of a young woman involved," he paused, "and the reputation of the academy."

"Since you know—" Shen Yurui interrupted impatiently.

Master Zhao, quick-witted and outspoken, said, "They only said it was Zhao Dong's revenge; most people wouldn't imagine that women would be involved."

Now even the county magistrate is watching him.

"He got drunk and messed things up, got fired by his master, ruined his reputation, and lost his livelihood. Based on his memory of the garden, he tried to sneak back to steal something, since the Huang family owed him anyway. He didn't expect to be caught red-handed and chased after him relentlessly. He couldn't shake them off, so he injured someone and dragged them back to his own home to hide. It was late at night, so no one could see whether it was a man or a woman. We just went to Zhao Dong's residence to look for someone, but there were yamen runners blocking the way outside, so we probably couldn't see the details inside either."

Huang Xingtong continued, "That way, Miss Biao has nothing to do with it, and the academy has nothing to do with it either. It's just that there was a grudge between my family and Zhao Dong before."

A moment of silence.

After a long pause, the magistrate said, "That Zhao Dong..."

Huang Xingtong said, "He will admit it; he knows what's more important."

The magistrate put his hands behind his back, looked up, closed his eyes, and pondered for a while.

"That's good." That was the conclusion.

He laughed and cupped his hands in greeting to Huang Xingtong, "Brother Huang, your idea is brilliant; you've thought of everything."

The county magistrate only cares about appearances. His performance evaluation cannot be problematic. He absolutely cannot afford to lose the most prestigious academy in the area if it falls into disrepair. Everything else is not a consideration.

Now that the academy is safe, he knows how to say some polite words.

"But shouldn't we give this cousin of Brother Huang's family justice?"

Huang Xingtong sighed inwardly, but kept a straight face. "What justice? What does Miss Cousin have to do with this? She just went up the mountain to admire the flowers this morning, lost her footing and fell. She suffered some minor injuries and was frightened, so she needs to rest and recover."

This means that they neither acknowledge nor give others a chance to discuss the innocence of Luo San Guniang, completely denying the possibility that the incident occurred.

Even if those in the know understand that it's just an excuse, there are only a handful of people in this hall who actually know.

What does it matter? Anyway, none of the families present are interested in marrying this cousin.

It won't harm me personally; I'm just doing a favor.

Then he added, "Brother Huang is right. Recently, there have been many family matters to attend to, and there has been no peace in the inner and outer courtyards. Brother Huang, you should take a good rest."

At this moment, a maidservant came out of the side room and walked to Shen Yurui's side to report in a low voice, "Madam, Miss Shen has woken up. Should we pack her things now, Madam?"

Shen Yurui didn't speak, her jaw was taut, and she didn't even glance at the maid. Instead, she looked at Huang Xingtong with a complicated expression.

"...No need. Let your cousin rest well, and get some calming medicine to brew for her."

The maid was taken aback. "Is Miss not leaving?"

"Why are you asking so many questions! Just go when I tell you to!"

"Yes, yes..."

The maid left, and the officials from the yamen also took their leave one by one. They still had Zhao Dong to interrogate, but before leaving the Huang family's house, they had already instructed others to write their confessions.

Huang Xingyu frowned as he looked at his younger brother.

"What you did was wrong. She's been tainted after all. If you cover for her, what will happen in the future? Will she go and harm honest people? I absolutely cannot tolerate this kind of thing, not even if it's a family member! There's no place for her here; she has to go to the temple!"

These words were like a needle pricking Shen Yurui's heart.

Huang Xingtong, in particular, was trying to persuade her: "Brother, you're being too stubborn. Given her situation, you're still sending her away! If you don't want to take her in, then let her stay at my house. In any case, we can't let someone go to the temple like this."

Shen Yurui closed her eyes, a bitter feeling welling up in her heart that she should have long forgotten.

"...Let her stay," she said, her voice slightly hoarse. "It's just a side room; our family isn't that stingy."