Miss and farmhand

Huang Muyun watched Kobayashi's expression closely. He was genuinely worried about whether the Japanese man would understand. He didn't dare to be too explicit, otherwise it would seem like he was setting a trap for Kobayashi.

Fortunately, Xiaolin's Chinese proficiency was limited to word choice and sentence structure; he didn't understand subtle nuances in tone and intonation. So he didn't notice the oddity, but he received all the information in the sentence.

Huang Muyun noticed his expression growing increasingly grim. When he was nearing his limit, he feigned impatience, waved his hand, and said, "This trip has been a waste of time. I think I'd better go back to the county office and ask when he'll be released. Farewell."

Xiao Lin quickly stood up to stop him, "Brother Huang, please wait. Even if I can't help with something this big, it wouldn't hurt to have someone else to discuss it with."

"Discuss? What's there to discuss? I think it'll be over in the next day or two."

Xiao Lin smiled smugly, a hint of impatience in his eyes, "How could it be so fast? How could the magistrate not investigate such a serious matter as pirates thoroughly?"

Huang Muyun scoffed, "Such a big deal? Brother Lin, this isn't your first time doing business here, is it? At sea, as long as things don't come ashore, it's not a big deal if they don't investigate. Our magistrate isn't new; he knows everything. Of course he knows the Zhou family's situation, but he's just trying to appease them, since he needs their bribes. If they say it's not true, then it's not true; he has to maintain appearances. Since there are witnesses and evidence, forging evidence isn't difficult. Once it's done, the verdict is announced. What else could happen?"

"How can you be so arbitrary? Doesn't the magistrate care about the Huang family's reputation? They're arresting members of your family!"

Huang Muyun sighed and said, "That's exactly what I mean. Of course, the magistrate would consider other matters, but this time it's about money. Can a human life be compared to money? My family doesn't give the magistrate any bribes. Even if a life is involved, he can just apologize and that's it. How can that compare to the real bribes the Zhou family gave?"

"This...this...I don't understand..."

Huang Muyun glanced at Kobayashi and believed that Kobayashi, being a Japanese, wouldn't understand the subtle differences involved, so she deliberately explained them to him in detail.

"Let me put it this way. The person who has dealings with my family is the county magistrate, that official position. Official position is certainly important; it represents status and prestige. But in reality, it's just an empty title, all show and no substance. Do you know how much an official's annual salary is? But the Zhou family's tribute is different. The money the Zhou family gives actually goes into Shen Jingzong's own pocket, without leaving a trace on the official front. The person who has a good relationship with the Zhou family isn't the county magistrate, but Shen Jingzong himself. Do you understand?"

Xiaolin was somewhat bewildered.

Huang Muyun sighed, "Think about it yourself. This is all I can say. If my family doesn't come back this time, it's just bad luck, there's nothing we can do. Whoever takes the blame for the Zhou family afterward, we can just consider them as fellow sufferers."

He was about to leave again when Xiaolin blocked his way.

"Brother Huang, please think of a way. I'm afraid you won't be the only one to suffer this time; I will too."

Huang Muyun raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that? Aren't you on good terms with Zhou Shitai?"

Before Huang Muyun came to his door today, Xiao Lin thought the same thing. Even if the relationship is good, there are differences in closeness and distance. At least he was considered to be in the "distant" category of the good ones, right?

However, he now fully understands that a bad estrangement is better than a good one. Zhou Shitai never bothered to inform him of important news; he only found out when Huang Muyun, the aggrieved party, arrived. He had been hoping Zhou Shitai would pull strings with the government so he could have a legal status and retire smoothly. Zhou Shitai had always agreed and even used this opportunity to introduce him to many people—of course, Zhou Shitai wouldn't pay him; he paid for everything willingly, only to find it was all for nothing! They were all insignificant people! Zhou Shitai, despite having such deep connections with the government, never once introduced him, only wanting to keep him hanging on to save face for himself. Treating him like a sucker was one thing; he could find other ways to get ahead on his own. But now that something had happened, something that had nothing to do with him, Zhou Shitai wanted to use him as a scapegoat! All for a small share of the profits!

He always thought he was shrewd and that his business was quite large. The Han people are just too cunning!

Xiao Lin gritted his teeth. "Brother Huang, you absolutely must find a way, otherwise I'll be the one taking the blame. As long as we can get through this, there's nothing I won't do!"

Huang Muyun sighed inwardly. It was done.

……

That night, no one in the Huang family dared to move. Huang Chu was also somewhat uneasy and asked Huang Muyun if she was really alright.

Huang Muyun thought for a moment and said, "You haven't seen that Kobayashi, the Japanese, he's a bit stubborn. It's one thing to not be able to persuade him, but once you do, he can convince himself. We don't need to worry about that."

Kobayashi certainly wouldn't go himself; he had men under his command, the same Japanese samurai, who would do his work and wouldn't speak a word of Chinese. This was actually quite convenient, since Huang Muyun hadn't rehearsed his story with Shi Tou, and Shi Tou was such a chatterbox; if there had been someone who understood Chinese, they could have easily given themselves away by listening to him ramble on for a bit.

The blueprints of the yamen were drawn by Huang Xingtong long ago and brought to Huang Muyun. Xiao Lin added their own annotations on them according to Huang Muyun's instructions, so that the subordinates could easily refer to them. At the same time, it was also another layer of insurance, as the other writing could help them identify the person who drew the blueprints.

In the dead of night, just before the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), a rattling sound suddenly came from the roof tiles, louder than the usual commotion of stray cats. Then two dark figures tumbled down from the courtyard and landed in front of Huang Muyun's house.

Huang Xingtong, Huang Chu, and Huang Muyun were all waiting here, with the only lamp in the house lit to illuminate the room for their guests.

"Stone!"

Stone was not conscious. As they expected, he was covered in wounds. He tried his best to open his eyes, but they kept rolling back. As far as the eye could see, there were bruises, burns, knife wounds, and whip marks. He was covered in filth, and fleas could even be seen in his hair.

Everyone looked terrible, so much so that they didn't even have time to properly thank the samurai while gathered around the stone. Huang Xingtong clasped his hands in a gesture of thanks, and then stuffed a lot of silver into his hand as a token of gratitude. Huang Muyun also prepared a letter for Xiaolin to take back. The samurai silently took these things, intending to leave immediately, but after a slight pause, he awkwardly mimicked Huang Xingtong's gesture of clasping his hands in return, and then climbed over the roof and left as usual.

All of Shi Tou's external wounds were cleaned by Huang Xingtong and Huang Muyun. They dared not tell any of the servants that Shi Tou had returned, nor did they dare to call a doctor. Fortunately, they still had the medicine that had been used to treat Huang Muyun's whip wounds, both for internal and external use, which could be used at this time.

After they finished preparing food for Shi Tou, Huang Chu prepared some late-night snacks and brought them up, leaving some for Shi Tou and keeping it warm on the charcoal fire in case he woke up in the middle of the night without having the strength.

Huang Chu asked, "Will this really work? If we hide it at home, and Shen Jingzong finds out tomorrow, the first thing he'll do is search our house."

Huang Xingtong said, "Don't worry. Even Shen Jingzong has his concerns. I am, after all, the headmaster of the academy. No matter how much tribute the Zhou family gives him, we can't let him search my house in broad daylight."

The next morning, officials from the yamen arrived.