After the sound of the board stopped, Lu Baiian collapsed like a pile of mud, lying motionless on the long bench.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Yueming saw Xiu Wen, who was struggling to hold on to his spirits, calling out pitifully, "Yueming..."
At that moment, Xiu Wen let go of Lu Yueming's hand and stepped back behind her.
Looking at her once imposing father now reduced to a paralyzed prisoner, Lu Yueming felt some sadness, but more satisfaction.
Thinking about what he had done to her and her mother, Lu Yueming drew out the soft sword at her waist, a cold light flashed, and she cut off half of her own hair.
"If you fail to educate your children, you are not worthy of being a father.
If you fail to cherish your wife, you are not worthy of being a husband.
To kill your wife and harm your daughter, it is intolerable by heaven. Today, the bond between us father and daughter is severed like this, cutting ties with one stroke."
"Yueming, listen to me and let me explain!... I just wanted to continue the Lu family line, is that wrong?"
"Yueming, send some silver to Chen the county magistrate, let him be lenient, send your mother's maid to the prison for me, she has a big butt, good for bearing children, she will definitely leave a descendant for our old Lu family!
By then, you will have a younger brother to support you. If you are mistreated in your husband's family in the future, you will understand my painstaking efforts, and you will understand why I am so determined to leave a male heir for our family...."
Lu Yueming listened to him coldly, her voice so dark it was almost dripping water, "You have done so many despicable things, and you still want a male heir? If the heavens had not allowed the Lu family to be cut off, the ancestral grave would be emitting green smoke."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the figure in white behind her, and she added, "Rest assured, Lu family. Not only will this generation have no male heirs, the next generation will not have any either.
You, will end the family line!"
"Unfilial daughter!" Defiant once again, Lu Baiian started to speak, "You xxxx..."
The official casually picked up a piece of cloth from the corner of the wall, stuffed it into his mouth, and dragged him towards the prison.
Watching his retreating figure, Yan Qinghe raised his fist, "He is truly despicable."
"No man is a good thing," Lu Yueming added coldly.
...
Yan Qinghe: ...I'm just a seventeen-year-old boy.
Xiu Wen: ...Well, I'm not a man anyway, I'm a eunuch.
At this moment, the fiery red sunset in the sky stealthily hid away, nestled into the embrace of the mountains. In the dark blue dusk, the small wooden table from the gambling house was moved outside the county yamen.
The commoners who had bet on Lu Yueming's victory were exchanging their gambling chips for silver, and Qi Huan also joined the line.
The stakes were too low, so there wasn't much to win. In the end, she took back only ten taels of silver.
Stuffing the silver into her purse, Qi Huan turned around and saw Dong Geqiu with a mournful face, staring dumbly at his empty hands.
Qi Huan shook her head and ignored him.
Such people are beyond help.
As she walked back to her original spot with her purse in hand, she did not see Li Shuchen.
"Where's Shu?"
Yan Qinghe replied, "He said he had something to do and asked us to wait for him here."
Upon hearing this, Qi Huan obediently said, "Oh," and squatted down with Yan Qinghe in front of the stone lion at the county yamen, nibbling on the leftover fried peanuts.
"A Huan, do you think Miss Lu is strange? Clearly, my martial arts skills are better, but she insisted on having Xiu Wen escort her back to the inn. Does she look down on me? Am I not as fast as Xiu Wen? Or am I not as familiar with the road as Xiu Wen?"
Swallowing the crushed peanuts in his mouth, Qi Huan patted his shoulder with a serious tone, "Young man, wait until I give you a book on emotional intelligence in the future."
Yan Qinghe stared at him with clear and bright eyes, full of question marks.
Why is what A Huan said so hard to understand?... Women truly are a complicated species.
As the sky completely darkened, Li Shuchen had not returned yet. Qi Huan couldn't help but stand up, stretch her arms and legs, and look eagerly at the county government gate.
Suddenly, her shoulder was lightly tapped, and she turned around to see Li Shuchen standing behind her.
"Shu, where did you go?"
"Visited an old friend."
"Do you have old friends at the county government?"
"Yes, he just recognized me."
A while later, when Li Shuchen sneaked into the prison, Lu Baiian was cursing at the rats on the straw pile in front of him.
Lu Baiian: You xxx...
Rat: Squeak squeak!
By the wall, Li Shuchen had just pulled out a dagger when he remembered that Qi Huan didn't seem to like the smell of blood. It wouldn't be good if blood splattered on her robe.
He thought for a moment, took out the small medicine pouch given to him by Yan Jiu, used the stolen key to open the cell door, flashed to Lu Baiian's side, pinched his cheeks, threw the medicine into his mouth, lifted his chin, and the medicine went into his stomach.
"Who's despicable?"
"You!" Lu Baiian recognized the dagger at Li Shuchen's waist, about to curse loudly, but found that he couldn't speak, only able to say, "Ah, ah, ah..."
Seeing this, Li Shuchen wiped his hands with a handkerchief satisfactorily, and left before the jailer woke up.
When he returned to Qi Huan's side, the moon was rising above the willow branches.
The two walked hand in hand on the way back home, followed by Yan Qinghe and Blackie.
Yan Qinghe looked at his dry palms: Why isn't anyone holding hands with me? Are my fingers not long enough? Or is my skin not fair enough?
"Woof woof!"
Hearing Blackie's bark, he snapped out of it, looked at the dog beside him, and suggested, "Want to see who can run faster?"
With that, Blackie dashed out first with agile limbs.
Yan Qinghe gritted his teeth, "You're really a dog! You dare to race!"
Hearing the commotion, Qi Huan hadn't reacted yet when she saw a man and a dog rushing out one after the other from behind her, disappearing like arrows.
Qi Huan's eyes curved, and she laughed.
Moonlight fell on her cheeks, casting a soft and radiant halo. The gentle breeze gently blew, lifting her fine hair by her ears, tickling her face.
The chirping of insects was continuous, and in the distance, there were scattered figures in the fields still crouching to weed.
They were all farmers facing the yellow earth, diligently tending to the land beneath their feet, yet they remained sallow and thin, with worn-out clothes.
Qi Huan's good mood slightly froze, recalling a poem she had learned before: There are no idle fields in the four seas, and farmers still starve to death.
Especially in this far northern land, the planting season is only once a year. Every year's harvest, in addition to paying grain taxes, must also give the landlord most of it, leaving only a small amount to barely make ends meet for the whole family.
If one has some skills, it's better, as they can do some work during the farming off-season to earn some silver for household necessities like salt and clothes.
However, most are just farmers who only know how to cultivate the land, occasionally do odd jobs, chop wood to sell, barely making a living.
Qi Huan sighed, looked up at the sky, gazing at the brightest North Star, and earnestly said, "Shu, I have a wish for you."
"Okay."
"In the future, become a good emperor, so that everyone can eat their fill and dress warmly."
Li Shuchen looked at her, solemnly promising, "Alright."
Finally, he added, "And also be a good husband."
"..."
Used to his occasional sweet words, Qi Huan could now smile at him without blushing or skipping a beat.
"Shu, it will be a long time before you ascend the throne. Why don't we talk about something practical, like: how can we help increase their production and have more surplus food now?"
Li Shuchen thought about the scout's report, saying that his father, the emperor, was still in good health and wouldn't die within the next five years.
So, he nodded lightly.
Even though he was of lowly status, he couldn't forget about the country's worries. Even as a commoner now, he had to do his best to do something for the people around him.
Every commoner is like a grain of sand in the dynasty, only when they gather together can they build a towering palace.
Protecting them is protecting the world.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so let's start with Moxian County.
