Chapter 606 - Chapter 606 Chapter 606 Her Encounter
Chapter 606: Chapter 606: Her Encounter Chapter 606: Chapter 606: Her Encounter “Who would have known that just a couple of days later, a thief struck our home,” Shu Yu said, “The thief dug out the ginseng and Father Fang caught him on the spot.
The matter of the Fang Family possessing ginseng thus spread out; everyone came to know about it.
Father Fang wanted to sell it quickly, but someone else was faster. There was a wealthy family in the county town that insisted the ginseng was theirs, demanding not only the return of the ginseng but also falsely accusing the Fang Family of being thieves.
The county magistrate colluded with that wealthy family, coerced Father Fang into a false confession, and the family of three was directly exiled to Righteous Dao Village.
Only after forfeiting all their assets were they given some care on their journey of banishment, sparing them some difficulty, and they arrived in the southwest alive.
But before they left, Father Fang was beaten with planks by the county magistrate. Moreover, due to hastening their journey, his injuries grew severe. Upon arrival in the southwest, he couldn’t even get out of bed and spent most of his time unconscious.
With Father Fang incapacitated, and the family indebted to the authorities, all responsibilities fell on the shoulders of Mother Fang and Xiyue.
Mother Fang was physically weaker, and during the clearing of the land, she couldn’t even do as much as Xiyue.
Nevertheless, the two managed to earn enough food to feed the family of three. Life was tough, but as long as they lived, there was always hope.
However, as misfortune would have it, it rained harder on their already leaking roof; Master Lan took a liking to Xiyue.
Master Lan wanted Xiyue to serve at the music center, attending to nobles and high-ranking officials.
Xiyue refused, and Master Lan, not wishing to stir up more trouble, didn’t force her.
He used the same tactic on her that he did with Shu Yu, hoping that Xiyue would break under the burden of heavy tasks and come to him, volunteering to work at the music center.
But after observing for a couple of days, he realized that Xiyue was quite adept at working the barren lands, not at all bothered by the strenuous tasks.
Annoyed, Master Lan soon found an excuse to change Xiyue’s assignment to a mountain hunting expedition.
Having grown up following her father, Xiyue felt no pressure entering the mountains; in fact, she even preferred it. The only problem was that within the hunting party, she was the only young woman.
This concerned Father Fang and Mother Fang deeply, but what could they do? They were powerless to stop Master Lan’s decision.
So they could only disguise Xiyue as a young man, darkening her face to better protect herself.
The five teams were initially excited to have a young woman among them; they were convicts exiled here too. Although some of them had been implicated unjustly and some were indeed innocent, there were just as many with a criminal past.
How could the men of the five teams not harbor indecent thoughts towards such a blossoming young woman?
But they had been warned by Master Lan in advance, which forced them to hold back their impulses; they could only bring Xiyue along into the mountains with them.