The Comeback of the Charming Farmer's Wife

"That’s right, it must have been him who ordered it. Did you see that guard by his side? That’s definitely no ordinary guard. When he grabbed Lord Peng, his speed was terrifying."

"Shut up, all of you!" Peng Lide sat with a dark expression on his face and after a long while, said, "I just don’t get it. We already agreed to send people to help dig the water channels, so why does he still want to take back the silver? ’Reconsidering’—he’s basically plotting to bring us all down. Once he gets new people in, he can dig however he wishes."

"Ah..." Hearing Peng Lide say this, everyone was stunned once again.

"Lord Peng, what should we do now?" asked the Principal Clerk of Fushui.

It was the Archivist of Fushui who, being involved in criminal law and a bit more merciless, gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Peng, they’ve left just two hours ago. If we want to catch up, it should still be possible. Why not pursue them? Once we capture Ye Zi’an, won’t those with him obediently hand over the ledgers? If it really comes to it, we can kill them on the road and shut him up for good!"

"Indeed, and there are the more than thirty thousand taels in banknotes he took with him, which were transferred from the county office’s accounts. If we don’t get that silver back, we’ll have to cover the shortfall ourselves. Missing such a large sum, we’ll definitely have to make it up, otherwise, if discovered during an audit, we’re in no less trouble," said the Principal Clerk of Fushui, who was more concerned with financial matters.

The steward also said, "Lord, compared to the ledger detailing the whereabouts of those thirty thousand taels that Ye Zi’an holds, other issues are indeed slightly more pressing."

As everyone chimed in one after another, along with Peng Lide’s own inclination towards the idea, he slammed his hand down in confirmation, "Exactly, send someone to pursue them. Whether it be the silver or the ledger, we have to get them back. If the ledger has already leaked, then we’ll threaten Ye Zi’an to change his story. We can’t kill him; capture him! If we can’t catch him, then sneak into Mianyang County and snatch his son!"

Thus, the common folk noticed that squad after squad of men on horseback were leaving the Government Office of Fushui, heading out of the city.

"Young Master, do you think Peng Lide will come after us once he realizes his possessions are missing?" Ye Er asked on the road.

"He definitely will. However, even if he catches up to us, he won’t get his hands on those ledgers. As for catching us, that won’t be so easy."

Ye Zi’an naturally anticipated what Peng Lide might do.

However, those ledgers had already been handed over to Ye Liu, who was on his way to the prefecture. Upon arrival, they would be directly delivered to the Prefect. With the affairs of Fushui County being investigated by the Prefect’s appointed men, the entanglement between Mianyang and Fushui County had also been clearly explained to the Prefect. Lord Prefect, a very clever man, would never show undue favor to people like Peng Lide in such matters.

Once Fushui gets a new County Magistrate, his water channel will still be dug as planned.

"Young Master, we are nearly at Mianyang County," said Ye Er.

They raced along the road without stopping for a moment, for they were few in number and truly feared being pursued by the people from Fushui County.

"Mm, keep moving!" said Zi’an.

"Chase them! Keep chasing!" commanded the incoming party, furiously led by Peng Lide himself, who did not fear riding his horse too fast even if it killed him. "You little rascal, daring to plot against me!"

"Yes, sir!"

Just like the others, the group did not stop and continued the pursuit.

Finally, when Ye Zi’an and his party were nearly at Stone Village, the people from Fushui County caught up to them.

"Ye Zi’an, let’s see where you can run now!"

Ye Zi’an looked at the people surrounding them; there must have been seventy or eighty men, and his party numbered only thirteen.