The Comeback of the Charming Farmer's Wife

"Fancy Red Pavilion, Fancy Red Pavilion."

"Xiaxia, if you can’t figure it out, just stop thinking about it for now. The truth will emerge sooner or later," Ye Zi’an said, handing a cup of tea to Yang Chuxia.

Yang Chuxia was still pondering the problem when Ye Zi’an had already started discussing the matter of Peng Lide with Ye Yi.

"We received news that five days ago, the County Magistrate of Fushui and his people were all arrested. The evidence of corruption and bribery was irrefutable, and they have been stripped of their official positions."

"Mmm, since the people have been arrested, the affairs of Fushui County should be supervised by the prefecture," Ye Zi’an said. "Once my injuries are fully healed in a few days, I’ll personally go to the prefecture, speak with the Prefect, and offer silver for the people of Fushui ourselves. The prefecture just needs to send someone to oversee it."

However, what Ye Zi’an had not anticipated was that before he could go to the prefecture, the officials from there sent a message first.

It was an order personally written by the Lord Prefect.

To Ye Zi’an’s surprise, it instructed him to oversee Fushui County, to serve as the County Magistrate for Fushui while also holding the same position in Mianyang, the reason being that there were no suitable candidates available at present.

It stated that they must wait until the spring examinations next year before they could find someone to fill the County Magistrate’s position in Fushui.

It also mentioned that this matter would be reported to the imperial court, which would surely approve, and asked him to begin handling Fushui’s public affairs in the meantime.

"Managing two counties yourself, won’t you be constantly running between them?" Yang Chuxia expressed her dissatisfaction with the Lord Prefect’s order.

Especially since the last time Ye Zi’an traveled between the two counties, he ended up injured. If this continued back and forth, wouldn’t it give those with malevolent intent a chance?

"In that case, I’m afraid I will have to spend half the month in Mianyang and the other half in Fushui," Ye Zi’an shook his head. "I hadn’t expected the Lord Prefect to pull such a move. However, it’s also good in a way; if I manage Fushui, it will be much easier to deal with the canal works. Once the order reaches Fushui in a couple of days, we can start distributing the silver to the populace. This matter cannot be delayed any longer."

Three days later, a delegation from the prefecture arrived in Fushui. The governmental office of Fushui was emptier than ever as all officials, being corrupt and in collusion, had been removed—for with Peng Lide as the County Magistrate, those not in collusion simply could not survive there.

The people were not reluctant about the change in magistrates; in fact, they were quite pleased. After all, since Peng Lide took office, the taxes they paid were higher than before. The people were not all fools; they would inquire about the proper tax amounts, so their indifference towards the downfall of an official who exploited them was, in fact, a form of kindness.

Seeing the situation as favorable, Ye Zi’an took the opportunity to mention the canal land acquisition and distributed the silver, a matter which had already been discussed and known among the populace. Their previous unrest was simply due to not having received the silver. But now, receiving thrice the subsidy, they had no cause for further unrest.

Thus, the canal digging project, which had been halted for a few days, could now continue normally.

However, continuous rainfall in June delayed the work until it finally began anew in July.

One day, as Yang Chuxia returned from an outing and happened to pass by the Fancy Red Pavilion, she saw the sparkling sign and felt something stir in her mind.

"What are you thinking about, madam?" Today, only Mingcui accompanied her, as Ming Liu had been married off a few days ago and was still on leave.

"I’m thinking about the Fancy Red Pavilion." How did it suddenly appear? It seemed to have come out of nowhere; she had never heard a whisper of it before.