Liu Lizheng looked around, then, carrying his luggage, said, “I’ll take the luggage inside first.”

This made room for the couple to chat.

After Liu Lizheng left, Zhou Yu stood by the carriage and whispered, “I saw the xiànlìng.”

Yang Xi was puzzled; wasn’t seeing the xiànlìng normal?

Zhou Yu’s tone was languid, “We not only know the magistrate, but we’re also very familiar with each other!”

Yang Xi, “!!”

Third Yang suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide. He knew all too well why the Zhou family had gone south incognito!

Seeing his wife’s nervousness, Zhou Yu grasped her hand. “Do you remember Uncle Zhong’s eldest son?”

Yang Xi reacted for a moment. “I remember. Uncle Zhong refused to compromise his principles and was utterly disillusioned with the court and officialdom. He resigned in anger and returned to his ancestral home. You mean Uncle Zhong’s eldest son is the xiànlìng?”

Zhou Yu nodded. “Uncle Zhong’s ancestral home is Quanzhou. Ruizhou isn’t far from Quanzhou. Brother Zhong is the xiànlìng of Xiang County.”

Yang Xi said, “That’s not right. I remember Brother Zhong was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the previous year. Father secretly wanted to help him plan things, but Brother Zhong refused. I remember his official position was a seventh-rank tuīguān in Huaizhou Prefecture. How did he become the xiànlìng of Xiang County in Ruizhou?”

Zhou Yu had a guess in his mind. “Uncle Zhong must have pulled some strings. Even if Uncle Zhong resigned, he still has some connections he can use.”

Yang Xi thought that the Zhou family also had some connections, but unfortunately, they didn’t trust anyone now.

Third Yang didn’t care about the Zhong family. He only cared about, “Jiefu, should we leave Ruizhou?”

He was afraid that his jiefu’s family would be sold off, leaving them nowhere to run.

Zhou Yu thought life was full of surprises. He avoided Quanzhou to avoid the Zhong family, but things didn’t go as planned, and he ended up in Brother Zhong’s territory. “No need to leave.”

The Zhong family was still trustworthy. Uncle Zhong and his father pretended to be at odds, but they had a lot of private contact. Although they didn’t exchange gifts at the end of the year and only wrote to each other once a year, his father and Uncle Zhong trusted each other the most.

Before his death, his father didn’t mention Uncle Zhong and told them to return to their ancestral home, also because he was afraid that the Xu family would discover the Zhong family and bring disaster to them. So when he went south, he never considered seeking refuge with Uncle Zhong.

Back then, Uncle Zhong advised his father to resign from his official post and leave the capital as soon as possible, but his father had too many concerns. Uncle Zhong’s early resignation actually brought him peace.

Third Yang coughed twice, and Zhou Yu and his wife looked up and saw Brother Zhong walking towards the carriage alone, without any servants or yamen runners.

Yang Xi noticed the xiànchéng and the other officials watching in their direction, so she withdrew her gaze and looked back at Big Brother Zhong. Today was the inspection and registration of the corvée laborers, and Big Brother Zhong was dressed in the official robes of a xiànlìng. He looked quite dignified, and his appearance overlapped with the image she remembered. After so many years apart, he had hardly changed at all.

Zhong Jin was about to speak when he noticed the presence of outsiders and swallowed his words.

Third Yang jumped off the carriage. “Sister, jiefu, I’m going for a walk.”

Yang Xi said, “Don’t go too far.”

Third Yang waved his hand. “Okay.”

Zhong Jin reacted for a moment. “Zhanpeng seems to have changed?”

Yang Xi shook her head, her tone low. “No, his name is Yang Xixuan, the younger brother we adopted when we came south.”

Zhong Jin was a perceptive person and didn’t continue to ask about Yang Zhanpeng. “It wasn’t easy to talk when there were so many people. Now it’s just the three of us. What happened in the capital? Why did you come south to Ruizhou? And why did you change your names?”

He had been incredibly surprised earlier. He had just asked how many scholars had come to settle accounts this year, and Zhou Yu had come to register them. When he heard the name, he almost lost his composure.

The Zhou couple looked sorrowful. Zhou Yu spoke, “My father was framed by the Xu family. He died so that we could escape from the capital.”

Zhong Jin had some guesses, but when he heard it with his own ears, his pupils contracted. “How could that be? Uncle Zhou is a man of great cunning. How could he fall into the Xu family’s trap?”

Zhou Yu’s tone was heavy with grief. “That old scoundrel Xu Chen gained power, and my father had been an eyesore to many people over the years. The incident happened so suddenly that my father could only protect us by sacrificing his life.”

Zhong Jin cursed the corrupt court and the treacherous officials in his heart. “Now that you’ve escaped, your uncle can finally rest in peace. Why didn’t you write to us after leaving the capital?”

Zhou Yu explained in a low voice, “The incident happened suddenly. Father told us to return to our ancestral home. He didn’t want to implicate Uncle Zhong, and we didn’t dare to contact anyone. In the end, we devised a plan to obtain fake household registrations and settle down in the south. We never expected to run into my elder brother.”

In just one sentence, he revealed too much information.

Zhong Jin’s eyes reddened. Uncle Zhou, on his deathbed, feared implicating the Zhong family. He thought to himself, ” It’s good that Zhou’s younger brother didn’t return to our ancestral home. It’s good that he’s safe. It’s good that he’s safe.”

Zhou Yu asked, “Brother Zhong, how did you become the xiànlìng of Xiang County?”

Zhong Jin explained, “My father felt the world was in bad shape. He didn’t want me to be too far from home, so he used his connections to become the magistrate of Xiang County. If it weren’t for the rule against being an official in one’s registered residence, my father would have loved to have me appointed right under his nose.”

Seeing everyone looking at them, Zhou Yu whispered. “Now is not the time to chat. Shall we talk again when we have some free time?”

Zhong Jin nodded. “Come on, I’ll find you a different job.”

Zhou Yu quickly said, “Brother Zhong, my job is already pretty good. I don’t want to attract too much attention.”

Zhong Jin felt sorry for Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). Seeing Zhou Yu dressed appropriately and traveling in a carriage, Zhong Jin… Feeling much relieved, Zhou Yu said to his wife, “I’ll listen to you.”

He carried his luggage, avoiding Zhong’s help, and said, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be home soon. Take care of yourself.”

Yang Xi nodded, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself.”

After watching Zhou Yu leave, Third Yang returned shortly after. “Sister, is the Zhong family really reliable?”

Yang Xi’s memory was somewhat distant, but she trusted the Zhong family. “The Zhong family is reliable.”

Third Yang moved his lips; his jiefu was such a shrewd person, he certainly wouldn’t misjudge them. “That’s good.”

Liu Lizheng also returned, not in a hurry to leave, but instead approached the carriage. “Is your family acquainted with the xiànlìng?”

He wasn’t blind; the xiànlìng treated Mr. Zhou like a younger brother, and the two spoke casually, clearly indicating a close relationship. He was quite pleased with himself; his judgment was indeed excellent.

Yang Xi didn’t hide anything; hiding it would seem shameful, so it was better to be open and honest to reduce suspicion. “Our fathers had a good relationship.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Lizheng was satisfied that the Zhou family had a good background and didn’t press further. “It’s getting late, Madam Yang, shall we go back to town?”

Yang Xi, thinking of her family, agreed.

The carriage turned around. The road was full of people queuing up for their corvée labor, so the carriage didn’t travel fast, only picking up speed after half an hour.

The roads in Xiang County were very smooth, and Liu Lizheng proudly said, “Magistrate Zhong repaired the roads in his first year here. My second son was doing his corvée labor, and of all the nearby counties, our Xiang County has the smoothest roads.”

Yang Xi smiled. Uncle Zhong was a rare good official who placed great importance on his children’s education, and her brother Zhong was a good official for the people, which was inseparable from Uncle Zhong’s upbringing.

After returning to town, Liu Lizheng went directly to Shanghe Village. As a result of this trip, Liu Lizheng was even more polite to the Zhou family.

Yang Xi went to the toilet first after returning home; her pregnancy was quite advanced, and she needed to use the restroom frequently. After washing up, she went to her mother-in-law’s room.

Seeing her daughter-in-law return safely, Ye Shi finally felt relieved. “It’s good that you’re back safe and sound.” She had been worried something might have happened on the way; she wouldn’t have been able to face her husband then.

Yang Xi sat down. “I’m sorry to have worried you, Mother.”

Ye Shi patted her daughter-in-law’s hand. “I understand your concern for Yu’er.”

(End of Chapter)

---