The two thousand soldiers from the county had left, and Yang Xi and his wife had the Wu family keep an eye on the Hu family. The Wu family discovered that the Hu family had been frequently seen loitering around the village recently.

This news made Yang Xi and her husband realize that the Hu family was not completely unaware of the pirates.

That day, Huang Qi, with a tense little face, asked for leave: “Xiansheng, my father wants me to take two days off.”

Zhou Yu asked, “Are you worried about us?”

Huang Qi was anxious; he was too young to deliver the message. “Danger.”

Zhou Yu patted Huang Qi’s head. “You are a smart child. Trust your xiansheng; Shanghe Village will be fine.”

Huang Qi’s eyes held doubt. The county soldiers had all left, and meeting his xiansheng’s resolute gaze, he felt much more at ease. “Then I’ll go back to the county.”

“Go back.”

Huang Qi left, turning back several times. He boarded the Huang family’s carriage. Huang Qi didn’t have a servant; he sat alone in the carriage, touching the purse in his arms, thinking about finding a reason to ask his father for money.

That evening, because Huang Qin had taken leave, Yang Xi said, “It seems the pirates will come to rob us in the next couple of days.”

Zhou Yu served his wife soup. “The Huang family will be disappointed.”

Yang Xi held the soup, a smile playing on her lips. “And the Hu family, their inside man should be exposed soon too.”

Zhou Yu had already finished eating. “We’re going to Liu Lizheng’s house later; I’ll discuss with him how to catch them.”

Yang Xi wanted to go too, but looking at her chubby son, she gave up the idea of ​​going out. The little guy was especially clingy to her at night. “Okay.”

Zhong Yan was tired from a day of classes, and since Shanghe Village was no longer dangerous, he wasn’t worried anymore. “You can’t deny getting old. I’m old; I’m going back to rest.”

Zhou Yu said, “Please walk slowly; it just rained, and the stone slabs are a bit slippery.”

Zhong Yan wanted to live a few more years and was particularly careful about his health. “I know.”

After dinner, Zhou Yu went to Lizheng’s house with Zhou Bing, while Yang Xi didn’t go back to the east courtyard but chatted with her mother-in-law.

“I’ve been taking walks in the village with your aunt these past two days. Getting some exercise has helped me sleep well. We’re planning to go dig for wild vegetables tomorrow to add some to the family’s meals.”

Yang Xi asked, “Mother, are you feeling alright?”

Ye Shi smiled. “I’m doing well; don’t worry.”

Yang Xi smiled, “Mother, please don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

Ye Shi was concerned about her youngest son. “I wonder how Lin’er is doing at the barracks.”

Yang Xi touched her nose. Her Xiaodi wasn’t one to only report good news; every letter he wrote home was about wanting to come back home. Between the lines, you could see his frustration with his slow learner, which made Zhou Yu afraid to show her his letters. “He’s doing well, eating and drinking well.”

Ye Shi smiled, thinking of the money her youngest son had sent back. “Zhou Lin has grown up too.”

Zhou Xiaomei was speechless; her Second Ge was the most immature in the family.

Yang Xi sat for a while before returning to the main courtyard. It was still daylight, and she carried her younger son in one arm and held her older son’s hand with the other.

Ziheng’s eyes were full of admiration for his mother. “Mom, you’re so strong!”

He couldn’t carry his younger brother.

Yang Xi chuckled, “I’m used to carrying him, so I don’t find your brother heavy anymore.”

That was a mother’s skill; even a frail person didn’t feel tired carrying their own child.

The mother and sons returned to the courtyard. It had rained and was windy, so Yang Xi lit the kang (heated brick bed). She didn’t need to heat it much; just enough to warm it. She then helped her older son practice calligraphy with her younger son.

Looking at her son’s earnest expression, Yang Xi smiled. Her eldest son was so sensible; he never caused her any worry.

When Zhou Yu returned, it was already dark. Yang Xi asked, “What did Liu Lizheng say?”

Zhou Yu washed his hands as he said, “He will organize patrols these next few days. If they find any members of the Hu family with ulterior motives, they’ll arrest them.”

Yang Xi was surprised. “Liu Lizheng has also noticed something’s wrong with the Hu family, hasn’t he?”

Zhou Yu nodded. “Liu Lizheng has been the village head for many years. There’s nothing in Shanghe Village that he doesn’t know. Before I even explained my purpose at his house, he mentioned the Hu family.”

Yang Xi smiled, “Shanghe Village is fortunate to have Liu Lizheng. “

The old man loved money, but he acquired it ethically. He truly cared about Shanghe Village, and many things were arranged behind the scenes by the Lizheng.

Seeing his chubby son trying to roll over, Zhou Yu reached out and held him down. The little guy got angry after several failed attempts, clenching his fists and waving them. “Eh.”

Zhou Yu laughed and let go. The little guy rolled over in an instant, completely bewildered.

Yang Xi was speechless. “Do you really enjoy bullying your son that much?”

Zhou Yu held his son down again to prevent him from rolling back. “Don’t you find it funny?”

The little guy, having been teased repeatedly, burst into tears.

Yang Xi had no intention of coaxing him. “Hmm, it is indeed interesting. Go ahead and coax him.”

Zhou Yu touched his nose, feeling guilty, and reached out to pick up his son. “So spoiled.”

The little guy didn’t understand; when he got angry, he would cry, and he cried very loudly. Zhou Yu was sweating profusely while trying to coax him. “Alright, alright, Daddy was wrong.”

Yang Xi was speechless.

She really didn’t understand. Why did he have to make him cry before coaxing him?

The next day, except for Huang Qi, who was absent, the children at the school attended classes as usual.

In the evening, Zhou Yu and his wife bathed their two sons and went to bed early. In the middle of the night, the sound of dogs barking and gongs rang out in the village.

Zhou Yu opened his eyes and saw that his youngest son was about to wake up. He quickly covered his son’s ears with both hands and only let go when the gongs stopped.

Yang Xi woke up too. “Want to go check?”

Zhou Yu hugged his wife and closed his eyes. “I told Zhou Bing he’d come if anything happened.”

The couple fell asleep again soon after. They only found out in the morning that Zhou Bing hadn’t returned; he’d stayed at the Lizheng’s house, which had been brightly lit the night before.

Zhong Yan frowned. “Want to go check later?”

Zhou Yu said, “Let’s eat first.”

Zhong Yan was getting old and couldn’t stand being hungry. For breakfast, they had lean meat porridge, seaweed and egg drop soup, steamed buns, and pickles—all his favorites.

After breakfast, Yang Xi also went to Lizheng’s house. The courtyard was packed with people. Luckily, the courtyard was large; otherwise, there would have been over a hundred people standing there.

Zhou Bing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his older brother. His ears were ringing; there had been a commotion since last night. The Hu family was a prominent clan, and the village head was having a headache with the crowd surrounding the courtyard!

Yang Xi immediately spotted the four people who were tied up. She recognized one of them—Eldest Zhao’s father-in-law—and the others were also quite old.

Liu Lizheng harbored deep resentment towards the Hu family but suppressed his anger and invited Zhou Yu and the others in to sit.

The hall was filled with people; the respected elders of the Hu family sat on one side, while on the other side were the village elders of high standing and capable of making decisions. Zhou Bing, an Xiucai, sat next to Lizheng.

Zhou Bing stood up, and Zhong Yan sat down next to him, while Zhou Yu and his wife stood behind Uncle Zhong. Zhong Yan, dressed in ordinary clothes like an average old man, transformed into a different person when serious, his official air instantly silencing the bustling hall.

Liu Lizheng noticed something but showed nothing on his face. “Zhong Xiansheng, Zhou Xiansheng, you arrived just in time. We were discussing reporting this to the authorities and having the yamen runners come over.”

The Hu family patriarch became anxious. “Without any evidence, what grounds do you have to report to the authorities?”

(End of Chapter)

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