Chapter 319: Equal Wife

Chapter 319: Equal Wife
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When Chunjuan heard this, she muttered to herself, “Lord promised me that I would be his wife back then, but you want me to sign a contract and become a slave. You even want to have my lifeline in your hands. That won’t do.”
Chunjuan looked at Lin Zicong bitterly and shouted aggrievedly, “Lord, you said that you would marry me as a wife.”
“You must be suffering from hysteria!” Lin Zicong blurted out as he glared at Chunjuan with a red face. When he looked up and saw Madam He’s shocked gaze, he was ashamed.
“You said…
This was the man who had gone through thick and thin with her back then and sworn an oath to her. If this woman had a prominent family background today, she would probably not be able to keep her position as the official wife!
“Hahaha…” Madam He laughed angrily.” Equal wife, do you think my Lin family is on the same level as those merchants?” Madam He looked at Lin Zicong with a mocking expression. “Master, are you really going to marry Miss Chunjuan?”
Lin Zicong looked at Madam He awkwardly and cupped his hands at her. “I’m innocent, Madam. How could I agree to such a ridiculous thing? If Miss Chunjuan is willing to sign a contract, we’ll take her as a concubine. Otherwise, she can marry someone else with the dowry!” With that, Lin Zicong flicked his sleeves and left.
Chunjuan looked at Lin Zicong’s back and felt that the sky had collapsed. She muttered softly, “How could you forget so quickly?…”
In the face of fame and power, the man’s gentleness and sweet words were gone like yesterday.
Madam He glanced at Chunjuan, who was standing there in a daze. Her voice was cold. “Miss, you heard Master’s words. Tell me your choice! ”
Chunjuan thought to herself that she was no longer a virgin. She might as well be a concubine in the Lin residence and live without worry. Otherwise, she would have to marry those peddlers who work hard for three meals.
Chunjuan swallowed her unwillingness and walked over to kneel at Madam
He’s feet. She kowtowed and bowed. “Chunjuan greets Madam.”
Madam He looked indifferently at Chunjuan, who was kneeling at her feet. She endured the pain of her heart being bitten and raised her hand. “Qiuju, bring Miss Chunjuan to sign the contract first before she serves tea.”
Qiu Ju brought Chunjuan to sign the contract. As she watched Chunjuan’s back slowly disappear, Madam He did not feel any joy of victory. She only felt that her heart was slowly turning cold, and the gentleness and quietness in her eyes had disappeared.
The next morning, before the sun rose, Li Yu and Mr. Wen went to the Yang family village nearby.
The Yang family village was built at the foot of Mount Spindle. The entire village was surrounded by a bamboo forest. There was a large fertile field in front of the village. The fields in the village were planted with rice and a portion of vegetables and fruits.
The houses in the village had tiled houses and straw huts. There was also a
large courtyard built of green bricks and tiles in the middle of the village.
Mr. Wen pointed at the courtyard. “Xiaoyu, that manor belongs to a family with the surname Tian. Ah Wei said that the seedlings of the Tian family are the same breed as ours. It’s the same for the village chief’s family. Ah Wei also asked those villagers. The villagers said that they can’t buy the rice seeds of the
Tian family and the village chief’s family.”
“Sir, rich families and village chiefs can buy it, but ordinary villagers can’t.
There must be something hidden.”
“We’ll only know what’s going on after investigating.”
A tall woman walked towards the two of them with a load of grass. When she saw Mr. Wen, she happily put down her burden and bowed respectfully to him. She said quickly, “Doctor Wen, did you come to the village to treat someone?
TnanK you! MY motner-ln-law•s Kneecap IS mucn Detter. sne can Sleep peacefully at night.”
“That’s good. Sister-in-law Yang, remember to ask your mother-in-law to keep soaking her feet in herbs every night before bed. I’ll take a look at her in a few days.”
Sister-in-law Yang smiled. “It’s all thanks to you, Doctor Wen. The villagers praised you for your good medical skills. You’re much better than the doctors in the city. The doctors in the city can’t treat illnesses even if we spend more money. You even taught us how to pull out some herbs to soak our feet.”
“Everyone is too kind. It’s just to reduce everyone’s pain.” Mr. Wen smiled.
Seeing Sister-in-law Yang’s honest expression, Li Yu pointed at the seedlings in the field and asked, “Sister-in-law Yang, did you keep the rice seeds in the field yourself, or did you go to the seed shop to buy them?”
Sister-in-law Yang pointed at the field and said with a hearty smile, “Madam, the seeds you see are all rice seeds left behind by our family every year. My family has also bought good rice seeds like the Tian family a few times, but we haven’t been able to buy them for a while. The new rice that the Tian family collected last year also left behind rice seeds. This spring, they said that their family also has high-yielding rice seeds for sale, but the price is too expensive for us to afford. Only the village chief bought new rice seeds from the Tian family.”
Did the Tian family keep rice seeds for sale? Could it be that the shopkeeper of the Four Seas Bank colluded with an aristocratic family like the Tian family to sell grain seeds?
“Do you know which shop in the city the Tian family bought the rice seeds from?”
The woman nodded. “I know. That would be the city’s Bountiful Grain Bank, which only sold food in the past. The price was also more reasonable than in other shops. The rice seeds were only sold last year. The Tian family planted the rice seeds from the Bountiful Grain Bank last year. The yield is indeed good.”
“Thank you, Sister-in-law.” Li Yu decided to get someone to investigate why these villagers could not buy rice seeds, but big families like the Tian and Wang families could.
“You’re too polite. It’s just a few words. Doctor Wen, Madam, come to my house to play!” The woman picked up her burden and walked towards the village.
Li Yu smiled and nodded. “Alright, my house is at the manor at the east end. Come and play when you’re free.”
Mr. Wen also heard some problems in the woman’s words. “Xiaoyu, the shopkeeper of the Four Seas Bank in Yunzhou might be colluding with the aristocratic families.”
“That’s a possibility.” Li Yu had the same guess.
Li Yu and Mr. Wen walked around the village and asked a few villagers. Everyone had the same explanation as Mrs. Yang.
Li Yu and Mr. Wen strolled back to the manor and saw Ruyi bringing people to arrange tables and chairs in the room.
When Li Yu and Mr. Wen returned, Ruyi smiled and pointed at the tables and chairs. “Old Master, Madam, look, the tables and chairs have been sent over. I’ll go to the city and get Squad Leader Liu to bring a letter to Mr. Liu.”
Li Yu nodded. “Coincidentally, go to the Bountiful Grain Bank in the city and see how their rice seeds are sold. When can you buy them?”
Ruyi looked at Li Yu in confusion. “Madam, the Bountiful Grain Bank is run by the Four Seas Bank. Did something happen?”
“Yes, Sir said last time that the rice seeds planted by the villagers are different from ours. I thought it was because the villagers didn’t trust the new rice seeds.
After going to the village today, I don’t think that’s the case…”
“Madam, I’ll go back to the city and ask around.” Ruyi understood what Li Yu meant. “Old Zou and the others came home from work yesterday and said that they realized that a few corn seedlings in the field seemed to have been stolen. They went to the cornfield to check early in the morning.”
Li Yu looked at the sky. “According to the time, they’ve been gone for a while. If anything happens, they’ll come back to report. Go to the city first. I’ll get Ah
Wei to take a look.”
Ruyi nodded and looked at his dusty clothes. He smiled and said, “Then I don’t have to change my clothes. It’s just right to go to the grain shop like this.”
“Alright, let’s go like this!” Li Yu smiled..