Chapter 27: Arriving at the Chi Family

This little girl actually has some courage.

"My lord." A servant stepped forward and said respectfully, "The Town Mayor of Changxi Town has arrived."

Xie Yuwei withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the old man behind him: "You are the Town Mayor of Changxi Town?"

"Greetings, County Magistrate." Hou Qinian wiped the sweat from his brow: "I wonder what instructions you have for summoning this humble one?"

"Town Mayor Hou, there is no need to be nervous. This official has just taken office this first year. I sought you out today to ask about the grain harvest. Autumn harvest is approaching. If this year's taxes cannot be paid in full and the imperial court assigns blame, it will not be good!"

"Yes, yes, yes, this humble one knows. I have already sent people door to door to inform everyone, and the grain will be paid in full after the autumn harvest." Hou Qinian said with a smile: "Rest assured, my lord. Once I have collected all the grain, I will deliver it straight to your residence."

Hearing this, Xie Yuwei waved his hand: "There is no need for such trouble. The county yamen has plenty of manpower. There is no need to wait for the Town Mayor's men to deliver it. For this year's autumn harvest, this official will personally send people down to collect the grain. The Town Mayor's men only need to register the amounts together with my men."

Hearing him say this, Hou Qinian's heart sank. If it were so, wouldn't the grain he secretly skimmed every year be gone?

"My lord, actually there is no need for such trouble. Every year it has been this humble one who..."

"How things were done before is a matter of the past. Now that this position of County Magistrate belongs to this official, you must follow my rules. When Town Mayor Hou one day sits in my seat, then you will have the right to make your own rules." Xie Yuwei set down the teacup in his hand and said coldly: "This matter is settled. You may leave!"

Hou Qinian heard the displeasure in his words. How could he dare say another word of refusal?

He bowed and nodded in agreement, then withdrew.

"Master."

"Let us go home." Hou Qinian walked out of the teahouse with a gloomy expression.

A guard standing beside Xie Yuwei said in a low voice: "My lord, it seems Town Mayor Hou is very dissatisfied with your demands. And it is not just him—the town mayors of several other towns are all the same."

"It does not matter. These parasites have been freeloading for so many years. Now that they no longer have their extra cut, naturally they will be unhappy. Pay them no mind. However much they once devoured, they will have to spit it all back out for this official. What rightfully belongs to the common people, they had better not think of keeping."

"My lord, upright officials like you are truly rare."

"Heh, it does not matter if they are rare. As long as there is still one, that is enough."

Chi Nan Yi watched the road ahead grow increasingly desolate, and actually felt as though she were being abducted and sold into the deep mountains.

The carriage traveled on for quite a while longer before they finally saw a cluster of villages.

"Little sister, that is our Yuping Village over there."

Among the many surrounding villages, Yuping Village was not small, and every household had been allotted a fair amount of land, but the soil was the most barren. While other villages could yield over a hundred jin of grain per mu, Yuping Village could produce at most seventy jin. In years of famine or disaster, it was very likely that not a single grain would be harvested.

So Yuping Village was also the poorest among these villages.

The women chatting at the village entrance saw the carriage approaching and could not help exclaiming: "Oh my! Is that the carriage of some noble from the town or the county? So grand, so impressive!"

"Indeed! But what would people like that come to our village for?"

"Look, look—is the one driving the carriage the Chi Family's eldest son?"

"I heard the Chi Family went to Jingcheng to find a Divine Doctor for their old lady. Could the one sitting inside be the Divine Doctor?"

"Ah, why are we guessing here? Once he comes over, we can just ask and find out. Maybe we can even hitch a ride on the carriage and sit in it to experience what it feels like."

The carriage had barely reached the village entrance when it was stopped by the people gathered there.

"Chi Family's eldest son, where did your Chi Family borrow this carriage from? Or did you become a driver for the carriage's owner?"

Yuping Village was very poor. Among the people living here, no family had ever purchased a carriage. The Chi Family was not considered wealthy in the village, and in their eyes, the Chi Family was even less able to afford a carriage.

Chi Zhiqiu said with a smile: "Auntie, this carriage does not belong to anyone else. Our Chi Family bought it."

"What? Your family bought it?"

"Yes, my little sister bought it."

Several women exchanged glances, astonished: "Could your little sister really know some Divine Doctor? Has she truly made a fortune? She is usually the most sly, lazy, greedy, and slippery." She said the last part quietly, but Chi Nan Yi still heard it perfectly clearly.

Sure enough, Meng Qinghe had the blood of the Meng Family flowing in her veins—they were the same to the bone.

"No, no, not that little sister. Our little sister is not Qinghe. She is the one we brought back from Jingcheng." Chi Zhiqiu scratched his head: "Never mind, it would take too long to explain right now. Another day, I will explain another day. Aunties, we will be going now."

With that, he raised his horsewhip and headed toward the Chi Family's home.

The women at the village entrance gathered together and muttered: "What does he mean, not Qinghe? Brought back again? Could it be that the Chi Family has swapped daughters?"

Before long, the carriage stopped in front of a farmhouse courtyard.

"Little sister, we are here."

Before the carriage door could even be opened, several footsteps came approaching.

"Big brother, you are finally back! Did you manage to invite a Divine Doctor?" The Chi Family's second son, Chi Huaijin, looked at the carriage, his eyes full of excitement: "Big brother, you really did invite a Divine Doctor, didn't you?"

Chi Zhiqiu shook his head: "We did not manage to invite a Divine Doctor, but we found our little sister."

"Little sister?" Chi Zhiqiu said with some confusion: "Didn't little sister go to Jingcheng with you? What do you mean, found our little sister?"

Just then, the carriage door was opened. Chi Ting Song stepped down from the carriage and turned to say softly to Chi Nan Yi inside: "Little one, take it slow."

Chi Nan Yi gave a small acknowledgment and slowly stepped out of the carriage.

Chi Huaijin looked at his little sister, who had become an entirely different person, and the basket in his hands instantly dropped to the ground.

"You-you-you... you are... who are you! Mother! Mother!" Chi Huaijin said as he ran toward the house: "Mother, Father and big brother have swapped little sister for someone else!"

Mother Chi, who was in the middle of cooking, heard the shout and hurried out.

The moment her gaze fell on Chi Nan Yi, Wen Zhilan's footsteps abruptly stopped, and the spatula in her hand dropped to the ground.

"Young... Young Lady..."

Her voice was low, heard only by herself.

"Little sister? Your face..." The Chi Family's third son, Chi Huai Qian, looked at her in astonishment: "Who are you! You are not my little sister!" He quickly walked over to Chi Zhiqiu: "Big brother, where is little sister? What do you mean, swapped little sister? Where did you swap her to?"

Father Chi sighed and exchanged a glance with Mother Chi.

"Alright, everyone sit down. I have something important to say."

Chi Ting Song recounted everything that had happened in Jingcheng over the past few days.

"Father, do you mean that Qinghe is not our real little sister, and she is?" Chi Huaijin looked at Chi Nan Yi: "The young lady of the Minister's Residence?"