Chang'an was ordered to arrive at Sujiacun. It was already afternoon.
There was a lot of noise outside Su Liang's house, with many people gathered around.
As I got closer, I saw a rope hung on the old elm tree outside the gate, tied with a knot, and an old woman in shabby clothes stepped on the stone to hang herself.
Several young men and women nearby grabbed her, crying and persuading her, saying things like "Mom, don't do stupid things" and "How can we live if our mother dies?"
But a few young and strong men couldn't pull the old woman down. The old woman stuck her neck into the rope, but she couldn't get in.
The villagers watching the excitement around, some were persuading and some were heckled, telling the old woman to hang herself quickly and not to waste time.
Chang'an knew that this was Su Xingzhe's family and had no ability to overturn the verdict, so he came to Su Liang's house to seek death and survival, and he was good at moral kidnapping.
The door of Su Liang's house was closed, and the two children were sitting by the door, playing with stones with their heads next to each other.
Chang'an walked over, and the older children asked him with wary eyes, "Who are you?"
"I was sent by the county magistrate to have business with Mr. Ning." Chang An deliberately lowered his voice.
The child looked to the side. An old woman in clean and simple clothes quickly pulled him away, then pulled another one away, signaling Changan to knock on the door himself.
Maybe it was too noisy outside, so Changan knocked on the door for a long time but no one answered.
The child shouted at the top of his lungs, "Sister Su Liang!"
Soon the door opened, Chang An stepped in, and quickly bolted the door from the inside before Mrs. Niu and her family rushed over.
However, it was not Su Liang who opened the door, but Ning Jing. He had just washed the dishes and had not yet taken off the apron around his waist.
Chang'an was stunned when he saw this, "Master Ning, this is..."
"What's the matter?" Ning Jing looked calm.
"Master Mu asked me to give a thank-you gift to Miss Su. I first went to your home in the county, but I couldn't find anyone." Chang'an explained and looked around.
The once empty courtyard is now planted with trees and some incomprehensible furnishings. It is a crude version of Su Liang's martial arts training ground.
"Is Miss Su at home?" Chang'an asked.
Su Liang came out of the house. She dressed mainly for comfort and convenience at home. In order to meet guests, she just changed into a coat.
"Miss Su, this is my master's thank you gift, please accept it." Chang'an placed several gift boxes he brought on the stone table in the courtyard.
Su Liang nodded, "Okay. Is there anything else?"
Ning Jing had turned around and returned to the kitchen. At this moment, Chang An felt that this quiet farmyard was a completely different world from the hustle and bustle outside.
"Do you need help with that troublemaker?" Chang'an asked. This was not within the scope of Mu Luo's explanation, but he subconsciously asked.
Su Liang shook his head, "No need. If they don't get what they want, they will go back."
The best way to do this is to turn a blind eye. Giving them a look is a waste of time.
"Actually..." Chang An asked out of curiosity, "If Miss Su really wants to save Su Xingzhe, it might not be impossible."
"Is this what your master asked you to ask?" Su Liang asked back.
Chang An quickly shook his head, "No, Miss Su, don't get me wrong, I just..."
"Do you think I have a Bodhisattva heart?" Su Liang asked.
Chang An sneered, "After all, Miss Su can even save assassins she doesn't know."
"I'm happy to save the assassin, and I'm happy to watch Su Xingzhe suffer the consequences. Is there anything wrong with that?" Su Liang asked.
"No, I'm talking too much." Chang'an quickly apologized. Su Liang was standing a few meters away with a calm face and a calm tone, but he just felt a little oppressed for no reason and finally thought of business, "I don't know when Mr. Ning will set off.
Heading to Qianshan Academy? Miss Su, do you want to accompany me to the provincial capital?"
Su Liang shook his head, "We're not going."
Chang'an was surprised, "Why not go? It's a rare opportunity. If Mr. Ning can study at Qianshan Academy for a while, it will be helpful for the provincial examination."
"We have calculated it with the master. The feng shui here is excellent. If you stay here longer, you will definitely have a bright future." Su Liang said seriously.
Chang An's mouth twitched slightly, "I see. Then don't bother me. If Miss Su needs help with anything next, you can come to the county government office to see me."
Su Liang nodded, "Let's go slowly without seeing you off."
Chang'an opened the door, stepped out, and immediately closed the door from the outside. He heard the sound of the door bolt sliding inside and then let go.
The farce continued, and Mrs. Niu who wanted to hang herself never did. Many villagers watching the fun felt bored and left.
Su Bai came here and persuaded Su Xingzhe's family not to leave. He also did not disturb Su Liang and Ning Jing. He only said that Su Xingzhe's affairs were fixed and unchangeable, and he would no longer care about the affairs of Mrs. Niu's family from now on.
Separated by a wall, Su Liang and Ning Jing were not affected.
Su Liang practiced martial arts in the morning and read and practiced calligraphy in the afternoon.
Ningjing packed up half of the woodshed and used it as his carpentry workshop. He spent a lot of time in it, not knowing what he was doing, and Su Liang didn't ask.
In the afternoon, Ningjing went out through the back wall, went up the mountain to cut grass and came back to feed the horses. He picked a few wild fruits along the way, washed them and divided them into half.
Previously, the Bai family sold several acres of land because of Zhuzi's illness. Recently, Zhuzi's health improved. They made some money with Su Liang's help and bought back the land they sold.
All the men in the family went to dig the ground, leaving only Aunt Bai and her two children at home. They took the initiative to guard the door for Su Liang since Mrs. Niu and her family came over to cause trouble.
It wasn't until dark that Mrs. Niu was finally "persuaded" by her children to go back, and everyone dispersed.
In addition to cloth snacks, the thank-you gift from Chang'an also included a set of silver jewelry, which was of good workmanship.
But Su Liang had no intention of wearing it and felt it was cumbersome, so she put it in the cabinet.
After dinner, when it became quiet outside, Su Liang took two boxes of snacks to Bai's house to say thank you, and Ningjing went into the woodshed again.
"Sister Su Liang, I can run three laps now!" Zhu Zhu proudly puffed up his chest. His formerly thin and pale face now had flesh. Su Liang pinched it and praised him with a smile as he was awesome.
That snack box was what Aunt Bai was carrying when she saw Chang An coming during the day. It was a gift from the county magistrate, but Aunt Bai refused to accept it. Su Liang said she and Ning Jing couldn't finish it.
In the end, he accepted it because Su Liang wanted to ask them for a favor.
"Uncle Bai said that we live in the village, and the Ningjing Yuan has tried to get the head of the case. For such a big happy event, we must invite the villagers to a banquet. We don't understand the rules in this area. Please help us organize it, and the wages will not be short."
Su Liang said.
Su Bai originally thought that Ningjing would go to Qianshan Academy soon and would not live in the village anymore, but Ningjing and Su Liang came back again.
Although Ningjing is not a local, he is now considered half a Sujia Village person.
When a case comes out, it is a great event for the whole village. In other villages, running water mats have already been set up.
And precisely because Su Xingzhe had brought shame to Sujiacun, Ningjing needed to restore Sujiacun's reputation. Otherwise, it would appear that Sujiacun valued Su Xingzhe more, because if something happened to him, Ningjing would not be allowed to have a drink to celebrate.
This is not a trivial matter. Su Bai does not want the juniors in Sujia Village to become scholars again and be associated with Su Xingzhe who was beheaded due to imperial examination fraud. Even if he wants to mention it, he must mention it peacefully.
Old Man Bai knocked the cigarette pole on the table leg, nodded and said, "It's a great event for our family to honor our ancestors, and we have to hold a banquet! Liang girl, please don't mention the wages. This will make us happy! Next year's harvest will be harvested."
Okay, let’s send Xiaohu and Zhuzhu to study too!”
Mrs. Liu looked happy. She certainly hoped that her son would succeed.
It was quickly finalized. Su Liang bought a big fat pig raised by the Bai family and planned to host a banquet the day after tomorrow to treat the folks to a banquet.
"What if Mrs. Niu's family comes to make trouble? Either I'm afraid of them, or I'm afraid of them!" said Aunt Bai.
"I think Uncle Bai will handle this matter well," Su Liang said.
She was about to leave, but Bai Xiaohu chased her out, "Sister Su Liang, when are you going to go up the mountain to hunt wild boars?"
Su Liang slapped her forehead and said, "I forgot about it. Then tentatively decide for the day after tomorrow? If the weather is good."
Bai Xiaohu jumped up excitedly, "It must be good weather!"
…
County government.
When Chang'an saw Mu Luo again, it was already very late.
After hearing what Chang An said about meeting Su Liang, Mu Luo snorted, "Good Feng Shui? She is just talking nonsense."
"Miss Su... it's very strange. Although she seems very sincere to others, she always suddenly says some irrelevant things." Chang'an said.
Mu Luo said in a gloomy tone, "She was sincerely perfunctory because she was asked about things she shouldn't have asked. For example, her relationship with Ning Jing and why she didn't save Su Xingzhe. The former has nothing to do with my purpose of finding her, and the latter has nothing to do with you.
It has nothing to do with it. So even if we find out that she is talking nonsense, it will not affect anything serious."
Chang'an looked shocked, "She knows the identity of the master, but she doesn't feel inferior in front of him, and she doesn't feel superior to me. This is the first time I have seen such a person."
Mu Luo said thoughtfully, "Indeed. Tomorrow you go to Sujia Village again and give her five thousand taels of silver notes. Just say that it is the cost of traveling to Beijing."
Chang'an was surprised and heard Mu Luo say, "She is a talented person. Let's win over her first. If she goes to the capital, she may be of great use."
…
I don’t know what Subai said to Mrs. Niu’s children. Early the next morning, Mrs. Niu was locked up in the house and could not get out.
Anyone with a clear mind knows that Su Xingzhe is hopeless. Even if he saves his life, he will never be allowed to take part in the imperial examination again. So what is the use of rescuing a useless person who can't carry his shoulders or lift his hands? It won't do them any good to continue the trouble.
No, it would be even more stupid to offend Su Liang and Ning Jing.
When the villagers learned that Ningjing was going to treat him to a guest, everyone who could help came over.
A stove was dug in the open space between Aunt Bai's house and Su Liang's house, and a simple shed was built for cooking. Tables and chairs would be moved in by each family tomorrow morning, and they would be taken back after use.
When Chang'an, who was sent by Mu Luo again, found Su Liang, she was standing side by side with Ning Jing watching the pig being slaughtered.
And Chang'an heard Su Liang ask Ning Jing if he wanted to try killing pigs. Ning Jing said no because the screams were too loud...
Su Liang accepted the offer from Mu Luo to travel to Beijing, and the gift in return was a piece of fat and thin pork, freshly killed and very fresh.
Chang'an left with the pork, thinking that his master would be "very happy" when he saw it.
Su Liang took some cleaned pig blood and sesame water home, and made a pot of hot red oil Maoxuewang for dinner.
Ning Jing originally refused, but when she saw Su Liang eating, she tasted it, and then told Su Liang that it was half for each person. She had already eaten a lot...
This day was just about killing pigs and preparing vegetables, Su Liang and Ning Jing did not participate.
On the day of setting up the banquet, Su Liang went to help with the cooking.
The protagonist Ning Jing was taken from table to table by Su Bai for a toast after the banquet started. Although he was taciturn and did not know how to smile, even if someone tapped him on the shoulder, he would not be surprised.
At the end of the day, Su Liang felt very tired, but it was quite interesting to experience a pure ancient flowing water mat.
The remaining dishes were distributed among the villagers. That night Bai He calculated the accounts and sent back the unspent money to Su Liang.
We had agreed on a day to go up to the mountain to hunt wild boars, but it started to rain.
Hu Er came after a while and brought many gifts to congratulate Ning Jing on passing the exam.
"The wall of the county government prison cell collapsed last night for some reason. Two government officials were killed, and several death row inmates escaped, including Su Xingzhe from your village!" Hu Er sighed. "The news reached the town early in the morning, which made people panic.
You should also be more careful."
Su Liang had a strange intuition, "A weak scholar like Su Xingzhe could actually run out without being caught up?"
"It's just weird! I think this is because of the new county magistrate! The death row inmate escaped because of his poor supervision. If someone dies, he has nothing to do with it!" Hu Er said.
Su Liang's heart sank slightly. Hu Er was afraid that he had guessed correctly.
Duanmu Chen is here to investigate iron ore smuggling, and the people behind the scenes will definitely try their best to disrupt his vision.
In the face of huge interests, who really cares about the safety of the people between the two forces?
Ning Jing, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "Is there a reward?"
Hu Er was stunned for a moment, shook his head and nodded, "I didn't see it before coming here, but for such a big thing, there will definitely be a reward!"
Ningjing picked up the book again.
After Hu Er left, Ning Jing put down the book and said to Su Liang, "An opportunity to make money."
"Are you going to catch the fugitive?" Su Liang asked.