am-books Chapter 542 - 402: The Zhou Family Courtyard
Chapter 542 - 402: The Zhou Family Courtyard
Chapter 542: Chapter 402: The Zhou Family Courtyard
Wannian County.
Nestled adjacent to Jingji, the county seat.
As the saying goes, when evil deeds are full to the brim, they spill over into the suburbs of the capital.
With great effort, someone’s ancestor’s grave sent forth a plume of green smoke, and they passed the imperial examination, only to be appointed as the magistrate of Wannian County. Upon returning home for a closer look, it turned out that the ancestral grave was on fire!
At the foot of the emperor’s throne, there are countless princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials in the capital, none of whom the Magistrate of Wannian County could afford to provoke.@@@@
Even if one were to shrink inside the county seat and do nothing, and not be greedy for wealth, calamity would still descend from heaven. For example, the case encountered by the previous magistrate involved the personal troops of the Marquis of Weiyuan, who rode on horseback and killed the page boy of an elderly statesman.
...
The magistrate was in a difficult position, and as a result, the statesman sent a memorial to the emperor, who decreed the magistrate and his entire family be exiled!
Looking back further, in the span of ten years, there were six magistrates replaced, three demoted, two exiled, and one beheaded.
Therefore, serving as an official in Wannian County was a high-risk occupation!
The current Magistrate Tian, however, was different from his predecessors. With a backer in the palace, he had been safely serving as magistrate for over a year and even dared to adjudicate cases involving capital officials.
Thirty li to the east of Wannian County lies Anhe Village, where more than a hundred families reside.
On this day.
Zhou Yi had spent half an hour running back to the village, faster than a fine horse.
Standing on the hillock at the entrance of the village, he could see two trails of cooking smoke rising, belonging to the landlord’ families preparing meals. The other peasants only ate twice a day, morning and evening.
“Ten years, our family has finally returned!”
Zhou Yi’s eyes were filled with tears. Even though not afraid to face family threats, he couldn’t help being excited about seeing his parents soon.
Channeling his True Qi and, according to the location remembered, he saw his old family house.
The three-room mud-brick house had weathered wind and rain, its roof now collapsed; the fenced yard overgrown with wild grass, evidently long uninhabited.
“What’s going on?”
Zhou Yi was astonished; he had sent Silver back home, which should have been more than enough to sustain them without farming.
“Could it be that the eunuch Liu pocketed it?”
“How can this be good, that fellow has already died with Eunuch Xu, and I have no way to seek revenge! Besides, without the reason to look for my parents, how am I supposed to proceed with the matters that follow...”
As Zhou Yi pondered, a brocade-clad man approached, seemingly a rich household from the village.
“Where are you from?”
The man called out, “What are you wandering around the Zhou residence for?”
In Daqing, the household registration system was strict. Without a travel pass, leaving the village would mark you as a vagabond or a criminal, and the authorities could seize you for forced labor, so strangers seldom entered the village.
Zhou Yi replied in a high-pitched voice, “Do you know where this family has gone?”
The crime of exceeding one’s status could be major or minor.
Usually, it would not be prosecuted, but at a critical moment, it could justify the extermination of the Nine Clans!
As Zhou Yi stepped forward, he had just come within thirty feet of the gate when the Protector standing at the entrance shouted fiercely.
“Who is this blind...”
Before he could finish his sentence, the Protector was sent flying with a bang against the door, spewing fresh blood and fainting.
The remaining Protectors, terrified, screamed in alarm, scattering and fleeing in utter panic, being nothing more than local ruffians who wouldn’t truly watch over or protect the mansion.
Zhou Yi pushed open the gate and entered, seeing several men wielding knives and sticks coming at the sound.
The leader showed off a few moves, but before he could ask questions, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and looking down, saw a hole had been punched through his chest.
“He-he-he...”
With the leader dead, the rest scattered like birds and beasts.
Zhou Yi sauntered through several thresholds to the back of the grand courtyard, spotting from afar a group of people huddled in the main hall.
In the middle was an old man in brocade, next to him sat a plump woman, while several elegantly dressed women nearby watched the newcomer with trepidation.
After looking carefully for a while, he recognized that the old man and woman were indeed his father and mother.
Any feelings of nostalgia and sorrow had long dissipated; with True Qi circulating, Zhou Yi squeezed out a few tears and knelt outside the door, saying,
“Your son, Zhou Yi, pays his respects to Father, Mother!”
“Zhou Yi...”
Father Zhou paused slightly, carefully examining the white-haired elder in the courtyard who vaguely resembled someone from his memories, tentatively calling out, “Erwa’er?”
“Ei.”
Zhou Yi responded softly; it was his childhood nickname, which he hadn’t heard in nearly ten years.
“It really is Erwa’er!”
Father Zhou’s face suddenly beamed with joy, pushing aside those around him and rushing out, stopping abruptly three steps away from Zhou Yi, asking with a hint of fear, “Should I kowtow to you?”
Zhou Yi shook his head, “I am your son, it is I who should kowtow to you.”
“No need, no need.”
After this setback, Father Zhou had lost the heart to embrace, and he quickly urged the household servants.
“Go tell the kitchen to prepare a banquet, a banquet!”
and to the County Government Office to inform the eldest that his younger brother has arrived...”
The over a hundred servants of the Zhou Mansion, upon hearing that the legendary Master Zhou Yi had returned, felt their fear dissipate. Each one walked with a quicker pace and stood taller when speaking to others.
As for the two Protectors who had met a tragic end, no one cared; they had already been cleaned up from the ground.
They had stood in Master Zhou Yi’s way, and their deaths were well deserved!