CHAPTER 345: CHAPTER 322: TOMB ROBBERY

Yu Xiaolian took a few large crabs out of the space again. Speaking of which, this space is quite magical. The crabs remain exactly the same as when they were put in there. After more than a year, without eating or drinking, they’re still alive!

The family had a delightful meal, and Yu Xiaolian tried putting the leftover crab shells in the trash corner of the space. However, she discovered the next day that they hadn’t disappeared!

She finally understood that the space only recycles items from the supermarket. The crabs were bought in Bohai City, so the space had no business with them.

With no other option, Yu Xiaolian had to use a convenient bag to put the crab shells in, storing them in the space for now, planning to discard them in a secluded spot later.

While Yu Xiaolian was leisurely waiting to eat Qi Shanhe’s figurative melon, she unexpectedly first got a taste of Su Jingchen’s drama.

On the twenty-third of the twelfth month, during the Xiaonian Festival, Yu Xiaolian asked Sun Mancang to go to Luocheng to bring back Sun Manjiao and Sun Manxia from the workshop, closing the shop and giving everyone a thorough holiday.

Zhao Erya hesitated before Yu Xiaolian, reluctant to speak. Yu Xiaolian noticed she had something to say and asked her what was wrong.

Zhao Erya brought Yu Xiaolian to the west wing, ensuring no one was around, and then said, "Xiaolian, that scholar Su’s fiancée... has come."

Yu Xiaolian was bewildered, "What do you mean?"

Wasn’t Ning Chuyu supposed to be settling down with her mother in Caozhou? How did she end up in Luocheng? And how did Zhao Erya find out? Could it be that Ning Chuyu sought out Su Jingchen again?

Zhao Erya knew about Yu Xiaolian and Su Jingchen’s relationship, so when Zhao Erya learned that Ning Chuyu was actually staying at the Su family’s place in Bridge Alley, she’d been secretly observing.

"You mean Su Dafu brought Ning Chuyu back?"

"Yes, I’ve found out. Since Ning Chuyu moved into Bridge Alley, the scholar Su hasn’t been back home."

Ning Chuyu’s moving into the Su family initially gave Zhao Erya a bad impression of Su Jingchen, but after observing over the past few days, she found that Su Jingchen not only ignored Ning Chuyu but didn’t even return home.

"So where has he been staying?" Yu Xiaolian furrowed her brow.

"It seems he’s been staying at the Jianyin Academy!"

"The academy is on holiday, and he’s staying there alone, with even meals being a problem. He really doesn’t let people relax." Yu Xiaolian said while looking for her windproof cape.

She planned to take a trip back to Luocheng.

Zhao Erya blocked Yu Xiaolian, "Xiaolian, in my opinion, it’s better if you don’t get involved. I believe the scholar Su will handle it well."

Yu Xiaolian nodded slightly, "I’m not going to see Ning Chuyu, just to ask Su Jingchen what’s going on, and arrange a place for him to stay."

Zhao Erya still didn’t step aside, "Could you not go or send Sun Mancang instead?"

Yu Xiaolian furrowed her brow, "What’s wrong? Are you hiding something else from me?"

Zhao Erya’s hesitant look made Yu Xiaolian very displeased, "If there’s something, just say it, don’t make it seem like something huge happened."

Only then did Zhao Erya hesitantly say, "It’s not just that Ning Chuyu came, the scholar Su seems to have other troubles."

"What’s going on?" Yu Xiaolian was nearing panic.

Zhao Erya said, "It seems the issue started with a poem the scholar Su wrote. County Magistrate Ma and his son, along with others, accused the poem of ridiculing government policies. Because of this, the scholar Su was almost imprisoned, but thanks to Dean Zhao’s defense, he was protected. But... it’s said the scholar Su might be stripped of his academic status and barred from the imperial exams in the future."

"What???" Yu Xiaolian was shocked.

This-this-this...

What happened? Why did things not go according to plan?

She had only returned to Taohua Village for over ten days, how did this happen?

Yu Xiaolian threw on her cape, telling Zhao Erya, "You should have sent someone back to deliver the message."

Zhao Erya had indeed thought about sending someone to the village to deliver the message, but she also had her considerations.

"Xiaolian, the scholar Su specifically asked me not to tell you about this matter, otherwise... you probably shouldn’t go." Men are prideful, and especially someone as lofty and proud as the scholar Su, surely wouldn’t want Yu Xiaolian to see his helpless side.

"Maybe after the New Year, the scholar Su will have resolved everything!

Moreover, with Teacher Zhao’s help, the scholar Su should be fine."

Yu Xiaolian paused her hands that were tying the cape, "Did he really say he didn’t want me to know about this?"

Zhao Erya nodded fervently, "He really said so, I wouldn’t lie to you!"

Yu Xiaolian sat down at the edge of the kang, unmoving.

After a while, she finally asked Zhao Erya, "What kind of poem did Su Jingchen write?"

Zhao Erya said crisply, "I can’t remember the whole poem, but there are two lines I recall, something like, crops sparse, taxes high, cannot eat; input into official granaries, turned to dust."

Yu Xiaolian raised an eyebrow and smiled.

This Su Jingchen indeed has a heart for the nation’s worries and people’s woes.

It seems he noticed how after this year’s autumn harvest, the people had little grain left after paying taxes, with many struggling to afford food and clothing, thus inspiring his poem.

County Magistrate Ma’s lack of empathy for the people’s suffering was bad enough, but to accuse Su Jingchen of ridiculing policies in return was absurd.

Yu Xiaolian untied her cape and tossed it onto the kang. Since Su Jingchen didn’t want her to know, she’d pretend not to know. It’s just a minor County Magistrate Ma, perhaps a chance for a future powerful official to practice.

Zhao Erya was stunned, just like that she wouldn’t go?

The clothes were already on, and then suddenly she decided not to go?

This isn’t her lady’s style at all. Her lady usually goes against the current, the more you don’t want her to do something, the more she’ll do it.

Zhao Erya hadn’t expected she’d manage to stop this stubborn one.

After some thought, Zhao Erya realized, it wasn’t that she had stopped Yu Xiaolian, but Su Jingchen’s words had stopped their lady in her tracks.

Who would have thought their lady would actually listen to the scholar Su’s words, that scholar Su is something alright!

Yu Xiaolian took off her shoes and went onto the kang, sitting by the small square kang table, beckoning Zhao Erya to sit beside her, "Besides this, has anything else happened recently in Luocheng?"

Not knowing what kind of events Yu Xiaolian was asking about, Zhao Erya shared what she found interesting.

Like how the Zhang family’s young lady and the Wu family’s young lady got into an argument over a bottle of perfume, or how Song Qingrui cursed some girls as dumb for not being able to learn to play the piano, making them cry for days.

After listening for a while, Yu Xiaolian found it uninteresting, raising a hand to interrupt Zhao Erya, "Any big events, anything significant?"

Zhao Erya thought for a moment, "Uh... I heard the Ma family’s young lady, the Feng family’s young lady, and a few from the Zhao family had planned to hold a women’s poetry meeting on the Xiaohan night, at the government office’s backyard, but it was cancelled due to something that happened that morning.

Supposedly, near Luocheng, a prince’s tomb was robbed, and County Magistrate Ma was ordered to catch the tomb robbers within a month, leaving him extremely anxious, hence not allowing his daughter to hold the poetry meeting."