Liujin was waiting in the reception hall. Looking at the few calligraphy and paintings hanging above, he was unusually anxious. Just as he was about to go out, he saw Qi Yuan approaching head-on and hurriedly let out a breath of relief. “Miss!”
Qi Yuan glanced at him. “Is there trouble at the estate?”
Liujin spoke with a grave expression, “Miss, when this estate was previously in Cheng Wang’s hands, there were many tangled bad accounts that couldn’t be sorted out. The land around the estate totals five hundred mu, all belonging to the estate. Cheng Wang rented it out to tenant farmers to cultivate…”
Qi Yuan had already guessed.
Exploiting tenant farmers and forcibly seizing things, such matters had never been rare.
It only depended on a person’s conscience.
Back then, Qi Wang had crazily hoarded land, to the point that most of the land in Henan was under his name, and countless common people were left displaced.
A scum like Cheng Wang naturally would not be an exception in such matters.
She narrowed her eyes. “Speak of the important parts.”
“The important part is that, back then, over the matter of collecting rent, Cheng Wang forced thirteen tenant farmers to death…” Liujin’s expression was very ugly. “Among them were three children. After the incident, Cheng Wang only pushed the blame onto the stewards below him, and the matter was just settled like that.”
Qi Yuan sneered. “And then?”
“Later, after this estate was confiscated into the national treasury, for more than half a year, the tenant farmers have owed rent and haven’t paid any.” Liujin sighed. “Only…”
Qi Yuan raised her eyes to look at him.
Liujin immediately lowered his voice. “When this subordinate went, the villagers were very resistant, and many people were surrounding and inquiring about the estate’s situation.”
These words circled around so much that Baizhi and Lian Qiao were confused.
Babao also felt something was off. Scratching his head, he couldn’t help asking, “What exactly are you trying to say?”
Qi Yuan laughed coldly. “Trying to say what? Cheng Wang forced people to death yet remained safe and sound. Later, only because Cheng Wang died and was reduced to a commoner was the estate confiscated into the national treasury. Now that the estate has a new owner again, what do you think those tenant farmers will think?”
Of course, they would be afraid!
Babao immediately reacted and blurted out, “This place can’t be lived in anymore!”
He wasn’t exaggerating. Since ancient times, anything involving housing and land had never been a small matter.
Especially for common people, land was the foundation of survival.
When people had no road left to walk, there was nothing they wouldn’t do.
This estate already had a pile of unresolved bad accounts. Now that Qi Yuan had suddenly moved in, the local tenant farmers were probably already in panic.
If someone with ulterior motives stirred things further…
Babao didn’t even dare imagine what would happen.
He sprang to his feet at once. “Miss, let’s leave first!”
Qi Yuan curled her lips. “If we leave now, I’m afraid it’s already too late.”
Sure enough, as if to confirm her words, not long after, Liu Zhong ran in with a pale face. “Miss! A group of people are kneeling outside our main gate! They say, they say they’re asking you to show mercy and waive the land rent!”
Liujin’s expression changed drastically.
Babao also swallowed nervously and looked at Qi Yuan.
Something was definitely wrong!
How could the common people have such fast channels for news?
Qi Yuan had only just arrived, yet they were already making trouble. Earlier, Liu Zhong had come in advance to clean and arrange things; why hadn’t they caused trouble then, but only started now when Qi Yuan arrived?
Someone must be pushing this from behind!
And indeed, someone was pushing it.
County Lady Luochuan slowly lowered her eyes and calmly inserted a white flower into her hair.
The young eunuch beside her quickly knelt, holding up a mirror so she could see more clearly.
County Lady Luochuan adjusted the white flower, then stood up. “Let’s go.”
The young eunuch softly answered yes and accompanied her out through a side gate of Zhou Wang’s residence without obstruction, then smoothly boarded a carriage that had already been waiting for a long time.
There were no marks or insignia on the carriage. County Lady Luochuan curved her lips in a half-smile. “You people are quite cautious, not willing to leave even the slightest trace for others.”
The young eunuch sighed softly. “County Lady, it can’t be helped. A careful voyage lasts ten thousand years.”
County Lady Luochuan said no more, only snorted coldly and asked, “Are all the people gathered?”
The young eunuch lowered his voice. “Please rest assured. Everything has already been arranged. You will definitely see it tonight.”
By the time they arrived at the suburban estate outside the capital, the sky was completely dark, one could not even see one’s fingers when stretching out a hand.
County Lady Luochuan lifted the carriage curtain and immediately saw dense silhouettes of heads in the forest. Narrowing her eyes, she turned to the young eunuch. “How many people are here?”
“Fifty-seven.” The young eunuch smiled calmly. “County Lady, rest assured. These people are all deserters. If caught, they would not escape death anyway. Now that there is a large sum of silver for them, they are willing to risk their lives.”
And how many people could Qi Yuan have in that estate?
Even including guards and servants, there would not be more than thirty in total.
And with so many villagers causing a commotion at the time, they would take advantage of the chaos to loot the estate clean, naturally without anyone knowing.
As he spoke, he smiled at County Lady Luochuan. “At that time, Eldest Miss Qi…”
He made a throat-cutting gesture. “Naturally, you may do whatever you like.”
Whatever she liked?
County Lady Luochuan clenched her teeth tightly, she wanted Qi Yuan to die without a burial place!
Thinking this, she took a breath and asked, “When do we make the move?”
At this time inside the estate, Second Madam Qi, after hearing the news, hurriedly asked Qi Yuan, “Yuan Jie’er, send someone to report to the authorities!”
These matters were a tangled mess and not simple. Even if Qi Yuan promised that after taking over the estate she would waive the previously owed rent, the villagers might not believe it.
If even a small mistake occurred, it could easily lead to major trouble.
Qi Yuan shook her head. “We can’t report it. They’ve already been incited and are like startled birds. If we report to the authorities now, those villagers will probably rush into the estate desperately. That would truly cause chaos.”
Second Madam Qi was startled. “Then, then what do we do now?”
They couldn’t report it, but those villagers might still rush in.
Qi Yuan smiled and beckoned Liu Zhong. “Go. Open the gate and invite all the tenant farmers in. Say that in this freezing weather, kneeling outside will ruin their legs, invite them all inside so we can discuss matters at length.”
After a pause, she looked at Liujin and the others. “You keep watch. If anyone sees things aren’t going their way and tries to cause trouble in the chaos, capture them all and bring them to see me.”
If the villagers were all brought inside, those who were secretly inciting things would naturally fear their plans falling apart. They would definitely seize the opportunity to escalate the situation and set both sides against each other.
That saved her the effort of searching for them, they would reveal themselves.
Liujin and Babao both solemnly answered yes and hurried out.
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