Spring plowing begins, Anzhi Hall starts planting medicinal herbs.
The Jin Shanyao loosened the soil and nurtured the seeds with Spiritual Power beforehand, so sowing was not laborious; the work was more about scheduling and supervising.
That day, Meng Anzhi and Wu Yong were directing hired workers to plant medicinal herbs on Hat Mountain.
Jin Shanyao squatted under the shade of a tree at the foot of the mountain, talking to an old man who had rushed over.
The old man's trouser legs were covered in mud, and he looked distressed. "Master... I saved up most of my life's money to buy this cow."
But the time I spent tilling the land vanished. I've searched almost the entire village, but I still can't find it."
Jin Shanyao poked the ground with a twig, "Five coins..."
"Hey..." The old man hurriedly took out five coins, and just as he was about to hand them over, his arm was grabbed.
The old man looked up, somewhat bewildered, "Who are you, sir?"
Li Xiao said coldly, "This is Zhu Huaizhang, the newly appointed Lord Zhu of Qingzhou Prefecture."
Upon hearing that it was the prefect, the old man turned deathly pale and stammered, "I... I didn't do anything, why are you arresting me?!"
Zhu Huaizhang was grim. "Old man, tell me what's wrong. Don't go to these charlatans. You'll not only waste your time, but you'll also get swindled out of your money."
He came to Hat Mountain today to check on the spring plowing situation. As he approached, he saw an old man and a young man squatting by the roadside talking.
What master... what lost cow... that woman with a little stick did nothing but ask for five coins, what else could she be but a swindler?
Zhu Huaizhang glared angrily at the waving Jin Shanyao!
Jin Shanyao taken aback. Why did this person immediately accuse her of being a liar? Was this some kind of show of force?
No, we who are trees can't let others bully us. Her gaze shifted from Zhu Huaizhang to Li Xiao.
"Taking without asking is stealing. The prefect has a thief by his side, yet he doesn't arrest him but instead shouts 'liar' at me."
Li Xiao, his face stern, shouted, "What did you say?!"
Jin Shanyao her chin dismissively and said, "If you admire me and want my calligraphy, you can come inside and find me. Why bother to secretly tear down my notice?"
Li Xiao's face flushed red. He was always so careful; how could he have been discovered?
Jin Shanyao said calmly, "It was just a few sheets of paper... I didn't want to make a fuss. But..." Her gaze swept over the two of them, "A den of snakes and rats..."
"Presumptuous!"
Jin Shanyao chuckled, "Did I say something wrong? Or is it that you didn't steal my notice, or perhaps you're not Lord Zhu's subordinate?"
"You..."
Zhu Huaizhang stopped Li Xiao, his face grim as he looked at Jin Shanyao, "What a sharp tongue you have! I only said one sentence, and you've gone on and on."
I'm asking you... what were you talking about with this old man?
Jin Shanyao her head and said defiantly, "Chatting... what, are you an official who won't let the common people speak?"
Zhu Huaizhang's face turned ashen. "Then why did he give you money?"
"You hear the storyteller doesn't pay? If he's happy, he might tip you five coins, which is none of your business... Are you a new official with nothing better to do?"
"You..."
The old man stamped his feet anxiously, "Forget it... it's my cow..."
He shoved five coins into the hand of the Jin Shanyao, "Master, tell me, where is my ox?"
Zhu Huaizhang snatched the money and shoved it back into the old man's hand. "If the ox is lost, report it to the authorities. What's the use of consulting a fortune teller?"
Jin Shanyao at her empty palms, looking at Zhu Huaizhang in disbelief, "You stole my money???"
Zhu Huaizhang's brows were sharp as knives, his eyes icy cold. "If you dare take this money today, I'll throw you in jail."
The old man quickly explained, "Sir, you've misunderstood. She's a famous ghost-catching master in Qingzhou Prefecture... incredibly skilled. Her divination never fails; she's not a fraud."
Zhu Huaizhang angrily retorted, "Stubborn fools! There are no ghosts in this world, it's all just a bunch of deceitful tricks!"
The old man was so anxious he was pulling at his hair, oh dear..., "I don't care, I want my cow... Sir, I beg you... please don't get involved in this, okay?"
Seeing the old man was almost in tears, Jin Shanyao snatched the five coins from him. "Your ox has gone back to its seller's house. Go find it there..."
The old man cried out "Hey, hey!" twice, then took off running back.
Zhu Huaizhang, left standing to the side by the two, was both angry and annoyed. " Li Xiao... seize this charlatan for me!"
Upon receiving the order, Li Xiao grabbed the Jin Shanyao its arm. He pulled... he pulled... he pulled with both hands... Li Xiao looked at the Jin Shanyao in disbelief.
Jin Shanyao smugly at him. "Human... you're going to have a tug-of-war with a tree... you'll lose big time!"
" Lord Zhu, instead of wasting your time with me, why don't you go with the old man and see if you can be of any help?"
Are you teaching me how to do things?
"Otherwise... I'm not going to run away," Jin Shanyao, raising her arm slightly and pointing at Li Xiao. "He knows Anzhi Hall better than anyone else."
Zhu Huaizhang hated fortune tellers the most and would never listen to Jin Shanyao's words, but he thought about how anxious the old man must be after losing his ox.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "Let's go."
Li Xiao had no choice but to let go of the Jin Shanyao arm, secretly shaking his arm a couple of times, planning to eat two more bowls of rice that night.
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Jin Shanyao her eyes. "Are they crazy..."
She continued poking the ground with the small stick, longing for the days when Su Wenqian trusted her wholeheartedly.
He would never call her a liar... Too bad, she got promoted...
Zhu Huaizhang followed behind the old man, watching him rush into the seller's house in a hurry, " Liu Laogen, has the ox I bought returned yet?"
Liu Laogen looked momentarily flustered, "What cow? I didn't see it..."
Hearing this, the old man walked around Liu Laogen and headed towards the cowshed, but was stopped by the other man.
" Old Man Guo, what are you doing... I already told you, there's no cow of yours here."
The old man said anxiously, "Impossible! Master Anzhi Hall said the cow is at your house."
Liu Laogen choked, "What master or what master? I don't know. You'd better leave quickly, or I'll report you to the authorities..."
Seeing that he clearly didn't want him to search, the old man shouted, "You reported... you hid my cow, and you still dare to report me to the authorities?"
Zhu Huaizhang found this scene utterly absurd. This old man was going to search someone's house just because of a swindler's words; he had completely lost his mind.
He strode forward and stood between the two men. "Please calm down, gentlemen. I am the Prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture... You have something to say to me."
Seeing him follow, the old man grabbed Zhu Huaizhang's arm and pointed at Liu Laogen, saying, "My cow ran away to his house, and not only does he deny it, he's also covering it up."
"Bullshit... When did your cow run off to mine? Are you so desperate for your cow that you're practically drooling over it..."
Liu Laogen feigned sudden realization, "You're not trying to scam me out of my cow, are you?"
As he spoke, he grabbed Zhu Huaizhang's other arm and shouted, "Sir, listen to me, I sold him a cow... but that was half a month ago."
Now that his cow is lost, he's come to me... He's definitely trying to extort money from me, sir, you must help me!"
The old man, enraged by the false accusation, clutched his chest, his vision blurred, and he collapsed to the ground.
Fortunately, Zhu Huaizhang caught him quickly, preventing him from suffering a serious head injury.