That noon, Qing He returned from the street carrying a full basket of vegetables, her forehead covered in a fine layer of sweat, her face beaming with barely suppressed excitement.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Jin Shanyao reclining in a rocking chair, basking in the sun, and rushed over eagerly. "Master, guess what I heard today?"
Her shout drew everyone out of the house.
Jin Shanyao an eyebrow, signaling her to continue, and Meng Anzhi stopped cutting the medicinal herbs.
Qing He put down her basket and said vividly, "It's all over the streets. They say that Lord Su of Qingzhou Prefecture was furious and personally led men to confiscate the Prefectural Vice Magistrate Wang."
She patted her chest to catch her breath, then gestured with her hands as she continued, "Such a thick iron chain, hanging around his neck, dragged straight into the prefect's jail, tsk tsk, what a scene..."
Jin Shanyao found it amusing, and Qing He's expression was as if she had witnessed it herself.
Meng Anzhi recognized Su Wenqian and couldn't help but pay more attention. "Really? Didn't the magistrate resist?"
"Then what's the point of resisting? I heard they were caught at the Jade Terrace House. There's an altar in the basement of the Jade Terrace House, with memorial tablets and the boy's corpse inside."
Qing He spat, cursed "beast," and picked up the vegetables from the basket to start picking them.
"Colluding with evil Daoist priests, plotting against superiors, embezzling and perverting the law... I heard that just the gold and silver chests confiscated alone numbered more than a dozen."
Qing He's face showed a relieved expression, "The neighbors all say that this is like pulling out a big fang of Qingzhou Prefecture, they deserve it!"
"He's exploiting the people. If only Lord Su had come a few years earlier, perhaps our Willow and Poplar County could have benefited too."
She set the selected vegetables aside. " Magistrate Yang is quite good, but compared to Lord Su, he's not quite there..."
Qing Yang retorted, "You're spouting nonsense again. If Lord Yang hears you, he'll give you a beating."
Lu Chi, who had been silent all along, looked at Jin Shanyao, but Jin Shanyao didn't even lift her eyelids, lazily basking in the sun.
Seeing no response, Qing He pressed on, "Master, are you listening to me?"
"Yes, I'm listening," Jin Shanyao responded softly. "Don't make the dishes too salty for lunch today." Her abrupt remark startled everyone at first, but then they all burst into laughter.
Qing He asked, puzzled, "What are you laughing at? When have I ever cooked anything that's been too salty?"
Summer arrived before we knew it.
Recently, Jin Shanyao gone mad for some reason and insists on fertilizing Lush Mountain.
Listen to what a human being would say? Fertilizing the mountains—how could she even think of that?
With a handkerchief wrapped around his nose and mouth, Lu Chi looked at the small mountain of farmyard manure with such disgust that he wished he could stay as far away as possible.
Especially in August and September, when these things pile up at the foot of the mountain, they look incredibly vibrant.
Jin Shanyao shovel and handed it to him, saying, "This fertilizer smells rotten, but it tastes amazing..."
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Chi suddenly vomited.
It wasn't something she said that made him vomit!
Jin Shanyao her eyes. Nobles are so pretentious. She shoveled some farmyard manure at the base of the tree and then threw it into the grass.
Just as she was getting into the swing of things, she heard a cry of pain, "Grandma, Grandma, stop! This stuff is burning my roots! My roots are about to be burned off!"
The roots of the big trees are deep and the farmyard manure hasn't penetrated yet, but the roots of the grass and moss on the ground are shallow, and they cry out as soon as they come into contact with the farmyard manure.
It's over... what's spilled can't be taken back.
Jin Shanyao stood there, shovel in hand, stunned. In the past, she had always used her Spiritual Power to irrigate Lush Mountain.
I recently read a few books on agriculture and decided to make my own farmyard manure.
She also applied fertilizer in Little River Village, and the plants didn't seem to complain. What went wrong?
After a period of mental preparation, Lu Chi finally convinced himself and was about to throw the excrement when Jin Shanyao him.
"Don't spray it yet, there's something wrong with this farmyard manure."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chi immediately became alert. "Could someone have poisoned it?"
Jin Shanyao's face was cold and aloof. She had bought this farmyard manure from night soil collectors at a high price.
The families were all mixed together, with leftover food and rotten vegetable leaves. If it were a case of poisoning, it would be difficult to find the culprit immediately.
A silence fell over the air.
Qing Yang pulled over with a cart of rotten vegetable leaves and saw her master and Lu Chi squatting on a rock, their eyes fixed on the pile of dung, seemingly lost in thought.
Just as she was about to unload the truck, she heard her master say in a sinister tone, " Qing Yang, our Fei has been poisoned."
A tall tree catches the wind, Jin Shanyao makes one feel like it's attracting the wind.
Having grown up in a treacherous environment, Lu Chi's first instinct was to poison someone; the two men were remarkably alike in their thoughts.
Meng Anzhi was processing herbs, glancing around without saying a word.
Qing Yang, "Master, arsenic needs to be registered with the government. Look at this pile of dung..."
She pointed to the mountain of manure, "One packet of arsenic is definitely not enough, ten packets would be more like it."
Ten packets of arsenic cost at least five taels of silver. Who would spend five taels of silver to poison us?
Jin Shanyao head in disbelief, "Perhaps they're just jealous because Lush Mountain is doing well!"
Qing Yang chuckled, "Master, this Li Da who empties the chamber pots treats you like royalty."
He wouldn't have met a benefactor like you even if he counted five years before or five years after.
This pile of dung is his gold nugget; he can get others to do what he wants.
Lu Chi agreed, "Indeed, every profession has its top performers. Li Da probably never imagined that cleaning chamber pots would lead to wealth, success, and meeting you, his benefactor."
Jin Shanyao glared at him. "Ignorant human! The preciousness of excrement is beyond your imagination. It's nothing!"
She turned to look at Qing Yang again, "Do you know how to farm?"
Qing Yang laughed, "I've been crawling in the fields since I was a child, pulling weeds in the spring and picking wheat in the summer. There's no chores I can't do."
Upon Jin Shanyao's face lit up with joy, and she asked, "Then do you know why farmyard manure burns plant roots and stems?"
Qing Yang said awkwardly, "Master, I don't understand fertilizer, but my father and second uncle are experts at farming."
The crops in the village are sick, and everyone in the village goes to him for compost. Maybe I should go home and ask him.
Jin Shanyao's eyes suddenly lit up, and she exclaimed admiringly, "Your father and second uncle can treat plants?"
Qing Yang blushed slightly, a little embarrassed. "It's not about seeing a doctor or anything. The villagers trust him, and he's willing to help."
Jin Shanyao, looking like a hooligan, squatted on the rock, rubbing his chin.
The book says that one should treat capable people with respect and humility.
She slapped her thigh and jumped off the rock. "Come on, I'll personally go to your house to invite you."
When Qing Yang heard that her master wanted to go home with her, she nervously twisted the reins incessantly. "Master, my home is rather dilapidated..." she worried that she wouldn't be able to properly entertain her.
Jin Shanyao said nonchalantly, "I'm here to seek guidance from an expert, not to act like a big shot. Stop talking nonsense and lead the way."
She quickly pushed the rotten vegetable leaves off the cart, picked up Meng Anzhi, and sat her on the oxcart.
He said to Lu Chi, "Hey... tidy this up. I'll invite an expert over, and then we'll fertilize it."
Although Jin Shanyao absorbs the essence of the sun and moon and does not need fertilizers like farmyard manure, she wanted to give the vegetation of Lush Mountain a change of pace.
After the Jin Shanyao, Lu Chi's expression returned to its coldness. He raised his hand, and four or five men in black instantly appeared beside him.
Go and neatly stack that pile of rotten vegetable leaves.
Four or five men in black looked at each other in bewilderment. They had been sent by the Empress to protect Heir Apparent Lu's life and to plot his grand scheme.
But after observing for so many days, it seems that the master spends his days either chopping wood or emptying swill.
Occasionally, she teaches the children to read and write, ride horses, and practice martial arts, but her status is even lower than that of the family dog.
The man in black quickly tidied up the rotten vegetable leaves and stood beside Lu Chi, awaiting instructions.
Lu Chi said in a deep voice, "Has Lu Mingche's tail been cleaned up?"
Feng Zhi, "Don't worry, Master, it's been cleaned up. The only question is, when will we return to the capital?"
"No rush, I'll bring back some delicacies from Lush Mountain after the autumn harvest."
Feng Zhi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The young master is truly filial!
Lu Chi waved his hand, and four or five people disappeared instantly, leaving the cleaned ground in their wake.
Lu Chi felt a heavy weight in his chest. Thinking of the bodyguard who had followed him since childhood but died protecting him, he silently clenched his fists.
Jin Shanyao some skills, and he wanted to recruit him for his own use, especially the ginkgo that could cure all poisons. Before leaving, he wanted to get a few more bottles.