Nie Shi'an's Head Was About to Explode

Zhou Wanwan is quite generous to her team of counterfeiters.

The bandit leaders immediately knelt down on the ground, saying, "Thank you for your reward, Master."

The stewards nodded and said, "Our master treats you all very well. As long as you are willing to do your job well, you will certainly not be treated unfairly."

These managers quickly investigated the situation of each mountain stronghold.

Each village is different, so the plans are also different. Some villages are suitable for farming because they have plenty of land.

Some mountain villages have many mulberry trees, which are suitable for weaving cloth.

In some mountain villages, many people knew how to forge iron, so Zhou Wanwan had people teach them how.

These life skills must be taught gradually.

Those in charge looked at the bandit leader and said:

You must learn these life skills well.

Furthermore, the master will send teachers and martial arts instructors to teach you reading and martial arts.

"Get ready."

The bandit leaders were dumbfounded:

"What? They're sending a master and a martial arts instructor?"

Is this... really? The children in our mountain village can also study and learn martial arts?

The steward chuckled and said, "Of course it's true. The master said you'll be treated the same as the children of the main village."

The bandit leader was overjoyed. "But... but we are bandits, I'm afraid we won't be able to participate in the scientific expedition, will we?"

The steward looked at him and said:

"First of all, regardless of whether you are participating in scientific expeditions or not, you must read books. Reading can broaden your horizons and increase your knowledge."

Secondly, as long as you study well, your master will find a way to arrange for you to participate in the imperial examinations.

With tears in his eyes, the bandit leader said, "Good, if the children can really participate in the scientific expedition, I'll give my life for my master."

Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—scholars belonged to the scholar class, which held the highest status. They were the ones who could legitimately participate in the imperial examinations and rise to official positions.

Farmers, artisans, and merchants each have their own limitations; not just anyone can casually take the imperial examinations.

Mountain bandits, on the other hand, were of even lower status, not registered in the official household register, and were people the imperial court wanted to arrest.

Let alone participating in scientific expeditions, they weren't even qualified to do stable jobs or legitimate livelihoods that ordinary people could do.

The imperial examinations only accepted law-abiding citizens with clean backgrounds and honest families. Anyone who was associated with bandits or criminals was barred from taking the exams for life and could never pursue the path of studying and becoming an official.

The steward said with a smile, "Work hard, and the master will make sure the children's future is well taken care of."

Zhou Wanwan stayed in the mountain village for two days, but the city was already in an uproar.

Nie Shi'an, in particular, was like an ant on a hot pan.

Madam Nie looked at him and said, "What kind of treasure appreciation event was this? Now look what's happened! You have to compensate for all the treasures. How are you going to compensate for them?"

Nie Shi'an couldn't help but frown:

"Alright, things have already come to this, what do you want me to do?"

Besides, Zhou Wanwan didn't find them, right? Maybe she hid those treasures away."

Madam Nie couldn't help but roll her eyes:

"You've really made something of yourself, actually pinning your hopes on a girl who hasn't even grown up yet."

Moreover, Zhou Wanwan herself has problems.

She's a bandit; she might have stolen these things.

Nie Shi'an retorted loudly:

"Nonsense! This time, she actually signed a contract with me."

If even one item were missing, she would be held responsible; how could she possibly steal from someone in charge?

Besides, this child isn't like that. She's been working for me lately, and she's doing a really good job."

Madam Nie was furious. "Nie Rou has been harmed like this by her, are you blind?"

Nie Shi'an couldn't help but say:

Everyone knows about Nie Rou's situation.

"They were the ones who all fell into the river, what does that have to do with Zhou Wanwan?"

Madam Nie was so angry her chest ached. "Fine, I'll see if Zhou Wanwan can get everything back."

Nie Shi'an was at a loss; those powerful families were all demanding his treasures, but how could he possibly produce them?

Now we can only pin our hopes on Zhou Wanwan.

But all the aristocratic families were in despair. "With so many bandits, all those treasures must be gone. Our family's treasures are worth millions of taels of silver."

"What's a million taels? My antique has been passed down through generations; it's priceless, and now it's gone."

"Lord Nie, you must give us an explanation!"

What could he possibly say? Cold sweat poured down Nie Shi'an's forehead.

He sighed and said, "I told Zhou Wanwan that if any problems arise, she only needs to help me protect these treasures, and I will give her five thousand taels for each one."

Those aristocratic families said:

"If Zhou Wanwan can really protect these treasures, we don't mind paying several thousand taels of silver ourselves."

But you saw what happened that day; there were so many bandits, probably tens of thousands of them.

Zhou Wanwan is probably in grave danger, not to mention your treasures."

Nie Shi'an was furious; Zhou Wanwan was definitely no match for those bandits.

He has to pay for all of these things. Even if the Nie Family is wealthy and powerful, they can't possibly pay that much!

He now secretly regrets it.

Prefect Fang and Cheng Xiao walked over. Prefect Fang sighed and looked at him, saying:

"We've been telling you that Zhou Wanwan has a problem, but you just won't listen."

Lord Nie, you've really stirred up a hornet's nest this time.

Cheng Xiao also said helplessly:

"Lord Nie, why do you believe Zhou Wanwan?"

Zhou Wanwan is a bandit leader; it's already good enough that she didn't steal your treasures.

You don't actually expect her to send those treasures back, do you?

Nie Shi'an looked at them and said:

"No, I think you are prejudiced against Zhou Wanwan. You always say bad things about Zhou Wanwan."

But I think this girl is quite nice.

Especially recently, she's been a great help to me.

Cheng Xiao's lips twitched. "Lord Nie, don't you think she's causing trouble?"

Nie Shi'an looked at them and said:

"Zhou Wanwan is organized and methodical in her work, and she is actually capable of solving those cases."

Although I don't know exactly how she did it, I reviewed each case later, and there were no problems.

Hey! Prefect Fang and Cheng Xiao are really going crazy.

They already knew that Nie Shi'an wasn't very bright, but now they realized it wasn't just a matter of being mentally challenged; it was downright absurd.

Soon, all the prominent families arrived.

The powerful families looked at Nie Shi'an and said, "Lord Nie, how do you plan to resolve this? What will happen to our treasures?"

Nie Shi'an looked at them and said, "Let's wait a little longer; perhaps things will take a turn for the better."

Those aristocratic families couldn't help but say, "Could it be that Lord Nie really expects something from a mere young girl?"

The others chimed in, "That little blonde girl is probably already dead. We can't just sit here and wait, can we?"

"Lord Nie, you don't intend to compensate us, do you? These treasures of ours are all priceless. If you don't compensate us, we will suffer a huge loss."