Chapter 2599 - 2573: Surrender

When opened, inside are two gold medals, engraved with "Top of the Gold List" and "Fortune and Longevity". One gold medal is quite heavy, appearing to be around five to six taels.

The xiaos handed the box to County Magistrate Guo, saying, "Sir, please exchange this gold medal for copper coins to distribute among the families. The deceased should receive more, and a portion should be left for the injured for medical expenses. The rest can be used to buy some meat for both villages to share a meal and resolve their grievances."

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Zheng angrily slammed the table, "Erlang, this gold medal was a gift from your grandfather. He specially commissioned a goldsmith to engrave it. How can you give it away so easily?"

Zheng Fei didn’t speak, just glanced at the xiaos.

The xiaos felt a chill on his scalp and lowered his head to recite the lines he had memorized last night, "Master, the young master said, ’Wealth is easy to obtain, harmony is hard to find. It’s just a hundred thousand coins, and our family can afford it.’"

Patriarch Zheng’s mouth trembled slightly, but eventually, he couldn’t bear to let the gold medal be taken away by County Magistrate Guo. So he turned and ordered a steward to bring two sacks of copper coins to County Magistrate Guo, with each sack containing fifty strings.

Manbao, who was sitting and drinking tea, was dumbfounded, while County Magistrate Guo accepted the hundred thousand coins with a smile and returned the box to the xiaos.

The xiaos took the box and handed it to Zheng Erlang, leaving Patriarch Zheng unable to protest even if he wanted to help keep it safe.

County Magistrate Guo observed everything, forming a plan in his mind. He ordered his men to carry away the two sacks of money.

Seeing this, Manbao also got up, reminding the Zheng family father and son, "Don’t let your emotions be too agitated. Eat lightly. After today’s acupuncture, be sure to exercise in private and speak more. You can hold a stone in your right hand and practice your strength repeatedly. I will return tomorrow."

Manbao then followed behind County Magistrate Guo.

Because of Zhou Man’s words, "Don’t let your emotions be too agitated," Patriarch Zheng suppressed his temper, gave his son a look, and then turned to leave.

Zheng Fei watched his father leave, sighed, and looked at the xiaos.

The xiaos quickly stepped forward to close the door, worriedly saying, "Erlang, will the master be very angry?"

Zheng Fei shook his head slightly, casually writing, "He’ll calm down eventually."

"But with Dalang also here, Erlang, they are privately saying that the tenants over there intentionally meant to harm you, and that the one who gave the order was Dalang..."

Zheng Fei’s expression darkened, and he wrote heavily on the paper, "Nonsense must not be spoken again. If anyone dares to make such malicious speculation in front of you again, inform the steward and the master, and have them driven away."

The xiaos was startled and quickly bowed his head and answered, "Yes."

Zheng Fei’s expression was unsightly. After contemplating for a long time, he burned the two sheets of paper with writing on them, then took a new sheet and wrote, "Go invite Big Brother here and say I have something to tell him."

Surprised, the xiaos looked at Zheng Fei. Erlang and Dalang had never gotten along. Dalang had only come to see Erlang the afternoon when he returned, and then he had been avoiding the area ever since.

To invite Dalang at this time...

Zheng Fei looked at him.

The xiaos had no choice but to turn and go invite him.

Manbao rode his horse to catch up with County Magistrate Guo, and they rode side by side, heading out, "County Magistrate Guo, will you come again tomorrow?"

County Magistrate Guo: "I’m not a doctor, how can I visit every day?"

He laughed, "If nothing unexpected happens, I probably won’t visit again."

He looked Zhou Man up and down and asked with a smile, "It’s still early, Lord Zhou, why not stay at the Zheng’s for a while longer? I heard that when you were in the palace, you even supervised people to fumigate the rooms every day."

Manbao said, "Their prepared room is cleaner than the one in the Eastern Palace, there’s no need for me to supervise the fumigation. Besides, the atmosphere here is strange, I don’t want to stay long."

At the fork in the road, Manbao remembered that Yin Huo had not been feeling well lately due to the change of seasons, so she turned in a different direction and waved to County Magistrate Guo, "I am leaving. See you later."

County Magistrate Guo stopped his horse, looked at the direction she was heading, and said curiously, "That’s not your home."

"I’m going to check on Yin Huo."

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Guo immediately said, "I’ll go with you."

Manbao looked at him curiously, "Lord Guo, are you also friends with Yin Huo?"

County Magistrate Guo: "...Not exactly, but Young Master Yin is my superior’s son. I want to meet Lord Yin."

He reflected on how difficult it was to find Yin Li these past two days, realizing it was because Yin Huo was unwell.

This time, although Yin Huo was unwell, he stubbornly refused to return to the Yin Residence, so he still stayed at his County Mansion.

Only the Old Madam moved over to care for him, even Yin Li also moved to stay there.

Following Zhou Man inside, County Magistrate Guo thought to himself, no wonder a few times when he sent people to find someone at the Yin Residence, they couldn’t find them.

Yin Li met County Magistrate Guo in the front hall, while Manbao, familiar with the place, headed to the back.

Yin Huo was sitting by the window on a couch reading a book. The window was only half open, and if it weren’t for his strong opinions, the Old Madam would not have wanted to open even that much.

When he saw Zhou Man arrive, the Old Madam cheerfully chatted with her for a while before leaving to give space for the two of them to talk.

Yin Huo was curious, "Why did you come over by yourself? Where’s Bai Shan?"

"He hasn’t finished at the yamen yet."

Yin Huo glanced outside to check the sun’s position and after a moment said "Oh." Smelling the medicinal scent on her, he asked, "Did you come from the Zheng’s place?"

Manbao nodded and asked, "How are you feeling today?"

Yin Huo waved indifferently, "I’m just a bit drowsy and dizzy, it’s nothing serious."

Manbao nodded, "This is just the damp wind from too much rain. Shall I give you a scraping massage?"

Manbao enthusiastically said, "I’m pretty good at scraping massages."

Yin Huo stiffened and shook his head repeatedly. He had seen the marks on Zhou SiLang’s neck, reportedly left by Zhou Man.

"You can try it on Bai Shan."

"He’s not tired. He practices martial arts every day and is in good health," Manbao said.

Yin Huo changed the topic, "I also heard from the servants that County Magistrate Guo is here too, and came with you. Did you meet on the way?"

"No, we left the Zheng’s together," Manbao simply recounted Zheng Erlang’s actions and said, "You know, it’s no wonder Senior Brother Tang and County Magistrate Guo praise him as a pillar of the nation. His magnanimity is rare."

Although he was the one injured, nearly losing his life, he bore no resentment, instead offering money to help resolve their grudges.

Yin Huo said, "He suspects those tenants are victims in a larger plot. But indeed, his generosity is admirable."

Manbao had heard much private gossip lately. She and Bai Shan had discussed it, noticing that the emperor and some ministers behaved strangely, as if watching a lively show without any compunction. Though they had limited information and couldn’t deduce much, she looked at Yin Huo with bright eyes and asked, "Could it be those tenants fought just for a chance to strike him with a hoe?"

Yin Huo shook his head, "I don’t know."

Manbao: ...