Farming with kids: My deceased husband returns and I spoil him rotten.

"Why am I, this old woman, so unlucky? First, my son, who was an official, died, and now I can't even eat a bite of meat."

“I didn’t stop you from eating, but you can’t take our food as an orphan and widow.”

After Shang Qing finished speaking, his eyes became even colder, as if the other person had eaten the last bite of food in the house.

Madam Gu was not worried about Shang Qing at all. Her expression was even more ferocious, and she was about to get angry when she heard a voice from the other side.

"You kicked others out of their homes first, and now that they finally have a master to help them, you start to covet their things. You really have no shame."

"I'm shameless? Then who do you think you are, daring to disrespect your superiors?"

Upon hearing Gu Wangshi's words, the other party glanced at Shang Qing and noticed that she was looking at Gu Tianyou, who was preparing to escape. The two of them immediately let out a soft gasp.

Guessing what was going on, Gu Yu let out a cold laugh, raised his hand and threw two pebbles, which hit the other party's ankle.

"I knew I couldn't let you get away."

"Brother, please tie the person back to the carriage. We'll set off for the county government immediately."

Lao Zong nodded, but then worried that Shang Qing would be bullied on the way. He was about to make a move when his other hand pressed down on him.

"I'll go with you to buy some things."

"Then I'll trouble you with Shang Qing. Please make sure she doesn't suffer any grievances."

Gu Yu was somewhat dissatisfied with Lao Zong's instructions, but he had the same plan. He nodded and turned to look at the two people tied to the oxcart.

Madam Gu wanted to make another move, but she was frightened by his glare and could only stare fiercely at Shang Qing from behind.

But she ignored him completely, quickening her pace as if she wanted to leave him far behind.

But even after entering the yamen, Gu Wangshi was only trembling in her legs and was not thrown off.

She finally managed to enter the main hall without any major incident, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. She then threw the person out of the car and into the yard.

"Please, Your Honor, do us justice!"

"I, the aggrieved party, haven't even said anything yet, but you two are the first to cry foul."

Seeing that the two people were completely ignoring him, Shang Qing was too lazy to say anything more and directly knelt down respectfully in front of the prefect sitting at the table.

The other party seemed to have some recollection of the desolate mountain she had rented, so she turned her head directly to look at the other two who were crying out for justice.

Although they look slightly different, it is easy to tell that they are mother and son.

Why tie someone up like this?

"That's right! Your Excellency, this wicked woman first lured my son into the courtyard, then knocked him unconscious to lure me in. Now she's crying 'stop thief!' and trying to throw us in jail. Please, Your Excellency, see the truth!"

Naturally, the other party wouldn't just listen to one side of the story, so they immediately turned their attention to Shang Qing beside them.

Feeling the magistrate's gaze, she finally looked up at her still bulging chest.

“Sir, if we’re talking about kinship, this person is still my nephew.”

"What do you mean by this?"

Shang Qing seemed to have thought of something, and couldn't help but sigh. She looked at the seat next to her, her expression clearly sad.

Sensing that there was something unspeakable going on, the county magistrate simply waved his hand, ordering everyone to tell him everything.

With his consent, Shang Qing had no reservations and immediately separated the two families. He then hired the family to clear the land, and subsequently recounted the story of the stolen pork and Gu Tianyou's repeated thefts.

The matter was too complicated, and after talking for quite a while, even Gu Wangshi, who was further behind, had recovered.

"What you mean by explaining the facts?"

"Of course I dare not conceal this from you, sir. If I have told you even the slightest lie, may I be struck by lightning."

The magistrate nodded, and when he was about to interrogate Gu Tianyou, he noticed that the man was constantly touching his chest with one hand, trying to hide something.

Noticing this, he gave a single glance and had someone reach out and pull him out.

Seemingly unwilling to let someone take that piece of pork away, he pulled it out along with his hand.

"Caught red-handed, what else is there to say?"

"Sir, this is a piece of pork. We don't have it anywhere else. How can she be so sure it's from her family? Could it be that I bought it for my son?"

To this explanation, the county magistrate merely glanced at the piece of pork that had been handed to him, and with a quick glance, he knew it was a lie. He then glared sharply at the man.

Knowing that her lie had been exposed, she couldn't argue and could only look longingly at Lady Gu in the crowd.

"You worthless thing, why do you have to crave that one bite?"

"These are all wild boars we hunted ourselves, they're not worth much. Is all of this enough for you?"

Upon seeing his companion being thrown over, Shang Qing didn't even glance at him, but turned and knelt directly before the county magistrate.

He also saw the copper coins scattered all over the ground, and he couldn't help but frown as he looked at Madam Gu.

Do you know how many ounces of meat this can buy?

"They'll beat you up. This wild boar meat is fishy and smelly, it's worthless."

"Besides, that's the price she pays in the village, so why can't I buy it for the same amount of money?"

Hearing that self-righteous tone, both Shang Qing and the county magistrate couldn't help but frown.

The other person also sensed something was wrong, his brows furrowed, and after a long while, he let out another sigh.

"But that was the surplus that I voluntarily sold. The meat I kept was all leftover meat for my own winter and I had no intention of selling it."

"You heard it too, taking something without asking is stealing, is there anything else to say?"

After the magistrate finished speaking, he gave Madam Gu only a moment to react before slamming his gavel to make everyone look at him.

"Since there is nothing more to say, then proceed according to the law. Guards, lock the two of them up in jail."

"No, Grandma, I don't want to go to jail! I heard the food there is spoiled!"

"Mother, I've always worked hard and dutifully at home, doing all the work for you. Even if I haven't done anything great, I've certainly put in the effort. You can't just stand by and watch me die!"

But at this moment, Lady Gu herself was in dire straits, so how could she risk her own life for the sake of two people? She turned around and ran away.

When everything had settled down, Shang Qing was about to leave when she heard a soft cough behind her.

She turned around in confusion and saw Meng Fengzhu pointing to the backyard, indicating that she should follow him there.

Looking in confusion to the other side, she saw Gu Yu staring intently at her before nodding at her after a moment.

Knowing that this meant he could keep up, Shang Qing quickly ran over.

"How about the barren mountain? Are you really confident you can pay the taxes?"

"Winter is just around the corner, which is a good time for planting. I plan to wait until next spring to tend to it."

The other party was aware of the situation in the barren mountain, nodded, and then turned to go back to his room to handle official documents.

But just as the door was about to close, Shang Qing suddenly remembered the unusually high price and couldn't help but rush forward.

"Does Your Excellency know the prices of grain and oil outside?"

"I don't know, is there something wrong?"

Shang Qing glanced at the other party, confirming that he really didn't know, and sighed helplessly, mentioning the small pot of oil he had bought for ten coins earlier.