A farmer has a shrewish wife; he's busy making money every day.

Ye Qingxue quietly widened the crack in the window a little, and got a clear view of the entire room.

Magistrate Xu was sighing when he looked up and saw yet another troublesome fellow.

"Old Zhao, you shouldn't get involved in this." Magistrate Xu waved his hand at him.

The man called Old Zhao glared and raised his voice even louder: "Magistrate Xu, we've studied hard for decades and finally passed the imperial examination to become a proper official, but we're constantly being suppressed by those mountain bandits who appeared out of nowhere. Do you think I can just stay out of it?"

"We are the people's parents and officials, and yet we've been controlled by that damned Fierce Tiger Stronghold. The people are suffering!"

Magistrate Xu slammed his fist on the table, his voice changing: "Zhao Yantang! Do you think I don't know the suffering of the people? If I had a solution, would I need you to tell me? I would go and fight them to the death myself!"

After saying that, Magistrate Xu lowered his voice: "But you know that there are famines everywhere. We only captured a small fry from that Fierce Tiger Stronghold, and for various reasons, grain from other places cannot be delivered to our county. What can I do about it?"

"I tried to send a message out, but there was no response at all. On the contrary, the people from Fierce Tiger Stronghold knew about it immediately, and they came to demand an explanation several times and robbed the people a few times?"

Magistrate Xu sighed heavily: "We can't afford to offend them now. All we can do is offer some compensation to the bullied people. That's all we can do."

Zhao Yantang, however, remained unconvinced: "You've said this tens of thousands of times! I just can't accept it! We can't live like this forever, can we?"

He patted his chest and declared, "I, Old Zhao, will risk my official uniform to bring these scoundrels to justice!"

Magistrate Xu closed his eyes; he had heard Zhao Yantang say these words no less than a hundred times.

"I've said it many times. When we were here, people were still compensating the people. If we're gone, they can just find someone with connections to replace us. Wouldn't the people be even worse off? Use your brain when you think about things!"

Magistrate Xu's words made sense. Zhao Yantang fell silent, his lips pressed tightly together, panting heavily.

After a long pause, he finally managed to say, "Anyway, I definitely have to do something for this birthday party."

With that, he turned and left the house.

Ye Qingxue waited a while longer before quietly retreating, climbing over the wall the way she came.

As she walked along the road, Ye Qingxue had already grasped the general outline of the situation.

The official in this county government was originally an ambitious and good official who wholeheartedly wanted to bring benefits to the people, but he was constantly suppressed by the Fierce Tiger Stronghold, which colluded with officials from Jiangnan Prefecture.

Originally, they wanted to rebel, but the Fierce Tiger Stronghold colluded with officials in Jiangnan Prefecture and embezzled their rice and grain, so it could be said that they controlled the lifeline of Qingshui County.

Xu Guangming was more considerate and tactful, and he knew that a wise man knows when to yield. Therefore, he pretended to flatter him in order to ensure that the people could live a normal life.

After all, being robbed occasionally is better than starving to death.

The man named Zhao Yantang was a rigid and upright person. He was straightforward and couldn't stand this humiliation. He just wanted to lay everything out in the open and get an explanation. He was willing to accept whatever fate brought him to.

However, he was suppressed by Xu Guangming and was unable to take any action.

This birthday banquet has opened a door for Zhao Yantang; he will definitely find an opportunity to do something during the banquet.

But Ye Qingxue knew he wasn't the type to analyze things meticulously, and she worried that he might miss a good opportunity and end up getting himself into trouble instead.

However, the people in the county government were not without the will to resist.

Ye Qingxue was afraid that the county government and those people were in cahoots and had become complicit in wrongdoing, which would be a real problem.

Leaving aside the county officials' thoughts for the moment, Ye Qingxue suddenly realized that this Fierce Tiger Stronghold was quite strange.

If he really had such strong connections in Jiangnan Prefecture, why would he bother to live a secluded life in the mountains of Qingshui County?

Why not go to Jiangnan Prefecture, find any identity, and enjoy life to the fullest?

Unless, of course, they have something they absolutely must do in the mountains of Qingshui County.

As Ye Qingxue pondered this, she gradually turned her footsteps toward the other side of the mountain.

She needs to go and check out this Fierce Tiger Stronghold and find out where they come from!

Before heading into the mountains, she took the opportunity to visit the Lu residence.

The eaves were covered with red auspicious balls; anyone who didn't know better would think there was some kind of happy occasion going on in their household.

This young master Lu is truly pampered.

I heard the head of the county government say that the Lu family came from the capital.

Wealthy families from the capital city truly have the leisure and inclination to visit Qingshui County.

With a sigh, he bought two large meat buns from a street vendor and began to eat them heartily as he walked towards the mountain.

Mmm! It smells good!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the deserted Lu family home, beside Lu Chuci's bed, Pei Shao, as was customary, took advantage of the absence of everyone else in the room to report to him on the major and minor events that had occurred in the past two days.

The things I report are pretty much the same every day, but today is a little different.

“Young master, the Lu family that came to Qingshui County a while ago has been investigated and confirmed to be yours... the Duke of Lu’s Mansion.”

Lu Chuci was playing with the new wooden puppet in her hand when she heard this. She used too much force and accidentally broke the puppet's elbow.

"Humph……"

Lu Chuci chuckled softly and tossed the puppet aside.

Seeing his reaction, Pei Shao felt a chill run down his spine and unconsciously quickened his pace: "But they should just be here for sightseeing for now. I haven't seen them make any moves. They're also planning to hold a birthday banquet for Young Master Lu soon."

"Continue." Lu Chuci's face remained expressionless as she uttered only two words.

Pei Shao continued, "It is said that Shi Ding Lou prepared the dishes for this birthday banquet, and the Lu family specifically requested a tomato feast."

"Oh?"

"It's what I just told you. Miss Ye sold the recipe to the young master of Shidinglou Restaurant in preparation for this birthday banquet."

Lu Chuci finally showed some expression, a slight smirk playing on her lips: "Tomato Feast... Ha, does he even deserve it?"

Pei Shao's head was almost touching the ground; he didn't dare to look up at his young master's expression.

"Pei Shao."

"Here!" Pei Shao exclaimed, startled.

"What identity did you give me in Qingshui County?" Lu Chuci asked casually.

Pei Shao hurriedly explained, "It's a distant relative of the Zhao family. They were robbed by bandits a few days ago, but I rescued them. I told them to go into hiding."

Lu Chuci smiled, a slight smirk playing on her lips: "You threatened them again?"

Pei Shao hurriedly replied, "Your subordinate wouldn't dare. I was merely giving them a rational analysis of the chances of them being harmed if they went out."

Lu Chuci glanced at Pei Shao: "Okay, make the arrangements. I need to be at the birthday banquet."

Pei Shao was stunned: "Huh? Young Master, didn't you say you'd wait a few more months?"

Lu Chuci glanced at him lightly: "I need a reason to leave right after the birthday party, can't you provide that?"

Pei Shao's legs trembled slightly under his gaze: "Yes! I guarantee I can do it!"

He'll lose his job if he can't do it! He has to do it even if he can't!

Tears were streaming down my face, but I had to keep a strong facade!

"There's one more thing. Miss Ye wasn't at the noodle shop today; she went to the county government office."

"Hmm? She knows people in the county government?"

"No, she climbed over the wall to get in."

"……continue."

"Judging from the direction she's heading, it looks like she's going to Tiger Stronghold."

Lu Chuci blinked, paused for a moment, and then suddenly laughed: "This little girl is really restless."

"Stay with her, and don't let her get hurt."

"Yes."

Pei Shao slipped away.