“Yes, if worst comes to worst, we’ll fight them! There’s no way we can let those bastards take the food we’ve worked so hard to grow,” someone declared.

“Yesterday, I saw that the sweet potatoes in the fields had grown huge. The parts sticking out were as big as a fist. If it really comes down to it, we should just harvest everything early and hide it. No way are we letting them take our crops for free!”

“Tomorrow, we’ll block them at the fields. I don’t believe they would actually dare to kill us!”

Everyone was voicing their anger, determined to fight to the end. Their resolute expressions showed they were ready to go down swinging.

Shen Qingwan was deeply moved by their support, but she knew this wasn’t something the villagers needed to handle themselves.

“Everyone, don’t worry. I’ll take care of this. They won’t be able to seize our fields. Just go about your usual work tomorrow. The sweet potatoes and cabbages are almost ready for harvest—we still have plenty to do. You’ve all worked hard these past few months, and once the crops are harvested, I’ll slaughter a pig and treat everyone. Every household will get a share of the meat.”

Hearing this, the villagers felt more at ease.

Since Shen Qingwan said she had a way to solve the problem, they believed she must know someone even more powerful than the county magistrate.

When she mentioned slaughtering a pig to reward everyone, their spirits lifted even more, and they felt motivated to work harder.

Once the village head dismissed everyone, Shen Qingwan finally had the chance to help Lu Wenguang up.

His injuries were the worst, but the Yang brothers weren’t much better.

They had charged forward alongside him, suffering heavy blows.

Yang Chengji had a bleeding head wound, and Yang Chengzhao was limping from a beaten leg, though fortunately, no bones were broken—just external injuries.

Shen Qingwan instructed them to go home and rest, then invited the village head to her house.

The carriage, which had been empty before, was now filled with thirty to forty chickens—already plucked and placed neatly in bamboo baskets.

These were chickens she had stored in advance.

Since so many villagers had gotten hurt because of her family’s troubles, she naturally had to show her gratitude.

“Uncle, I just got back and have a lot to handle, so I can’t go door to door thanking everyone personally. Please help distribute these chickens. Everyone who got injured today should receive one, and your family should keep two for yourselves. If there aren’t enough, come find me for more.”

From what she saw earlier, about thirty people had visible injuries. Even if there were more, these chickens should be enough to go around.

The village head hesitated, feeling that it wasn’t right to take a whole chicken just for a small matter, and that others might feel embarrassed to accept.

But Shen Qingwan insisted, so he had no choice but to take them, carrying the baskets with the help of his two sons.

After sending the village head off, Shen Qingwan also gave two chickens to Zhou Huiniang, asking her to make some chicken soup for her younger brother’s recovery.

Zhou Huiniang was a bit embarrassed but obediently followed her instructions.

Lu Wenguang was still worried about Shen Qingwan’s safety, but when she assured him that she knew the prefectural governor and wouldn’t be afraid of the county magistrate’s retaliation, he finally felt more at ease.

At noon, Zhou Huiniang prepared a large pot of chicken stew.

Shen Qingwan joined them for the meal before heading off to check on the pig farm in the afternoon. The piglets were growing rapidly and would be ready for market by the end of the year.

The chicken and duck coops she had ordered were also complete. The duck coop was connected to Mingyue Lake.

Since the village had already dug two wells, they no longer needed to use lake water for drinking, making it the perfect place to raise ducks and geese.

The chicken and duck farms were next to each other, but the chicken coop had taller walls to prevent escape.

Shen Qingwan placed incubation equipment inside the chicken farm’s rest area.

The first batch of chickens, ducks, and geese needed to be hatched manually, which was more troublesome.

Luckily, she had more than one incubator in her space, allowing her to hatch tens of thousands of eggs at once. If everything went well, they would all be ready for market before the new year.

Although the machines were fully automated, they still needed to be monitored. Since she couldn’t entrust this task to anyone else, she had to check on them personally.

After carefully setting up the equipment and placing the eggs inside, she finally finished by late afternoon.

As the sky darkened, she locked up the chicken farm and headed home.

Looking at the empty courtyard of her new house, Shen Qingwan couldn’t help but miss her two children. The house was already built, but she hadn’t had the chance to live there with them yet.

Whenever she returned, she stayed at her younger brother’s place temporarily.

That night, she told Lu Wenguang that she had to go out for a while and might return late. Worried about her safety, he wanted to accompany her, but she reassured him that she would be fine on her own.

After unhitching the carriage, she mounted a horse and rode toward the county town.

Since Zhang Qiao’er was the root cause of everything, Shen Qingwan wasn’t going to let her off. As for the Feng family—the wealthiest in town?

She was curious to see just how deep their pockets were, daring to act so arrogantly.

And the county magistrate? He was no better. Since he enjoyed colluding with the rich, she would make sure he tasted the consequences.

By the time Shen Qingwan reached Jingyang Town, night had already fallen. Most shops had closed, leaving only inns, brothels, and taverns still lit.

The streets were eerily quiet. Since the town had an open entrance, it was easy to get in and out.

She tied her horse in a secluded area, planning to visit the county office first—until she unexpectedly spotted a large plaque with “Feng Family” written on it.

The grand mansion was unmistakable. She didn’t even need confirmation to know this was the place.

“Rich families really do live differently,” she thought. “But is their wealth real or just a façade?”

Without hesitation, she scaled the walls and slipped inside.

Ancient mansions had similar layouts, with the largest courtyard on the east side typically being the main residence.

That made it easy to find her way.

However, the main courtyard’s lights were already out, indicating its occupants had gone to bed. She explored the estate and found it impressively large, complete with rock gardens, winding corridors, and pavilions.

Finally, she located a lit chamber and climbed onto the roof to peek inside, wanting to confirm if it belonged to Zhang Qiao’er.

The scene before her nearly made her gasp aloud.

Zhang Qiao’er was indeed inside—but what she was doing was beyond Shen Qingwan’s expectations.

The woman, despite her plain looks, was entangled with an old man covered in wrinkles, moaning loudly as if wanting the entire household to hear her pleasure.

“No wonder she made it as a concubine. With skills like these, she’s truly cut out for this job,” Shen Qingwan mused with a smirk.

Originally, she had planned to kill only one of them. But seeing how deeply in love they seemed, wouldn’t it be too cruel to separate them?

Fine, she’d be merciful. They could die together.

From her storage space, she retrieved a bottle of powder. Looking at the vial in her hand, her lips curved into a sinister smile.

This was a potent aphrodisiac used for breeding horses. A single sniff was enough to keep someone going for hours.

Covering her own nose and mouth, she dumped the entire bottle of powder into the room.