Chapter 72: Preparation 1/2

After Jin Moli’s rebirth, many things changed.

For instance, Laogen from the Li family didn’t die, her previous life’s husband had already married someone else, and the Yao family hadn’t started their business and become wealthy.

But before, the changes were all around her, related to her.

Recently, things were different. Some major events in the county have changed!

These days, her foster father kept talking about County Magistrate Gou, telling stories of how Gou had solved cases, saying how satisfying it was that Zhang Chouqian had been thrown into prison by County Magistrate Gou… None of this had happened in her previous life!

She remembered that in her previous life, Zhang Chouqian hadn’t been caught at all. As a result, the price of onions skyrocketed, and because her husband couldn’t afford fertilizer, their harvests suffered…

Because people in the county had to pay to have their chamber pots emptied, the county became increasingly foul-smelling.

As for County Magistrate Gou… No one had spoken well of him back then. In Zhaojia Village, where she lived, everyone cursed County Magistrate Gou.

After all, Zhao Xiaodou had died, and when they reported it to the authorities, nothing had come of it, not even from the Hong family’s young master.

People in the village felt that even if he was mad, if he killed someone, he should pay with his life. They all thought County Magistrate Gou had been bribed by the Hong family.

More than a year later, because a scholar in Chongcheng County was brutally murdered, the county became filled with a stench… County Magistrate Gou was stripped of his official hat.

When County Magistrate Gou was dismissed, everyone cheered, feeling that he deserved it, but now, County Magistrate Gou has somehow become a celebrated official!

County Magistrate Gou had fallen from grace because of the scholar’s murder, so Jin Moli had a deep impression of this event.

Such cases were indeed rare.

The murdered scholar’s surname was Fang, and the murderer was his elder sister, Fang Xiuniang.

Fang, the scholar, had been a popular figure in Chongcheng County. He wasn’t well-known originally, but after passing the county-level examination and going to the provincial capital for the imperial examination, he wrote a poem expressing how hard his mother had worked to support his education.

The poem was exceptionally well-written, and a high-ranking official in the provincial capital praised him for his filial piety. He instantly became famous and eventually passed the imperial examination.

However, just when everyone knew that their county had produced a filial scholar named Fang, his elder sister, Fang Xiuniang, killed him.

It was said that Fang Xiuniang first poisoned his food with rat poison, which didn’t kill him but made him suffer continuously from diarrhea. Then, Fang Xiuniang took a pair of scissors and stabbed him to death.

After killing him, Fang Xiuniang committed suicide.

The official verdict was that Fang Xiuniang was insane when she committed the murder, but the people of Chongcheng County knew better.

It was said that Fang, the scholar, could only study because his two sisters worked tirelessly day and night on needlework. Fang’s elder sister, Fang Jinniang, went blind from excessive needlework.

Then, Fang’s mother sold her to a man surnamed Wang in the county as a concubine.

After Fang Jinniang went to the Wang family, she died in less than half a year. It was said that she was tortured to death by the Wang family. After this incident, Fang, the scholar, and his mother didn’t pursue the matter further; they accepted compensation from the Wang family and settled the issue!

That wasn’t all; after passing the imperial examination, Fang, the scholar, intended to marry Fang Xiuniang to Sun Juren as a concubine.

Yes, it was Sun Juren, the one who was practically on his deathbed, with one foot already in the grave, with white hair all over his head!

Fang Xiuniang probably couldn’t bear it anymore, which led her to use scissors to kill Fang, the scholar. It was said that after that incident, Fang’s mother went insane.

For Jin Moli, this was a long time ago. She remembered their names because one was called Jinniang and the other Xiuniang, combining to form the word “Jinxiu”.

Wasn’t Fang Jinniang sent to be a concubine for Mr. Wang after she went blind from needlework? Why would she be involved with Jin Xiaoshu?

Jin Xiaoye said, “Yes, Miss Fang is called Fang Jinniang. Do you know her?”

Jin Moli replied, “I’ve heard of her… I heard she’s blind?” She sympathized with Fang Jinniang and Fang Xiuniang, but she still wanted Jin Xiaoshu to marry her cousin.

“She’s not blind. Wasn’t I helping shopkeeper Wu distribute embroidery work in the county? Fang Jinniang came to me for work. Her eyesight isn’t great; she can’t see things far away, but she’s not blind.” Jin Xiaoye spoke up for Fang Jinniang.

Jin Moli now understood how Fang Jinniang knew Jin Xiaoshu.

In her previous life, Jin Xiaoye hadn’t been involved in distributing embroidery work. He had always sold food at the docks with Jin Xiaoshu, so Jin Xiaoshu didn’t know Fang Jinniang. In this life, Jin Xiaoye had changed his business, and they met.

It was said that the Fang sisters were both very beautiful, so it was natural for Jin Xiaoshu to like them.

However… Fang Jinniang was the daughter of a scholar, and her brother was also a scholar. How could she like Jin Xiaoshu?

Jin Moli looked puzzled, and the others hadn’t come to their senses yet.

Whether it was Grandma Jin or Jin Moli’s cousin, they had only seen Jin Xiaoshu during the New Year.

At that time, Jin Xiaoshu was a skinny teenager who hadn’t gone through puberty yet, even rolling his eyes at them.

Initially, they didn’t particularly like Jin Xiaoshu.

But now that Jin Xiaoshu has caught the attention of the girls in the county… These two suddenly thought Jin Xiaoshu was great and felt dissatisfied!

Even Grandma Jin, who had been initially angry, felt favorable towards Fang Jinniang after hearing Jin Xiaoye’s words. That girl could earn one or two silver coins a month!

Grandma Jin asked, “Do the girls from the county really like Xiaoshu?”

“How could it be false?” Jin Xiaoye said.

“You think her mother won’t agree…”

“She might say it with her mouth, but if her daughter really likes him, what can her mother do?” Jin Xiaoye said. “I fell for Li Qingzhi back then, and I still got married in the end.”

That makes sense… Grandma Jin was about to say something when Aunt Jin said, “There’s no such thing as pie falling from the sky. Could this girl have done something shameful and needs to find a new home?”

As Jin Xiaoye and Jin Xiaoshu’s days got better, even their daughter told her not to offend these two. Aunt Jin was feeling quite unhappy.

Aunt Jin’s words were not pleasant, and it happened that Jin Xiaoshu came in from outside at this time.

After talking with Li Qingzhi and realizing that Fang Jinniang had almost committed suicide, Jin Xiaoshu’s mood had been heavy.

Although he was born in the countryside and had a tough life with little to eat and wear, his living environment was quite simple, and his parents and sister were very good to him.

Among his peers in Miaoqian Village, he was considered to be doing well.