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The journey seemed long, and Chen Feng felt bored as she gazed out the window. Watching the fertile fields and wilderness flash by, she had a sensation of traveling in a car in a past life. Most of the time, Luo Fang and Qinbo chatted away, with Chen Shi occasionally joining in.
They discussed the numerous relatives and friends who had come to the capital for Chu Hanyan’s birthday, as well as the guests from the provincial capital and the city of Dingzhou. On the day of her birthday, nearly all the nobles and affluent residents of Dingzhou had come to offer their congratulations, making for a lively event…
Chen Feng realized that Little Miss Chu not only came from a prominent family but had esteemed lineage. Her great-grandfather was an old marquis, her grandfather was a marquis, and even her maternal grandfather is a high official in the Jibei Province. This was truly an illustrious background. However, it was perplexing why someone from such a distinguished family would choose to become a nun.
Furthermore, they didn’t mention the current marquis, Little Miss Chu’s grandfather, coming to offer his congratulations. According to Steward Luo, someone had ill intentions toward Little Miss Chu and had even involved a certain royal figure from the palace… Could it be that the Marquis of Chu had developed an illicit affection, and his current wife, being influential, was also targeting Little Miss Chu, forcing her to hide in the mansion?
Moreover, they hadn’t mentioned anything about Little Miss Chu’s maternal relatives and her mother. Perhaps her mother had already passed away…
Just as Chen Feng was lost in thought, their conversation suddenly shifted to the newly appointed magistrate, Mr. Chen.
Chen Feng became nervous, and even Chen Shi’s expression became somewhat unnatural.
Qinbo asked, “Steward Luo, did you see the newly appointed magistrate, Mr. Chen, when you were receiving guests? I heard he’s extremely handsome.” He added incredulously, “Even if he’s handsome, can he compare to our master’s good looks? Or the marquis’s handsome appearance when he was young?”
Luo Fang proudly replied, “I actually saw Mr. Chen. He is indeed extremely handsome. However, his handsome appearance is different from our master’s and the marquis’s. Our master and the marquis exude a sense of power and ruggedness in their good looks, while Mr. Chen’s good looks are more refined, even more attractive than a woman’s.” Pausing for a moment, he added, “Strange… why do I feel like Mr. Chen resembles someone I know?”
Seeing Chen Feng’s anxious expression, Chen Shi quickly glanced at her and Mrs. Wang, then promptly said, “Steward Luo, Uncle Qinbo, do you know where the previous magistrate went to take up his new post? He was a high-ranking official, after all.”
Luo Fang replied, “Oh, he went to the capital to take up a new position…”
They changed the topic to something else.
Fortunately, they didn’t mention the name of “Mr. Chen,” and Mrs. Wang, uninterested in matters unrelated to her, kept her head down, weaving a basket.
Chen Feng felt that it wouldn’t be possible to keep the news about Chen Shiying being appointed as the magistrate of Dingzhou from Mrs. Wang for long. After all, Chen Shiying’s hometown was in Zhaojia Village, Fenglin Town, Sanqing County, which was only seven or eight miles from Xiangluo Village. People there would surely be thrilled about having a young magistrate, and the news might have already spread to Xiangluo Village.
Around the hour of the Snake (9 am), they arrived at the Lao Huai Village in Guanghe Town. They found the paddy landowner who was selling the property and inspected the land together. The large plot of land was contiguous, with a reservoir nearby for convenient irrigation.
Although Chen Shi was a businessman, he had also grown up in the countryside and could discern the quality of the land. After grabbing a handful of soil to inspect, he nodded and quietly told Chen Feng and Mrs. Wang that the land was good.
Chen Feng nodded in agreement. The landowner also brought in several tenant farmers, hoping that Chen Feng and the others would continue using these tenants.
Chen Feng agreed. Since the land purchase contract had not been finalized, and she didn’t want to make the long journey again the next day, they agreed to sign the tenancy agreement when they passed through the area again in four days.
The total of two hundred acres consisted of one hundred acres under Chen Feng’s name on the eastern side, and one hundred acres registered under Chen Ming’s name on the western side. This was a decision Chen Feng had planned—this being her first property acquisition, she felt she owed it to Chen Ming for his care of Little Feng.
Initially, Mrs. Wang thought Chen Feng were only giving Chen Ming fifty acres of land, but upon seeing that she were giving him a hundred acres, she hesitated. However, Chen Feng shook her head, indicating that it was necessary to proceed in front of so many people.
Seeing the vast expanse of fertile land, Mrs. Wang’s eyes welled up with tears as she realized that they had finally become landowners. For the rest of her life, she would no longer have to worry about food and clothing. It was a dream come true, something she had never dared to imagine.
After signing the land purchase agreement, the notary and the locals made their marks, and Chen Feng handed over one thousand two hundred and sixty taels of silver to the landowner. She then took out two silver coins and asked Chen Shi to buy two pieces of meat and five catties of wine at the village entrance, to be presented to the local village chief. She also treated everyone to lunch, giving two silver coins to a more efficient tenant to prepare a few good dishes and purchase some wine. Chen Shi and Luo Fang accompanied the men for drinks and a meal, while Chen Feng and her mother dined in another room.
As they had to continue their journey, the drinking session after the meal was rather quick, lasting approximately half an hour.
After the meal, Chen Feng and Mrs. Wang, together with Luo Fang, rode in Qinbo’s carriage back to the mansion.
Chen Shi went with the notary and the paddy landowner to finalize the deed in Zhongning County. The journey from there to Zhongning County would take more than an hour, and then another hour back to the mansion. They needed to hurry to make it back before the city gates closed. The gates opened around the hour of the Dragon (7 am) and closed around the hour of the Dog (9 pm).
Chen Feng gave Chen Shi two taels of silver for miscellaneous expenses and to treat the notary to dinner. If they couldn’t make it into the city before the gates closed, they would have to stay at an inn outside the city.
Around the hour of the Monkey (3 pm), Chen Feng and Mrs. Wang arrived at Chen Shi’s house. Mrs. Zhang warmly brought out a basin of braised meat skewers and handed it to them to take back for dinner.
Dabao hadn’t returned to the Chu Mansion yet, and both Chen Feng and her mother were tired, so they went back to rest.
Chen Lu pointed to two bowls of water on the heated brick bed and said, “This is sweet water. I prepared it for mother and sister.”
Chen Feng smiled and patted his head, then drank the sweet water.
Mrs. Wang hugged Lu and said, “A’Lu, you must study well and take good care of your sister in the future.”
Chen Lu nodded and said, “I will definitely pass the imperial examination to support my sister and keep people like Wang Yingjun away from her.”
This brought great joy to Chen Feng and Mrs. Wang.
Not long after, Dabao was brought back by the Chu Mansion’s carriage, and Steward Luo also arrived.
Steward Luo smiled at Chen Feng and said, “My old marquis is as picky as Miss Yan. He loves the glutinous rice balls you make, saying they’re much tastier than those made by the cook. He’s returning to the capital the day after tomorrow, and my master would like Mrs. Chen to make some more and bring them to the mansion.” He raised the basket he was carrying and gestured to the two large bags being carried by the two servants behind him, saying, “We’ve brought all the ingredients.”
Upon seeing the abundance of ingredients, Chen Feng smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll prepare them tonight and finish by tomorrow morning.”