1538 He Had Stayed Up All Night
Chen Jin studied her face closely. Worried that she would misunderstand that his master was a cruel person, he explained, “Beaming Peace City’s magistrate has been embezzling public funds, accepting bribes, and colluding with court officials for many years. No one would have known if an investigation hadn’t been conducted. After investigating him overnight, Master uncovered many officials who were involved. The magistrate’s daughter couldn’t take the blow, so she escaped while the guards weren’t noticing to get revenge, which was why she attacked you when she saw you just now.”
Yaoyao nodded without another word.
There would always be corrupt officials everywhere, and even under her father’s coercive rule, it was impossible for Great Shang to be completely free of corruption. From time immemorial, getting rid of corrupt officials had always been one of the most difficult challenges—it was just a matter of how many of them there were.
Just then, she heard a commotion outside.
After listening attentively, she realized that it was the common folk bustling about to spread the news that the corrupt magistrate, Liang Yicheng, had been arrested.
From their voices, it was evident that they were overjoyed that Liang Yicheng had finally been removed from his position.
The inn’s workers ran out to join in the fun as well, and after coming back, they discussed the matter loudly and animatedly with the innkeeper.
Yaoyao ate her breakfast while listening to their conversation.
It turned out that Liang Yicheng was not just corrupt. He had tyrannized the city and even allowed his subordinates to oppress the people, causing discontent among them.
Therefore, they were more than delighted that Liang Yicheng had been convicted.
A while later, Beitang You came downstairs and had breakfast with her.
After breakfast, they set off on their journey again.
Right after Yaoyao had gotten into the carriage, Beitang You lifted the curtain and came in.
Frowning, Yaoyao glanced at his leg and asked, “Has your leg healed?”
“No.” Beitang You sat down beside her, his expression unchanged.
Yaoyao did not believe him at all.
This fellow had probably lied yesterday too, for if his leg had truly been injured, how could he have participated in the investigation of the magistrate?
Meeting Yaoyao’s skeptical gaze, Beitang You paused before touching his right shin. “It’s true.”
“I see.” That was all Yaoyao said before leaning her head against the wall of the carriage to sleep.
Beitang You was disappointed by her indifference.
He took out a brocade pouch from under his clothes and nudged Yaoyao. “This is for you.”
Yaoyao opened her eyes and glanced at him. Dubiously, she took it from him and weighed it in her hand, only to find it was rather heavy. “What’s this?”
“Open it and see.” Beitang You smiled at her.
Yaoyao opened the brocade pouch as she was told.
To her surprise, it was filled with shelled sunflower seeds.
She immediately remembered the plate of sunflower seeds she had shelled the night before.
Delighted, she grabbed a handful from the pouch and said joyfully, “I shelled these last night.”
Just when she was about to start eating, she heard Beitang You say airily, “Yes. I counted them; there were two hundred. But then I shelled another three hundred, so adding them together would bring the total to exactly five hundred.”
Yaoyao stopped in her tracks.
There was too much information hidden in his words.
He already knew that she had shelled two hundred seeds before counting them, but who told him that?
Also, had he not returned late last night?
If he had shelled another three hundred seeds, did that mean he had stayed up all night?
“Go ahead and eat them if you want to.” Beitang You’s voice interrupted her wandering thoughts.
“Oh.” Yaoyao popped one into her mouth. After thinking for a moment, she took another handful out of the brocade pouch and put them into his palm. “Let’s eat them together.”
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