"The prefecture magistrate is fully aware of the situation!"
Magistrate Cao’s face glead with satisfaction as he took a seat at the bedside, "Doctor Su is the primary focus of my imperial orders this ti. We cannot allow anything amiss. Believe , I’m keeping close tabs on her. The only one in the Su Family who could actually hold a conversation with her is Su Hai. It would be surprising if he didn’t co to plead."
"That’s right, absolutely! These country folks’ little sches and manipulations can’t evade your discerning eyes, Lord!"
The attendant rushed to flatter him, bowing his head to help Magistrate Cao with his rain boots.
"Hmph, don’t just talk without taking action. Keep an eye on them for . If anything unusual happens, report imdiately! Got it?"
Magistrate Cao instructed with a aningful look.
"Yes, Lord."
When Su Pan’er returned, Su Hai was anxiously pacing back and forth at the entrance of the courtyard. Seeing her, he hurried forward, his face full of anticipation.
He looked into her eyes intently, "Pan’er, how did it go? Did Lord Cao say anything?"
"Let’s go, Grandfather. It’s windy outside. We’ll talk inside."
Su Pan’er remained reticent, quickly helping him into the house.
"Well, Lord Cao has agreed to diate the matter to so extent."
Once everyone had sat down again, Su Pan’er sighed softly, "Grandfather, the Su Family was once a family of officials, so you should understand these officials too well. They often speak with veiled intentions. It seems as if they’ve agreed to everything, but in fact, they haven’t really said anything concrete. If you have any other ideas or connections, try to utilize them first!"
Over the short distance from Lord Cao’s residence to her room, Su Pan’er had thought much.
The Su Family used to be a bureaucratic family. Currently, Su Sikong was the only mber of the Su Family still holding a post in the governnt. Although he only held a minor position, he was an official nonetheless!
If Sikong lost his position, or worse, his family assets were confiscated, this would be a disaster of extermination for the whole Su Family!
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.
She, Su Pan’er, didn’t need to worry, but what about her parents? What about Ke’er?
Despite her personal feelings, she had to consider their welfare.
For a mont, she was genuinely unsure whether her actions against Sikong were right or wrong!
Hence, she made the above statent.
"The Su Family still has so connections left. Ah, but as the proverb goes, ’when a man’s gone, all ends’. It remains to be seen whether they can provide any help. We will only know after you, grandfather, reach out to them."
Struggling to get up, Su Hai said, "If that’s the case, I should go back and get so matters arranged. If there are any developnts on your side, rember to send soone to inform . You know, Ke’er is quick-witted and at the age where he’s eager to learn. I’m planning to send him to the clan academy next month and arrange a dedicated teacher for him. The future prosperity of the Su Family may well depend on him and Huarong!"
This was the first ti her grandfather had ntioned Ke’er’s education in front of her, and it happened under such circumstances.
Su Pan’er had mixed emotions about this.
She managed a faint smile, "Don’t worry, grandfather. If there is any news, I will surely inform you."
With Su Hai’s shrewdness, it wouldn’t take much scrutiny to conclude that Sikong’s incarceration was surely linked to Pan’er, quite likely as a result she had instigated.
Yet, he never broached the subject – he really was an old fox!
"Pan’er, I’m really sorry for imposing this on you! I want to thank you, on behalf of Kong’er, for your great kindness."
With that, Su Hai moved to bow to Pan’er again.
Su Pan’er and Qin Yi were alard and hurried to intervene, "Please, grandfather, you mustn’t say such things! It’s too tornting for . I will definitely inform you if there’s any news, you can count on !"
"Good, good! That’s better, much better. Ah, if only I could go back in ti..."
With a long sigh, Su Hai turned and left. Su Huarong quickly lent him a supporting hand.
Unsettled, Qin Yi followed after, "Grandfather, allow your grandson-in-law to accompany you!"
"No need, Huarong is with . You should go back and rest!"
Su Hai firmly refused Qin Yi’s escort, then stumbled off into the night.
"Your grandfather... has it tough."
Watching the shrinking figure, Qin Yi sighed deeply.
"Yes, everyone has their struggles in life."
Su Pan’er gazed at the sky, "So people may appear prosperous outwardly, but feel empty inside. So may seem poor but are brimming with happiness. Happiness in life doesn’t necessarily correlate with wealth. It has more to do with inner feelings. Don’t you agree?"
Qin Yi didn’t reply. After staring at her for a long while, he broke into a soft laugh.
"Why do I feel like your words would be more fitting if they ca from an old granny or geezer? Are you getting old ahead of your years?"
He leaned closer, teasing her.
"Nonsense!"
Su Pan’er gave a pretense swat and moved away, entering the house. Considering both her lifetis, she was already in her forties. Wasn’t that fairly old?
"Don’t forget, you’re older than ! If anyone is prematurely aging, it’s you. Old man!"
"Old man? Good! You dare say your husband is old? Just wait for how I’ll deal with you!"
With that threat, Qin Yi lunged at her.
"Don’t ss around! You’ve just recovered; you can’t...mhm..."
The pair soon started to frolic again. Before long, the room filled with their playful banter.
The moon in the sky quietly hid behind the clouds.
The constellations changed their positions.
The next day, when the sky was still dark and the morning star was still hanging in the heavens.
Su Pan’er followed little Xiaozhu into the deep mountains.
Qin Yi and the puppy nad Ah Hwa trailed closely behind at her side.
This mountain venture was part of their planned dual-purpose strategy.
Now that Su Sikong had been imprisoned, they had to quickly retrieve Su Yue’er’s engagent token. However, the jade hairpin was a damning evidence against them for the county governnt office break-in, and for the mont, could not be presented openly.
As for how to openly present the jade hairpin, the two ca up with a plan.
They decided to embark on a mountain venture. Along the way, they would make up a story about encountering the two outlaws ntioned by Su Sikong. During the encounter, they snatched the jade hairpin. The outlaws were badly injured and sought refuge in the mountains.
Whether anyone would believe the lie, or whether anyone would investigate further, Su Pan’er didn’t mind.
Also, this provided an opportunity to check out the treasure that little Xiaozhu had ntioned to get so peace of mind.
After discussing, they decided to proceed as planned.
She told Qin Yi about her ability to understand little Xiaozhu’s speech. Surprisingly, Qin Yi seed to have foreseen this, not finding it strange at all.
"I’ve heard of such a thing before. So people are said to possess a unique talent that allows them to understand animal language. I didn’t expect you, Pan’er, to be one of them!"
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