The old man Yun took the basket and said helplessly, "What are you talking about? Who would jump into a cesspool for no reason!"
Unless they were blind, wouldn't they see such a large cesspool?
Madam Gu shook her head, "You never know. Maybe there are people who have a grudge against cesspools!"
Old man Yun: "..."
What was wrong with his wife today, insisting on talking about cesspools.
"Let's buy some more loaches to fry into fish paste!" Madam Gu said.
Everyone in the family loved eating small fish paste, especially Yun Siman. He could eat two more bowls of rice when he saw it...
"Alright, I'll go ask how much it is per pound!" Old man Yun walked away.
The autumn harvest was over, the weather was getting colder, and there wasn't much work at home, so old man Yun had been preoccupied with food lately, looking for dishes that were cheap and could be paired with wine. The family ate happily...
At the same time, inside the Yun family's cesspool.
Magistrate Chen and Prefect Qin crawled out of the cesspool like two big toads.
"Oh, my old back! It feels like it's sprained. Cough cough!" Magistrate Chen rubbed his waist, panting heavily.
Prefect Qin glanced at him and went to the well to wash up...
Just then, Yun Erman returned with Du Tieshan.
Seeing the two adults smelling foul and covered in excrement and urine, Du Tieshan almost vomited her breakfast.
"Magistrate Chen... Magistrate Chen, Prefect Qin, what happened to you two?" Yun Erman twitched the corners of his mouth.
Did they go swimming in the cesspool for no reason?
Magistrate Chen said in a muffled voice, "Don't call me Prefect anymore. He is!"
"Huh?" Yun Erman's eyes widened. "How did the Prefect suddenly become a Magistrate? Then, then what official are you?"
"Magistrate..." Magistrate Chen said, wringing the sewage from his sleeve.
Du Tieshan covered her nose and said, "Why don't I get you two adults a large basin so you can take a bath!"
If they washed and rinsed by the well and splashed sewage into the well water, how would the family drink water...
"Shanshan, I think it's better not to!" Yun Erman pulled his wife back a step. "The two adults are not in a good state anywhere on their bodies. It's better to go wash in the ditch lake!"
Chengdi glanced over from the window and wondered, "It's just a demotion by one rank, is it necessary to jump into a cesspool?"
How much did they like being officials?
Eunuch Zhao couldn't help but chuckle, "Your Majesty, Magistrate Chen doesn't care about these things. It's mainly because Prefect Qin is not convinced. It's fine if you punish Magistrate Chen, but Prefect Qin is innocent. Can he not be angry..."
"Hmph, what's there to be angry about!" Chengdi flicked his sleeve. "His subordinates are so chaotic. It's good that I didn't strip him of his position completely!"
He still dared to throw a tantrum, it was purely indulgence.
"Your Majesty!" Eunuch Zhao pondered for a moment, then leaned closer and said, "Look, the princess is getting along quite well with the Yun family's fourth child. Why don't we let her stay with the Yun family? If we forcibly take her back, with the princess's temperament, wouldn't she try to end her own life..."
"End her own life?" Chengdi's eyes widened. "She's rebelling! Marriage is an important national affair, how can she be so willful?"
Eunuch Zhao sighed helplessly.
They say it's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage. If you insist on separating them, it will be detrimental...
He hoped that the relationship between the princess and Yun Laosi would progress faster. It would be best if Yun Laosi could show sincerity and move His Majesty. Then, things would be more promising.
Magistrate Chen and Prefect Qin walked out of the Yun family one after another and went to the ditch lake to wash up.
They happened to meet old man Yun and Madam Gu carrying baskets on their way.
Upon seeing the two adults reeking, old man Yun looked at Madam Gu sharply, "Old woman, did your mouth get blessed?"
Someone in the family had indeed fallen into the cesspool...
Madam Gu smiled slightly, "I was just talking nonsense!"
"Oh, Prefect, Prefect, did you two go to the cesspool to catch maggots? How did you end up like this?" old man Yun asked.
Their hair was wet, and some parts had already dried, reflecting a yellowish-brown sheen under the sunlight...
Magistrate Chen explained that he was in a bad mood after being demoted, so he went to the cesspool to vent.
When old man Yun heard this, he twitched the corners of his mouth, "Your way of venting is quite unique!"
"Finish washing up quickly, and come back to eat fish!" Madam Gu said with a smile.
"Alright, I'll wash up and come back..." Magistrate Chen chuckled.
Prefect Qin left without saying a word, his face full of anger.
Even though they were demoted, the two adults' workplaces remained the same as before. Magistrate Chen worked in the yamen of Heyang County, and Prefect Qin worked in the prefectural yamen of Shuo'an City...
In the county town.
Little Xi Tian sold over a dozen buckets of milk in one go. Her small satchel was almost full of copper coins, so she put them directly into her space.
Yun Daman, driving the cart, was so happy his eyes were gone. "Sister, where did you get so much milk? I heard Xiaoran and Yiyi can't even drink this stuff every meal..."
Little Xi Tian sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain in front, and said with a smile, "Brother, when we get back, ask sister-in-law to pour the milk into a pot, simmer it over low heat, and add some sugar. It'll be delicious!"
As for where the milk came from, she couldn't say yet.
Seeing that his sister had changed the subject, Yun Daman didn't press further. He reached out his big hand and picked his sister up onto the carriage shaft, stuffing a whip into her hand. "You drive..."
The Yun family now had two horses. One was the chestnut horse they had bought before, and the other was the white horse that Du Tieshan rode over.
The horse pulling the cart now was the white horse. It had a gentle temperament and was very close to Little Xi Tian at home. It was strong and powerful when pulling the cart.
Little Xi Tian flicked the whip slightly, and the white horse galloped forward quickly...
"Sister, tell me, how much silver did you earn today?" Yun Daman asked with a smile.
Little Xi Tian roughly calculated that she had earned four to five hundred copper coins, which was about half a tael of silver.
Earning so much in one day, if it was for a month, it would be fifteen taels of silver, which was enough to pay for her eldest nephew's studies and rent...
"It's a secret!" Little Xi Tian pouted.
Yun Daman was slightly stunned, then he rubbed his sister's little head. "You girl, you have secrets from your big brother. You've really grown up, alas!"
Little Xi Tian smiled at him with her eyes, and just as she was about to say something, she heard Yun Daman exclaim, "Huh? Isn't that Xiaolou? Why is he in the county town? Sister, stop the cart quickly!"
This kid wouldn't have walked all the way here, would he?
Little Xi Tian quickly pulled the reins tight. "Whoa..."
The carriage slowly stopped. They saw Jin Xiaolou standing on the roadside outside the county town, craning his neck to look this way.