dognovel Chapter 230 The Unusual Miss Ye
Chapter 230 The Unusual Miss Ye
Ye Wenshu was initially apprehensive, fearing that she might not be up to the task.
Fortunately, with the constant encouragement of the county clerk Yao, he finally mustered the courage to begin assisting in organizing documents, accounts, and excerpts from various cases.
She was intelligent and extremely diligent, and quickly got the hang of things, managing all the tasks in an orderly manner.
Tao'er, Ye Wenshu's personal maid, is a lively and diligent girl.
Although she was not very literate, she was full of curiosity about the outside world. Whenever her young mistress was focused on copying, Shuyao would take Tao'er to the street.
They weren't just strolling around; they were tasked with patrolling the shops and maintaining order in the town.
Tao'er was thrilled about this and was always full of energy on every trip.
As they walked through the town, locals greeted them warmly from time to time and offered them homemade food.
This made Tao'er truly feel the simplicity and friendliness of the people of Xinyang Town, and she grew to love this land even more.
One day, Tao'er and Shuyao were on their patrol as usual. As they passed a teahouse, they overheard people talking amongst themselves.
"Have you heard? Strange things are happening in the farmland of the neighboring village. Some people have seen dark shadows appearing at night, and the crops seem to have been ruined by something."
"What should we do? Could it be that some evil spirit is at work?"
Tao'er was startled and quickly told Shuyao about it. Shuyao felt something was amiss and immediately decided to go to the neighboring village to investigate.
Upon arriving at the neighboring village, they found the fields in disarray, with newly planted rice seedlings lying haphazardly and strange footprints on the ground.
Shuyao squatted down to examine it carefully, her brows furrowed: "These footprints don't seem to belong to ordinary wild animals; it looks like someone deliberately left them."
Tao'er chimed in, "Someone must have sabotaged this, but who could it be?"
They inquired around the village, and a child said he had seen a person wearing a straw hat acting suspiciously by the fields. But the straw hat covered the face, so they couldn't see the person's features.
After thinking for a moment, Shuyao said to Tao'er, "Let's go back to the county government office first, tell Miss Ye and Magistrate Xu about this matter, and then make a decision."
Back at the county office, Ye Wenshu was filled with doubt upon hearing about the matter. After discussing it with Xu Mingyi, she decided to set up hidden sentries near the farmland and wait for the enemy to come to them.
That evening, Tao'er volunteered to participate in the stakeout. Shuyao couldn't dissuade her, so she agreed, but told her to be very careful.
Peach hid in the grass by the field, her eyes fixed on her surroundings.
As expected, a dark figure quietly approached the farmland in the dead of night.
The shadowy figure was holding a bag and was about to dump something into the field when Tao'er shouted, "Who's there? Stop!"
The shadowy figure was startled and turned to run. Tao'er, however, was not about to give up and got up to chase after it.
But the dark figure moved freely through the fields, and Tao'er gradually couldn't keep up.
Just as the shadowy figure was about to disappear, suddenly, a person darted out from the side and subdued the figure in a few swift movements.
Tao'er rushed forward and, by the moonlight, saw that it was a young farmer.
"Why are you destroying farmland?" Tao'er asked angrily.
The farmer cried out that he was innocent: "I am not a vandal. I just noticed someone acting suspiciously and wanted to come and see what was going on."
Tao'er became suspicious and brought the farmer back to the county government office. Ye Wenshu and Xu Mingyi interrogated him overnight. The farmer spoke earnestly and insisted that he was innocent.
At this moment, Ye Wenshu thought of a detail and said to Xu Mingyi, "Did you find the bag in the shadowy figure's hand? Perhaps what's inside can explain everything."
After searching the fields, the group found the bag. Upon opening it, they discovered that it contained grains that had been laced with pesticide.
Ye Wenshu pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "I know who it is."
She ordered someone to bring Wang Fugui, the grain merchant from the village, to the county government office. As soon as Wang Fugui entered the hall, he looked flustered.
Ye Wenshu looked him straight in the eye and said, "Wang Fugui, you're the one who ordered others to destroy the farmland, aren't you? You want to profit by ruining this year's harvest and driving up grain prices."
Wang Fugui tried to argue, but faced with the evidence, he finally bowed his head.
It turns out that Wang Fugui came up with this wicked trick because his business had recently suffered losses.
He hired a stranger, intending to sabotage the farmland without anyone noticing, but Tao'er and Shuyao discovered his scheme, and he ultimately suffered the consequences.
With the truth revealed, Xinyang Town returned to its usual hustle and bustle during the Grain Rain season.
After learning about this, Shi Wanxia praised Ye Wenshu and the others highly. Tao'er also became more mature and steady because of this experience and continued to assist Shuyao in maintaining the town's security.
Ye Wenshu became increasingly adept at handling affairs in the county government and became an indispensable and capable assistant to Shi Wanxia.
The stars twinkled in the night sky as Ye Wenshu's carriage slowly came to a stop at the entrance.
She had just returned from outside and was in a fairly good mood. However, her father's chief bodyguard, Ye Fan, appeared before her with a solemn expression.
Ye Wenshu was startled, and an ominous premonition welled up in her heart.
Ye Fan is usually calm and collected, so why is he so nervous? Could it be that something has happened to his father?
Ye Fan cautiously looked around for a long time, and only after confirming that there was nothing unusual did she lower her voice and say, "Miss, the master has sent a letter urgently, asking you to return to the capital as soon as possible."
Ye Wenshu frowned slightly, her heart filled with displeasure. She had only been here for a little over half a month and was gradually adapting to life here. She was also getting along very well with Shi Wanxia, but her father had just sent a letter urging her to return to the capital.
She knew she couldn't disobey her father's orders and that she couldn't bear the name of being unfilial. But the thought of leaving Shi Niu filled her with reluctance.
During their time together, she truly felt Shi Wanxia's unique charm. She was intelligent, decisive, and cared deeply for the people, handling both county government affairs and rural matters with ease.
No wonder the Prince of Xiang was so enamored with her; anyone would admire and respect a woman like that.
Ye Fan handed the master's letter to Ye Wenshu, who immediately took it and read it.
The letter read: "Shu'er, the capital is about to change. Your father is worried about your safety and has sent someone to Xinyang to meet you. Shu'er, you must be careful."
After reading the letter, Ye Wenshu was startled. What had happened in the capital to make her father so panicked? She knew that her father held considerable prestige in the court, and for him to be so wary, it must be something extremely serious.
Although Ye Wenshu had many doubts and reluctance in her heart, she understood that the situation was urgent and decided to resign from Shi Wanxia the next day and return to the capital as soon as possible.
She returned to her room, sat at the table, and gazed at the flickering candlelight, her thoughts drifting.
She recalled the girl's warm welcome when she first arrived, and the little things they did together in the county government office. The days when they discussed policies and solved problems for the people seemed to be right before her eyes.
Shi Wanxia shared her experience and insights with her without reservation, allowing her to gain unprecedented growth and experience in this small county government office.
Meanwhile, deep within the imperial palace in the capital, a conspiracy targeting Shi Wanxia is quietly unfolding.
Ye Wenshu was completely unaware of this; she was only thinking about returning to her father's side as soon as possible, and at the same time, she was worried that the changes in the capital would bring disaster to the entire Ye family.
She tossed and turned in her room, unable to fall asleep, as various possible scenarios kept flashing through her mind.
The next morning, Ye Wenshu got up early, carefully dressed herself, and went to the county government office to find Shi Wanxia.
Along the way, she looked at the familiar scenes on the street, feeling a mix of emotions.
Inside the county government office, Shi Wanxia was handling official business when she saw Ye Wenshu arrive. She warmly invited her to sit down.
Ye Wenshu took a deep breath and slowly said, "Miss Shi, I have come here today to say goodbye. Last night I received a letter from my father. There has been a sudden change in the capital. He is worried about my safety and asked me to return to the capital immediately."
Shi Wanxia looked surprised and reluctant: "Miss Ye, why so suddenly? What exactly happened in the capital?"
Ye Wenshu shook her head: "I'm not quite sure either. The letter didn't go into details, but my father's words were earnest, so I have to go back."
"During this time with the young lady, I have learned a lot and come to know that she has the world in her heart and dedicates herself to serving the people."
"I will always remember your kindness, and if I have the chance, I hope we can rekindle our romance."
Shi Wanxia stood up and took Ye Wenshu's hand: "Miss Ye, I am really reluctant to see you go."
"But the affairs of the capital are of great importance. Go and reunite with your family as soon as possible. Don't worry about me. If you need my help in the future, just let me know."
Ye Wenshu's eyes reddened slightly, and she nodded. She knew that after this parting, the future was uncertain, but at this moment she could only embark on the journey back to the capital to face the unknown storms ahead.