Chen Xiaobei repeatedly waved his hands, "No, no, this is too valuable."
As he spoke, Cui Hongyu came out and greeted Feng Xiaoyue warmly.
The Old Ancestor took the opportunity to grab a bundle and said to the accountant beside him, "One tiger skin," then realized he hadn't asked for Feng Xiaoyue's name yet.
"Xiaobei, what's the girl's name?"
"I know, I know, Old Ancestor, her name is Feng Xiaoyue," Chen Xiaowen, who was nearby, quickly answered.
The accountant next to them quickly jotted it down.
By this time, Cui Hongyu had already pulled Feng Xiaoyue into the courtyard.
Feng Xiaoyue looked at the newly built house with envy in her eyes, "It's so beautiful, building such a house must have taken a lot of effort."
Cui Hongyu responded, "I hired craftsmen to help. What do I know..."
As they were talking, there was another commotion outside. It was Mao You and He Dali from the county yamen.
The two had not come with Hu Fan yesterday because they knew that Hou Fan had brought heavy gifts, and their gifts were light. It wouldn't look good together, so they decided to come today.
Each person gave a token gift. Chen Xiaobei wanted to keep them for lunch, but they insisted on leaving.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei quickly said to the Old Ancestor, "These two are from the county yamen. They absolutely cannot leave today."
The Old Ancestor called for a cart and with much pulling and dragging, Mao You and He Dali stayed. Feng Xiaoyue, however, quickly pulled Chen Xiaobei aside.
"Brother Xiaobei, Xiaowen asked me this morning if I could give him some apples. Also, you still need to continue sending the charcoal I told you about last time, many people are asking me for it now."
Chen Xiaobei nodded, "Don't worry about that. I'll arrange it after my wedding."
After a few more words, Feng Xiaoyue bowed and took her leave, saying she had matters at the restaurant. Chen Xiaobei couldn't force her to stay, as he knew the Sihai Restaurant couldn't do without Feng Xiaoyue.
Just then, a carrier pigeon landed in the courtyard where Liu Rumei lived. Liu Rumei lived in Chen Anbang's residence.
Xiao Qing took the letter from the pigeon's leg and respectfully handed it to Liu Rumei, "Miss, it's from my master."
Liu Rumei opened it and saw that the letter was from her father, Liu Xiangnan.
In the letter, Liu Xiangnan proposed that the old steward Liu Kai take a group of people back first.
After reading it, Liu Rumei smiled. This was indeed her oversight.
Logically, after Zhu Meng escaped, Liu Kai should have been sent back. Her father couldn't be without anyone by his side.
Thinking this, Liu Rumei decided to return to the county town herself, as Liu Kai was still leisurely at his home in the county town.
In the county town, Liu Kai greeted Liu Rumei with a smile, "As soon as Miss arrives, I think I should be ready to return to the capital."
Hearing Liu Kai's words, Liu Rumei couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up, "Old Steward, you're absolutely right. I just received a message from my father asking for your return."
Liu Kai continued to smile, "It seems the situation in the capital has also improved."
"Yes, the Great Tugu and Great Lin Kingdoms are fighting deep behind enemy lines. They are aiming for a swift victory. As long as we block their momentum, they will defeat themselves without a fight in the long run."
Liu Kai nodded approvingly, "Yes, as long as we block their momentum, and then surround Jizhou, preventing them from supporting each other, the matter will be easily resolved."
Liu Rumei deeply agreed with Liu Kai's analysis. She believed that once Liu Kai returned to the capital, he would surely help in the direction of the war.
"By the way, Old Steward, please safely convey to my father that I may not be able to return for a while."
After hearing Liu Rumei's words, Liu Kai's expression became serious, "Miss, I watched you grow up, and there's something I can't help but say a few words about."
"Chen Xiaobei is just a mountain dweller. You are the daughter of the Duke of Protectorate. By rights, you are a princess. The difference in status is like heaven and earth."
"A daughter of the Duke of Protectorate helping a mountain dweller take a second wife, what kind of reputation would that bring if it got out?"
Liu Rumei knew her actions wouldn't be understood by everyone, but she had no regrets, "Old Steward, there are some things you don't know. Actually, before you came, Chen Xiaobei helped me a lot, including rescuing my father in Wannian City."
"So I want to repay his favor, and naturally, I will help him with this matter."
Liu Rumei's words still made Liu Kai sigh heavily, "There are many ways to repay a favor, Miss. Why must you do it this way? You could ask your father to give him more gold and jewels."
Liu Rumei smiled calmly, "I have my own discretion. Old Steward, you don't need to say more."
After speaking, she clasped her fists at Liu Kai again, "There are still many things waiting for me in Hetou Village, so Ru Mei will take her leave now."
With that, she called out to Xiao Qing and turned to leave.
"Miss, wait a moment, I have one more thing to tell you."
Liu Kai hurriedly called out to stop Liu Rumei, "Miss, you need to find a way to deal with the people you've imprisoned in the dungeon. This can't go on like this."
Liu Rumei knew Liu Kai was referring to Sun Jian's subordinates, but she hadn't figured out how to handle them, so she kept them imprisoned.
"Old Steward, I'll leave this matter entirely to you. You can take them back, or you can let them go."
Saying this, she clasped her fists at Liu Kai again and turned to leave.
Looking at Liu Rumei like this, Liu Kai sighed slightly, "Alas, Miss, her heart has flown to Hetou Village. She probably won't be able to leave for a while."
After thinking this over, Liu Kai turned to look at the men he had brought from the capital, "Since that's the case, we'll help Miss solve this problem. We'll take everyone out of the dungeon and bring them back to Wannian City. This can be considered part of the rebel army."
At this time, Liu Rumei had already galloped back to Hetou Village.
Hetou Village was bustling with activity. During the day, the villagers came to help, but they didn't attend the banquet. However, it was different at night. At night, there was nothing to do, so those who had given gifts naturally came to the banquet.
At the evening banquet, Chen Xiaobei finally sat down with the villagers. They were all neighbors, so there were no inhibitions, and they drank quite freely.
After three cups of wine, the Old Ancestor spoke first.
"Dayong, Xiaowen, you are both young men of Hetou Village. I won't mince words. Chen Xiaobei is about to take a second wife, and some of you haven't even married one woman yet. This won't do."
Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. But the Old Ancestor's expression remained serious, "Don't laugh. I'm serious. Hetou Village only has a few hundred people and about a hundred households. Tell me, if you don't quickly start having children, how long can our village last?"
At the Old Ancestor's words, everyone present fell silent.
At this time, a middle-aged man next to him interjected, "Yes, I remember when I was a child, our village had nearly two hundred households. Now, there are more than ten abandoned houses in the village."