"Oh?" The old lady turned her head and noticed Ye Ziāan.
"Oh, I see." The old lady, who had a hearty personality, laughed and said, "I, the old woman, said something wrong. I should be punished, but I hope the child wonāt mind."
"Youāre too harsh on yourself, maāam; you also didnāt know."
Ye Ziāan replied indifferently. However, even though his face showed nothing, he was still somewhat unhappy in his heart. He didnāt like anyone who wanted to take Xiaxia away.
Well, young Anzi still had a bit of a jealous streak in him.
"In the future, if you come to the county town, come to the government office and chat with me, the old woman." The old lady said to Yang Chuxia with a smile, "I, the old woman, am bored to death staying in the office every day. I just want to chat with you children and feel like Iām young again."
"If the old lady doesnāt mind, this commoner girl will visit you when she comes to the county town."
"Thatās great." The old lady then said, "Donāt call me ālady,ā just call them uncle and aunt, and call me āgrandma.ā It sounds more intimate."
Although the old lady spoke sincerely, Yang Chuxia didnāt call her that after all. The social status between commoners and officials was unequal to begin with. If they didnāt maintain some distance, they wouldnāt know how they might offend someone later on.
Itās easy for an official to crush a commoner.
Seeing that she insisted on using honorifics, the old lady didnāt press her any further. However, she genuinely liked these two children. She didnāt expect such outstanding children to come from a small farming family.
So, the old lady insisted on keeping the two at the County Magistrateās mansion for lunch. After lunch, they chatted with her for a while. Seeing that the old ladyās spirits were somewhat unwell, the two said their goodbyes.
This time, the old lady didnāt hold them back, just telling them to come often in the future.
After they bid farewell to the County Magistrateās mansion, and had arrived at the front of the governmental office, Yang Chuxia thought for a moment and asked, "Brother An, the prisoners are all locked up in the government officeās prison, right?"
"Yes, what do you want to know about that for?"
Yang Chuxia suddenly smiled coldly, "You forgot that my fatherās half-brother, who ruined one of his arms, and that Ms. Hua Junior, who crippled your leg, are still locked inside. They owe us an arm and a leg, do you think we should make them pay it back?"
"What do you want to do?"
"Visit the prison."
So, Yang Chuxia and Ye Ziāan went to the place where the prisoners were being held. There were several armed prison guards at the entrance. Yang Chuxia approached them and handed over two strings of coins to the two in front, asking, "Brother Constables, I want to go in and see a few people, may I?"
"Who do you want to see? Give me their names, and Iāll notify them inside." The prison guard who received the money was quite amiable and asked.
"I want to see Yang Xiaoāan, Yang Qingwen, and Ye Ziping from Yangshu Village, Wangquan Town, who were arrested. And also Ye Ziāyong and his mother, and a girl named Yang Lichun." She originally wanted to say she was visiting Ye Ziping, but then she remembered that Ye Ziping had been exiled, and Burly Lu seemed to have already been executed.
The prison guard, hearing that they were all from Wangquan Town and Yangshu Village, looked at Yang Chuxia with curiosity and muttered, "What a lousy villageāit has so many criminals?"
Though he muttered, he still went inside to report the situation.
Half a quarter of an hour later, the prison guard came out and said, "You can follow me inside, but you canāt stay too long, only two quarterhours."
Upon hearing that she had two quarterhours, it was just enough time for her to visit everyone. So, she smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Constable!"