I'm the Farmgirl You Can't Mess With

Chapter 1285: Counterattack (4)

Editor: Atlas Studios

However, Mu Yangling said, “It’s too early to make a conclusion based on hearsay. Why don’t we get the guards to investigate? If it’s true, we’ll hand the case over to the magistrate or the Court of Judicial Review to handle.”

At this point, Mu Yangling smiled. “Didn’t Zijin say that the courtiers have already started to fall into chaos? Let’s keep them even busier.”

Qi Haoran silently looked at his wife, who was revealing a cunning smile.

Little Lion and Tiger Head were also excited to hear that they could cause trouble for the courtiers and help their daddy.

Previously, it was Mu Yangling and the two children who discovered the corrupted Official Cui. Qi Haoran still couldn’t understand why they discovered a corrupt official after only staying in that county for two days.

What Qi Haoran did not expect was the effect of this matter. Not only did it make Ah Ling, but it also made him determined to cause trouble for the courtiers and destroy their alliance strategy.

Qi Haoran stroked his chin and said, “Leave two people behind to investigate. Let’s move forward first and wait for them while we travel.”

Qi Haoran had many capable subordinates under him, so it was not difficult for him to assign two people to investigate this matter.

Although Qi Haoran had “escaped” from the capital, this did not mean that he had to fret every day or spend all his time seeking out corrupt officials to cause trouble for the courtiers. Since he had brought his family out, he naturally had to prioritize them and make sure they had fun.

In any case, they had left the capital under the excuse of “looking for a famous doctor”. Since that was the case, they naturally had to travel around.

As Qi Haoran looked at the people coming and going outside, he said to his four children, “I’m afraid we won’t be entering the county town for the next few days. We have to stay in the wilderness or the village. If you have something to buy, go quickly. Also, look for Little An and Little Fu and tell them not to go too far and return to the inn to rest early.”

“Brother Little An and Little Fu are still in the teahouse. We’re just sending my younger siblings back because they wish to sleep. Also, we want to take the chance to report the situation to you.” In other words, they planned to continue playing.

Qi Haoran said with an exasperated expression, “Didn’t you say that you’ve already gone around the entire town? Why are you still going out?”

“Yes, but the storyteller in the teahouse hasn’t finished telling the story.” Tiger Head shouted, “Although Brother Little An said that he would repeat it to us when he comes back, how can he tell it as vividly as the storyteller? So, we decided to go back and finish hearing the story before returning later.”

Qi Haoran waved his hand and chased his two sons out.

Little Leopard and Baozhu had been standing obediently at the side. Sensing that something was wrong, Qi Haoran went forward to hold their shoulders. Only then did he realize that the two children had almost fallen asleep in a standing position. He held their little hands and walked forward. When he stopped, he stopped and looked ahead in a daze.

Qi Haoran looked at his wife speechlessly and said, “Fortunately, there are servants taking care of the kids. Otherwise, wouldn’t they be kidnapped?”

Mu Yangling went forward and picked up Baozhu. She placed her little head on her shoulder and said cheerfully, “You don’t know your sons and daughter, huh. If you have the ability, find a stranger to try and take them away, and see how that person gets tortured by the kids.”

The couple sent the two children back to the inn. Looking at the sleeping children, Qi Haoran said hatefully, “Every time I see these two, I feel such hatred for those people. Ah Ling, I won’t let this matter rest.”

It was nice to say that they were out for a sightseeing trip, but even adults like them would get tired of roaming around for too long, let alone two young children who were just over three years old.

Tiger Head, Little Lion, Little An, and Little Fu only traveled with them for about 20 days before returning to the capital to continue studying. However, Little Leopard and Baozhu had to follow them all the time.

How could a person be more comfortable on the road than at home?

Even if they consciously stayed for a few more days every time they arrived at a place, it didn’t change the fact that they were constantly rushing from one place to another.

Moreover, they also had to be separated from their other three sons for a period of time.

Mu Yangling held his hand and smiled. “It’s fine. We’ll be able to return to the capital in half a year at most.”

Qi Haoran did not nod. Even if it was only for half a year, he was still very grumpy about it.

This also strengthened his motivation to cause trouble for the courtiers. In the following days, Qi Haoran made a point of investigating the character and morals of the local officials whenever he came across one. If the official did well, he would not be stingy with his praises. Of course, it was not in person, but in a memorial submitted to the Emperor and the Imperial Court.

If there was corruption, bribery, malfeasance, or incompetence, he would also submit a memorial.

Because his destination depended on his mood, plus he often changed his identity and was good at disguising himself, very few provincial officials received the news before they arrived.

Often, they only found out that their county had been visited by King Rong after hearing from the court that they’d been mentioned in a memorial.

When Little Lion, Tiger Head, Little An, and Little Fu were almost done with their extracurricular homework, they set off for the capital to continue studying. Between Prince An’s Residence and the palace, the kids decisively chose to stay in Prince An’s Residence.

However, they were still sent to the palace by Fan Zijin.

He had a very good reason. “After this period of time passes, you can come and stay at Uncle Fan’s house. This is so as to prevent others from plotting against you.”

In order not to be plotted against, the two of them even had to report when they left the palace. In the past, they could play on the streets after school every day. Now, they only had one chance every five days.

Only then did the children deeply feel the inconvenience brought to them by the official reform. Little Bear looked at the bitter expressions of his younger brothers and said to Little Treasure, “The official reform must be carried out to the end. Otherwise, our family’s suffering will be in vain.”

In order to let his big brother and his sons in the capital relax, Qi Haoran spared no effort to cause trouble for the courtiers.

It wasn’t that no one was desperate to make a move on Tiger Head and the others to force Qi Haoran and his wife to return to the capital, but the children were protected tightly. Even when the opportunity for them to make a move popped up occasionally, the children would always dodge it somehow.

Why did they only dare to frame them and things like that, instead of directly killing the kids?

That was because no one had the guts to do so.

It was one thing to frame the other party. They were 50% sure that the other party could not find out who did it, and they might not investigate. In any case, they would only know that the culprit was someone from this group of people. Moreover, without evidence, the Emperor could not do anything to them.

However, assassination was different. As Tiger Head and the others were of the royal bloodline, assassinating them was equivalent to treason. Moreover, with King Rong’s personality, once an assassination happened, he would definitely investigate thoroughly. At that time, the culprit would face nine familial exterminations ¹.

No one would dare to take such a huge risk just to oppose a reform, and no one would do so.

Hence, even after the new year, the courtiers could not force Qi Haoran and his wife to return to the capital.

Meanwhile, Qi Haoran, who had been hiding his identity and resting in a small town for two months, was getting the servants to pack up and prepare to return to the capital.

This was because the reform of the official system had already advanced to a certain extent. Thinking that everyone’s anger had mostly subsided after half a year, he felt that he could go back.

He missed his sons so much after not seeing them for half a year.

Qi Xiuyuan thought so too, so he wrote a letter to his brother and asked him to pack up and go home.

Fan Zijin even prepared good wine and dishes for him to come back, planning to celebrate his return.

However, just as Qi Haoran set off, Qi Xiuyuan collapsed without warning.