Manbao seed to sense his goodwill, mainly because she rembered the longevity lock hanging around her neck. She took two steps forward and looked at Xia Xia carefully, saying, "My mother’s given na was Xin from the Xia Family."
Xia Xia grabbed her hand and carefully examined her once more, finally fixating on her eyes. He nodded affirmatively, "Good, good, very good."
He suddenly rembered sothing and looked past her, frowning, "Where are your parents?"
Manbao paused for a mont and said, "My father and mother passed away fourteen years ago."
Though Xia Xia had suspected this, hearing it still pained him, and he cried, "I knew it, I knew it, that child Xin was so filial, and Zhou Yin wasn’t soone who wouldn’t keep his word. Why would they leave and never return? They clearly promised to write back once settled, to inform us of their address, and to visit often to pay respects to their ancestors..."
"But I didn’t expect that they passed away fourteen years ago, which ans they had barely left before..."
Manbao remained silent for a mont.
After Xia Xia cried and wiped his tears, he squinted at Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, "And who are these two?"
Manbao quickly introduced, "These are my junior brothers."
She paused and then emphasized Bai Shan, "And he is my fiancé."
Xia Xia was surprised and quickly inquired, "Since your parents have passed, who raised you? And who arranged this engagent for you?"
Manbao glanced at the other two elderly people standing nearby, smiled, and said, "When my parents passed away, I was still young. Due to so unforeseen circumstances, we couldn’t even ntion their death to outsiders, so my uncle and aunt raised . It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I learned about my origins."
Manbao briefly recounted how Zhou Yin and his wife were involved in the affair with the Prince of Yizhou, ntioning that her father had now been posthumously honored as the Governor of Mianzhou.
Back then, after the affair ca to light, since her household registration and everything was listed under the Zhou Family in Qili Village, and her father was also registered in Luojiang County, aside from the thoroughly investigated emperor, crown prince, and Wei Zhi, no one knew Zhou Yin was a live-in son-in-law.
Furthermore, since the Xia Family had no direct relatives left, and the incident occurred in both Mianzhou and Yizhou, the rewards were directly bestowed upon the Zhou Family.
Aside from the people in Qili Village, no one knew Zhou Yin was a live-in son-in-law, and even fewer knew that Zhou Man’s maternal family was in Shangzhou.
As for Shangzhou, not to ntion commoners, even officials only heard of such an incident; who would specially investigate who the Xia in Zhou Yin’s lineage was?
Therefore, Xia Xia knew nothing of this, though he was aware of the Prince of Yizhou’s rebellion. When the incident surfaced back then, everyone privately worried that war might break out.
After all, Shangzhou was tucked between the capital and Yizhou; if the Prince of Yizhou attacked the capital, there was a high chance he would pass through Shangzhou.
He just never expected this affair to be related to Zhou Yin and his wife.
Old Du and Elder Zhu, who ca with Xia Xia, were focused on Manbao’s last sentence, "Now I am a royal physician in the palace."
Old Du couldn’t help but interject, "Rumor has it there’s a little divine doctor in the capital, a woman serving as a female official in the palace. Could that be Young Lady?"
Manbao naturally found it inappropriate to claim she was the little divine doctor, so Bai Shan nodded, "It’s indeed her."
Old Du and Elder Zhu couldn’t help but exclaim "Ah!" Their enthusiasm heightened instantly, and they told Xia Xia, "If Mr. Xia were to know this from the afterlife, he could rest in peace."
Manbao imdiately asked, "I wonder if my mother still has any relatives here, and how was it explained when my parents left back then?"
Just as she finished speaking, a bailiff ca in to report, "My Lord, Xia Yi is here."
County Magistrate Zhai asked, "Why so long?"
Even the seriously ill Xia Xia had arrived; why was Xia Yi so late?
The bailiff glanced at Officer Xu and said, "Xia Yi wasn’t at ho; I found him at Officer Xu’s house."
Therefore, it took a bit of extra effort.
County Magistrate Zhai then glanced at Officer Xu, smiled, and had Xia Yi brought in.
When Xia Yi ca in, he looked bewildered and anxious, and upon seeing the many people in the room, he felt even more uneasy.
He had been called back by soone from the Chief’s family while he was at the shop. He waited anxiously at the Chief’s house for a long ti without seeing anyone return, only to be taken by the bailiff who ca looking for him.
Unlike Old Du and Elder Zhu, who were highly esteed elders occasionally invited to discuss matters at the county office, Xia Yi was a very ordinary commoner. In the past thirty years, he could count the number of tis he had been to the county office on one hand.
So he felt quite uneasy. He cautiously stepped forward, knelt down to pay respects to the County Magistrate, and then nervously looked at the others, especially Officer Xu, hoping for so guidance.
But Officer Xu didn’t even glance at him, as if he didn’t know him at all.
County Magistrate Zhai invited Zhou Man to the seat of honor, then sat down himself, and said to Xia Xia, who was leaning back in a bamboo chair, smiling, "Master Xia, Lord Zhou is not just a royal physician; she is also a compiler at Chongwen Pavilion."
None of those present, including Officer Xu, knew what rank a compiler had, but it sounded quite impressive. At the very least, it should be higher than the County Magistrate’s rank; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sat down only after Zhou Man had taken her seat.
So, Xia Xia listened, looking extrely gratified, too happy to speak.
County Magistrate Zhai then invited Old Du and Elder Zhu to take a seat and, of course, didn’t overlook Officer Xu. So, in the whole room, only Xia Yi, who had just gotten up from the ground, was left standing.
County Magistrate Zhai had no intention of inviting him to sit and directly said, "Now that everyone is here, let’s begin."
He wasn’t foolish; he had already roughly guessed the situation among the parties involved. Arranging a son-in-law was not unheard of, but it was rare.
With such entanglents behind the scenes, anyone with common sense could deduce what was likely happening. Now, what should have been Zhou Man’s inheritance had fallen into others’ hands, indicating many underlying issues.
Even the departure of Zhou Yin and his wife from Shangzhou fourteen years ago likely had hidden entanglents. However, this was not the ti to delve into past matters.
Although he was curious, his duty as County Magistrate was to maintain peace under his jurisdiction.
Thus, he said, "With both of Songhua Alley’s elders present here as well, it’s a great opportunity to not only resolve Lord Zhou’s doubts but also diate a little between you all. Otherwise, it won’t look good if it escalates to the courtroom."
Zhou Man agreed, nodding, and said to County Magistrate Zhai, "I don’t wish for that either. If it really gets to the courtroom, rumors might spread that I am using my position to oppress others."
The two of them worked in tandem, leaving Xia Yi bewildered, while Officer Xu broke out in a cold sweat.
County Magistrate Zhai saw that it was ti to start and asked Xia Yi, "Xia Yi, what is your relationship with Xia Yan?"
Xia Yi paused for a mont and said, "Responding to my Lord, Xia Yan is my uncle."
"Since he is your uncle, and he had an only daughter, why did you move into his house? Do you have the deed for house number 23 in Songhua Alley?"
"Yes, yes," Xia Yi replied nervously, "My Lord, my uncle passed away, my sister married and left with her husband, and this house was an ancestral property. After discussing it among the elders of the family, they considered to be the closest relative, so they let inherit the property. We properly transferred the deed."
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