The Princess of Northern Land

Chapter 128 - 128 128 - New Plans_1

?Chapter 128: Chapter 128 – New Plans_1 Chapter 128: Chapter 128 – New Plans_1 Guided by her, Si Jinhan took a closer look at the pulley system again. When he finished, his face was no longer marked by contempt but was instead full of solemnity. “What do you want with that piece of land in Heihe?”

Ziyin knew his suspicious nature was kicking in.

“I got a batch of seeds from traders in the Western Region. Everyone says that the most fertile land is the one with silt, so I want to give it a try.” Looking for an excuse, Ziyin explained.

“Who told you that silt is the most fertile?” Si Jinhan glared at her like a leopard eyeing its prey, not at all lowering his guard.

“Strictly speaking, it’s something that I discovered myself.” Lin Ziyin didn’t waver, “I incidentally discovered that crops planted on land covered with silt grow exceptionally well. So, I want to try it out. On the other hand, even if it fails, I won’t incur a significant loss. After all, land in Heihe is cheap and the Prince is considerate towards civilians, exempting them from three years of taxes. No matter what, I can plant something and earn back some revenue.”

Ziyin acted like a shrewd and calculating farmer, slightly cunning and genuine. This successfully dispelled Si Jinhan’s suspicion.

“Wait here.” After saying this, he carefully put away the manuscript from the table and stored it in his bosom. Not mentioning the matter of the land any further, he left in a hurry accompanied by a guard.

“Finally, that third son is gone. Just looking at him makes me uncomfortable.” Zige appeared after he left.

Perhaps due to Si Jinhan’s previous behavior towards Ziyin, the members of the Lin Family were not too fond of him. But given his status, they couldn’t openly express their displeasure. Therefore, whenever Si Jinhan visited, all the members of the Lin family felt suppressed.

Ziyin just laughs and then asks, “How are the arrangements?”

“They’re all set up. However, the injured uncle’s condition is quite serious, I don’t know if he’ll recover,” Zige sighed. Seeing the tattoos on the faces of the family, she felt very upset.

They didn’t seem like bad people at first glance. So why did they end up in such a predicament?

“I’ll go and see.” Ziyin stood up.

“I’ll go as well.” Zige followed in her footsteps.

Upon reaching the side room, they found Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou already there. The old master was silently observing the man on the bed.

“Sister.” The atmosphere in the room was heavy and awkward.

Lin Changshu didn’t expect that in such a short time, their home would be filled with strangers, and what’s more, these people were treated as convicts. The impact was quite significant for him. Looking at the injured man on the bed, he didn’t know what to say.

In the Daqin Empire, convicts were considered dangerous to the common people, in other words, they were seen as bad people. But today, the family that had entered their home didn’t seem like bad people based on their performance and expressions. But even so, he didn’t dare to let his guard down. What if these convicts caused harm to his family in the middle of the night?

Upon Ziyin’s arrival, Lin Changshu strangely felt as though he had found support and heaved a sigh of relief.

“Can the injured man survive until tomorrow?” Ziyin asked the trembling woman nearby.

“In response to the young miss, my husband, no, my partner’s body…” Facing Ziyin, a young woman, the middle-aged woman seemed flustered.

“Mother…” The girl by her side was anxious on her behalf.

“Replying to you, Young Miss, this humble one’s health is fine.” The man on the bed coughed weakly as he tried to struggle and bow to Ziyin, but she stopped him.

“Tomorrow, I will have someone examine you.” Ziyin saw that his color was still okay and felt somewhat relieved. “What’s your name, and why were you condemned to the Northern Land?”

“This humble one’s surname is Yu, as in the Yu from the phrase ‘a hook and Yu’. She is my wife, her maiden name is Qiao. Our children are named Yu Shaohui, Yu Shao’en, and Yu Qiaoqiao.” The man on the bed was undoubtedly the head of the family. As he introduced them, all the members of the Yu Family bowed their heads to the Lin family. “Now that the young miss has bought us, you are the masters and benefactors of our family. We ask that you bestow us with new names.”

At the end of his statement, the faces of the Yu family showed signs of grief. However, within a moment, they all returned to their emotionless state.

“Why were you exiled to the Northern Land?” Ziyin continued to question.

“This humble one used to run a dart courier service in Capital City. The business was considerable, but due to a mishap while taking a commission for the Imperial Court…” The man on the bed showed a bitter smile as he spoke.

“No, my father was framed. The official silver he was transporting had been swapped by someone else. Yet they insisted on accusing my father of negligence. It was the Crown Prince…” Yu Shao’en angrily retorted.

“Shao’en.” The man on the bed scolded his son strictly.

Red-eyed, Shao’en moved to one side.

“Because of me, most of the dart masters from the courier service fell into a trap. I brought this upon everyone.” As he spoke, the stalwart man’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Who else is in your batch of convicts?” Ziyin asked.

“Some are notorious thieves, others are children of wealthy families, some are even servants from government officials’ homes.”

“Who can be useful? You will go with me to choose people tomorrow, but I warn you, don’t select anyone who will bring personal debts and problems, so I don’t have to handle them later.” Lin Ziyin said coldly, “Remember your own words. From the moment you entered this door, there will be no more talk of dart masters from the Brave Escort Agency in this world. You can continue to use your own names.”

“Yes, Young Miss.” The man on the bed agreed respectfully, and the rest of the Yu Family also acceded meekly.

“Rest well, we have to choose more people tomorrow. Brother, prepare some wound healing medicine for them.” Ziyin said.

“Hmm.” Lin Changshu agreed listlessly, feeling a little upset. From Ziyin’s words just now, it seemed that she was going to buy more people. Their home already had few chores to do, what would they do with so many people?

He was also worried about the backgrounds of the people they would buy. Would they eventually cause trouble for the family? With these complicated emotions, Changshu and his wife didn’t close their eyes for the entire night.

The next day, as Ziyin was going to buy people, Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou, who were worried, decided to go along with her, putting off the trip to the oil mill for another time.

Seeing that almost the entire Lin Family was heading out to buy people, the villagers were both envious and jealous on one hand and waiting to see them fail on the other. In the eyes of many, the Lin Family were merely getting ahead of themselves after making a small fortune from the oil mill, being audacious enough to even buy the lowest-ranked convicts.

“Miss Lin, have you decided? I specifically delayed the departure for you.” The commander started to show off, but he knew his limit. After seeing Si Jinhan’s attitude towards Ziyin, he was modest enough to not be too arrogant.