Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 835 - 426 Taicang County Yamen

The third watch, asking for pink.

*****......*** 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Three days later, at noon, Lady Zhang, Lian Manman, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi, a family of four, finally stood in front of the County Yamen in Taicang County.

The County Yamen of Taicang County is located on the eastern section of Central Street in Taicang County Town, on the north side of the street. Lian Manman alighted from the carriage, looked around with keen eyes, saw a whitewashed wall in front of her, followed by a Xuanhua Fang, and behind that was the main gate of the County Yamen. Judging by the look of it, there were at least hundreds of rooms within the Yamen.

This was Lian Manman’s first time seeing a County Yamen of this era; last time she went to Jinyang County Town, she was preoccupied and in a hurry, thus she hadn’t thought to take a detour to see the Yamen.

Second Young Master Lu of the Lu Family parked the carriage to one side and then carried the two bundles Lady Zhang and her group brought from the carriage on his back.

"Auntie, let me take you inside."

When leaving home, the Woo Family brothers had made a commitment to ensure the safety of Lady Zhang and her children, and had promised to deliver them securely to their destination. Second Young Master Lu was dependable; seeing no one had come to receive them, he planned to take them directly inside, and would leave after he saw people from the Lian Family of Taicang.

"Ah, thank you, Xiao Woo," said Lady Zhang with a smile.

Second Young Master Lu’s full name is Lu Bing Wu. Although only seventeen, he appeared mature beyond his years. Along the way, he had meticulously cared for the mother and children who had never traveled far from home before.

The group then walked towards the main gate. They had just passed the Xuanhua Fang when they saw two people hurriedly walking out from inside.

"Fourth Auntie, you’ve finally arrived."

Lian Jizu and Lady Chiang came out to meet them. Zhao Wencai’s family had set off a day earlier than Lady Zhang and her children; Lady Zhang had asked them to let Old Master Lian know that they would arrive today.

After exchanging greetings, Lady Chiang and Lian Jizu led Lady Zhang and her children inside.

"Fourth Auntie, we’ve almost arrived at home... we’ve just been waiting for you. My grandpa and grandma have been anxiously waiting, worried that you wouldn’t make it on time," Lady Chiang said with a smile. It was a tight schedule, for tomorrow was Lian Xiuxiu’s wedding day.

Lady Chiang and Lian Jizu saw Lu Bing Wu, but neither greeted him nor offered to take the bundles he carried.

Let alone Lian Jizu, Lady Chiang was indeed someone who knew her place. Lian Manman thought to herself, it seemed that being accustomed to their status as grandparents, they mistook Lu Bing Wu, dressed in plain attire, as a servant.

Lian Manman tugged at Lady Zhang’s sleeve.

"Jizu, Jizu’s wife," understanding this, Lady Zhang introduced Lu Bing Wu to Lian Jizu and Lady Chiang, "This is Bing Wu from the Lu family in our town. On this trip, we were very well taken care of by this young man."

By mentioning this, Lady Zhang signaled that Lian Jizu and Lady Chiang should treat Lu Bing Wu with the courtesy due to a guest.

"Oh," Lian Jizu then greeted Lu Bing Wu, but still did not think to take the bundles from him.

Lady Chiang subtly nudged Lian Jizu, and then Lian Jizu reached out to Lu Bing Wu.

"It’s okay, the bundles aren’t heavy, I’ll carry them," said Lu Bing Wu. "Auntie, let me help you bring them inside."

The group continued walking inside. The layout of Taicang County Yamen, like most official residences, was in the style of front office and rear residence. After entering the main gate, they walked further inside towards the Gate of Ceremonial Entrance.

"Inside there is the main hall," Lady Chiang pointed inside the gate and softly said.

Lian Manman looked inside, only to see a solemn main hall, outside of which a few government officials dressed individuals were either standing or sitting; it was noon, and presumably, the Magistrate was resting, hence these people were relatively relaxed.

Lian Shouren was the County Magistrate, and his residence was not here but further from the Ceremony Entrance towards the east, through a side gate, and after a short walk, they arrived at a separate small courtyard.

This was where the County Magistrate handled his office work and where he lived. The courtyard had two sections; the first section consisted of three rooms, with those at the sides being the offices of the County Magistrate and the middle one being a hall that had its doors wide open. Passing through the hall and descending the steps, there was another wall screen. Bypassing the wall screen, there was a small courtyard.

This was the inner residence of the County Magistrate; Old Master Lian and his whole family lived here.

Lian Manman took a visual tour of this small courtyard, examining it thoroughly. The courtyard had three main rooms at the front and three wing rooms on each side. In the West Wing Room, one room with a chimney was emitting smoke, carrying the scent of food.

The courtyard had paved blue bricks, with trees planted around; since it was already winter, the leaves had already fallen off, leaving the bare trunks and branches, which looked somewhat desolate.