"Has Yan Daoxin’s execution date been set?" The person wearing coarse linen clothes seemed totally unnoticeable among the crowd, yet wearing it made Zhu Yu inexplicably nervous.

Lu Qing nodded, "In two days, at the West Market."

Zhu Yu sighed.

According to Da Jin’s rules, executions such as beheadings cannot be carried out from the spring equinox to the autumn equinox. Now that more than ten days have passed since the autumn equinox, she had been anticipating news at any moment. Now that there was certainty, she still couldn’t help but feel her heart flip over and over uneasily.

"Isn’t he supposed to have a final meeting with his family before the execution?" Zhu Yu asked.

Lu Qing gently shook his head, "That person said Yan Daoxin is a monk, so there won’t be any steps for family farewells."

Zhu Yu sighed again and did not say anything more.

In the afternoon, Fu Lu returned from outside, accompanied by Fu Wen and He Min.

Fu Wen told Lu Qing that He Min had dealt with all the affairs in the countryside, and from now on, he would mainly continue teaching the maids and servants in this small courtyard of Yunyin Pavilion to read and write.

"Mr. He, please bear with it for a while. When things settle down outside, having a school in the Capital isn’t a bad idea." Zhu Yu felt that He Min was indeed unlucky. He had been living a peaceful life, not bothering anyone, when disaster struck unexpectedly. She couldn’t help but feel sympathetic, so she offered some comforting words.

He Min chuckled bitterly, shaking his head, "Benefactor, there’s no need to comfort me. I have no attachments now. As long as I can avenge my daughter’s death, I have no other desires.

There are so many talents in the Capital. I’m just an ordinary person. Having a school is really overestimating me."

"That’s not true." Zhu Yu shook her head at him, "In the Capital, land is worth its weight in gold. If it’s a place for teaching the children of nobles, there are countless. Among them, there are indeed many learned and eminent scholars teaching literature.

But in this Capital, most are just ordinary people. For these people, living in this expensive place is already a struggle, let alone having spare money to send their children to those schools where great scholars debate?

Recently, upon going out and about, we discovered that many children don’t even recognize big characters, so wanting to become a clerk in a shop or an accountant is just a pipe dream.

So, if peace reigns in the future and you can open a school allowing children whose families cannot afford much to have the opportunity to learn to read, their paths would be much broader when seeking livelihoods in the future."

These were Zhu Yu’s heartfelt words, and this period might have been the longest she stayed in the Capital. Without the high walls of Prince Xiao Yao Mansion, she had the chance to see another side of the Capital.

Outside the deep courtyards of high-ranking officials and noble families, children’s lives, left unattended by parents busy with making a living, were not as good as some rural households.

In villages, there are usually low-cost schools like the one He Min ran before. When encountering someone like He Min with a good heart, they wouldn’t mind if children who couldn’t afford the tuition listened secretly from the side, helping more children escape the fate of illiteracy.

In the Capital, land is expensive, and many lower-ranking officials can’t buy a small house despite their salaries, let alone ordinary people sending their kids to learn to read.

He Min had lost his daughter, and his original village had become a place of grief for him, leaving him with no thoughts other than avenging his daughter.

The Capital needs teachers who can teach the children of ordinary people to read. He Min needs a reason to live, and these two needs happen to complement each other.

Upon hearing Zhu Yu’s words, He Min wholeheartedly agreed. He didn’t want children to grow up and struggle because of illiteracy, being forced to work the most menial jobs for the least pay, living a life barely making ends meet.

Even if not to pursue officialdom, being literate makes it more likely to be valued when working or apprenticing somewhere. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The wishes were noble, but the expenses they involved immediately made him frown: "However..."

Lu Qing seemed to see through He Min’s thoughts and nodded at him, "Mr. He, you need not to worry about the expenses for setting up a school. As long as you are willing to teach, once calmness is restored, we will naturally handle these issues."

"Willing, of course willing." He Min eagerly nodded like pounding garlic, "The benevolence and kindness of you benefactors make me admire you utterly!

I will certainly do my best to teach."

"There is no rush for this. You will probably be staying in Yunyin Pavilion for a while, so there’s no need to think about matters too far ahead," Lu Qing said.

He Min repeatedly agreed and then narrated to Lu Qing and the others how Fu Wen assisted him in burying his daughter. Before leaving, despite being stopped by everyone, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Zhu Yu and Lu Qing, wiping away tears as he left.

After He Min left, Lu Qing asked Fu Wen, "Did you discover anything on this trip out?"

"Sir, on the day we left, after exiting the city, I hid He Min and the carriage in a grove, then sneaked back into the city. I discovered that around Yunyin Pavilion, there indeed seemed to be spies deliberately placed by others.

But Manager Liu did everything flawlessly, exceedingly thorough, so those people had no chance to infiltrate and snoop around. But it could be seen they were likely after you.

As for which side they’re from, it’s hard to say right now.

During times when you and Madam went out, they probably didn’t recognize you. When I disguised myself and left with He Min, they didn’t recognize him either. Thus, they didn’t follow us but lingered around Yunyin Pavilion, seemingly waiting for you to appear."

"Yes, sir!" Fu Lu eagerly nodded along, speaking up, "Today, you let me go out alone to run some errands, and I found out that as soon as I left Yunyin Pavilion, I was being watched.

That person followed me from a distance the whole time until I finished buying things and returned to Yunyin Pavilion.

But whether it’s because they hit a wall before or were afraid of being exposed, they wisely didn’t try to follow me inside but stopped outside."

"What did you go out to buy?" Zhu Yu asked curiously. She really didn’t think there was anything urgent enough inside Yunyin Pavilion to require someone to personally run out to purchase, as Liu Yueyao often took care of everything gracefully without needing instructions.

Hence, Fu Lu, being such an attention-grabbing target, would be sent out by Lu Qing, indicating another purpose—probably to act as ’bait’."