Chen Xiang paused for a moment upon hearing this, then touched his nose guiltily, "Over the years, I've come to regard Xixi as my own little niece."

"It's natural to feel a little anxious when you see her going hungry, sister-in-law, there's no need to be anxious."

Despite Chen Xiang's seemingly plausible explanation, Liu remained wary and held her daughter protectively in her arms.

Even Tao found Chen Xiang's behavior strange. She tiptoed to Old Lady Zhu's side and whispered something to her.

"Mom, why do I feel like Chen Xiang is acting strange? Why is he suddenly showing concern for Xixi?"

Grandma Zhu also sensed that Chen Xiang seemed to be paying attention to Xixi's situation recently, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Although the relationship between everyone has improved a lot, one should always be wary of others, because you never know how people will behave until the very end.

Thinking of this, Old Mrs. Zhu subconsciously turned to look at her second and third sons who were busy, until they blocked the doors and windows.

Then, smiling, he offered his suggestion to Chen Xiang, "Lord Chen, how about I join you two, the second and third brothers, to keep watch tonight?"

"The ancient city is too desolate, and I have a bad feeling about it."

Chen Xiang was silent for a moment after hearing this, then nodded in agreement, "Okay, we haven't thoroughly checked the area around the ancient city."

"Moreover, the people of the ancient Loulan Kingdom all disappeared overnight, and even now there are still people offering explanations."

After hearing Chen Xiang's words, Xi Xi turned to look at Wang Haocheng, her dark eyes darting left and right.

[It seems Wang Haocheng was a citizen of the ancient Loulan Kingdom; he should know best what happened in the ancient city back then, right?]

[I just don't know if he'll reveal the truth about what happened back then, since it involves the treasure buried in the ancient city.]

Grandma Zhu trembled involuntarily at her granddaughter's words, and looked at Wang Haocheng with a heavy expression, a sense of unease creeping into her heart.

After Chen Xiang mentioned the ancient city, Wang Haocheng's face darkened, he clenched his fists, pursed his lips, and slowly spoke.

"Back then, the people of the ancient city received a notice from the city lord instructing them to migrate to the northern frontier. However, after they left the ancient city, they discovered that it was a trap set by villains."

"In order to find the treasure beneath the ancient city, they kidnapped the city lord and lured the people outside the city. The people left in a hurry and were not well prepared. Many of them were buried forever in the desert on their way to the north."

Grandma Zhu was surprised to hear about what happened in the ancient city back then, and she looked at Chen Xiang and the others with a worried expression.

Given Chen Xiang's greed, will he kidnap Wang Haocheng, knowing he is a descendant of the ancient city, and reveal clues about the ancient city's treasure?

"Brother Wang, how did you know about these things?"

When Wang Haocheng heard Grandma Zhu's question, he smiled sheepishly and looked up to explain, "Any caravan that enters or leaves the desert knows this."

"In the past, many caravans tried to enter the ancient city in search of treasure, but they all returned empty-handed, and some even lost their lives."

Hearing Wang Haocheng's words, Grandma Zhu felt much more at ease. She glanced at Chen Xiang's expression from time to time and nodded with a smile.

"Yes! Thirty years have passed, and even if there were any, they would have long since weathered away."

When Xixi heard about the treasure, she became excited and stopped drinking her rice porridge, her eyes darting around as she looked at everything.

That's a huge amount of gold and silver jewelry. If Xixi can find it, she can save it for her family and lay a solid foundation for building a commercial empire in the future.

She looked around and was surprised to see that Zhu Yanyan and the others had not gone far and were hiding in the earthen houses three or four rooms away from the group.

Zhu Yanyan and the others sealed up all the doors and windows. Everyone held steaming hot Nu'erhong wine in their hands, and the table was covered with steaming chicken, duck, fish and meat.

Everyone ate with relish, drinking and eating meat, their faces beaming with smug smiles.

Zhu Yanyan, on the other hand, sat in the middle of the group like a mountain bandit, pretending to be deep in thought.

"Wang Haocheng must know the clues about the jewelry. Go and ambush the caravan tonight and kidnap Wang Haocheng."

Upon hearing Zhu Yanyan's words, the officials who were drinking and eating meat instantly lost their appetite and looked at each other with grim expressions.

Finally, it was the older officer among them, with a fawning smile, who spoke in a low voice.

"Boss, all the caravan members have crescent blades on them, those things are really powerful."

"Lin An, as one of the most senior members of the team, how can you disrupt the morale of the troops?"

Zhu Yanyan glanced impatiently at the worried and timid Lin An, showing him no respect, and loudly warned him.

Lin An originally wanted to fight for his brothers so they wouldn't have to confront the caravan head-on, but now, after hearing Zhu Yanyan's words...

His smile gradually faded, and he awkwardly lowered his head to drink his sorrows away.

The other officials, who had been full of expectations, all exchanged glances upon hearing Zhu Yanyan's words, and dared not utter a word of rebuttal.

Wen Xiuying also felt that she couldn't offend the caravan members. She hesitated for a moment, then frowned and whispered her suggestion.

"Yan Yan, instead of focusing on Wang Haocheng, you should focus on the Zhu family."

“Since the Zhu family are Wang Haocheng’s benefactors, he certainly won’t sit idly by.”

These words were like a wake-up call, giving Zhu Yanyan a more perfect plan, and she nodded with a smile.

“That’s right, Mother. We can’t afford to offend Wang Haocheng, but dealing with the Zhu family is more than enough.”

"Then let's start with the youngest in the Zhu family."

Wen Xiuying was surprised that Zhu Yanyan had taken her words to heart. Excitedly, she pursed her lips and whispered her request again.

"Yan Yan, could you bring your younger brother back with you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yanyan's face gradually showed impatience, and she reluctantly agreed.

"Alright! We'll see later."

With Zhu Yanyan's promise, Wen Xiuying's anxious heart calmed down a lot, and she happily hugged her.

Xixi heard their entire conversation and angrily blew bubbles, her brows furrowed.

[If they want to use Xixi as a hostage to blackmail Wang Haocheng, then Xixi will play along.]

Once the treasure is found, Xixi will be able to get her hands on it first.

Thinking about possessing a glittering treasure, Xixi happily squinted her eyes, yawned, and drifted off to sleep.

Old Mrs. Zhu and Mrs. Liu tried very hard to hear what Xixi was saying, but all they could hear were the words "using a scheme against a scheme".

They couldn't hear anything else, but those four words alone made the two of them look worried and uneasy as they turned to look at Xixi.

In the dead of night, everyone was exhausted after a long day.

Since there were no usable kitchen utensils in the room, Grandma Zhu could only roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn on the fire.

When traveling, people don't pay much attention to the food. Although sweet potatoes and potatoes are hard to swallow, everyone still eats them with relish.

Despite the biting wind outside, thankfully all the drafty parts around the earthen house were sealed off.

In addition, everyone had heat packs on their bodies and were warming themselves around the fire, which allowed their bodies to barely withstand the severe cold.

After a simple dinner, Grandma Zhu arranged for her grandson and Pei Sining to sleep on the straw, while the daughters-in-law huddled together against the earthen wall to rest.

She planned to sit in front of the fire with Xixi in her arms and observe the surroundings of the room.

The people on night watch were Zhu Wen and Zhu Haowen. To avoid falling asleep, the two paced quietly back and forth in the room.

As they moved back and forth, several blurry figures flashed past outside the earthen house.