As dusk fell, white mist enveloped the area around Lujia Village.

Grandma Zhu and the others stayed in the thatched hut with Zhu Xiaobao and Pei Sining all night until the two children woke up.

They hurriedly lifted the two people out of the bathtub and gave the two children their medicine separately.

Pei Sining slowly opened her eyes, looking blankly at the dilapidated surroundings.

Where is this place?

"This is Lujia Village."

Sun wrapped Pei Sining in a thick quilt, held him in her arms, and carefully fed him medicine.

Upon learning that she was in Lujia Village, Pei Sining was immediately filled with anger. It seemed that Xixi was right.

This Zhu Yanyan is no good person; she actually dared to ambush me, the young master.

"Drink your medicine quickly. The rash on your body has subsided, but the epidemic has damaged your internal organs, so you still need to take the medicine."

Sun had never taken care of children before, but she had taken care of two nephews before, so she was quite adept at taking care of Pei Sining.

Pei Sining was never one to be pretentious; she took the worn-out bowl and drank all the Chinese medicine in it in one gulp.

After a busy night, the Zhu family finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the rashes on the two people recede, and collapsed onto the straw mat, panting heavily.

Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, they saw the village head hurriedly enter the dilapidated house and say anxiously.

"Young Master Zhu, quickly take your family and leave! The county magistrate is here with his men to burn down the village."

"You should hide in the back mountain first, and come down from the back mountain after the magistrate leaves."

【We can't burn it! The cotton in the village is very valuable; if we burn the village, the cotton price will skyrocket.】

Many people couldn't buy cotton and froze to death in the dead of winter.

Xixi nestled in the bamboo basket, making anxious cooing sounds, as if afraid her family would leave.

When Grandma Zhu heard her granddaughter's voice, she quickly took her out of the bamboo basket.

Xi Xi's heartfelt words were successfully conveyed to everyone in the Zhu family, who pondered for a moment with worried expressions.

Finally, it was Sun who stepped forward first and pointed at Zhu Dabao and Pei Sining to explain.

"Village head, if we can cure smallpox, will we not have to burn down the village?"

“Look, my nephews, they’re all better now, they’ve stopped getting rashes and have stopped having fevers.”

The village headman looked in surprise in the direction of Sun's hand, and his eyes instantly turned red when he saw that Zhu Dabao and Pei Sining had no red spots.

"Can this... really cure the poison?"

"Yes, we'll go explain the situation to the magistrate now and ask them to give us time. Smallpox only comes once, and it won't come back after the antidote is administered."

Sun's motivation wasn't simply for the cotton; she also wanted to give these elderly people and children a chance to live.

Seeing this, Old Lady Zhu stepped forward with Xixi in her arms and advised, "Village head, we are willing to let these two children go out to testify. The county magistrate will definitely believe you when he sees them."

After being persuaded by the Zhu family, the village head hesitated for a moment, but ultimately agreed to their suggestion.

So, under the organization of the village head, Zhu Xiaobao and Pei Sining put on their clothes, sat on a cart pushed by the villagers, and walked out of the village.

Old Lady Zhu and the others dared not appear before the county magistrate, for they were exiled prisoners and their presence might cause the magistrate to misunderstand.

Led by the village head, the group arrived at the village entrance and saw the county magistrate sitting upright in his carriage. The magistrate covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief in disgust and shouted at them.

"Village head, do you want to rebel?"

"Magistrate Wang, the antidote is here. Look at these children, their rashes are gone."

The village headman excitedly approached the two men, parted their clothes, and revealed their fair skin to the magistrate.

The magistrate squinted in confusion and gestured for the surrounding officials to come forward and investigate. "Go and see what's going on?"

Upon seeing this, the officials rushed forward, roughly pulling aside Zhu Xiaobao and Pei Sining's clothes, before leaving the village entrance to report.

"Reporting to you, sir, neither of these children has a rash."

The official's words caused the magistrate's expression to change. He beckoned to the clerk beside him and whispered among himself.

"Master Qin, what should we do? Is there really an antidote?"

"Sir, whether or not there's an antidote isn't up to them to decide. For the safety of the people, we should..."

Master Qin had served the magistrate for over ten years, so he naturally understood what he meant. He bowed and scraped to the magistrate, making a gesture as if he were stroking his neck.

The magistrate had been waiting for Qin the advisor to say this. He nodded in satisfaction, raised his large hand slightly, and gestured for the officials to get to work.

Upon seeing this, the officials drew their broadswords and drove away the village head and villagers. The village head, in a fit of anger, questioned the county magistrate.

"Your Honor, we have the antidote, so why are you still driving us into the village?"

"How dare you question the county magistrate's decision?" The constable was very dissatisfied with the village head's instigating attitude and slapped him hard across the face.

The village head's experience aroused the villagers, who went crazy trying to reason with the officials.

The sound from the village entrance worried Old Mrs. Zhu, and she quickly turned around to look at her son and daughter-in-law.

"Let's go see what's going on."

Liu was also worried that her son might be in danger and couldn't wait to go out.

Before leaving, Ms. Sun took off her bodysuit and gave instructions to everyone.

"Your clothes are too conspicuous. Take them off."

Grandma Zhu agreed with what Mrs. Sun said, and hurriedly took off her mask and gloves.

"Hurry up, the third son's wife's medicine can cure the poison, so there's no need to worry about getting smallpox."

After hearing what Grandma Zhu said, the group, who had been hesitant, finally mustered up the courage to take off their clothes.

After everyone hid their clothes, they followed Grandma Zhu toward the village entrance.

When the group arrived, they saw all the villagers being beaten by the officials; they were all elderly, weak, sick, or disabled people.

None of them had the ability to fight back; they cowered on the ground, letting the officials bully them.

[This is a heartless, corrupt official. Lujia Village has paid so much tax to him, and yet he treats them like this.]

Hearing Xixi's mutterings, the Zhu family members became even angrier and ran forward to push the officials away.

"As officials appointed by the imperial court, how can you abuse your power to bully ordinary people? Do you still have any regard for the law?"

Old Mrs. Zhu stood in front of the villagers with her son and daughter-in-law, holding a wooden stick and pointing it at the officials, loudly questioning them.

The magistrate squinted at Old Lady Zhu through the curtain, then looked at the clerk beside him, and asked, "Who are these people?"

“I don’t know them, sir. No matter who they are, once they enter Lu Family Village, they will only die. Don’t waste your breath on them.”

The advisor glanced at the Zhu family members disdainfully and said with a grin.

The magistrate agreed with the advisor and waved to the officials behind him who were holding torches.

The officials carrying torches were already prepared. Upon seeing the magistrate's signal, they quickly stepped forward and walked towards the straw piled up at the village entrance.

Just then, Chen Xiang and his men strode over and shouted at the county magistrate.

"Stop it, all of you!"