As they talked, they arrived home. Zhao Guihua led Xingxing, Li Jier, and Li Yuer into the house, while Zhou Laoda and the five Fu brothers carried the things from the car inside.

"This house was just built this year. We specially built a few extra rooms. You two sisters can stay in this room for a while. I've brought all the fabric back. You can stay home and do some needlework. You don't need to do anything else." After Zhao Guihua finished speaking, she told them to rest for a bit and then turned and left.

She first went to check the kitchen and the old house. The new house was locked, and the magistrate's men were staying in the old house. There didn't seem to be many people there. The house was quite clean, and there were signs that the kitchen had been used. These people must have received the news that they were going to return to the village, so they left in advance.

Zhao Guihua turned and went to the vegetable garden in the backyard. Some of the greens had been picked, but the pumpkins were growing very well and had already turned golden yellow. It seemed that they would be ready to be harvested soon.

Once the pumpkin seeds are handed over to the magistrate, you can get the remaining silver. Your family will no longer be under guard. The pumpkins you save for seeds are also edible. The seeds need to be taken out, dried, and stored.

I wonder who ended up eating all those pumpkins; they probably all ended up in the hands of the officials.

In an inconspicuous little house in town, several men sat around a square table, discussing in hushed tones. One of the men, who had narrowed his eyes, said in a low voice, "Now that everyone is here, let's make our move tonight."

The person speaking had already notified others to come and was going to arrest the person, but he had been held up by other matters and hadn't had the time, so it had been delayed until now.

"The prince is currently in the north, far away from us. Even if we capture this person, we can't let him see her. Who knows if this is really the princess? Didn't those two men who went on a mission a year ago say that the princess was killed by them? It's a pity that those two idiots died not long after completing their mission."

The person speaking at this moment was a dark-faced man, whose appearance was as ordinary as the squinty-eyed man's, making him an easily overlooked presence.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not her. We’ll catch her and raise her. Maybe she’ll come in handy. If the girl is disobedient, we’ll just…” The squinting man made a throat-slitting gesture.

There were five of them in total. The other three were dressed as honest, simple farmers. They didn't say anything, but they clearly agreed with the squinty-eyed man's idea.

In the middle of the night, Xingxing suddenly woke up in a daze. She opened her eyes wide and quietly got out of bed. Just as she opened her eyes, a picture flashed through her mind: five men dressed in black quietly crossed the thorn wall at the entrance of the village and entered the village.

With a clear objective, the five men sneaked into the house and began killing people with knives, hacking down the parents and brothers. Finally, they covered Xingxing's mouth and nose and kidnapped her.

Xingxing quickly recalled the scene in her mind, her little face stiffened, and she hurriedly climbed out of bed, opened the door and peeked out for a moment. She always knew in advance what was going to happen, so there was still time.

"Bang, bang, bang." The little fists pounded hard on the door of Zhou Laoda and his wife's room.

"Mom and Dad, wake up! Don't sleep! Something terrible has happened!" Xingxing shouted at the top of her lungs, then immediately shut up, afraid to shout again and attract bad people.

Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua sat up sleepily, their minds still a little foggy. What had happened?

Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu next door were very alert. They woke up as soon as Xingxing knocked on the door and came out wearing coats.

"What's wrong? Sleepwalking in the middle of the night?" Zhou Erfu yawned and squinted at the stars.

"Second Brother, Fourth Brother, get up! I was just about to call you. Hurry up and wake up Eldest Brother and the others too. I have something to tell you. If we delay any longer, it will be too late." Xingxing was very anxious, and her voice couldn't help but rise to a high pitch.

Zhao Guihua jumped out of bed with a start, threw on her coat, ran out of the room, and hugged Xingxing. "Daughter, what's wrong? What happened?"

Seeing that Zhou Laoda, Zhou Dafu, Zhou Zhoufu, and Zhou Wufu had all gotten up and the whole family was present, Xingxing tightened her little face, clenched her two little fists, and said in an unusually serious tone: "There are bad people who are coming to kill our family. They will take Xingxing away. There are five masked men in black with knives who know kung fu."

Xingxing's words were a bit incoherent, but everyone understood them. Zhou Erfu ran to the kitchen and took out a wood-chopping knife. He whispered, "Don't be afraid, your second brother will protect you. We've prepared in advance, there's no reason why we can't beat them."

Zhou Laoda quickly grabbed an axe from the house, shielding his wife and daughter behind him, and told Dafu and the others to grab their weapons as well.

"Father, and Ji'er and Yu'er, call them over too, let's all stay together." Zhao Guihua was heartbroken. She had meant well by wanting the two girls to come back and enjoy a few days of happiness, but she never expected to face the risk of being silenced on their very first night.

After waking up Li Ji'er and Li Yu'er and calling them over, Zhou Erfu calmly gave instructions, "Eldest brother, third brother, and fifth brother, you and Father protect Mother, my sister, and our two cousins. Fourth brother and I will guard other places separately to avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Find a secluded place to hide. When the people come, if they enter the room where we're hiding, you can attack from behind to help us," Boss Zhou said in a deep voice.

Li Ji'er and Li Yu'er were unaware of what had happened. They were suddenly woken up in the middle of the night, and were already confused. Now, upon hearing these words, their hearts skipped a beat. This was the prelude to a bloody disaster.

"Don't be afraid, sisters. Second brother and fourth brother are very strong. They have the strength to handle it. Father and the other three brothers will also support us. We will be safe."

Li Ji'er and Li Yu'er were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They clung tightly to Xingxing and Zhao Guihua, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Suddenly, Xingxing was no longer afraid and even had the mind to comfort them.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!