Old Ding returned home with tears in his eyes. He entered the house, drove out all of Old Five's children, and locked the door in a hurry. Although he tried his best to suppress the excitement that was about to overflow, his eyes were already exposed.

There is good news, and it is a huge piece of good news!

Without him saying a word, Mrs. Meng knew what was going on by looking at his expression. She quickly knelt down and crawled to the window beside the bed, then closed the window and fastened it.

"What good news? Look how happy you are. Tell me quickly." Meng said in a low voice.

"Hey, this is such a great thing, so great that you, an old woman, wouldn't even dare to dream of it."

Old Ding crossed his legs and laughed at her so hard that his saliva was dripping out.

"Oh, you old man, what good news is this? It's making me so anxious! Tell me quickly! You're making me so anxious!"

"Just sit tight and listen carefully." Old Ding wiped his saliva and stretched his head forward. "Our Wu'er has made it big! Guess who he's hooking up with now? Hehe, you'll never guess!"

Mrs. Meng was almost dying of anxiety. She clenched her fists and pressed them to her stomach, gathering strength and grunting. She glared at him and said, "Stop wasting time. If you know I can't guess, just tell me now! I'm going to be so anxious!"

"Listen carefully, it's King Zhao, King Zhao!"

"ah?"

Meng cried out a little louder, covering her mouth in panic, glancing out the window, and then lowering her voice, "King Zhao? Are you talking about the King Zhao of the fiefdom?"

"That's right, he's the old emperor's son. All of this area around Jin County in Dazhou is his fiefdom. If Wu'er gets hooked up with him, do you think we'll be able to rise to prominence? In short, we'll be able to enjoy a peaceful and comfortable life with Wu'er."

"That's great! Wu'er has a stubborn temper, but he's sincere and devoted to me. If he gets better, we'll get better too. But can it really work this time? Don't let it be another case of dog biting pig bladder, and end up with nothing."

"This time, you can rest assured. It was that damned knife-wielding man from the Fourth Family who told me this in person, right in front of the Town Magistrate. How can I not allow it? I don't know what kind of official this knife-wielding man is."

"No matter what position he holds, he's no higher than the emperor's son!"

"Yes, that's right."

Old Ding and Mrs. Meng were standing side by side, grinning at each other, their faces almost brimming with joy. At that moment, Ding Youtian's reputation as a mediocre scholar and his refusal to kneel before an official were reduced to rubbish in their eyes by his status as the emperor's own son.

The two men discussed that when Lao Wu returned, they would not only deal with Ding Youtian, but also severely punish Lao Da and the others. Now, Lao Ding hated Lao Da the most. In the past, he didn't need to say anything, just a glance would scare Lao Da into submission.

Now, no one is willing to give him a single bite of meat. He wants to deal with the eldest brother first to let him know that his father is still his father!

The two of them were thinking with their family about how to deal with their sons, but Ding Youtian was worried about whether he should tell them that the fifth son had passed away.

Ding Youtian was not indifferent or heartbroken about Lao Wu's death.

Although Lao Wu died at Feng Qingzi's hands instead of his, they were brothers from the same mother's womb. Family ties cannot be severed by a piece of paper or a single word!

He was constantly worried about how to tell the Meng family about the fifth brother's affairs. He couldn't hide it. Sooner or later, they would know, especially now that Prince Yong was investigating the matter of Prince Zhao. Feng Qingzi had mastered the art of soul-moving. Prince Yong would definitely know about it. Once he started investigating, the fifth brother's affairs would be impossible to conceal.

Although he knew that his parents always put profit first, he was their biological son after all, and Lao Wu was not like him when he was alive. He could not do all the farm work and was willing to work hard. He still could not bear to let them know that they had sent their son away without even seeing his body.

Jian Ning saw that he had been frowning and silent since Huo Jincheng and Xiang Qian left, so he brewed a pot of dried wild chrysanthemum tea with spiritual spring water and brought it to him.

"They will know sooner or later, otherwise..." Jane Ning wanted to say, why not tell Lao Liu, and let Lao Liu tell Lao Dingtou and the others.

On second thought, it’s not appropriate.

If the news got out of here, Old Ding and the others might get in trouble again. It wasn't that she was afraid of them, but she didn't want to get involved in the trouble. It would be easier to wait for the government to inform them.

"Don't worry. Old Five died at Feng Qingzi's hands. We can't be blamed." Ding Youtian consoled Jian Ning. "Right now, we just need to take good care of our own children. We don't know when General Geng will come knocking again. It's not a good idea to have Uncle Wei and the others guarding the clinic all night."

"When an enemy comes, we will fight him; when water comes, we will block it with earth." Jian Ning poured a cup of tea and handed it to him. "Bao'er carries a weapon for self-defense and is steady and smart. I'm worried about Jiajia and Yaoyao. They're too young to sit still at home. They run around outside all day and might sneak out to play if I'm not paying attention."

"Their only targets are you and Bao'er. The worst that can happen is that they capture them and use them to threaten us. As long as they don't kill us, we can find a way to rescue them. You force them to stay at home all day, but they probably won't be able to do it. Don't worry about these troubles. I will keep an eye on them and let Guoguo follow them during the day."

"Can't you think about it? You speak as if they are just your children."

"I belong to you from head to toe, so how could my children not be yours? You and I are one, sharing honor and disgrace. My children and I are yours, and when we have our own children, they will be yours, too."

Jane Ning was just pretending to be angry, but he was frightened. He quickly stood up and hugged her in his arms, accompanying her and comforting her carefully.

"Don't worry about it, I'll ask Uncle San to let Uncle Liu know when he picks Bao'er up from school. He'll let him come home to sleep tonight. You can ask Uncle Liu for his advice at night."

"After all, he was once a prime minister. He must have more ideas and more thorough thinking than us. Also, you passed the examination for the title of scholar. Although you didn't rank first, you still have some achievements. This is all thanks to Uncle Liu's good teaching. You should also go and thank him."

Ding Youtian nodded and said, "Listen to my wife, I'll go after I finish copying the story tonight."

He now really meant what he called his wife, and treated Jane Ning more attentively than before. Jane Ning once heard an older sister who worked in logistics in the army say that there are only two ways of treating women: one is that men treat you very well before you get the woman, but discard you like a worn-out shoe after you get the woman; the other is that men treat you well before you get the woman, and treat you even better after you get the woman.

She was very glad that Ding Youtian was the latter.

At night, Huo Jincheng returned with Ma Fuquan, and as usual, he and Wei Dong stayed at the clinic. Xiang Qian brought news about Prince Yong as well as the Crown Prince.

The prince asked if there was any clue about Nanyangzi. Huo Jincheng couldn't help but feel anxious when he thought about it. He always had a feeling that Nanyangzi was hiding in Dingxian Village or other nearby villages, but he was frustrated that he couldn't find any clues.

Tossing and turning in bed, feeling upset, he got up, tiptoed to put on his clothes and walked out of the house. Standing on the slope, he looked towards the capital and was piecing together Nanyangzi's current appearance in his mind. Suddenly, he heard some movement coming from Jian Ning's yard, and he quickly hid in the dark and looked over.