Without further hesitation, Ding Youtian bowed to Huo Jincheng and said solemnly, "Thank you very much. I accept this favor on behalf of my mentor."

Huo Jincheng's eyes darkened. "Don't thank me for now. I'm really uneasy. It would be more important for you to give me some peace of mind."

Meeting his gaze, Ding Youtian saw the worry in his heart, "Don't worry, my master has no other intentions. If he had such thoughts, he would be able to go anywhere in the world. With his great talent, if he wanted to borrow troops to avenge the extermination of our family, he would have done it a long time ago. Why wait until now?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Ding Youtian believed in Blind Liu. He had practically grown up with him, so how could he not know his character? In the letter Blind Liu left before leaving for Yue Kingdom, he had warned Ding Youtian that if he dared to become a corrupt official, he would personally take his head. How could someone who cared so deeply about the people lead another nation's troops to trample upon his own people?

He believed in Blind Liu, and Emperor Yongping also believed in him.

Long before Nanyangzi escaped from the Heavenly Prison by borrowing a corpse, Emperor Yongping already regretted exterminating his entire family in a fit of rage! Nanyangzi had followed him since his youth, aiding him in his quest for dominance in the Central Plains for over a decade. The two had weathered the flames of war together. How could Emperor Yongping, now calm, not realize that Nanyangzi had no intention of rebellion?

Without his extraordinary talent and ability to discern talent, how could Emperor Yongping have become the founding emperor of a nation? Unbeknownst to Ding Youtian, ever since the spy reported that the Seventh Prince of Yue, Pei Xiyuan, had requested a skilled practitioner from Dirong, and now that the Emperor of Yue had officially appointed the Seventh Prince as Crown Prince, Emperor Yongping had inquired about the practitioner's physique and figure, and had already guessed that the practitioner was most likely Nanyangzi.

Although the Yue Kingdom and the Dayan Kingdom had signed a friendly alliance agreement, both countries had numerous spies stationed in each other's territory, and no one could hide any movement from the other. Although Blind Liu was extremely cautious, specifically leading Pei Xiyuan through the Dirong tribe to reach the Yue Kingdom and even changing into Dirong tribal attire, Emperor Yongping still guessed it was him based on his height and build.

For several days in a row, Emperor Yongping handed over all court affairs to the prince, and stayed alone in a room to ponder for several days. Finally, he came to the conclusion that if Nanyangzi wanted to take revenge, he would have sneaked into the palace and taken his head long ago, and would never raise an army to harm the people.

This conclusion did not make him feel relieved at all. Instead, it made him feel heavier and more regretful for slaughtering Nanyangzi's family.

Emperor Yongping resumed his court session, but he never mentioned the matter of Master Di Rong again, and strictly ordered the ministers in the court not to mention it again. He also did not tell anyone about the fact that Master Di Rong was the Prime Minister of the South, including the empress and the crown prince.

When Huo Jincheng mentioned this to Ding Youtian, he thought that he was the only one in the world who knew that the so-called Di Rong master was the Southern Prime Minister of that year. He went from Dingxian Village to look for Liu the Blind, and after learning that Liu had left with the people of Yue, he followed him all the way, so he knew that Liu the Blind had gone to Yue via Di Rong.

Seeing Ding Youtian finally admit that Blind Liu was Nan Xiang, and hearing his resolute tone, he felt relieved. He had heard his old father talk about Nan Xiang a lot recently, and he had great respect for Nan Xiang in his heart, and was even more regretful about what Nan Xiang had experienced back then.

Outside the yamen, Zhuo Qingmu and Duan Xinping, along with people from the Dinghao gang, were distributing items to the people. Most of the people in the city had already seen Jian Ning in the orchard, but now that they knew she was Princess An Ning, they all wanted to see her again and were reluctant to leave after receiving the items.

After some people knew that Duan Xinping was the princess's sister and the daughter of the famous Prince Pingnan of Dayan Dynasty, they asked her about the princess with great interest.

Duan Xinping loved playing with Duan Xinning since she was a child. All she knew were Duan Xinning's childhood stories. Seeing that the people were in high spirits, she picked up some childhood stories and told them to everyone. When Huo Jincheng and Ding Youtian came out of the yamen, they heard her talking about Duan Xinning falling from the swing. He felt a little moved and couldn't help but glance at Ding Youtian.

"Why are you looking at me?" Ding Youtian saw that he had a strange look in his eyes, and after hearing Duan Xinping greet him and then continue to talk to everyone about Duan Xinning, he suddenly realized why he was looking at him like that.

"Don't think about it, it's useless." He waved his sleeves at him, turned around and walked towards the yamen with his hands behind his back.

"Where are you going? Wait a minute!" Huo Jincheng hurried to catch up with him. "I saw she had a flower ornament on her forehead. Why does she like to wear makeup now?"

Ding Youtian stopped and looked at him sideways, "Guess?"

"Why am I guessing? If I guessed right, why would I ask you?" This time it was his turn to wave his sleeves at Ding Youtian. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Qiao Feng came over with a smile, "Master, Uncle Huo, Master asked me to call you in for dinner."

Huo Jincheng went into the backyard and saw Erniu and Sanniu playing with flower strings under a blossoming fruit tree. "Second sister, third sister," he called out, echoing Ding Youtian's call. "Uncle Huo bought you a lamb. Did you see it?"

Erniu said, "Huh?" "My sister and I don't like sheep. They're not fun at all. They're stupid."

Ding Youtian laughed and headed towards the cafeteria.

"Hey, what kind of tree is that planted in the yard? I've been all over the place, but it seems like I've never seen that tree before." Huo Jincheng asked after following them to the cafeteria.

"That's a treasure of Danyang. There's a larger patch on the southern mountain. I'll take you there after dinner. The good thing I told you about is right up there." Ding Youtian gestured for him to sit down first. "Danyang County hasn't had much of a harvest this year, so we can't always rely on government aid. My wife said we have to produce and support ourselves. Ah, that means finding a way to earn money. With money, why worry about not being able to buy food?"

"What other ways has she thought of to make money?" Huo Jincheng's voice was a little dry.

"What do you mean by her, her, her? Shouldn't you call her Madam? Do I need to teach you this?"

"Mr. Huo is rude." Huo Jincheng couldn't stand his expression and wanted to punch him, but he had to apologize. Jian Ning was already married to another man, and it was not right for him to treat her like this.

"Forget it. This county won't bother with you. Just mend your ways the second time." After Ding Youtian finished speaking, Tong Bajin and Erlangzi sent the soup bucket out and walked over with Duan Xinping and Zhuo Qingmu.

"I'm going to see my sister." Duan Xinping heard Duan Xinyan tell her that Jian Ning didn't need any maids or servants and cooked for herself. She also heard Tong Bajin and Erlangzi say it just now. She glanced towards the dining hall and didn't see Jian Ning, so she knew she was in the kitchen, so she walked towards the kitchen.

Jian Ning was still stir-frying shredded radish with pork, and the room was filled with smoke and fire. Duan Xinping stepped in and was choked and coughed several times. Seeing that Jian Ning was as calm as ever, she turned her head and smiled and asked her to go out and not come in for a while. She secretly admired her and thought that it was no wonder that her own sister was not convinced by her but by Jian Ning.

Duan Xinping came along this time actually for Duan Xinyan, as her idea coincided with Jian Ning's.