Ding Zhu was Ding Youtian's niece after all, and he knew that she was a concubine in the mansion of the prefect. If Ding Zhu had not lied to Lord Yang from the beginning, perhaps Lord Yang would have kept her and given her a place to live for the sake of him and Jian Ning.

It's just a concubine, which won't cost Lord Yang much money. As long as she behaves herself, she will have someone to rely on for the rest of her life.

But she lied to Lord Yang, and now it is difficult for them to recognize her. They don’t know whether Lord Yang will keep her in the end. It would be a lie to say that Ding Youtian doesn’t care about her at all and has never worried about her.

Seeing him silent and pensive, Jian Ning said, "Haven't we thought about it all before? There's no need to worry about her. Just look at Old Man Qin and you'll know. We, too, all feel warm when seeing people from our hometown send us things."

"Another thing is, if Lord Yang is well again and wants to get married to her, she'll miss her parents and brothers over time and will find ways to contact them. She'll either avoid Lord Yang or come up with some excuse. She'll figure it out herself."

Ding Youtian sighed softly, "I'm not worried about that. My eldest brother might not care about his daughter. If he does, it's Liu who cares about her. If it's up to me, she can just not contact them, so they can both live in peace. You know the temperament of my eldest brother and his wife. My eldest brother is relatively good. As for Liu, she can act so arrogant even though Wu Fengfu is just a clerk in the town. You know, Ding Zhu is the concubine of the prefect, and who knows what will happen."

His brows sank, and he added, "Forget it, let her go."

Jian Ning looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and said, "If you're worried about her, why not send Xu Dali to Yancheng to secretly find her and pass on a message to her. If Lord Yang can't find a place to stay, just let her come to us. We can't leave her here without any relatives. Even if we consider that we are from the same village, there's no reason to ignore her."

As she finished speaking, she was already in Ding Youtian's arms. He whispered in her ear, "Thank you, Madam."

The next day, Xu Dali rode a fast horse to Yancheng. When he arrived, Danyang had just experienced the first heavy snowfall of the year. In previous years, heavy snow would have started falling before October.

"Sir." He walked into the yamen in the snow. Before Ding Youtian could tell him to, Tong Bajin had already picked up the teapot from the charcoal basin and poured him a cup of hot tea. "Have some tea to warm yourself up first. You must be freezing."

Ding Youtian said.

"Not bad." Xu Dali held the teacup in both hands, warmed his hands and said, "I found something strange when I came back. I remember that the road back to Danyang was full of long slopes, but today I found that the slopes are much flatter. Sir, do you think this is strange?"

Ding Youtian knew the reason. The land had naturally sunk after the spirits moved away. "Didn't my wife dream that an immortal told her there would be no more unusually cold weather? I wonder if this is related."

Xu Dali also thought of this and felt that what he said was probably reasonable. He drank a sip of hot tea and then continued, "I have told Miss Ding Zhu about this. She asked me to convey her gratitude. She said that she was afraid that day would never come. The prefect treated her very well."

Ding Youtian nodded. "All right, all right. Is there any news in the city?"

"There's nothing in the city yet." Xu Dali fished out a letter from his bosom. "According to your Excellency's instructions, I went to the Ding brand and did some research. As expected, they received news from the capital saying that the previous governors had been investigated, but as you expected, Prince Rui wasn't implicated. This is a letter from Commander Huo to you. If I hadn't gone this time, they would have delivered it to you in the next few days."

Ding Youtian had expected that the prince would be given a heavy reward and put aside lightly. It was not easy to overthrow a prince whose mother's family was powerful. He thought that the letter Huo Jincheng sent him was mostly about Prince Rui, but after reading it, he found that it was not the case.

Huo Jincheng then inquired about Blind Liu's whereabouts. He knew that Blind Liu had returned to Dingxian Village after returning from Yue Kingdom, and his whereabouts were unknown. He asked Ding Youtian if Blind Liu had gone to Danyang. He also informed Ding Youtian that the elixir presented by Prince Yong to the Emperor was running low, and that Prince Yong had sent people to search for Feng Qingzi and Nan Xiang in order to prepare the elixir.

The emperor has become dependent on elixirs and is asking for them. He reminds Ding Youtian to be on guard. His people have investigated the whereabouts of Blind Liu, and it may not be hidden from the eyes and ears of Prince Yong. He is afraid that Danyang will be in turmoil, and perhaps the masters under Prince Yong will come to Danyang.

After reading the letter, Ding Youtian asked Tong Bajin to find Shouzheng and ask him to strictly check anyone entering Danyang from that day on, and report any suspicious persons immediately.

After Tong Bajin received the order, he asked Xu Dali to go back and rest. Xu Dali looked at him but hesitated to speak.

"If you have anything else to say, feel free to tell me," he said.

"Sir, I went to the escort agency I used to work for in Yancheng this time, but I didn't hear them mention that anyone from the Ding brand had contacted them, and the matter of the ginkgo paste delivery..."

Ding Youtian smiled. No matter how fast the news of the Ding brand spread, it would take some time for it to reach Yancheng in the north from the capital. Not everyone was like Jian Ning and Ma Fuquan, who had the magical Baicaojian that could deliver the news immediately no matter how far away they were.

"Perhaps they'll find out in a few days. Don't worry about it. Commander Huo will order the people from the Ding brands in various places to handle this matter. You've been tired for many days, so go back and rest early."

Ding Youtian wasn't worried about the martial arts masters from Prince Yong's mansion coming to find him. With his master and Jian Ning around, they would be courting death. However, it's easier to avoid an open attack than to defend against a hidden one. He figured he'd have to talk to Blind Liu about this.

At night, after Old Qin and the others had gone to bed, he asked Jian Ning to cook some snacks and send them to Blind Liu's room later.

Blind Liu was sitting by candlelight reading a book. When he saw him push the door open, he glanced at him and then returned his gaze to his book. "It's freezing cold, why are you coming to this old blind man's place instead of staying in bed with your wife?"

"I'm craving a few drinks, so I'm going to have a couple of drinks with Master. My wife's gone to cook some snacks."

"If you have something to say, just say it and stop playing tricks." Blind Liu put his finger in his mouth, dipped his saliva in the book and turned the pages, then glanced at him sideways.

Ding Youtian smiled and took the book from him, then handed over the letter written by Huo Jincheng. "Master, please read the letter first. I will talk to you after you read it."

Blind Liu scanned the letter quickly and threw it on the table. "Those two are dead. If he wants to find them, he can go find them. I'm just a storyteller. What are you afraid of? Even if they find me here, I'm still a storyteller. Don't worry too much!"

Ding Youtian thought, isn't that right? He was also confused by his concern. The Crown Prince and Huo Jincheng knew that his master was the former Southern Prime Minister, but Prince Yong didn't. Even if his band of quacks came to Danyang, they would see that his master was just a storyteller, and maybe they would dispel their doubts and leave.

"I'm indeed overthinking it. In that case, I'll go tell my wife that there's no need to cook anymore. Master, please go to bed early."

"Stop right there!"