Chapter Eleven: Hateful Life Stirs Up Another Trouble

Speaking of this topic, the old man's aged eyes brightened with a smile. "Miss Su, before I fled, I learned a few characters from the village scholar. When Hensheng was little, I taught him to write so he wouldn't be bored. Later, Xu Hua came and brought some books. Hensheng was a smart child from a young age, and he managed to read all the books using the characters I taught him. I was afraid that the books would arouse suspicion, so I packed them in a box and buried them in the ground. No one but me could find them."

Almost every father is proud of his child, and Old Man Bai's face showed a proud expression when he talked about Hensheng's intelligence. Although he wasn't his biological son, after twenty years of living together day and night, Old Man Bai had long regarded Hensheng as his own child.

Su Zhenzhen nodded, indicating that she understood. Seeing that Hensheng's expression darkened again when he heard about Xu Hua, she quickly changed the subject.

"Let's find an inn to get something to eat. What would you like to eat?"

Both Old Man Bai and Hensheng said they would listen to Su Zhenzhen.

The three of them arrived at the inn with the most customers on the street. According to Su Zhenzhen, the more people there were, the better the business was, and the food at a good inn was unlikely to be bad.

However, the price wasn't much cheaper.

Three bowls of plain noodles with an egg, one tael of silver per bowl.

Su Zhenzhen paid the money with resentment.

The noodles arrived shortly after, but to be honest, they didn't look very appealing.

Just as Su Zhenzhen put the egg in her mouth, she heard the diners at the next table chatting about their daily experiences.

They've suffered another defeat at the front, and it's uncertain whether the border can be held. They're trapped in this city, and their future is unknown.

Su Zhenzhen thought these words were too meaningless, but Hensheng listened attentively.

"But have you heard about something strange? In a nearby village, a wealthy man was beheaded in his own home. At first, the whole village mobilized to find the thief, but today they suddenly rushed to bury him. The strange thing is that during the burial, the deceased's elderly mother appeared, holding his head, and then smashed her head against the coffin to her death. Now this matter is very mysterious, and everyone is saying all sorts of things."

Su Zhenzhen paused, surprised that the old lady was so fierce.

Hensheng lost his appetite and got up, saying, "I'm going outside for some fresh air."

The wind is scorching hot in the middle of summer, what's the point of enjoying the breeze?

Su Zhenzhen ignored him and took the egg from his bowl after Hensheng left. Seeing that Old Man Bai still wanted to follow, she stopped him with a look. "You eat yours. He can't get over his own troubles. No matter what others say, it's useless. I'm not saying this, but you've protected him too well."

For twenty years, he had not left his home. Although there were reasons for this, Old Man Bai might have been able to tell him about the situation on the border. He only wanted him to grow up safely, but his background and bloodline destined him to have an unstable life. Keeping the phoenix in a cage is not protection but stifling.

Old Man Bai dared not disobey Su Zhenzhen, so he could only finish the bowl of noodles under her watchful gaze.

After finishing her noodles, Hensheng still hadn't come in. Su Zhenzhen couldn't help but frown; this man was far too sensitive.

Su Zhenzhen led the old man out of the inn, but she couldn't find Hensheng anywhere, and a sense of panic welled up in her heart for no reason.

Old Man Bai was also anxious, "Hensheng has always been an obedient child, he won't run around."

Su Zhenzhen was already at her wits' end. She was already annoyed, and the comments in her mind were still cursing her for stopping Old Man Bai from chasing after her.

Su Zhenzhen finally couldn't hold back anymore and cursed at the sky, "You guys are so amazing, and you like him so much, then tell me where he went? He's just being sensitive, it's not like I drove him away. I'll just leave him alone, I don't owe him anything anyway."

The comments section was filled with people who loved Hensheng more than they hated Su Zhenzhen, and they were all offering suggestions.

[The male protagonist definitely didn't get lost on his own; he might have been kidnapped. Quickly ask Old Man Bai if he has any enemies in town.]

[The male lead hasn't left his house for twenty years, and even his enemies don't recognize him. Could it be the Xu family coming after him?]

Seeing Su Zhenzhen venting her anger on thin air, Old Man Bai held his breath and dared not speak for a moment. Only when Su Zhenzhen's complexion improved did he ask softly, "What should we do now?"

What could she do? Of course, she'd find someone to help her. Su Zhenzhen thought to herself, if it weren't for the extra advantage her imperial bloodline gave her, she would have broken up with Old Man Bai right now.

It has to be said that the comments section did provide Su Zhenzhen with some direction. If we were to say who most wanted Hate to die, it would of course be Old Mrs. Xu.

But the old lady is already dead, so it can't be Chunzhi, right?

As for Old Man Bai's enemies...

Su Zhenzhen immediately had a guess in her mind, "Those villagers who forced you to hand over General Huo's body, did they see Hensheng?"

After all, that group of people were clamoring that if they didn't hand over General Huo's remains so they could complete that bullshit blood sacrifice, they would sacrifice living people to quell the war.

Upon hearing this, Old Man Bai pondered carefully. "Those people never came to my house alone, but I'm not sure if they saw Hensheng's face clearly when they came to arrest me that day. Miss Su, if all else fails, why don't you summon a ghost and ask him?"

Su Zhenzhen's lips twitched. These days, are ghosts so easy to summon? Even the underworld values ​​performance. Those who die of natural causes leave their bodies one second and enter the cycle of reincarnation the next. Efficiency is key. She was in charge of vengeful spirits, but in times of war, most were starving ghosts; where would she find vengeful spirits?

“It doesn’t have to be that complicated.” Su Zhenzhen pointed to the beggars on the street. “You can find out where Hensheng went by spending a little money.”

On a sweltering day, there were only a few pedestrians on the street, no business was open, and the beggars were all taking a break. Fortunately, Hensheng's appearance was very distinctive, and the handprint on his face had not yet faded. Almost the instant the old man handed over the silver, they pointed him in a direction.

"We were wondering why the person you mentioned was standing at the door. How could someone so good-looking have a handprint on their face? Then we saw two farmers cover his mouth, carry him onto a cart, and pull him away."

Su Zhenzhen was now certain that it must have been those ignorant villagers who did it, and immediately asked Old Man Bai to lead the way back to the original village.

The village roads were uneven, and the cart stumbled and bumped. Hensheng was jolted awake and saw that his hands and feet were tied. He immediately screamed, but his mouth was also gagged, and he could only make a series of muffled sounds.

The man pushing the cart was the same one who had led the way in demanding that Old Man Bai hand over General Huo's remains. His name was Li Er, and he had also fled to the north.

The people in this village area are basically refugees who fled from all over the country and gathered here. There is no such thing as a village with the same clan or kinship.

So when they heard that sacrificing General Huo's remains could lead to victory on the front lines, they did not hesitate to force Old Man Bai to comply.