Madam Ma had secretly prepared manpower. When Chen Zhaoci's fleet arrived, the manpower that had been secretly arranged there had already been cleared out. Chief Li paid attention to the situation in the vicinity along the way. When the ship passed by that area, he clearly felt something was wrong, but he did not see anything unexpected.

The Hou family came by boat from Tongzhou to meet them the day after they left Linqing. The mansion sent out a large number of guards. When they saw the people sent by the mansion, not only Chen Zhaoci breathed a sigh of relief, but even Chief Li was much more relaxed. He had been on edge the whole way, which was really too uncomfortable.

When they arrived in Tongzhou, it was already afternoon. Xu Zhi was already waiting at the dock. She was overjoyed to see Chen Zhaoci and led her people to the house she had bought in Tongzhou.

Xu Zhi's house in Tongzhou was not big enough to accommodate so many people. Chen Zhaoci moved in with Li Yuexi and her two children, as well as Granny Lu. Ma Pingting and her brother went to the Cao Gang's house in Tongzhou. As for the guards, they naturally surrounded Xu Zhi's house openly and secretly.

In the middle of the night, Chen Zhaoci, who was not sleeping soundly, heard the sound of weapons clashing outside. He went to Li Yuexi's room in the dark. Li Yuexi had already woken up. When she saw Chen Zhaoci come over, the two of them each held a child. After a long while, they heard Chief Li come to report that the attacking assassins had been completely wiped out, but no survivors were left. Those who had been captured had already bitten into the poison in their mouths and died from the poison.

Chen Zhaoci then put down the still-sleeping child and followed Chief Li to see the wounded guards.

Working with Bai Wei and Bai Mi until dawn to treat the wounded, Chen Zhaoci heard the sounds of vendors hawking their wares on the street. Feeling extremely tired, she didn't care about anything else. After a quick wash, she lay down and fell asleep.

Chen Zhaoci slept until dusk. Seeing that it was very late, she was disappointed that she couldn't enter the capital city gates even if she went there now. Xu Zhi said, "Mother, Lord Jia has already sent people to the capital to ask for reinforcements. Lord Jia said that those assassins are all highly skilled in martial arts. The journey from Tongzhou back to the capital will pass through many mountainous and densely forested areas. With just these few people, it will still be difficult."

Xu Zhi thought for a moment, then leaned closer to Chen Zhaoci and whispered, "Mother, who did you offend? They've been chasing us all this way and even sent out such powerful assassins."

Chen Zhaoci sighed and said, "If only we knew who it was, the problem is we don't know. Your brother arranged for us to return to the capital as soon as possible, so we headed for the capital. When we got to Linqing, we asked the Ma family of the Cao Gang for help, and they escorted us all the way to Tongzhou. You've met the Ma siblings. The girl from the Ma family said that she and your brother are sworn siblings."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so? How come my brother has never mentioned it before?"

Chen Zhaoci said, "I only found out about it when they came to me. I thought the girl was very spirited and easy to get along with. The young man from the Ma family is not in good health. I'll take him to your uncle to see if he can cure him."

Thinking of that bright and elegant girl, Xu Zhi asked gossipily, "Mother, do you think that girl had feelings for my brother back then? Otherwise, why isn't she married yet? She's even older than my brother."

Chen Zhaoci scoffed and said, "This concerns a girl's reputation, so you shouldn't speak carelessly."

Xu Zhi nodded and said, "Mother, while you were asleep during the day, Chief Li sent someone to the capital. A steward from the Marquis's mansion in the capital said that we need to discuss when to return to the capital. Do you think my brother has stirred up a hornet's nest? But we've already reached Tongzhou, and there's still half a day's journey ahead. We have many horses and people, so we should be able to return safely."

Chen Zhaoci didn't want to say anything at this moment. She felt weak all over. She had been on high alert the whole way. She had spent half the night treating the wounded. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically. She drank a bowl of millet porridge and couldn't eat anything else. So she simply lay down and rested.

Nothing happened that night. The next day, Chen Zhaoci felt much better. She went to check on the bandaged wounded soldiers, and they were all recovering quite well. After thanking Chen Zhaoci, Chief Li said, "Madam, I have already discussed it with the Marquis's Mansion. We will set off for the capital early tomorrow morning."

Chen Zhaoci nodded and went back to check on Li Yuexi. The two children were playing happily on the bed in the room. When they saw Chen Zhaoci coming over, Li Yuexi quickly got up and asked, "Mother, when are we going back to Beijing?"

Chen Zhaoci said, "We're leaving early tomorrow morning. Are the two children alright?"

Li Yuexi shook her head and said, "I feel fine after getting off the boat, but my stool is a little dry."

Chen Zhaoci sighed and said, "It's alright. You don't have enough breast milk. They're getting constipated from drinking goat milk powder. When we get back to the capital, I'll take good care of you, or we can find a wet nurse outside and you can drink her milk for a few days and your milk will gradually increase."

Li Yuexi was quite sad. Chen Zhaoci saw her expression and said with a smile, "This is not your fault. They are getting bigger every day. Your milk alone will not be enough for them both. Goat milk powder can help them out, but it's just that it makes them a little hot. It's nothing serious."

Li Yuexi, her eyes red, said, "Mother, do you think my husband will be alright all alone in Penglai? He sent all his guards here. If something happens, who will protect him?"

Chen Zhaoci laughed and said, "Aren't there so many soldiers outside the city? Don't worry, he's a grown man, doesn't he know what he's going to do? Now, let's not think about him all the time, let's think about ourselves more. If we're doing well, then he won't have any worries."

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