Not long after leaving the city, a magpie poked its head out of the carriage and looked towards Geshan Village, urging, "Hurry! Hurry!"

Hearing her urging, the coachman raised his whip and lashed it hard against the horse, which neighed and sped up. But the magpie on the carriage still complained about the slow pace and continued to urge on. The coachman, exasperated, said, "This is already the fastest you can go, young lady. Any faster and we'll overturn the carriage!" The magpie opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed her words and remained silent.

Although on the surface he stopped urging her, Magpie was still extremely anxious. Such a big thing had happened. Because of those villains, so many people in Geshan Village had died for no reason, and they didn't know if they would target Geshan Village next. How could anyone not be anxious!

She was like an ant on a hot pan, wishing she could grow wings and fly to Geshan Village.

Upon arriving at Geshan Village, Magpie jumped off the car before it had even come to a complete stop and walked along the familiar road to Ruan Meiying's house.

Upon arriving at the door, the magpie called out loudly, "Is anyone home?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a middle-aged woman came out. She was Ruan Meiying's mother, and she was somewhat surprised to see the magpie.

"Magpie! What brings you here? Come in quickly and tell me!" After saying that, she hurriedly welcomed Magpie into the house, and then asked worriedly, "Has something happened to Meiying?" Although their family no longer officially recognized this daughter, she was still their daughter after all. Moreover, Ruan Meiying often helped them out. How could a mother not worry about her own daughter?

The magpie quickly said, "No, I came today to discuss something else. Aunt, where are my elder brother and uncle?"

Ruan Meiying's mother wiped away her tears, hesitated, but still answered, "Dafeng went to work in the fields."

"Then can you find them and bring them back? I have something urgent to tell you."

Seeing the magpie's anxious expression, Ruan Meiying's mother said, "Alright, you sit here and wait a moment, I'll go and call them."

Not long after, Ruan Meiying's mother returned with her son.

After they entered the house, Magpie quickly closed the door, then took out the money that Ruan Meiying had asked her to bring from her bosom, and told them the whole story from beginning to end.

After hearing what the magpie had to say, they were all furious. Ruan Meiying's brother even slammed his hand on the table and stood up angrily, "This is outrageous! These beasts are treating human life so lightly!" His name was Ruan Dafeng, and he was the one who had questioned Hongshi that day.

He had long suspected something was wrong. The grain hadn't arrived for so many days, and the soldiers were guarding the village entrance, preventing anyone from leaving. He never expected things to turn out exactly as he suspected: so many people had died just to get them promoted and given higher ranks.

He said loudly, "Let's go find the village chief and let him decide what to do about this."

After hearing his words, the magpie stood up to take her leave: "I have delivered the message. The young lady is waiting for my news! I will be going now. Take care."

Ruan Meiying's mother saw her off at the village entrance, held Xique's hand, and said with tears in her eyes, "Is Meiying alright? That child has suffered so much." After saying that, she lowered her head and cried.

Magpie quickly comforted her, telling her that Ruan Meiying was fine and that she didn't need to worry. Only then did Ruan Meiying's mother stop crying and see her off to the car.