Chapter 349 Why didn't the government office send anyone?

Two of the three little ones are at the age where they are growing rapidly, and the imperial physician said that their three meals a day must not be irregular.

Xie Yun thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright, then farewell."

Xie Yun walked over to Lan Yun and said something to her, then turned to Sheng Sheng and said, "Let's go."

After resting for a while, the group continued their journey. Village Chief Zhang and the villagers behind him thanked the group several times and watched their carriage disappear into the distance.

The carriage was unusually quiet. Xie Yun-yang and Sheng Sheng were both busy with their hands; Xie Yun-yang was drinking tea, and Sheng Sheng was reading a storybook.

Xie Yun-yang took one sip of tea after another without finishing it, and Sheng Sheng didn't turn a single page of the storybook in her hand for a long time.

Both of them were lost in their own thoughts, but the core issue on their minds was what had just happened.

The slightly tense atmosphere among the group only dissipated when they arrived at the inn and Sheng Sheng, as usual, secretly and discreetly packed the stones into a large box and slipped into the room.

Stone crawled out of the box and complained softly, "Master, how long am I supposed to be a thief?"

The stone is still small and sometimes cannot fully understand the art of human speech.

For example, when he said "being a thief" now, it was actually when Sheng Sheng first put the stones into the box and sneaked into the inn that he couldn't help but say, "We look like thieves now, sneaking around like this."

As a result, the stone could only extract the two characters "zuo zei" (meaning "thief").

So every time he did this, Stone would say he was doing something wrong.

She chuckled, squatted down beside him, patted his tiger head, and cleaned the few drops of blood that had accidentally gotten on his and Yan Hu's fur.

"There's no other way. We can't just swagger in front of everyone with a little tiger, can we? Because our Stone is too powerful. Just standing here is intimidating and will scare passersby."

"Oh, okay."

Stone probably knew why he had to keep "stealing" like this; after all, there's a difference between humans and tigers.

Sigh, it's really hard to be a tiger.

He's clearly just a simple and cute little tiger, so why should we be afraid of him?

It's gotten to the point where he has to wait for his owner to pack his meals and bring them back for him. He really wants to continue eating with his owner.

Sheng Sheng gently patted his head to comfort him, "I'll bring you lots and lots of delicious food later, okay?"

"Okay." Stone forced himself to stop being sad.

Sheng Sheng looked at the stone, feeling a little conflicted.

Actually, it wasn't just because I was afraid of scaring others; there was another reason.

Everyone in the palace knew that the Second Princess had brought back a white tiger from the Shanglin Hunting Grounds. Although this was not the capital, it was impossible for officials in the capital and the provinces not to communicate with each other.

She was afraid that if the stone appeared in the public eye, someone with ulterior motives would seize upon this small clue.

But seeing how frustrated the stone was, she felt sorry for it.

However, having her identity exposed isn't a big deal. So what if she's exposed? Is she afraid someone will attack her on the street?

Moreover, the reason for bringing Shi Tou out was to train him, and this hiding is only making things difficult for Shi Tou.

After much thought, Sheng Sheng came up with a solution.

"Zijuan, let's write a letter!"

Sheng Sheng asked Zi Juan to bring her paper and pen. Just then, Xie Yunyang knocked on her door and asked her to come eat. Sheng Sheng then asked Xie Yunyang to write the paper for her.

There was nothing she could do; she couldn't write all the characters yet.

"Brother, I want you to write a letter to our second brother, asking him to tell Father Emperor to keep the secret of the stone a secret. I don't want anyone outside the capital to know that the Second Princess is raising a white tiger, is that alright?"

"Okay, sure."

Xie Yun-yang didn't ask any further questions, and wrote a letter as instructed, asking Ta-ying to take it and mail it.

After finishing the letter, Sheng Sheng noticed that Xie Yunyang didn't look well and asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"

Xie Yun paused for a moment and replied, "When I left Shuimiao Village, I asked Lan Yun to stay there before the government officials arrived. Lan Yun just came back and said that the person sent by Shuimiao Village to report to the authorities returned alone, without any government officials present. He said that Prefect Tang had already returned to his residence, and now was not the time to report to the authorities. He told them to go again early tomorrow morning."

"Oh, brother, so you wanted Sister Lanyun to stay in Shuimiao Village to keep an eye on things back then. Oh, wait a minute..."

Sheng Sheng first realized what Xie Yun-yang meant, then reacted to her words with great surprise, "Although it seems that it is indeed well past the time for duty, but since it concerns Black Wind Stronghold, the government officials would probably get up in the middle of the night if they heard such news, right?"

"Well, so I sent Lan Yun back to Shuimiao Village to continue guarding it, and then I instructed Ta Ying to go to the government office to inquire. Today is the birthday of the youngest son of Prefect Tang. Prefect Tang returned to the prefectural office early this morning, and there was indeed only his assistant in the government office."

The Tongzhi, as the name suggests, was equivalent to the Zhizhou (Prefect), and had the power to assist the Zhizhou in managing the prefecture's administration. He also supervised the Zhizhou, and any decrees issued by the Zhizhou required the Tongzhi's countersignature to be effective.

In other words, the Tongzhi was the right-hand man of the Zhizhou (prefect), and could act as the Zhizhou in his place when the Zhizhou was absent.

According to the investigation, when the villagers of Shuimiao Village went to the government office to report the case, it was this same magistrate who sent someone to tell the villagers to come back the next day.

Since it means "Tongzhi," it is equivalent to "Zhizhou."

The source of the doubts was also the source of Xie Yun's confusion.

"As far as I know, the prefect of Heshan County may not have any outstanding achievements, but he can be considered to be conscientious and responsible. This is the provincial capital, and a group of bandits who have been committing all kinds of evil deeds for a long time have appeared around the provincial capital. Knowing this news should not be the reaction. At least, he should not be indifferent."

Yes, yes.

Sheng Sheng pondered, "Could it be that Prefect Tang's diligence is all an act, and he doesn't actually care at all? What we see in the capital is just a beautified image of him?"

"We cannot rule out this possibility."

“Then, Shuimiao Village…” she said worriedly, “Those bandits are dead. Black Wind Stronghold will definitely send people out to search for them. What if they find out that those bandits were killed outside Shuimiao Village and report it to Shuimiao Village?”

They all thought the government would soon send soldiers to Shuimiao Village, so they entered the city without hesitation.

But now the government hasn't taken immediate action on this matter, and the bandits haven't returned to their stronghold. Black Wind Stronghold will definitely find out what happened this afternoon and then retaliate.

Those villagers were utterly powerless against the bandits. Only Lan Yun was there to guard the area. What if Black Wind Stronghold sent many more people? They would be outnumbered and outmatched.

No sooner said than done, just as Sheng Sheng finished expressing her concerns, Lan Yun, who had been sent back to Shui Miao Village by Xie Yun, returned once again.