When the Ling brothers got home, they looked flustered. They had never encountered anything like this before!

Tao Wanniang had been waiting for them for a long time. As soon as she entered the house, she peeked out and looked around to see if they were being followed.

"Well, has anyone come to investigate?" Tao Wanniang asked with a solemn expression.

"No, but Mother, won't this... this matter bring us trouble?" Ling Dahu asked anxiously.

"You two remember this: just say there's no such person. Little Qiao'er, you remember this too. If anyone asks later, just say you don't know!"

"Grandma Tao, I'll remember!" Xiao Qiao'er firmly believed Tao Wan's words, so she kept them in mind after Tao Wan's solemn explanation.

"You two, did you hear me? Go back to your rooms and don't say a word."

Tao Wanniang, with a cold face, gave her instructions again.

"Mother, can you give us a heads-up? Is this person at home?" Ling Dapeng asked weakly, his heart pounding.

Tao Wanniang's mind raced, and she said directly, "No, I chased the person away, and I don't know where they went. I was just afraid that if the officials asked, I wouldn't be able to cover it up, so I told you to say you'd never seen them!"

Tao Wanniang's words relieved the Ling brothers; it was good that she wasn't home.

"Alright, Mother, we understand!"

Ling Dahu, relieved, replied, "If the person isn't here, they won't admit it!"

"Mother, what are you doing standing at the door?" Wang Hongyu walked over with a lantern. "I heard you come back, but I can't see the house."

"It's alright, I'll be right back," Tao Wan's mother replied, turning around, but then immediately glared at her two sons, reminding them not to let anything slip in front of their wives!

Fortunately, the Ling brothers were not confused about this matter and did not mention it to their wives.

In the middle of the night, the door was knocked on loudly. Tao Wanniang's heart sank. She got dressed and went to answer the door.

"Who is it? It's the middle of the night. Can't you come tomorrow?"

As soon as the door opened, a group of soldiers pushed past Tao Wanniang and rushed in.

"Search! Search every room!" The one who spoke was Li Jianghai, the commander of the guards of the Shanhai Prefecture, his face extremely gloomy.

"Sir, what's going on?" Tao Wanniang asked, feigning fear.

"What happened? Tell me, did you save an injured man?"

"No, sir, where did you hear that? I'm just a woman with sons and grandsons at home. Why would I save a man? Wouldn't that be a slap in my face?"

From the man's words, Tao Wanniang guessed that no one had seen it, otherwise the officials wouldn't have come to ask, but would have just arrested her.

"I am a good woman who has stayed by my husband's side for seventeen years, sir! You can't just smear me like that! Men? I have no interest in men!"

Tao Wanniang gripped her collar tautly, her expression stern.

Li Jianghai frowned at Tao Wanniang's appearance, his expression showing some disgust. What nonsense was this dark-skinned, thin woman spouting?

The rest of the family was woken up by the soldiers' rude search of room to room, which woke up the children.

The Ling brothers protected their wives and children, but dared not argue with the government officials.

"Reporting to you, sir, we have searched the entire front yard, but there is no one there."

"What about the backyard? Is anyone living there?" Li Jianghai asked, looking at Tao Wanniang with a sinister gaze.

“Yes, there is, but sir, it is a young woman.” Tao Wanniang looked troubled. “This young woman is a pitiful person, homeless, so I took her in. If you want to search, sir, please allow me to go and call her first. Her appearance is completely disfigured, and it would be quite frightening to see her suddenly.”

Li Jianghai was very skeptical of Tao Wanniang's story, and immediately said, "Come on, take me to see her!"

Tao Wanniang had no choice but to lead Li Jianghai and the soldiers to the backyard.

"Sister Yumei, are you awake?" Tao Wanniang knocked on the door and asked.

Bai Yumei also heard the noise. She covered her face early on, and as Tao Wanniang's voice rang out, she lit the candles in her room.

"Sister Tao, I'm awake." Bai Yumei opened the door and came out.

"Well, Sister Yumei, I'm sorry, but these officials have come to search for people everywhere. I can only say that your face is disfigured and you are not able to see anyone," Tao Wanniang said apologetically.

"Uncle Li?" Bai Yumei saw Li Jianghai and asked in surprise.

"You are...?" Li Jianghai thought the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

“It’s me, Uncle Li, it’s Yu Mei!” Bai Yu Mei said. “Have you forgotten? My father used to gamble and fight with the people at the gambling den. You even arrested him. Later, when I married into the Huang family as a concubine, you drank with our master.”

“It’s you, you weren’t with someone…” Li Jianghai remembered, but swallowed the words back immediately. This was clearly different from the rumors.

"Uncle Li, I...I'm so miserable!" Bai Yumei choked out, "It was Madam Huang who disfigured me and kicked me out. I had nowhere to go afterward, so I came back. Thanks to Sister Tao for taking me in, otherwise...I...I'm afraid I would have starved to death on the street corner!"

Tao Wanniang glanced at Bai Yumei in surprise, wondering if she knew something.

"Is that so?" Li Jianghai was surprised, but now was not the time for him to concern himself with this matter. "Do you live alone in this backyard?"

"My face is completely ruined. Sister Tao felt sorry for me and let me live alone in the backyard so I wouldn't be disturbed or scare anyone. Uncle Li, are you looking for someone?"

Bai Yumei said, "Then you can search every room. I really live alone in this backyard!"

Li Jianghai believed it to some extent, but being a meticulous person, he ordered his men to search the entire backyard again.

"Sir, there is no one here."

"My lord, may I ask who you are looking for? I have no relatives or friends in Shanhai Prefecture, and this house is rented!"

Tao Wan asked in a weak tone, "I just run a wonton shop to make a living, I don't even know what I've gotten myself into!"

"Didn't three people of high status come to your wonton shop? And for several days in a row, they ate your wontons and scallion pancakes. If you say you don't know them, you're just laughing!"

Li Jianghai's scrutinizing gaze fell on Tao Wanniang, as if he wanted to find out something fishy.

"There are indeed a few people, I think their name is... Imperial Inspector, sir. My family and I are refugees who have been helped by this sir. What's wrong? Has this sir committed a crime?"

This matched what they had found. Li Jianghai looked at Tao Wanniang's face a few more times, but after searching for nothing, he declared, "That person is not the real imperial inspector, but an assassin who intended to kill the prefect. If you see him again, be sure to report it to the authorities!"

"How could this be? This... I understand." Tao Wanniang replied with a look of surprise and a frown.

Li Jianghai led his men out, but upon reaching the door, he said to his subordinates, "Keep an eye on that wonton shop. I still suspect that this family is not ordinary."