The officers did not heed Su Jiaoniang's words. They swung the back of their knives and pushed Su Jiaoniang to the ground.

"Search!" As soon as the official uttered the word, the fierce-looking men following behind began searching the courtyard.

The kitchen collapsed, and the empty grain cellar in the yard was turned upside down. The three children in the house were startled awake by the noise. The little girl started crying immediately. The wronged little girl was scared, and tears streamed down her face.

But I didn't dare to cry out loud.

The little Buddha stared at the people in the courtyard, his dark eyes becoming increasingly unfathomable.

Su Jiaoniang glanced at them unintentionally, fearing that the children's antisocial personality might be activated, and stood up to shield the three children behind her.

As for Xiao Changsheng, who was being searched, he was clutching his sleeves, staring at the officials, his little hands trembling slightly. He recognized one of them; he was the one who had stabbed him in the back.

Unfortunately, he didn't kill him.

Fu Tu lowered his head, afraid that the emotions in his eyes would be discovered, and tried his best to distract himself. When he saw that a bucket of milk in the yard had been overturned, he felt heartbroken.

How many cakes could be made with this milk!

Cake is a wonderful thing!

After searching the courtyard, they checked the three children inside. Futu and Xiaoya were too young, and their heights and genders didn't match.

When it was Xiao Changsheng's turn, a hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes. A young emperor should look like an emperor. Being as fat as a pig and bald was definitely not the person he was looking for.

Annoyance flashed in the eyes of the vicious official. Why was it so difficult to kill a child who had slipped out of the palace and had no skills in life?

"What's going on here?" Old Zhu pointed at the bald man who had appeared in the yard at some unknown time, her gloomy old eyes gleaming with a sharp light: "Sir, is this the boy you're looking for? He's not from our village."

"You're talking nonsense! I rescued this person from human traffickers. How did I become the descendant of a criminal that the officials are looking for?" Su Jiaoniang stood in front of Xiao Changsheng, blocking the officials' prying eyes.

The officer frowned, just about to take action.

Zhang Mugen, who came over after hearing the commotion, said in a deep voice, "That's right, this chubby boy was brought back from human traffickers. Many of us were there when they caught the traffickers, and we have a very strong impression of this bald, chubby boy."

When Zhang Mugen spoke, many people around him echoed his words.

Su Jiaoniang's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, began to relax slightly.

She was thankful that Changsheng was an obedient child who did not wander in and out of the courtyard while recovering from his injuries, and she was also thankful that no one who knew that the little bald boy had been there all along had shown up. In this way, she had gotten through the hurdle ahead.

The officials had wasted the entire morning and still hadn't completed their task.

With nowhere to vent her anger, Old Zhu was still muttering to herself, ignoring the fact that Xiao Changsheng had appeared so mysteriously and unclearly.

The officials were ordered to take the man away and subject him to severe torture.

Enraged, the officer drew his knife and pressed it against Old Zhu's neck: "Have you seen this person before or not!"

The portrait in their hands was opened, and the villagers saw the person in the portrait. He was wearing brocade clothes, with gold and silver headdresses, and his dark eyes were full of wisdom. He was thin and had an air of wealth and nobility.

Then look at the chubby little boy in the courtyard. He's all round and looks just like the silly boy next door. He doesn't resemble the portrait at all.

Immediately, someone objected, pointing at Old Zhu and saying, "I've never seen anyone as vicious as you. Isn't it enough that you've already kicked them out? You actually want to kill them. Luckily, the eyes of the masses are discerning, otherwise Su would have been wrongly accused to death by you."

Old Zhu's breath was caught in a rut, neither rising nor falling.

"Sir, something's definitely wrong with her. She's recently started a shaved ice business in the county town, and she's also selling cold noodles. Her daily profits are shockingly high. Take her back for questioning..."

"I still need your guidance!" The officer kicked Old Zhu away.

He had heard of the shaved ice sold in the county town, and the cold noodles at the dock, which were said to be incredibly delicious.

Even if they don't find the little emperor, they can't go back empty-handed.

Staring at Su Jiaoniang: "Take her away!"

"Wait!" Su Jiaoniang pursed her lips.

She finally understood why there was an ancient saying: "Bandits pass by like combs, soldiers pass by like hairpins."

Thieves never leave empty-handed. These officials are even worse than thieves. If they don't get what they want, they can easily get a stigma and send ordinary people to jail.

Su Jiaoniang was furious and shocked. Why did officials from the Great Qi also hold official positions in the Great Zhou? These people were causing trouble and acting like thugs in the market, and the government didn't say a word.

Was the Great Zhou Dynasty too corrupt, or the Great Qi Dynasty too arrogant?

At this moment, she couldn't think of anything deeper, so she could only avoid the obvious difficulties. She took out ten taels of silver from her body and handed it to the head constable: "Sir, our shaved ice has been sold to a wealthy family in the county town, and we also have dealings with the Cai family for our cold noodles. If you are interested in these, you can go to the county town to have some tea and try some cold noodles."

Shifting the blame eastward, using the stones from other mountains to polish one's own jade! Su Jiaoniang played these strategies very skillfully.

The wealthy family wouldn't want Su Jiaoniang to sell the shaved ice to anyone else after buying it, at least not until they'd made enough money. If these officials forced her to give them the recipe, then they'd be going against the wealthy family.

These officials can handle a commoner like her, but what would happen if they went against the wealthy Cai family? Nobody knows.

Sure enough, the official took the money and didn't continue talking about the shaved ice and cold noodles.

They left with the silver.

Arriving arrogantly, leaving arrogantly.

The officials of this era did not possess any of the qualities that ancient government agencies should have had in mind: serving the people, being upright and fair, and acting in accordance with the law.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!