Sensing that something was wrong, no one dared to go any further and all looked at Old Lady Zhu with troubled expressions.
[My family, don't go! Don't be a sucker! Xixi's going to explode on the spot!]
[If this time-traveling woman were truly kind-hearted, Xixi would be so angry she'd turn into a grilled carp.]
Zhu Xixi was sleepy and anxious in Liu's arms, squirming and twisting her body, trying to remind her mother.
Urged by her daughter, Liu hesitated for a moment, but finally mustered up the courage to remind her.
"Mother, if the guards find out that we hid the cart without permission, won't they think we're with the bandits?"
After a moment of contemplation, Old Mrs. Zhu slowly raised her head and waved to her son and daughter-in-law.
"Yes, we do need to rethink our plans. You all come here."
Upon seeing Old Lady Zhu's furtive appearance, the crowd quickly stepped forward and gathered around her with their heads down.
A moment later, the crowd that had been gathered together quickly dispersed, and Zhu Chenfeng and Tao Shi exchanged a glance.
They nodded to each other, then quickly turned and left.
Zhu Haotian watched his wife's resolute back as she walked away, his brows furrowed with unease, and he sighed.
After a brief pause, he decisively turned around and headed towards the camp, pulling Zhu Dabao and Zhu Xiaobao along with him.
Seeing this, the others followed Zhu Haotian's footsteps and headed towards the camp.
The slope wasn't far from the campsite, and in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the group returned to the campsite.
However, as soon as they returned to the camp, they saw Zhu Yanyan leading two escorts rushing over in a menacing manner.
"Oh, you guys have the nerve to come back?"
The clansmen following behind her all had resentful expressions, glaring angrily at Old Lady Zhu and her family.
Grandma Zhu walked out carrying Zhu Xixi, her expression calm. She glanced at everyone and answered calmly.
"Zhu Yanyan, what do you mean by this?"
[None of your business! Who do you think you are! Get out of here!]
Zhu Xixi nestled in Old Mrs. Zhu's arms, clenching her fists angrily, frowning, and glaring furiously at Zhu Yanyan.
Zhu Yanyan knew that Old Lady Zhu would be difficult to deal with, but fortunately she was prepared in advance and pressed her for answers with an aggressive attitude.
"What do you mean? Where did your family go last night? Why didn't the bandits harm you?"
Old Mrs. Zhu did not immediately answer Zhu Yanyan's question, but instead handed Zhu Xixi over to Liu Shi first.
After handing it over, she even covered her granddaughter's ears with a blanket, afraid that these people would disturb her.
Seeing Old Lady Zhu's slow and deliberate manner, the escorts waiting nearby became so angry that they raised their whips to strike her.
Seeing this, Zhu Haotian quickly stepped forward, took the whip, and loudly questioned, "We were the ones who warned the bandits last night, so why are you hitting us?"
Another escort, not expecting Zhu Haotian to dare to block his colleague's whip, angrily drew his sword from his waist and pointed it at him.
"Why was it you who discovered the bandits, and why did your whole family disappear after the bandits appeared? This alone makes people suspicious that you were the ones who brought the bandits here."
Just as everyone stood there coldly watching the guards torture Zhu Haotian, Old Lady Zhu immediately stood up and loudly explained.
"That's because we discovered a forest fire last night. While putting out the fire, we encountered bandits. My son knew some martial arts and fought with the bandits. Then he led the family to escape down the slope."
"After we climbed the slope, we went into the grass and hid in the cave until daytime before we dared to come out."
"Last night, the thieves burned all the grass outside our cave while searching for us. Look at the ash on us. If we were with the bandits, would we be in such a sorry state?"
These words caused the escorts, who had been so convinced that the Zhu family was at fault, to lose their ability to judge and look at each other blankly.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yanyan hurriedly pointed to the empty space behind Old Lady Zhu and said loudly.
"If you are innocent, why did you hide the two carts?"
When Zhu Yanyan questioned her, Old Mrs. Zhu calmly pulled her son behind her and stepped forward with a smile to question him.
"Zhu Yanyan, you need to provide evidence before you speak. How do you know we hid the cart?"
“I saw it last night.”
Faced with the questioning, Zhu Yanyan felt guilty and hurriedly turned to look at the escort, winking and making suggestive gestures.
After receiving Zhu Yanyan's signal, the escort's expression hardened, and he pointed his sword at Old Lady Zhu, roaring loudly.
"Tell me, where is the cart?"
"You should ask Zhu Yanyan about that."
Grandma Zhu was not afraid of the guards' questioning at all. She strode forward and stood under the guards' sword, looking at Zhu Yanyan with a cold face.
As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes turned to Zhu Yanyan, eagerly awaiting her reply.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Zhu Yanyan had no choice but to grit her teeth and turn around to walk towards the bushes in front of her.
"They hid the two carts here."
Everyone followed Zhu Yanyan forward, curiously looking at the dense grass.
Upon seeing this, the two escorts exchanged a glance and then used their swords to cut through the weeds, trying to find traces of the cart hidden among the grass.
The two searched the bushes but found nothing. There wasn't even a trace of the cart.
The escort angrily emerged from the bushes, glaring at Zhu Yanyan. "Didn't you say they hid the cart here? There's nothing inside."
"Impossible, I really saw it with my own eyes."
Zhu Yanyan ran toward the bushes in disbelief, but she was stunned by what she saw once inside.
There was nothing inside, except for the tall, dense weeds; there wasn't a trace of the cart.
Upon hearing the escort's words, Zhu Borong anxiously stepped forward, looking at his daughter who was coming out, and asked, "How is it? Did you find her?"
"No, there's nothing there."
Zhu Yanyan raised her head unwillingly and glared fiercely at the Zhu family, who were watching the show leisurely from the side.
Upon hearing her daughter's words, Zhu Borong immediately became anxious, grabbed her hand, and whispered a complaint.
"What should we do? Is there any other evidence to prove that Old Lady Zhu has any connection with the bandits?"
"Shut up." Zhu Yanyan was already in a irritable state, especially after hearing her father's panicked appearance. She instantly became furious and growled at Zhu Borong in a low voice.
[Slap in the face, huh! Nothing was lost from that truckload of supplies.]
They dare to be covetous of our supplies? Shameless! Absolutely shameless!
Zhu Xixi was so happy to hear Old Lady Zhu's domineering speech that she blew bubbles.
After hearing her daughter's suggestion, Liu quickly stepped forward and whispered in her mother-in-law's ear.
After hearing her daughter-in-law's hint, Old Mrs. Zhu slowly stepped forward with a mocking smile on her face, curiously sizing up Zhu Yanyan.
“I’m curious too. We were the first to spot the bandits last night, and we must have gotten quite a few bumps and bruises while fleeing for our lives. But you’re dressed perfectly, without a single scratch.”
"Besides, why is nothing missing from your cart? Didn't the bandits come here to rob our grain? Why would they let your cart go?"
Even the escort found these words strange. He turned back to look at Zhu Yanyan with a suspicious expression and asked loudly.
"Yes, I didn't see you run away last night, and the things in the carriage were intact. What happened?"
Faced with Old Lady Zhu's questioning, Zhu Yanyan instantly felt guilty and looked at the escort in a flustered manner, stammering an explanation.
"That's because we climbed up the trees and hid. The things on the cart weren't damaged because we didn't have any food on it either, so the bandits naturally wouldn't want our cart."
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