"Alright, eldest daughter-in-law, it's good that the baby is safe and sound, don't be angry."
Upon hearing Zhu Yiming's cries, Old Lady Zhu hurriedly carried her granddaughter to Liu Meixin's side.
Unexpectedly, she saw the goat behind Zhu Yiming and pointed at it in surprise, "Eldest daughter-in-law, is this the goat we lost?"
Liu Meixin was still angry and hadn't had time to observe her surroundings. Only after hearing her mother-in-law's words did she look in the direction of the voice.
I almost cried out in surprise when I saw the goats grazing peacefully.
"Mom, yes! It's this one. Look, it's carrying our food on its back."
"Oh my, thank God, our Xixi has milk to drink now."
After seeing the goat reappear, Grandma Zhu finally felt relieved. She had been extremely worried during the day after learning that the goat was missing, fearing that her granddaughter would go hungry.
Seeing her grandmother's happy expression, Zhu Xixi grinned and waved her hands as she laughed.
Grandma, there's still gold. Don't forget to collect the gold.
Upon hearing her granddaughter's thoughts, Grandma Zhu's smile froze, and she cautiously looked around.
A moment later, she placed her granddaughter in the swaddling clothes on Liu Meixin's chest and whispered her instructions.
"We can't just take the goats back like this. Let's find some leaves to wrap the food and take it back first."
Liu Meixin also felt that now was not the time to take the goat back. After placing her daughter in the swaddling clothes on her chest, she looked at Zhu Yiming with a mixture of anger and helplessness.
"Grandma said she needs to find leaves to hide food. Do you want to help?"
Zhu Yiming lowered his head in grievance and silently sniffled. After hearing his mother's words, he happily wiped away his snot, showing his front teeth, and nodded repeatedly.
"Mother, I can help."
After he finished speaking, he turned around, bent down, and happily began searching.
As a result, before he had been searching for long, Zhu Yiming found a gold ingot on the weeds. He excitedly picked it up and went to Liu Meixin.
"Mother, is this gold?"
When Liu Meixin looked down and saw the gold in her son's hand, she was shocked and opened her mouth wide. She looked around in fear, hurriedly took the gold and stuffed it into Zhu Xixi's swaddling clothes, and questioned him in a low voice.
Where did you find it?
"Right on the weeds."
Zhu Yiming didn't understand why his mother was not happy to see the gold, but was instead very scared, and pointed blankly at the weeds behind her.
Just then, Old Lady Zhu also sneaked out of the bushes on the other side, her expression grave.
When Liu Meixin saw her mother-in-law come out, she quickly ran up to her, wanting to tell her about the gold.
Unexpectedly, Old Lady Zhu was the first to show the gold in her bosom to Liu Meixin, while cautiously looking around and whispering.
[Here she comes again, that wicked Yan Yan! Quickly hide the gold!]
[She absolutely mustn't see this, or she'll be furious.]
Hahaha, I'm so happy!
When Zhu Xixi saw Zhu Yanyan and Zhu Borong sneaking into the woods, she immediately twisted her body and cried out to alert her grandmother and mother.
"Don't make a sound. I found these in the grass. They're hidden in Xixi's swaddling clothes. Don't let anyone find them."
Hearing her daughter's hint, Liu Meixin was also afraid that if the gold were seen by others, it would bring about the destruction of her entire family. In a panic, she hid the gold in the swaddling clothes.
Just after the two finished handing over the keys, a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind the three of them.
"So it was you who stole the goat."
Liu Meixin was already feeling guilty, and upon hearing the voice, her body trembled, and she almost collapsed to her knees.
Everyone turned around in the direction of the sound and saw Zhu Yanyan standing behind them with her escorts, her expression full of arrogance and smugness.
"Yan Yan, what do you mean? We don't understand."
When Grandma Zhu saw Zhu Yanyan and the escort appear, she quickly pulled her daughter-in-law and grandson behind her and pretended to be puzzled, asking them in return.
"Grandma Zhu, we have all the witnesses. There's no point in pretending anymore. You stole the goat I lost."
Zhu Yanyan was too lazy to waste any more words with Old Lady Zhu. She went up to the goat and pointed to its horns, saying, "The goat I lost had a small piece missing from its horn. The missing part of this goat's horn is exactly the same as mine."
"Old Madam Zhu, I never thought that you, who were once a first-rank imperial consort, would stoop so low as to do such petty theft."
Faced with Zhu Yanyan's aggressive questioning, Old Mrs. Zhu maintained a smile until she heard the last sentence.
He couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, and then walked towards the escort.
"Lord Chen, we found this goat by chance. Knowing you've had a long and tiring journey, why don't you catch it and make soup?"
Chen Xiang followed Grandma Zhu's finger and looked in the direction of the goat, smiling as he stroked his chin and nodded repeatedly.
"Grandma Zhu is absolutely right. Since you don't want it, then we'll respectfully comply. Men, seize the goat."
Zhu Yanyan never expected that Old Lady Zhu would disregard her granddaughter's pregnancy and actually hand the goat over to the escort.
He watched as his carefully laid plans were ruined by a single sentence from Old Lady Zhu.
Zhu Yanyan stormed up to Chen Xiang, yelling angrily, "Lord Chen, what's wrong with you? Didn't you agree to help me catch the thief?"
"Why don't you arrest them all?"
"Zhu Yanyan, who do you think you are? Since when did you become the one to yell at me?"
Chen Xiang was very dissatisfied with Zhu Yanyan's attitude. If it weren't for the money, he wouldn't bother with such a trivial matter.
Now that they've finally found a fat sheep, why would they care about Zhu Yanyan's affairs?
Thinking of this, his face darkened, and he drew his broadsword, pointing it at Zhu Yanyan. "Be more polite to me from now on. Your life is in my hands. If you keep babbling, I'll chop you down with one stroke."
Upon seeing Chen Xiang's anger, Zhu Borong quickly stepped forward to shield Zhu Yanyan behind him, flashing a fawning smile and bowing and scraping in apology to Chen Xiang.
"Yes, yes, Lord Chen, you are absolutely right. We will not speak again. Please calm down."
"Father." Zhu Yanyan didn't want to let the Zhu family off the hook, and she pulled Zhu Borong along with her, unwilling to give up.
When Zhu Borong heard his daughter's dissatisfaction, he turned around and glared at her irritably, then scolded her in a low voice.
"You don't want to live anymore, why are you still making a scene? Let's go for a walk."
After saying that, Zhu Borong forcibly pulled Zhu Yanyan's hand and left the woods.
The guards tied up the goat and excitedly carried it towards the camp.
Seeing this, Old Lady Zhu hurriedly took Liu Meixin and Zhu Yiming's hands and followed behind the escort.
Liu Meixin really couldn't understand her mother-in-law's actions. She had finally found a goat, so why was she just handing it over to the escort?
"Mother, why did you send the goat away?"
When Old Lady Zhu heard her daughter-in-law's question, she deliberately slowed down her pace and kept the escorts away until they were far away. Then she lowered her voice and explained quietly.
“That goat is now a hot potato. The road ahead will become increasingly difficult, and it will be discovered sooner or later. Rather than being discovered on our own cart, we might as well just hand the goat over to the escorts.”
"Make a good impression on the guards so we can get the travel permit from them. You forgot we have money now and can buy food."
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