Chu Xuan carried An Ran back, and the little girl fell asleep in his arms.
He held the child tightly in his arms, his heart softening as he looked at the child's fair and tender face.
Meanwhile, Liu Huan had someone call back Ermo, who was looking for someone elsewhere, and they hurriedly hitched up a carriage and headed in that direction.
She nervously wrung her hands, "Qiu Rong, do you think An Ran didn't suffer?"
Qiu Rong held her hand: "Master, it's alright. Miss is so smart, she won't let herself get hurt."
Liu Huan was heartbroken; no matter how smart he was, he was still just a three-year-old child.
"Whoa..." Ermo, who was driving the cart, looked at the line in front of him and shouted excitedly, "Sister, it's Anran."
Liu Huan stumbled and crawled out of the carriage. When she saw the child in Chu Xuan's arms ahead, her legs went weak and she almost lost her balance.
Tears streamed down her face, and Qiu Rong immediately helped her steady herself, "Master..."
Chu Xuan dismounted, carrying the child, and strode to her. Liu Huan covered her mouth, trembling, "What...what happened to her?"
Chu Xuan quickly explained, "It's nothing, she's just tired from not sleeping for a few days, and she fell asleep now that we're safe."
Liu Huan then gently took the person in her arms and kept pressing her face against An Ran's face, her tears smearing An Ran's face, but she still didn't wake up.
"Let's go home, let's go home."
Qiu Rong turned around and thanked him, "Thank you, Lord Chu. My mistress is in a bad mood right now. She will definitely thank you when she recovers. I hope you won't take it to heart."
Chu Xuan shook his head. How could he possibly care? He was too busy feeling sorry for him.
“It’s alright. Tell her not to worry. Even if those two aren’t executed, I’ll keep them locked up in jail until they die.”
"Thank you, sir!"
Those two child thieves were the same ones who went to steal from the Liu family with Gouwazi back then. The emperor granted a general amnesty, and the two were released.
The two, harboring resentment, took advantage of the chaos in Heshui Village to kidnap An Ran, who was alone, and hid her in the city for two days before selling her.
The whole thing was done perfectly, but Gouwazi, who was wandering around the village, saw it. Liu Huan paid for the clue, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to catch the person so quickly.
Liu Huan carried An Ran to the city gate to pick up An Zhi and Qiu Ju, and the whole family returned home safely.
When she returned to the village, everyone came to visit her after learning that the child had been found, but Qiu Rong dismissed them with a few words.
Qiuju said indignantly, "When my young lady had an accident, no one in the village went to look for her. Now that they know she's back, they come to visit her in a fake way. Who cares?"
No one refuted this statement, as it was indeed true.
Liu Huan didn't care about that at all. What worried her most was her daughter's current appearance. Her daughter, who used to be so pretty, was now dressed in dark clothes, her hair was messy, and her fingernails were full of mud. She hadn't woken up the whole way. She had no mind to care about any of that.
There were no external injuries, but we don't know if there were any internal injuries.
"Sister, the doctor is here."
Liu Huan wiped away her tears and stood up. "Please come in quickly."
After examining the child, the doctor said, "The child is fine. She was just a little frightened. I'll leave her some medicine. If she gets a fever tonight, give it to her."
"It's best not to wake her up now. Let her wake up before changing her clothes and giving her a bath."
With the doctor's words of comfort, Liu Huan felt relieved. She asked Ermo to take the doctor back, and then told the others to rest while she stayed with the child alone.
Anzhi stood motionless to the side, staring blankly at Anran on the bed.
Seeing her son's expression, Liu Huan thought he was frightened, so she hugged him, patted his back, and gently comforted him, "Were you scared? It's alright, your sister is back."
Anzhi hugged Liu Huan tightly, "Mother, I want to grow up quickly to protect you and my sister."
Liu Huan felt both gratified and heartbroken. "Mother doesn't need you to grow up quickly. Mother only hopes that you and your sister are safe and happy. Mother is willing to do anything for you."
She finally understood the saying, "Women are inherently weak, but become strong when they become mothers." She wished she had three heads and six arms to shield her children from all dangers.
Liu Huan placed her sleeping son on the bed. The two small bodies lay side by side, and their similar faces made Liu Huan reluctant to sleep, no matter how tired she was. She kept staring at them, unable to get enough of them.
The thing I was worried about didn't happen. Anran didn't have a fever, but she felt very wronged when she woke up the next morning. She cried and cursed those bad guys all morning, even while taking a shower.
Everyone was both amused and exasperated, and only when they saw her full of energy did they feel relieved.
There was a knock on the door. The group exchanged glances, and Ermo was the first to run to open it.
"Oh, Lord Chu, what brings you here?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Huan hurriedly went to greet him, "Lord Chu, I am truly sorry for yesterday. I was in such a hurry that I didn't even have a chance to thank you. I'm so grateful to have troubled you to make this trip today."
Hearing the words "Lord Chu" made Chu Xuan feel uneasy, but he forced a smile and said, "I understand. Don't feel guilty. I just came to see An Ran."
An Ran ran quickly into his arms, "Uncle Chu, I missed you so much."
Chu Xuan held her in his arms and asked softly, "Is An Ran alright?"
"It's okay, I'm perfectly fine."
Liu Huan said, "Let's stop chatting outside and come inside. We'll eat something before we leave."
Chu Xuan quickly refused, "No need, I just came to tell you that the magistrate has already said that those two people will be executed in three years, and the other two human traffickers have been sentenced to exile."
Liu Huan was surprised: "It's settled just like that? No more summons for questioning or anything?"
"No need, the magistrate is a good official, he is dedicated to serving the people."
The real reason was that the county magistrate had learned about the relationship between Chu Xuan and Su Yi.
One of the soldiers who went with Chu Xuan had seen Su Yi before. When Chu Xuan returned and asked him about it, Chu Xuan learned that the imperial envoy who had come to the county was Su Yi.
It just so happened that someone close to the magistrate overheard it, and after a few exchanges, the magistrate analyzed the pros and cons and then delivered his verdict.
"That's good, that's good." Even if those two people didn't die, Liu Huan would have found a way to kill them inside. He couldn't afford to be careless once and then again.
Chu Xuan was a gentleman; he didn't go in or eat, and left right after he finished speaking, afraid of damaging Liu Huan's reputation.
Not long after he went out, he saw a woman dressed in brightly colored clothes calling out in a coquettish voice, "Lord Chu, you're up so early today, why don't you come to my house for a visit?"
Chu Xuan felt unwell and declined curtly, "Thank you, but it's not necessary."
Seeing his coldness and anger, and noticing the direction he came from, Feng hatched a plan.
Rumors spread that Liu Huan deliberately lost her daughter in an attempt to seduce Lord Chu. Upon hearing this, Liu Huan went and fought with her fiercely, shattering everyone's deep impression of her as gentle and weak. Unexpectedly, she could be just as fierce as a tigress.
Having learned from this experience, Liu Huan never allowed the two of them to go anywhere alone. He even assigned each of them a personal maid and a servant boy, both around ten years old.
He also sent Ermo to rescue about ten homeless orphans and beggars, and had them taught to read, write, and practice martial arts, as well as to be loyal, so that they could be used by Anzhi and Anran in the future.
Since her children have no powerful connections or influence, she, as their mother, needs to make plans for them as soon as possible.
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