"Got it, big brother." Cat Brother replied with a grin, not only calling Zheng Sanjiang, but also dragging Zheng Liu out with him.
Soon, they returned from outside, carrying a stack of bowls and chopsticks, as well as a large bowl of steaming hot fresh meat dumplings.
The glutinous rice balls floated on the surface of the soup, plump and round, looking incredibly tempting.
Baozhu cheered and was about to go up to help, but was stopped by Maoge'er.
He quickly pointed outside and then called out loudly, "Come and get some glutinous rice balls! Haha, I want two bowls, don't anyone try to take them from me!"
"Let's eat quickly, and then return the bowls and chopsticks. The woman who sells glutinous rice balls is still waiting outside."
"It's so cold, taking care of a child is really tough!"
Everyone understood and their expressions changed.
Li Ge'er quickly said, "Did you pay? I'll give you a bigger tip later!"
"Oh, do you even need to tell me? As long as it's delicious, I'll give them all the money in my purse!" Cat Brother continued shouting.
In that short time, Jiayin had already quickly ladled out some soup. After a quick inspection, she whispered, "There's mist grass in the soup. It's a common medicine that takes about fifteen minutes to take effect."
"It must have been done hastily; they were unprepared and had no other choice but to use this."
Cat Brother excitedly pumped his fist and said in a low voice, "That woman selling glutinous rice balls must be an imposter. I can smell a faint bloody scent on her."
"The little girl she was pulling was crying terribly. She said the child was fussing for candied hawthorns, but what child cries and trembles at the same time?!"
"Hmph, you think you can fool me? Dream on!"
Normally, people would definitely make a few jokes, but at this moment, no one was in the mood for such banter.
Faced with a formidable enemy, whether to confront them or avoid them is a serious question!
Jiaren narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the room and the Lu family guards in the courtyard, and he quickly began to make plans in his mind.
Jiayin's visit to the shop disguised as a servant today was a spur-of-the-moment decision, so it's impossible that the news was leaked from home.
However, everyone in Xindu knew that the Li family had previously won these two shops.
The Wu family must have planted spies nearby to keep watch!
Just now at the shop entrance, Baozhu unexpectedly recognized Jiayin and called her "Sister Jiayin," which must have been overheard by someone!
This is a bustling area, and it's broad daylight, so the Wu family doesn't dare send too many people here, lest they cause too much bloodshed.
Therefore, the Wu family came up with the despicable method of drugging them, hoping to knock them unconscious and then take Jiayin away!
Otherwise, if things really escalate, the Wu family might not be able to handle the situation well.
After all, in their group, besides the four siblings, there were also Jia Xu, Baozhu, and Lu Zong, the prince's heir.
Having figured this out, Jiaren breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He touched the crossbow bolt on his arm, then looked at Zheng Sanjiang and Ye Shan, and the Lu family guards in the courtyard; there were nearly thirty of them.
If arranged properly, we can definitely keep the Wu family here!
With this witness in hand, the family no longer needs to wait...
Jiaren hardened his heart and said quickly, "At this point, it's too late to hide. Let's go all out."
"In a little while, we'll pretend to be eating glutinous rice balls in the yard. Fu Niu'er and Bao Zhu will stay inside. Cat Brother will go and lure them in, then close the door and beat the dog!"
"Uncle Shan, please keep Fu Niu'er and Bao Zhu safe inside the house. Don't come out until everything is over!"
"In addition, everyone should time their moves carefully, choose a suitable spot to fall down, and wait for the enemy to arrive before launching a counterattack. Make sure to leave some survivors."
"Of course, the premise is to pay attention to safety and avoid injury!"
Everyone nodded and immediately got to work, their expressions filled with excitement.
Li Ge'er deftly poured half a basin of glutinous rice balls out, then put one or two into each bowl, crushed them, and made it look like he had eaten most of them.
Jiayin thought for a moment, then served herself and Baozhu a bowl, sat down at the table, and left the door half-open.
Ye Shan hid behind the door and pressed himself against the wall.
Unless you go inside and look carefully, you won't be able to find him at all.
Soon, the bowl of glutinous rice balls was brought to the eaves, and the guards in the courtyard also received the news.
Everyone, holding bowls, scattered in the courtyard, loudly discussing how delicious the glutinous rice balls were, while also complaining that there weren't enough to eat.
At this moment, Cat Brother opened the courtyard gate and greeted the woman selling glutinous rice balls outside with a smile.
"Sister-in-law, the glutinous rice balls are so delicious, one bowl isn't enough. Why don't you bring them in and cook them fresh for us?"
"We'll take them all, so you won't have to go around hawking them!"
The woman hesitated for a moment, as if she were somewhat unsure.
But Cat pretended not to see it, tilted his head back and poured the remaining noodle soup into his mouth, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve in a hearty manner.
Sure enough, a look of joy flashed in the woman's eyes. She picked up her load and pulled the silly little girl into the courtyard.
When everyone saw her come in, they all held their bowls and smiled, praising her a few times.
The woman quickly glanced around and saw that everyone was eating, including the guards, which made her even more relieved.
She deftly served everyone glutinous rice balls, and even moved closer to the doorway, asking warmly, "I also brought some sweet glutinous rice balls. Would you like to try some?"
"Many ladies and young women have tried it and they all love it!"
Jiayin and Baozhu were chatting and laughing inside when they saw the woman peeking in at the door. Jiayin stepped forward, glared at the woman haughtily, and slammed the door shut.
The woman was a little embarrassed, so she quickly stepped back and hugged the little girl, looking very obedient.
Cat Brother seemed to particularly like the little girl. He took out a few coins from his purse and beckoned her over, "Little sister, come here, brother will give you money, go buy candied hawthorns later!"
The little girl looked to be only four or five years old, with a blank expression, and didn't say a word.
Cat Brother asked, "Sister-in-law, is this child mute? Was he born like this? Have you seen a doctor?"
A flicker of anxiety flashed in the woman's eyes; she wished she could gag the cat.
But at such a crucial moment, she couldn't give herself away, so she could only reply, "Yes, this child really hasn't been able to speak since he was little."
"I started this small business to raise money for her medical treatment."
After saying that, she gave the little girl a hard push on the back, and the little girl stumbled and fell in front of Cat Brother.
Cat Brother stuffed the copper coin into her hand, but he seemed to lose his balance, and one of the coins fell to the ground and rolled to the corner of the wall.
Cat Brother cheerfully led the little girl to pick it up, but as soon as they reached the wall, Cat Brother's figure swayed a little.
He slapped his forehead, exclaiming in annoyance, "Why am I suddenly dizzy!"
Jiaren, who was standing not far away, probably wanted to help him up, but he also staggered a couple of steps and fell down with Maoge'er, intentionally or unintentionally pressing the little girl down on his body.
Their downfall was like flipping a switch.
One after another, the people in the courtyard dropped the bowls they were holding and fell to the ground with thuds, unconscious.
The woman straightened her back with a cold smile, took out a wooden whistle from her bosom, and blew it three times.
Soon, two more burly men climbed over the courtyard wall.
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