Knowing she couldn't avoid it, Lu Qiqi organized her thoughts and said, "To be honest, Madam, I did have this plan when I took down the notice that day."
“Our family fled from the north, and due to various reasons, we still have seven or eight children in the family.”
"These thugs came to our door not only wanting the prescription, but also... people. If I had no other choice, I wouldn't have thought of such a desperate measure. I'm sorry, I almost dragged you into danger."
Madam Hao did not interrupt Lu Qiqi and listened calmly as Lu Qiqi slowly explained.
Lu Qiqi took a deep breath and said, "Later I figured it out, and I no longer wanted to be that fox."
After hearing the whole story, Madam Hao said calmly, "That was indeed a poor decision. If I hadn't arrived in time, would your three shop assistants have been a match for those thugs?"
Lu Qiqi said, "Even if ten more thugs like that come, they won't be afraid."
After all, Liu Tong and his disciples had poisoned and killed bandits, and even ambushed them when they were dead. How could they be afraid of these thugs kept by young masters? They were all just good-for-nothings.
Seeing that Lu Qiqi showed no fear whatsoever, Old Madam Hao couldn't help but offer some pointers, saying, "Haven't you thought about reporting this to the authorities?"
Lu Qiqi shook her head frankly; she really had no intention of reporting it to the authorities.
If this were the peaceful era she lived in before, let alone Zhang Shiqiang daring to snatch prescriptions or people in the street, even just wandering around the street with a stick would get him invited for tea.
Not to mention Zhang Shiqiang's use of power to intimidate people and his attempt to get himself imprisoned.
In this dynasty where the monarchy reigns supreme, let alone whether officials would protect each other, even if Zhang Shiqiang was punished by the government, given his status and personality, wouldn't he retaliate?
After Zhang Shiqiang gets out of trouble, he will gather dozens of people and take her to the veterans' village when she is not paying attention. It will be difficult for the whole family in the village to wait for her to come home safely. She can't afford to gamble, and she is not willing to gamble with her family.
Madam Hao said, "The government of Luzhou Prefecture will never turn a blind eye to the oppression of the common people by wealthy gentry and local bullies. Girl, if anything happens in the future, just report it to the authorities. When you open a shop and pay taxes, the government will protect you."
Madam Hao knew that Lu Qiqi was so smart that she wouldn't be unable to understand this. It was normal for the young girl to care about her family. After all, she didn't know that the officials in Luzhou Prefecture were very different from those in other places.
After talking a lot, the spicy noodles were served cold, clumped together, and looked unappetizing.
Madam Hao said, "I won't eat this noodle today, I'll come again tomorrow. The plum juice you made was delicious, please make me another jar tomorrow."
After saying that, he got up and walked out the door.
Lu Qiqi also stood up to see them off.
After seeing Madam Hao off and leaving the house, Lu Qiqi returned to clean up the untouched spicy noodles.
Looking at the noodles in the bowl, Lu Qiqi was somewhat moved. The old lady knew that she wanted to use her, yet she was still willing to associate with her. Did this mean that in the heart of the old lady, she was not really angry with her?
Lu Qiqi decided to cook more delicious food to appease the little old lady who had been angered by her.
After helping Old Madam Hao into the carriage, Yu Mama asked, "Old Madam, you clearly weren't angry with Miss Lu, so why did you tell this old servant to say that Miss Lu is your goddaughter, while also telling her to report to the authorities?"
Madam Hao closed her eyes and said, "I can't just transfer the guards to her. If my unfilial son finds out, he'll tear my courtyard apart and accuse me of abusing my power and bullying others."
When Granny Yu heard the old lady say such things about her son, she tried her best not to laugh out loud, and tears were almost coming out of her eyes.
...
To please Madam Hao, the great contributor, Lu Qiqi worked tirelessly for half a month, preparing everything from hot and sour soup, cold chicken feet salad, hot and sour soup, sour soup fish, boiled sliced meat—any dish she could think of that would go well with rice.
Old Madam Hao was practically ready to adopt Lu Qiqi as her daughter on the spot. She had mentioned it before, but Lu Qiqi refused as soon as she opened her mouth.
Lu Qiqi hadn't expected Old Madam Hao to be so outrageous, actually asking her to consider herself and the magistrate of Luzhou Prefecture as siblings. Putting aside what Magistrate Hao would think, even Lu Qiqi herself felt a chill down her spine.
Finally, Old Madam Hao compromised and actually adopted Lu Qiqi as her goddaughter, and even gave her a lot of nice things, not to mention jewelry and the like.
When Madam Hao learned that Lu Qiqi and her family had fled from famine, she assumed they didn't have much food or cloth. Otherwise, Lu Qiqi wouldn't have been wearing only a few coarse clothes every day. Girls should be pampered so they won't be easily deceived by men.
On the day of the family reunion, Madam Hao visited Lu Qiqi's home and brought a lot of cloth, quilts and grain.
When Madam Lu, who was usually very talkative, learned that Old Madam Hao was the mother of the county magistrate, she barely uttered a word all afternoon, shrinking her head and hiding behind Madam Li.
Lu Dahai was also surprised that Lu Qiqi had taken the exam and had such an opportunity. Naturally, he was happy for Lu Qiqi. He drank quite a lot of wine but did not get drunk. He just had two faint blushes on his face, which made Li scold him for not taking care of his health.
Liu Tong and his apprentice also toasted Madam Hao with a cup of wine. If it weren't for Madam Hao that day, they really don't know what would have happened. They would never have had the chance to sit together as a family, drinking and eating meat.
However, Liu Tong and his apprentice, as well as Lu Qiqi, remained silent about Zhang Shiqiang's visit. Lu Dahai had no idea that opening a shop in the city almost cost him his life.
If Lu Dahai knew that Old Madam Hao had shown such kindness to their family, who knows how many more toasts he would have to offer.
As evening approached, Lu Qiqi saw Old Madam Hao off into her carriage, fearing it would be unsafe to walk at night as it got dark.
Lu Qiqi helped Old Madam Hao into the carriage, then took a wooden box from Lu Yao and handed it to Granny Yu, saying, "Granny, this is a small token of my respect for my grandmother. I'm grateful for your help today; please encourage her to walk around a bit to aid digestion."
Granny Yu took the wooden box and said with a faint smile, "Miss, you've gone to so much trouble. This old servant will definitely persuade the old lady to visit her."
Lu Qiqi watched the carriage and servants drive away, then led Lu Yao back.
On the carriage, inside the sedan chair.
Madam Hao had eaten too much today and was feeling drowsy when she saw Granny Yu holding a small wooden box in her arms.
Madam Hao asked, "Yu Ru, what are you holding in your arms?"
Granny Yu touched the wooden box and said, "This is a gift from Miss to you."
When Madam Hao heard that it was from Seventh Girl, her eyes widened instantly. She quickly sat up straight and said, "What delicious food is it? Open it quickly and let me have a taste."
Granny Yu smiled faintly, "Madam ate quite a lot today. Just now, Miss asked me to persuade you to walk around more to aid digestion."
Under the expectant gaze of Madam Hao, Granny Yu opened the wooden box. What lay quietly inside made the two elderly women with graying hair look at each other in bewilderment.
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