"Who told you to try to steal my sister's things and sell them?"
When Cheng Shisi looked at him, her little face was puffed up with anger: "You did something bad and my guards found out, and now you're cursing me. No wonder no one likes you!"
Why am I not likable?
Cheng Sijin had already picked up a stick; she would chase after Cheng Shisi to beat him whenever she did something.
Cheng Shanshan came out and grabbed the stick, coldly scolding, "You still dare to cause trouble at a time like this? Do you think I'm not chaotic enough already?"
Cheng Sijin had an instinctive fear of Cheng Shanshan. Now that she knew that Cheng Shanshan was in a bad mood because of the Bai family, she quickly apologized and explained, "No, no, no, I was just joking with this child. Daughter, just treat me like I don't exist."
"Then shut up, and you'd better just disappear."
Cheng Shanshan slammed the stick to the ground and turned to leave.
At this moment, Cheng Sijin suddenly called out to her: "Um... cough cough, I can actually help you too."
Cheng Shanshan looked at him coldly: "What are you going to do for me?"
"You let me go out, I'll go out and have some fun, and then you can have someone keep an eye on me. What if... that guy arrests me too? Then you can find your mother, right?"
Cheng Sijin is not truly selfless either.
Having been here so long, he really wanted to go out for a walk.
Cheng Shanshan saw through his little scheme. Although she knew it wouldn't be of much use, she agreed, thinking it would be better to ignore it.
However, sending someone along would be a waste, so she directly had Cheng Shisi choose a dog, which would be a good opportunity to see the results of Cheng Shisi's recent training in tracking numbers: "It's okay if the person gets lost, but remember to bring the dog back."
"..."
Cheng Sijin felt contempt.
But she didn't dare say anything, and could only curse Cheng Shanshan in secret.
No, that's not right either; curses won't work either.
After all, his wealth and status still depended on his promising daughter, and he was now quite enjoying the feeling of being a parasite.
That's why he didn't want anything to happen to the Bai family.
After all, for him, the person wasn't important; what mattered was that without her, he felt that, based on his current understanding of Cheng Shanshan's coldness, he might very well be kicked out.
Thinking about this, he would sigh and lament while drinking with others: "If I had known it would be like this, I would have stayed at home back then and lived a carefree life for so many years. I could have eventually become the father-in-law of a prefect, and I wouldn't have had to suffer so much."
"It's not too late now. After all, look at what you eat and wear now. We poor guys can't compare."
"That's right. Even though your daughter doesn't like you openly, you're still her father. She's never shortchanged you on food, clothing, or anything else. And now she's even letting you come out and drink with us."
"Yes, yes, we brothers are all extremely envious."
These people sat around a table, and the flattering words made Cheng Sijin feel like she was floating on air.
No one noticed that someone was lurking in the corner, waiting for their chance to strike...
On the other side.
Cheng Shanshan was worried that Bai Shi wouldn't be in the mood to dry the medicinal herbs, so she handed them all over to Aunt Dong.
She went to find Huo Mingchen, who waved to her and said, "Come and take a look."
"Um?"
Cheng Shanshan stepped forward.
Huo Mingchen pointed to the location of the chains leading to Ping'an City from her hand-drawn map: "We've searched everywhere, but this cave on the cliff is the only place we haven't found. I'm going to go take a look."
Cheng Shanshan glanced at it: "But this place is dangerous, one wrong move and..."
"If others don't believe me, why don't you?" Huo Mingchen said, gently stroking her hair. "It's very simple for me, don't worry."
"But……"
Cheng Shanshan remained worried.
She wanted to find the Bai family, but she didn't want Huo Mingchen to get into trouble because of it.
But seeing her like this, Huo Mingchen felt a hidden joy: "Not bad, my little wife has finally learned to cherish her husband."
"...Don't talk nonsense."
Cheng Shanshan is not used to being too intimate.
Instinct distanced itself from it.
Huo Mingchen didn't say anything about it, but simply got up to leave.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from the doorway, followed by a man running in breathlessly: "Something terrible has happened! Those people outside seem to have gone mad; they're building ladders and bridges to get over!"
Huo Mingchen's expression changed.
Before she could speak, Cheng Shanshan stepped forward and said, "You go first."
There are priorities and urgency in everything.
At times like these, we must not let small losses lead to bigger ones.
"good."
Huo Mingchen didn't say anything more.
He quickly left.
Famine is raging everywhere, and people are starving. As a result, Ping'an City has become a paradise in people's eyes, and their survival instinct drives them to come here at all costs.
Seeing the horde of people who looked like demons, the people of Ping'an City were gripped by panic.
Some old women even gathered in the street, anxiously pacing back and forth: "What should we do? I think those people have gone mad, they don't care about life or death, they just keep rushing towards us."
"Yeah, yeah, I took a look from afar, and those people are practically insane. If we let them all come over here, how are we supposed to survive!"
"Prefect Huo is leading the defense now, but... I think it will fall sooner or later."
People are filled with anxiety.
Everyone was terrified.
These words, barely audible, reached the ears of the men who were resisting. Some couldn't help but sweat, and some even began to doubt themselves...
At the same time, darkness fell, accompanied by gusts of strong wind.
As the old saying goes, when the wind comes, the rain follows; the oppressive air exudes a sense of deathly stillness and despair.
Looking at the terrified woman, Cheng Shanshan suddenly asked, "What's the point of you saying all this here?"
"..."
Suddenly everyone was stunned.
After exchanging bewildered glances, they quickly realized, "Then what's the point of you standing here?" These people already had a bad impression of Cheng Shanshan, and now they had no desire to listen to her at all.
Cheng Shanshan's face remained expressionless, only coldly sweeping over everyone: "Since you all know how miserable your lives will be when the outsiders come, instead of going to help, you're here scaring yourselves and creating panic. Aren't you utterly foolish?"
"The way you're saying that makes it sound like you did something. If you wanted to help, why didn't you go and do it?"
"That's right. All the men in our family have passed away. What can we old women do besides cause trouble if we go over there?"
Cheng Shanshan couldn't help but sneer: "Does being a woman mean you're not a citizen of Ping'an City?" As she said this, she casually picked up a wooden stick: "Although I am a woman, I will not hold my man back!"
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