Before Ye Yingtao and her subordinates could come up with a way to kill two birds with one stone, Zhou Laoda and his two companions in the main courtyard took the packaged pastries and prepared to leave. They had come to the Zhong residence for a cup of tea, and then Master Zhong returned.
I don't know what happened, she seemed very anxious. Master Zhong didn't show up either. It was the butler who came over and whispered a few words in Madam Zhong's ear. Her expression changed, she apologized to Boss Zhou and Zhao Guihua, and then left the main hall.
Before leaving, he instructed the steward to pack up the pastries for the Zhou family to take back, and also gave them some other gifts. Zhao Guihua couldn't refuse them, so he insisted on giving them to them, and finally sent a carriage to take them back.
"Madam Zhong is really kind; she's incredibly good to us," Zhao Guihua remarked, looking at the pile of things inside the carriage.
Suddenly, Xingxing said in a soft voice, "There are bad people in Grandma Zhong's house, very bad people."
"Huh? What do you mean? What's the identity of that bad guy?" Zhao Guihua lowered her voice and carefully lifted the car window curtain to see if anyone was following them.
Don't tell her that the bad guy is Mrs. Zhong. If it really is her, then her disguise is too perfect.
"Xingxing sensed it. There really is a bad guy inside, but she can't be sure who it is. But it's definitely not Grandma Zhong. Grandma Zhong is a good person," Xingxing said confidently.
"It's good that it's not Madam Zhong, but are the people in the Zhong family really that complicated? Then we can't go to the Zhong family anymore unless it's necessary." Zhao Guihua said to Zhou Laoda in a whisper.
Boss Zhou didn't say a word. The coachman was from the Zhong family. It was better to keep a low profile when speaking ill of his master. He could save his words for when he got home.
As they disembarked from the carriage and were about to enter the courtyard, a person suddenly jumped out from some corner. This person was none other than the one who had given them the jade pendant.
"The lord sent us to protect your safety. If you encounter any trouble, just shout and we will appear to help you," the man said, taking out a silver note from his pocket and stuffing it into Zhou Laoda's hand. He said in a stern tone, "This is a thousand taels of silver note. The lord thanks you for saving the young master. This is what you deserve."
Without waiting for Zhou Laoda and the other two to react, he darted away and disappeared into some unknown corner.
Old Zhou snapped out of his daze and tried to call the man back, "Hey, why did you just leave like that?"
This prefect is indeed decisive and forceful in his dealings, giving no one a chance to object. Is this how all high-ranking officials act?
“They insisted on giving it to us, so we had no choice but to accept it. It seems the prefect wants to repay the favor as soon as possible. Oh well, let’s just go along with it.” Zhao Guihua took the silver note, folded it, and put it in her sleeve. Then she led Xingxing into the house.
As soon as they entered the yard, a burly figure suddenly darted out and blocked their way. Candy had a bandage on one arm, but she didn't seem to feel any pain. She squatted in front of Xingxing and grinned foolishly at her.
"Don't worry, Xingxing brought back some sugar figurines and malt candy, all for you. You have to take your medicine obediently." Xingxing gave all the candy she brought back to Candy, who was overjoyed.
After Xingxing finished laughing, she added, "You can only take this after you finish your medicine. You can't take it all at once; you have to save it and take it slowly, otherwise there won't be any left."
"Yes, Candy listens to Star, and Star loves Candy." Candy nodded vigorously with a serious expression.
Xingxing smiled and asked Tangguo to lower her head a little more, then patted her head. "Tangguo is such a good girl. Good girls get candy every day."
Zhao Guihua ignored the interaction between the two children and went back to her room to hide the silver notes. Originally, they only had eight hundred taels of silver left, but since they didn't know how long they would stay in Quanshui Mansion, they brought all their belongings with them.
Now that the prefect has given us another thousand taels, we don't have to worry about making a living at all. The next thing to worry about is whether we can save our lives. With the prefect's protection in Nanyang Prefecture, we should be safe. But the journey from Nanyang Prefecture to Quanshui Prefecture will be dangerous.
Zhao Guihua was wondering whether she should buy a few more guards or hire two more bodyguards.
However, when she told Old Zhou about this idea, Xingxing overheard it. The little girl said in a mysterious tone, "There's no need to spend money to hire bodyguards or buy more guards. It's no use having more people. We should rely on ourselves. Those people are useless. We need to rely on capable people."
Otherwise, no matter how many people follow, they'll just be throwing their lives away.
Zhao Guihua stared at her with wide eyes, "Girl, where is this capable person you're talking about? Let's go find him tomorrow."
Xingxing shook her head and sighed, "The capable people aren't here, they're in Quanshui Mansion. So once Tangguo and the other two have recovered from their injuries, we'll have to set off there. As long as we get there before the bad guys arrive, we can resolve the crisis."
“It will take at least twenty days to get from Nanyang Prefecture to Quanshui Prefecture. The journey will likely be fraught with danger. Can we really make it through?” Zhao Guihua asked worriedly.
"Of course I can! Xingxing hasn't grown up yet. Xingxing will live for a very, very long time. When I grow up, I'll take care of you in your old age, buy you a big house to live in, and bring back lots of maids and servants to serve you. We haven't enjoyed much happiness yet, so of course we should live well!" Xingxing said matter-of-factly.
"With your words, your father and mother are content. Your father, mother, and brothers will definitely protect you. We will all live well." Zhao Guihua wiped away her tears and hugged Xingxing tightly.
Xingxing reached out to wipe Zhao Guihua's tears, pouting helplessly, "I'm serious, Mom, don't disbelieve me."
That night, after the Zhou family had fallen asleep, three masked men in black carrying knives appeared outside the house. However, before they could climb over the wall and enter the courtyard, they were subdued by another group of people.
Seeing that they could not escape, the three men in black immediately bit open the poison packets in their mouths and drank the poison to commit suicide. Within a few breaths, all three of them bled from their seven orifices and died.
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