"Alright, it's late, go to sleep. Sleep in a little longer tomorrow morning, so you don't have to get up so early." Zhao Guihua felt a terrible headache after making noise until late at night, and didn't want to say anything more. She took Xingxing and Ruru back to their room to sleep.
On the other side, Zhou Laoda and his group had just arrived at the city gate in their oxcart when they saw the tightly closed gate. Zhou Laoda's face turned solemn as he realized his mistake. He had forgotten that there was a curfew in the town, especially after the refugee attack on the city. The curfew time had become earlier and earlier, and he had heard that the city gates would be closed at dusk.
What should we do? They don't care if we go back to the village, but they're afraid that Dafa won't be able to handle the back-and-forth. But waiting at the city gate isn't a solution either. They can afford to wait, but the child can't.
He was barely kept alive with ginseng, but this delay might cause him to lose his last breath.
Old Zhou's expression grew increasingly solemn. He sat on the oxcart, looking up at the city gate, his mind blank.
Chen Caocao held Zhou Dafa in the carriage, lost in thought. Zhou Lao Er also looked absent-minded. After a while, they realized that the oxcart seemed to have stopped moving and that it was eerily quiet outside.
The former was too stimulated, so he was in a daze. Chen Caocao originally thought that Zhou Dafa had already died, and he was in a daze due to the stimulation.
Later, her elder brother and sister-in-law told her that Dafa was still alive. She thought they were lying to her until she got on the oxcart and held the child in her arms. She felt faint signs of life and was both surprised and happy, but her mind became even more confused.
Zhou Lao Er's head was cracked open a month ago. Although he gradually recovered after a month of rest, he still gets headaches from time to time and occasionally feels nauseous and wants to vomit. His head hurts even more when he is jolted by the oxcart.
So after a quarter of an hour, the two realized that the oxcart had stopped. They thought it had just stopped and that they had arrived in town. Zhou Lao Er lifted the gray cloth curtain and asked loudly, "Brother, have we arrived yet?"
Zhou Laoda sighed heavily, thinking to himself that his second brother had arrived long ago and they had been waiting at the city gate for quite some time, but unfortunately the city was closed and they had no way to enter.
He was anxious and uneasy inside, but he maintained a calm demeanor and replied in a muffled voice, "We've arrived, but it's already curfew."
"Ah? What, what should we do?" Zhou Lao Er's face turned pale and his whole body trembled. He knew that his son's life was hanging by a thread, and if it dragged on any longer, he was afraid that he would really die.
Old Zhou kept his eyes down and remained silent, also wanting someone to tell him what to do.
Inside the carriage, Chen Caocao and Zhou Lao Er were already holding Zhou Dafa and sobbing. Hearing this, Zhou Lao Da became increasingly agitated and uneasy. He gritted his teeth, thinking that waiting here would only lead to certain death. By the time the city gates opened tomorrow morning, his nephew would probably be dead. He might as well take a chance and hurry back to the village.
Perhaps the stars could help; there was nothing they could do but place their hopes on the stars.
Oh, what a terrible thing to do.
Just as Zhou Laoda was about to crack his whip and turn the carriage around, he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him. Soon after, about ten people on horseback arrived outside the city gate.
These people were dressed in tight-fitting clothes, looking travel-worn, and their identities and origins were unknown. However, Zhou could sense that they meant no harm. He felt relieved. Who cared about their identities? As long as they weren't bandits, that was fine.
At this moment, the soldiers guarding the city wall shouted, "Who goes there? Why are you here in the middle of the night?"
Among the group of people on horseback, the young man in the middle, dressed in fine clothes, was clearly the master. He slightly raised his chin to signal to the guard beside him, who then produced a token.
He shouted loudly, "Magistrate Zheng of Lishan County is here. We are passing through this place tonight while chasing some thieves. Please come down and open the city gate so that our magistrate can enter."
The soldiers on the city wall hesitated for a moment, holding torches to look down at the token, but it was dark at night and they couldn't see it clearly from a distance, so they had to go down to confirm it.
The main reason was that they were terrified of being scammed by refugees before. Although the previous group of gatekeepers had already died, the new gatekeepers had learned from their past mistakes and were more cautious in their actions. After all, no one wanted to lose their life.
However, the county magistrate was not someone these lowly gatekeepers could afford to offend. Shanshui Town was a small town under the jurisdiction of Lishan County, and the county magistrate was the highest-ranking official in the area.
The new magistrate had only recently taken office, and the gatekeepers in the town were newly recruited, so they didn't recognize the magistrate. They had to open the city gate and check his token to confirm whether he was the real magistrate.
"My lord, Your Honor, please help us save our child..." Old Zhou had mentally prepared himself for a while, but seeing that the magistrate was about to enter the city gate, he disregarded everything else, jumped off the oxcart, rushed over, and knelt in front of the magistrate.
A group of guards drew their swords and blocked the magistrate's path, with two of them even jumping off their horses and holding their knives to Zhou Laoda's neck.
"Who are you, and why are you outside the city gate in the middle of the night?" the guard asked sternly.
Zhou Laoda trembled at the sight of the gleaming broadsword at his neck, but still gritted his teeth and replied, "My lord, spare my life, please listen to my report."
"...We really have no other choice. If this drags on any longer, the child will really be beyond saving. Please, sir, have mercy and let us into the city."
After hearing Zhou Laoda's grievances, the magistrate gestured to the guard beside him to go forward and check if it was true. The guard went to the oxcart and shouted loudly, "Everyone in the cart, get out! We need to search!"
Early in the morning, on the kang (a heated brick bed) inside the Zhou family's house, a fluffy little head poked out from under the covers. Xingxing looked around sleepily and found that she was the only one in the room; her mother and Ruru were already up.
So she quickly got up, put on her clothes hanger, slid down the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) with both hands, put on her shoes and ran out. When she saw her mother, brothers and Ruru at home, she grinned and greeted everyone in a cheerful voice.
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