The father and daughter walked slowly to the city gate. The soldier guarding the city recognized them and saw that they had driven back in a carriage. He stopped them and asked, "Why did you two come back after leaving the city?"
An Dashan came forward and whispered, "Sir, I saw a suspicious carriage outside the city just now, so I stopped it. I didn't expect it to be a beggar's carriage. I rescued five girls from that man and am now on my way to the county government office."
After hearing what An Dashan said, the soldier said excitedly: "Take me to see it quickly."
An Dashan lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and said, "Sir, the people inside are a little frightened, please be careful."
The soldier nodded, his eyes lingering on everyone's face for a moment. When he saw the well-dressed girl, surprise flashed in his eyes. He lowered the curtain and said to An Dashan, "Come with me to the county government office."
The soldier guarding the city thought: This is a great opportunity. If I can catch the eye of the county magistrate, I might even get a promotion. He had thought about taking all the credit, but with so many people watching, it was almost impossible. It would be better to be a good person and take a small share of the credit. The soldier guarding the city said something to the other soldiers, got on the carriage, and went to the county government with An Dashan.
When they arrived at the county government office, the soldier knew the yamen runner and whispered something to him, who then quickly turned around to report.
The atmosphere in the backyard of the county government office was very depressing at this time. The county magistrate's wife was sitting in a chair with red eyes. The county magistrate was looking outside from time to time with an anxious look on his face. The maids and old women didn't dare to breathe. You know, the maids and old women who followed the eldest lady out have already been punished. Who knows if they can survive.
At this moment, the bailiff walked in with a happy face. When the county magistrate saw his expression, he said in surprise, "Do you have any news?" The county magistrate's wife also looked at him with hopeful eyes.
The bailiff did not dare to delay and bowed and said, "Sir, the young lady is back."
Upon hearing this, the county magistrate and his wife rushed out the door, but they did not see their daughter. The county magistrate asked hurriedly, "Where is the young lady now? Is she injured?"
The yamen runner said quickly, "Just now, Nili from the city gate came over with a father and daughter. They said they had rescued five people from the beggars. He had confirmed that the young lady was among them, but he didn't dare to make it public. Now they are waiting outside the county government office."
The county magistrate slapped the table and said, "Okay, okay, go and ask them to drive the carriage to the back door. We will go there to wait for them."
The bailiff bowed, said "Yes," and walked out.
When An Dashan and his companions drove the carriage to the back door, the county magistrate and his wife were already waiting there.
A maid helped several girls down. When the well-dressed girl saw the county magistrate and his wife, she could no longer control herself and shouted, "Mom," then threw herself into the magistrate's wife's arms and burst into tears.
When An Ning saw that the girl was dignified and generous, she knew that she was not an ordinary person. She didn't expect that she was the daughter of the county magistrate. This time her family was lucky.
The county magistrate first had the bailiff put the beggar in jail, then he invited An Dashan and the others to the reception room and said, "I don't know your name, benefactor? Where do you live? I'll come to visit you when the time comes."
An Dashan said, "You are too polite, my name is An Dashan, and I live in Huaishu Village, Ping'an Town." Then he pointed at An Ning and said, "This is my daughter."
The county magistrate nodded and said, "Thanks to you two, my daughter was able to return safely this time. If you want anything, you can tell me and I will satisfy you."
An Dashan was most afraid of dealing with officials. Otherwise, with his military record, he could easily become a seventh or eighth rank military officer. However, he wanted to live an ordinary life with his children and wife, so he did not choose to stay at the border. He clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "Sir, I am just a small favor. It doesn't cost anything."
The county magistrate had already prepared for the other party to make a huge demand, but he did not expect the other party to give him this reply. He stared at An Dashan for a while, and found that he was not playing hard to get, so he said: "This won't do. You are my daughter's savior. How can we as parents not show any appreciation?" After saying that, without waiting for An Dashan to speak, he turned around and gave a few instructions to the lawyer, who took the order and left.
The master brought back a large box of things soon. He opened the box and said, "Brother An, these are some gifts from our masters. Please accept them."
An Dashan could no longer refuse, so he stood up, bowed, and said, "Then I will respectfully obey your command. Thank you for your reward, sir."
The county magistrate exchanged a few more words with An Dashan, then served him tea and sent him away. An Dashan was also very tactful and stood up to say goodbye and leave with An Ning.
As soon as the two of them left the county government office, they saw Zhao Meng and his men returning in a dusty state. Seeing An Dashan and his daughter, he quickly stepped forward and whispered, "Brother An, could it be that you were the one who saved the county magistrate's daughter?"
An Dashan did not hide it, nodded, and said, "It's just a coincidence."
Zhao Meng still had to go back to report, so he didn't say a few words to An Dashan and went into the county government office.
At this time, An Dashan and his daughter were already growling with hunger, so they bought a few buns and ate them while walking.
Due to this delay, it was already dark when the father and daughter returned home.
Gao was waiting in the yard, feeling anxious. When she heard the noise, she hurried out. She was shocked to see An Dashan's clothes were dirty and messy, and said, "What happened? How did he become like this?" Without waiting for An Dashan to answer, she hurried to check if her daughter was injured. She checked An Ning carefully from head to toe, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she found that she was not injured.
An Dashan's heart was hurt again, and he said a little aggrievedly: "Don't you even check if I'm injured?"
Gao rolled her eyes at him and said, "How can you be injured?" Although she said that, she also checked An Dashan from head to toe. After finding no injuries on An Dashan, she asked, "What happened?"
An Dashan took all the things off the oxcart and said to Gao, "It's getting late. I'll send the oxcart back to the next door first. Otherwise, Uncle Liu will be worried. Let Daya tell you what happened today."
Gao nodded, took out a bowl of stewed mutton from the kitchen and said, "Go quickly and take this bowl of mutton to Uncle Liu and the others."
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