Chapter 417 Wan Laoer's Choice
Wan Laoer's eyes rolled. He absolutely could not tell anyone that Fubao was the princess of Yue. He heard from Mo'er that if Fubao's identity became known to everyone, she would lose her freedom from then on. Whether in Da Qi or Yue, Fubao would most likely be locked up, and they would even call it protection.
They all treat Fubao as a rare treasure, not a human being.
Wan Laoer could imagine that there would be no light in his Fubao's eyes by then, no hope in her eyes, only endless darkness and despair, and no smile on her face. And she was just a child. Thinking of this, Wan Laoer's heart ached with pain.
"Of course my daughter is my daughter. Why do you ask this, sir?" Wan Laoer refused to admit it.
Zheng Wenru sighed, stood up, looked down at Wan Laoer, frowned and asked: "Wan Jinzhu, your daughter has confessed everything, are you sure you still want to hide it?"
Wan Laoer shuddered and almost sat up from the bed, but because the movement was too large, it affected his wound. He grimaced in pain and fell back.
Seeing his big reaction, Zheng Wenru was sure that what Fubao said was true.
"Wan Jinzhu, are you still going to hide this from me? Do you know that your family has committed the crime of collaborating with the enemy? Your family secretly hid the princess of a neighboring country. This crime is enough to get your entire family exterminated."
Wan Laoer's face turned pale as paper in an instant, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
His eyes were full of fear and despair, a fear that penetrated deep into his bones. His lips trembled, but he could not utter a complete sentence.
The faces of my loved ones flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope of memories, and endless bitterness and pain surged in my heart. For a moment, I didn't know how to face this sudden calamity.
"Are you scared now? If you can tell me the truth, I will report it to you. Maybe your family can avoid this disaster."
Zheng Wenru looked at Wan Laoer with a smile.
Wan Laoer turned his head to glance at Fubao and saw that her eyelashes were trembling slightly. It turned out that Fubao had woken up without knowing when, but she was pretending to sleep. And from her reaction, she was very scared. She must be afraid that he chose his family and gave up on her, right?
Wan Laoer just wanted to kill himself, that way it wouldn't be so difficult. On one hand was Fubao's fate, and on the other hand were the lives of his entire family. How would he choose?
Wan Laoer clenched his fists tightly. Heartache, pain, annoyance and fear intertwined together, making his heart feel like it was fried in a hot oil pan.
"Since my daughter has told you everything, I have nothing to say. If you want to report it, go ahead. At worst, our whole family will die together. Killing people is not enough. I am not a hero. I am just a peasant. You don't need to make a fuss about me. You don't need to threaten me with words. Besides, Fubao was picked up by us on the way to exile. Do you think we, farmers whose ancestors have been dealing with the land, have any reason to collaborate with the enemy?"
Wan Laoer felt that death was no big deal, so what was there to be afraid of? When he faced death, he felt that everything was no longer a threat, and he believed that Wan Er's wife would definitely not live in vain.
Fubao slowly opened his wet eyes, stretched out his little hands and hugged Wan Laoer's neck tightly, sobbing silently.
"Daddy - Fubao will not leave you and mommy. Fubao is not afraid of death. Fubao wants to die with daddy and mommy."
Wan Laoer, a seven-foot-tall man, actually hugged Fubao and burst into tears.
Although Zheng Wenru was threatening Wan Laoer, he was also moved by the love between father and daughter.
"Wan Jinzhu, you just said that you were exiled? Why were you, a peasant, exiled?"
Wan Lao Er let go of Fu Bao, wiped his tears and said, "I am a branch of the Wan family in the capital. They were framed by a traitor that year and were accused of collaborating with the enemy. The emperor ordered the exile of all nine clans, and my family was implicated."
Zheng Wenru was startled and asked quickly, "The Wan family in the capital you are talking about, is that the Wan family in the General's Mansion?"
"Exactly."
Zheng Wenru began to pace, this matter seemed a little difficult to handle. If those people with ulterior motives in the capital knew that the little girl from Wan Jinzhu's family was the princess of Yue State, they would definitely take action against the General's Mansion. However, the new emperor valued General Wan and Little General Wan very much, and these two people were the mainstay of their Great Qi.
It seems that he needs to write a letter to the prefect as soon as possible and report the matter carefully.
"Wan Jinzhu, you should take good care of your injuries first."
After Zheng Wenru finished speaking, he left the room and went to the study.
"You must take good care of this father and daughter. Do not neglect them. Also, do not allow any strangers to approach here."
Zheng Wenru instructed the servant before leaving.
The boy bowed and pushed the door open. Soon, a maid brought in rice porridge and snacks.
Wan Laoer was seriously injured and could only eat light meals. Fubao was a child, so the county magistrate ordered the kitchen to make some cakes that children would like.
Wan Laoer glanced at the sky outside and saw that the sun was already high in the sky.
Wan Laoer thought that Hu Zhengyang was still waiting for them at home. He didn’t come back all night and he didn’t know how he was doing.
"Brother, can I trouble you for something?"
The servant had been instructed by the county magistrate to take good care of Wan Lao Er, so his attitude was pretty good.
"you say."
"I have a nephew who is waiting for me at home. He must be very worried because I didn't come back last night. He is also seriously injured. Can you please help pass a message to him? Just tell him that I am in the county government office and don't worry."
After Wan Laoer finished speaking, he pulled out a purse from his bosom, took out two taels of silver from it and handed it to the servant.
"This is the errand fee. Thank you for your hard work."
The servant boy only earned eight hundred coins a month, and Wan Laoer gave him two taels of silver, which was almost as much as his three months' salary.
And since it was just a job of passing on a message, he readily agreed to do it.
After Wan Laoer told him the address, the servant took the silver and turned to leave.
However, since it was true that the servant did the job for money, he still had to report it to the county magistrate.
"Sir, the man in the wing room asked me to go to the west city to deliver a message to his relatives, saying that he is now in the county government office and not to let his nephew worry. Should I go or not? Please give me your instructions, sir."
Zheng Wenru was writing a letter and asked, "Did he say who the other party was?"
"It was said to be a nephew, and he was also injured."
Zheng Wenru said after a while: "You go, but after you go there, ask around to find out why they came to Qinping County?"
"Yes, sir."
At this moment, Hu Zhengyang was indeed getting anxious and angry, and he kept leaning on the door and looking forward.
Wan Laoer did not return home all night last night, and he had gone out to look for him but found no clues. However, he heard this morning that the city was under lockdown. He didn't know how this incident was related to Wan Laoer's disappearance, but he had a vague feeling that there was some connection.
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