Autumn arrived before they knew it, and Shi Lan was thinking that she should go to the county with Li Tiezhu soon. Her belly had grown rapidly during this time, and her old clothes were getting too tight. In addition, two of Li Tiezhu's clothes were also too small. She wanted to buy some fabric and make clothes for both of them.
That evening, after dinner, Shi Lan tidied up the bed, sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), touched her swollen belly, and said softly, "Husband, let me go to the county with you tomorrow."
Li Tiezhu was wiping the bowstring with his back to her. When he heard her words, his broad back stiffened slightly. Remembering the rumors circulating in the village recently, he fell silent.
After Shi Lan finished calculating what she needed to buy tomorrow, she noticed that Li Tiezhu didn't speak and assumed he hadn't heard her, so she repeated herself.
Li Tiezhu knew he couldn't hide it from her for long, but he still wanted to delay it for a few more days. "Wife, you're pregnant, so it's better if you don't come back with me. Just tell me what you want to buy, and I'll definitely bring it back for you tomorrow."
Since falling into the water, Shi Lan has rarely left the house. Especially recently, Li Tiezhu has been keeping her tied up at home. Therefore, she was unaware that rumors had suddenly spread in the village that she was a runaway slave from a wealthy family.
The next morning, Li Tiezhu repeatedly told her to bolt the door before reluctantly leaving home.
Shi Lan watched him looking back every few steps with amusement, and asked him loudly if he was worried, so she could come along.
Upon hearing her words, Li Tiezhu immediately turned around, his long legs moving swiftly, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Shi Lan couldn't help but smile broadly. He was such a simpleton; she had only said it casually, but he took it seriously.
After laughing, Shi Lan obediently bolted the door and went back inside.
During this time, she had been cultivating her magic techniques. The original owner's body was too weak, and it would be difficult to safely get through childbirth with the limited medical technology available here.
After several missions, Shi Lan vaguely felt that the set of techniques given by Ming Xiao could not only enhance the soul, but also benefit the body. However, the benefits were not obvious and would only be felt after years of accumulation. But for Shi Lan at this moment, any benefit was better than none.
After cultivating for two cycles, the faint sound of a man's voice could be heard outside, along with the occasional loud banging on the door.
Shi Lan frowned, got up and walked outside.
There were no other houses around Li Tiezhu's house. Apart from birdsong and insect chirps, there was no other sound. She had been here for a long time, and no one had come to her door except to buy game.
"Who is it?" Shi Lan stood in the courtyard and called out towards the door.
The conversation outside paused for a moment, then a woman's voice came through the door, "Tiezhu's family, the government officials have come and say they want to check the household registration."
Shi Lan blinked, thinking to herself that it was quite thorough. But wasn't checking household registrations the job of the village head? Why did it require the government to do it?
Despite her doubts, Shi Lan opened the door. A burly man in a yamen runner's uniform, his hand on the long sword hanging at his waist, stared at her with a scrutinizing expression. "Name, place of origin, and who else is in your family?"
"Sir, what is this...?" Shi Lan sensed something was amiss and knew that a hasty reply might not be well-received. So she turned her beautiful eyes to look at the constable and the two older men standing behind him, completely ignoring the woman who was wearing makeup and bore a slight resemblance to Li Chunni.
Perhaps seeing Shi Lan's timidity and fear that she dared not speak, one of the old men behind the yamen runners, wearing a dark blue short jacket and a pipe at his waist, stepped forward with a smile. "Tie Zhu's wife, a couple of days ago someone reported to the county that there were runaway slaves here. So, the county officials took it seriously and came to investigate. Don't be afraid, the officials are very kind. Just say what you have to say, and the officials will not wrong an innocent person."
Shi Lan understood his meaning, responded softly, and slowly announced her and Li Tiezhu's names.
The constable, with a stern face, wrote down the name. Just as he was about to ask about her place of origin, he saw Shi Lan clutching her waist, her face pale, letting out a low cry of pain, looking as if she was about to collapse. Startled, he quickly took two steps back and looked at the old man beside him who had spoken to Shi Lan, "Village head, what's going on?"
The old man, addressed as the village head by the yamen runner, had a cold expression, but answered the runner's questions without stammering, "Tiezhu's wife fell into the water while pregnant a while ago, so the pregnancy must not be stable. I think we should send her back to rest as soon as possible. Deyun's wife, go find a doctor to take a look. Deyun, go find Tiezhu and tell him to come back and watch over his wife. I'll take the official to check on the other families; we need to find out the truth."
As the village headman spoke, he dismissed the two men who were eyeing him menacingly, then gave Shi Lan a wink when no one was looking before leading the constables into the village.
Shi Lan cried out a few times, and seeing that the person had walked away, she quickly closed the door and began to wonder what had happened.
Why would the government send people here to check household registrations out of the blue, especially not to bypass their proper channels? This is very unusual. Suddenly, Shi Lan thought of Li Chunni, who had disappeared for a long time. Could it be that she was annoyed by her leisurely life and was deliberately causing trouble to make her unhappy?
Recalling the madness Li Chunni had caused after pushing the original owner into the water, and considering that Li Chunni's parents were with her today, Shi Lan felt she had stumbled upon the truth.
Upon realizing this, Shi Lan was furious. She thought to herself, "I wanted to let you have some fun for a while, but you've come looking for death. You can't blame me for that."
In the evening, Li Tiezhu rushed back. As soon as he entered the door, he threw down the basket full of things and ran quickly into the house, "Wife, wife, how are you?"
Hearing him call out repeatedly, Shi Lan rolled her eyes in annoyance, "What are you yelling for? I'm right here."
Seeing Shi Lan sitting peacefully on the edge of the kang, Li Tiezhu swallowed the rest of his sentence. His usually cool, purplish-red face immediately broke into a smile. "Wife, you're alright, that's wonderful," he said, as he wobbled over to hug her.
Shi Lan twisted her body to avoid his bear hug, and glared at him fiercely, "Stop pretending. Tell me, what's this about confiscating the runaway slaves?"
During this time, Shi Lan had been speaking softly and gently, appearing delicate and frail. This sudden change in her demeanor startled Li Tiezhu, who lowered his head and dared not utter a sound.
Shi Lan's expression changed. She had originally intended to trick him into knowing about the escaped slaves, but seeing his stunned and silent look, even if she was a bit slow during her pregnancy, she could tell something was wrong.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
