Qin Shufen and her son were extremely moved, and felt that there are still many good people in the world.
The corn rice was very fragrant, but for them who were wandering around, a full meal was a luxury.
Aunt Wang was a delicious cook. As she watched Qi Bin and Cui'er devour their food, her eyes filled with love, she said, "My old man passed away early, leaving him no children. People say I'm unlucky for my husband. It's hard to be a woman, especially one with children. Where's your husband?"
Qin Shufen blushed, took two mouthfuls of rice, and did not answer.
"My father is a high-ranking official in the capital." Qi Bin suddenly said.
Qin Shufen hit him, but Qi Bin still insisted: "That's right, my father was the top scholar in the previous dynasty and is now a Hanlin scholar. Mother, you told me all this."
Qin Shufen smiled and said, "It's just nonsense from a child, don't blame me, Wang Da."
Aunt Wang felt something was amiss, and since the other party refused to speak, she couldn't ask any more questions. But she knew that the mother and her two children were not good people and that they were hiding something.
"I'm not talking nonsense, mother. You said my father became the prince consort and he doesn't want us anymore." Qi Bin was still arguing.
"Pa pa!" Qin Shufen spanked Qi Bin's butt twice: "I told you not to talk nonsense, I told you not to talk nonsense!"
Qi Bin cried out "Wow!" and burst into tears. Aunt Wang hurriedly put down her bowl and chopsticks and said, "What are you doing? How can you hit a child? Come on, give the child to me."
As she spoke, Aunt Wang took Qi Bin over. Qi Bin was still crying: "I want Uncle Zhao, I want Sister Nangong."
Chenliu Town County Government Office, although it is a town, is larger than a county town. The Song Dynasty also set up a county government office in Chenliu.
At this moment, Chenliu County Magistrate Sun Zhezheng met a distinguished guest named Yu Rentong, who was the steward of the Prince Consort's Mansion.
"It is an honor for us to have Steward Yu visit our humble county office." Sun Zheping flattered the man well.
Yu Rentong sat hunched over on the armchair next to him. "Magister Sun, please find out about this person for me. They are a mother and her two children. The woman is Qin Shufen, and she has two children. The boy is four or five years old, and the girl is eight or nine. If you have any clues, send someone to inform me immediately. I'm at the Yunfeng Inn. If you can help me, the princess and her husband will definitely reward me handsomely."
When Yu Rentong arrived, Qi Zhiyan had already told him Qin Shufen's appearance and the size of the two children.
Sun Zheping was overjoyed when he heard this: "If I can serve the princess and her husband, it would be a lifetime of hard work. I will send someone to find them right away."
Yu Rentong shook his head. "This matter must not be publicized. If the mother and daughter fall into the hands of officials in the capital, we must not alert them. You must notify me first. Do you understand?"
Sun Zheping nodded hurriedly: "I know, I know."
Aunt Wang whispered to Qi Bin, "Tell grandma, who is your father?"
Qi Bin nodded: "My father is a high-ranking official in the capital. He married the princess and no longer wants us. We want to go to the capital to find my father. My mother said otherwise and we will follow Uncle Zhao. I miss Sister Nangong. Sister Nangong is the most beautiful."
Qi Bin's speech was incoherent. Although Aunt Wang could not make sense of what he said, she had already understood something.
The next day, Aunt Wang got up quietly early in the morning. Seeing that there was no movement in Qin Shufen's room, she tiptoed to the door and locked it from the outside.
After locking the door, Aunt Wang breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly walked towards the county government office with her small feet.
…
County Magistrate Sun Zheping sat in the hall and slammed the gavel: "Wang, do you really mean what you said?"
Aunt Wang, who shared her husband's surname, knelt on the ground and nodded hurriedly. "I heard it clearly. The mother and her two children claimed to be the wife and children of the current emperor's son-in-law. The woman tried to conceal it, but the child wouldn't lie. I felt there must be something fishy about these three people, and I dared not conceal it, so I hurried to find the county magistrate to explain the whole matter."
Sun Zheping was delighted: "Wang, you did the right thing. I will report this to the court, and I might even be rewarded handsomely."
Aunt Wang said, "Thank you, sir."
It was really a ghost. Linghu Yunlong almost turned Chenliu Town upside down, but there was no trace of Qin Shufen.
He had checked every place, from inns to teahouses to taverns. He had a hunch that Qin Shufen and her son were definitely still in Chenliu Town.
When passing by the gate of the county government office, Linghu Yunlong felt very regretful. He wondered why he had not thought of going to the county government office for help before.
So Linghu Yunlong strode into the Chenliu Town County Government Office.
"Who are you?" Two yamen runners stopped him.
Linghu Yunlong pulled out a token from his pocket, and the two yamen runners were startled. They hurriedly bowed and saluted, and Linghu Yunlong walked in with a swagger.
Sun Zheping was dreaming of getting promoted and getting rich, because he had just told Yu Rentong in the Prince Consort's Mansion about this matter.
Who is the imperial consort? He's the emperor's brother-in-law. Princess Dexin is the eldest princess. If the princess can just make a few remarks at court, or even say a few kind words to the emperor, she'll be promoted and rich in no time.
Yu Rentong had said that after the matter was completed, the princess would use her connections to transfer him to the capital. He had heard that Bianjing was prosperous, and it was certainly much better than this small town of Chenliu.
Thinking of this, Sun Zheping was overjoyed and rubbed his hands with joy. In the midst of the joy, Linghu Yunlong rushed in.
Sun Zheping was startled: "Who are you?"
When Linghu Yunlong flashed the gold medal, Sun Zheping was so frightened that he hurriedly saluted: "So it's the Imperial Guard. I wonder why you came to the Chenliu County Government Office?"
Linghu Yunlong went straight to the point: "You come with me to find someone, a woman named Qin Shufen. She has two children, a boy and a girl."
Sun Zheping was shocked when he heard this. Who on earth was this Qin Shufen? She had two groups of people looking for her. One was from the Prince Consort's residence, and the other was a guard in front of the emperor. He couldn't afford to offend either of them.
"Well, I wonder what the master wants to see this Qin Shufen about?"
Linghu Yunlong was shocked: "You know her?"
"This..." Sun Zheping looked embarrassed. I was testing whether I should tell Linghu Yunlong.
Linghu Yunlong said, "This mother and her two children are involved in a serious case, which Your Majesty is personally overseeing. You must think carefully. No one in the world is greater than Your Majesty."
Sun Zheping dared not hide it any longer: "Sir, a steward from the Prince Consort's Mansion just came to the county government office and asked me to inquire about a mother and son named Qin Shufen."
Linghu Yunlong panicked: "Where are the people?"
Sun Zheping didn't know if he had gotten into trouble. "I just left. This morning, Widow Wang from the east end of the town came to the county government office and said that several suspicious people had come to her house. It turned out to be a mother and her two children. I sent someone to tell the housekeeper of the Prince Consort's Mansion about this. The housekeeper had already gone to Widow Wang's house and left not long ago."
Linghu Yunlong yelled, "Not good!" He took his sword and asked for directions, then headed straight for Auntie Wang's house.
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