After the camp was tidied up, Fei Yanggu and the others seemed to have forgotten about the mask incident in Liangjia Village, and Yin Geng acted as if it had never happened.
Qingyan wanted to find out the truth, but was ultimately strictly forbidden from investigating the matter further.
On this day, at three-quarters past Chen hour, a torrential downpour began, catching everyone off guard.
Su Lan prepared breakfast in the small kitchen. Fei Yang Gu smoked his pipe while Yin Qingrou held Qing Yan in his arms. His brows were furrowed, and when he looked down at the little girl in his arms, his eyes unconsciously revealed tenderness.
With earplugs in her ears, around midnight, a series of muffled claps of thunder startled Xiao Guai, who ran straight to Yin's bed, her little hands tightly clutching Yin's undergarments.
Even when changing clothes, Yin held Qingyan's hand and comforted her for a long time before he was allowed to have Su Peisheng help him change into his everyday clothes.
Otherwise, Fei Yanggu and the others would have found Yin in disheveled clothes when they arrived.
"Fourth Master, the real contest is just beginning." Fei Yanggu looked helplessly at the torrential rain. Fortunately, they had cleared the silt from the outlet early on, and built dikes along the stream using burlap sacks. Even if the water was released, the dikes could hold for a while.
A purple flash streaked across the sky, followed by muffled thunderclaps from afar. Qingyan could hear the thunder even with her earplugs in. She opened her eyes and looked at the torrential rain outside.
"We have to fight against the heavens!" Yin muttered softly.
To struggle against heaven, against earth, and against man is a source of endless joy.
These twelve characters were said by a certain leader, and Qingyan felt that they were most suitable to be placed here.
"Fourth Brother, we're having endless fun fighting against the heavens." Qingyan took off her earplugs and jumped down from Yin's arms.
She was still wearing a long-sleeved silk nightgown. Luckily, everyone in the tent was family, so it wasn't embarrassing to wear this.
"Shut up!" E'shuo and Yin warned Qingyan at the same time. It was fine to say these words in front of them, but if she said them to others, they would be reported to His Majesty, and her reputation would be damaged.
"Ah Hun, they were just muttering a few words in the tent, don't worry~" Qingyan waved her little handkerchief and helped Sulan get ready to change her clothes.
"Princess, let's change into flowerpot-shaped shoes inside the tent." Qingyan often goes out, and she hasn't worn flowerpot shoes for many days, so she's a bit tired of them.
Su Lan and Su Xin were worried that Qing Yan would be scolded by the nanny again when she returned, so they took every opportunity to make her wear it.
Before Qingyan could reply, she heard a commotion outside. She pointed to the jade hairpin on the table, and Sulan quickly styled Qingyan's hair into a swallowtail style and put on the red jade hair ornament. Qingyan changed into a light pink cheongsam and wore matching boots, and hurried to the outer tent.
At the entrance of the main tent, villagers from Liangjia Village knelt outside the tent, as if pleading for something.
"Fourth Brother, this is..." Qingyan was a little confused. Why did these people come here directly?
What troublesome thing happened?
A series of questions flooded her mind, but no matter what, she couldn't speak.
Yin pursed his lips and stared intently at the village chief of Liangjia Village. At that time, they had kindly told him about the mask and asked him to check if there were any suspicious people in the village. The village chief looked extremely unpleasant and even kicked Fei Yanggu and the others out.
Now, they are asking for help in the rain, which sounds nice to say they are desperate for assistance, but to put it bluntly, they are using Yin's reputation to coerce him.
"A bunch of clueless people," Yin muttered under his breath.
"Akdun, let the village chief, clan chief, and those who can speak up stay, the rest of you go back!" Qingyan was furious; she hated being threatened like this the most.
"Yes, this servant will do it immediately." Qingyan gave the order, and Fei Yanggu and the others did not refuse.
Akdun boldly went over and cleared the people away. Sulan and Suxin exchanged a glance and quickly went to the small kitchen to bring over a few bowls of ginger and brown sugar water for the people to drink first.
Five people remained in Liangjia Village: the clan chief, the village head, a woman, and the rest were influential figures in the village.
Qingyan sat upright beside Yin, her eyes constantly drifting towards the group of people. The woman looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.
While sipping her tea, she glanced at the woman and noticed that she didn't seem like an ordinary peasant woman. She subtly nudged Yin, signaling him to keep an eye on the woman.
"Little darling, who does that woman look like?" Yin also found it strange.
Qingyan shook her head slightly, forgetting about it for a moment.
After everyone arrived at the tent, Su Lan served them several bowls of ginger soup and asked them to drink it first.
After taking off their raincoats, the elders sat on the lowest stools, with the village chief looking particularly miserable.
"What brings you here?" Fei Yanggu looked at the village chief, unable to forget his previous defeat, and was furious.
The village chief shuddered. Previously, in order to maintain peace in the village, they had chosen to turn a blind eye to the pleas for help from Fei Yanggu and others.
As the number of missing children gradually increased, he had no choice but to become a player.
"I hope that Fourth Young Master can save the children in the village. In recent days, more and more children have gone missing!" the village chief said bitterly.
Most of the villagers who came with them were parents of children who had lost their children. They were furious when they heard that Fei Yanggu had warned the village chief to be careful early in the morning, but the village chief had not taken it to heart.
Fei Yanggu gave a cold laugh. Now that he was thinking of finding the culprits, it was questionable whether those people were still in the village.
Yin felt something was off; were those people only targeting innocent children?
"Have you made enemies with other villages?" Qingyan asked, puzzled.
The village chief looked at Qingyan with a hint of disdain in his eyes, but he looked at Fei Yanggu with expectation in his eyes.
The woman did not ignore Qingyan, but carefully observed her actions.
After a moment, Qingyan was somewhat confused, as if the woman in front of him had anticipated the situation.
Qingyan's heart immediately tightened. This person must have had some connection with them, otherwise... she wouldn't be so calm.
She exchanged a glance with Yin, and seeing the shock in his eyes, she couldn't help but begin to have doubts.
"No, the villagers are exceptionally honest and simple, and they certainly won't make enemies with outsiders," the village chief said awkwardly. With the arrival of Qingyan and his group, they bought a lot of things from the villagers, giving each household some extra money and allowing many men in the village to get married.
"Who is that woman?" E Shuo and the others found the woman suspicious, so E Shuo asked directly.
The village chief looked up at the people sitting above him; they were all sizing up his granddaughter-in-law. He then went straight to the point about his grandson's marriage, explaining that his granddaughter-in-law was pitiful, having fled here alone.
Fleeing?!
Qingyan caught a key point: this person was probably a refugee from the capital.
The woman's demeanor was somewhat like that of a concubine's daughter raised by a prominent family in the Imperial Household Department. The legitimate daughters, mostly groomed for the princes, often possessed a similar air to the legitimate daughters of minor officials. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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