King Mingyue nodded with satisfaction upon seeing this.
"King of the Underworld Moon, then we shall return to the Central Plains. We shall meet again if fate allows."
"Alright, be careful on your journey." The King of the Underworld and his generals saw them off as they left the Underworld Kingdom.
After leaving the city, Qi Guze and Pei Xuan turned back to pay their respects to the Mingyue Kingdom before embarking on their journey back to Chang'an.
On their way back to Chang'an from the Kingdom of Mingyue, the two of them happened to choose the road that passed through Luoping Village.
Qi Guze probably just wanted to take a look around since he was passing by; he always felt that something unexpected might happen here.
"Your Highness, Luoping Village is just ahead," Pei Xuan said, pointing to the village, which was almost in ruins.
Qi Guze frowned upon seeing the desolate scene, but remained silent.
The two continued walking, and since there was some shade by the river, they decided to stop and rest.
The two of them leaned against a tree, eating the dry rations they had brought. Then Qi Guze looked around and suddenly spotted familiar faces: Zhou Wan and Tie Xiong, who were preparing to return to Chang'an City, and two other people he didn't recognize, namely Aunt Meng and the hunter.
Qi Guze nudged Pei Xuan, and Pei Xuan saw them too, then called out, "Zhou Wan, Zhou Wan."
Soon Zhou Wan heard someone calling her, and when she turned around, she was surprised to see the prince and Zhou Wan.
She was overjoyed and ran straight over: "Your Highness, you're finally back."
"Hmm." Qi Guze frowned slightly after answering. "What are you doing here? And who are those two?"
"We came here to check on something. We met that old lady on the way, and then this hunter brother took us in for several days. They are all from Luoping Village." Zhou Wan tried to explain clearly so that Qi Guze could understand immediately.
"Are they going back to the capital with you too?" Pei Xuan asked, glancing at the old woman and the hunter.
“Yes, we met Aunt Meng on our way here. When we arrived at Luoping Village, the hunter told us that her son is now in the capital and had been looking for her, so we’re going back to the capital together this time.” Zhou Wan continued to recount their experiences over the past few days.
"This hunter brother hunts in Luoping Village, but he is often attacked and robbed by government soldiers. He can no longer make a living, so he thought of taking him to the capital." Zhou Wan finished speaking, her mouth was dry, and she gulped down water.
Qi Guze frowned as soon as he heard that he had encountered the old woman, and he became even more furious when he heard that the soldiers were bullying the hunters.
"Have some water, have some water." When the hunter saw that they were not talking, he hurriedly stepped forward to hand them water.
His eyes lit up, and he asked the hunter, "Would you still like to return to Luoping Village?"
The hunter hung his head upon hearing this: "Of course I want to, who would want to leave their home? But I really can't afford to offend those officials."
As he spoke, the hunter sat down on the ground, looking extremely sad and dejected.
Qi Guze and Pei Xuan exchanged a glance and decided to help the hunter return to Luoping Village.
Pei Xuan stepped forward and helped the hunter up: "It's alright. We haven't left Luoping Village yet anyway. Let's go back and help you get justice."
The hunter perked up instantly when he heard that they would help him get justice, but he quickly remembered being beaten last time and lost his spirit: "You? You still offended them for my sake. These days are tough, you'd better leave."
"Don't worry, Brother Hunter, we'll definitely get justice for you." Zhou Wan comforted the hunter when she saw that Qi Guze and the others wanted to help him get justice.
The hunter looked up at them and immediately stood up as well: "Thank you. I don't believe they can continue to be so arrogant and lawless."
Soon the group returned to the hunter's house, ate dinner that evening, and then rested.
The next day, they sat in the yard thinking about how to help the hunter.
"Why don't we go and teach those officers and soldiers a lesson?" Tie Xiong suggested.
Qi Guze frowned: "No, they'll probably bully us even more after we leave."
The discussion continued, and they ultimately agreed that they should observe the situation before making a decision.
“Then I’ll take the game to the market to sell tomorrow and see how those soldiers react,” Pei Xuan said, and everyone agreed.
But the hunter was a little worried: "They might steal your prey and beat you up."
"It's alright, brother, don't worry about me, I have my own way." After saying that, Pei Xuan went out with the hunter to hunt some game.
The next morning, Pei Xuan went to sell the prey as planned.
"Selling pheasants and rabbits, freshly hunted, some even alive!" Pei Xuan found a spot at the market and began hawking his wares.
He had just set everything up and shouted twice when the soldiers arrived.
A soldier stood arrogantly in front of his prey, shouting, "Give me the money, the stall fee."
Pei Xuan paused for a moment, then continued shouting about buying and selling his prey.
This enraged the soldiers, who immediately kicked over his prey: "You little brat, are you looking for death? I'm talking to you! Didn't you hear me?"
Pei Xuan glanced at the soldier, pondered for a moment, and then put on a merchant's obsequious smile: "Oh, sir, what's wrong with you?"
"What do you mean, 'What's wrong?' Hand over the money now, or I'll overturn your stall." The officers were still arrogant.
"I just arrived and I don't have any money yet. And sir, our laws don't stipulate that you have to pay for selling game, do they?" Pei Xuan played the victim and began to reason with the soldiers.
"Fine, you dare to use the law to pressure me? Let me tell you, on this street, I am the law." With that, he kicked over his stall and waved to the other soldiers.
"Guards, take him away from me, along with these prey of unknown origin." He waved his hand arrogantly.
...
The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, and the streets are bustling with people. All sorts of businesses are operating, making the whole street seem endless and incredibly lively.
Xu Yuehuai lay on the bed, looking out the window at the increasingly round moon, and thought of mooncakes. Eating mooncakes on the night of the full moon symbolizes family reunion and celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.
She felt a little sad thinking about this, but soon all she could think about was making mooncakes. She couldn't even wait until tomorrow, so she got up, put on her coat, and went to the small kitchen.
Red bean, black sesame, peanut... Xu Yuehuai thought for a moment and decided to make mooncakes of these three flavors first, and then prepare the fillings so that she could make them directly the next morning.
First, wash the red beans and soak them. Then, stir-fry the black sesame seeds and peanuts.
Under the moonlight, Xu Yuehuai happily hummed a song. She took a stool and sat down next to the stove, then lit fires on both sides.
Once the flames had stabilized, she set up two large pots, poured in black sesame seeds and peanuts respectively, and stirred and stir-fried them continuously until they became fragrant.
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