Everyone then remembered what happened that morning. Zhang Song looked embarrassed, as he had been eating as soon as he got back and had forgotten to mention it.
He put down his bowl, wiped his mouth, and said very seriously, "Our county magistrate is a good official. We were worried that he might not be willing to deal with this small matter, but we didn't expect him to hold a court hearing. Li was being unreasonable and even protected Qian Daniu in court, insulting our Lu family. The county magistrate gave her ten strokes of the cane, and Qian Daniu and the others were given twenty strokes. They were also imprisoned for a month as punishment. He also said that if there is a next time, regardless of whether they succeed or not, they will be exiled three thousand miles away."
The Lu family was quite satisfied with the ending, and they all said that the magistrate was good.
He Jiuniang remained silent, as it would be too hasty to draw conclusions now; whether that person was a good official or not still needed to be investigated.
Since it was within his jurisdiction, He Jiuniang still wanted to understand the person clearly to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.
After a long day, everyone ate, washed up, and went back to their thatched huts to sleep.
The puppy usually sleeps very well, but today it just stares wide-eyed and won't go to sleep.
"What's wrong?"
Not wanting to disturb others, He Jiuniang gently patted his little face.
"Mother..."
The dog suddenly pouted and snuggled into her arms, its voice trembling with tears.
"Mother is here, don't be afraid, little dog."
She thought the child was just adjusting to the new place and was too tired to vent his emotions last night, only recovering tonight.
The dog didn't say anything more for a while, then asked in a soft voice, "Will Daddy come back?"
He Jiuniang was stunned for a moment. Since she came, Gou'er had never asked about his father and had been happily sticking to her every day.
She even considered that perhaps the dog had never met its biological father since birth, so it didn't have much affection for him.
But now it seems that's not the case; she underestimated the intelligence of children.
He Jiuniang really didn't know if the man who had disappeared for three years was still alive.
He Jiuniang even selfishly wished that her cheap husband would never come back, so that she could raise the child alone.
If she comes back, she'll have to put in a lot of effort to deal with a man, which will be exhausting.
But when faced with the puppy, she didn't know how to answer for a moment.
The puppy asked again, "Will Daddy know we've come here? Will he find us?"
He knows a lot of things; although he is young, he is smarter than most children.
He knew they had come to a new place and would have a new home, but what about his father?
What if I go back to my old home and can't find them?
The thought of this made him so sad that he wanted to cry.
He Jiuniang gently hugged him, her voice as soft as water: "Father will come back. He hasn't seen the puppy yet, he will definitely come back."
Whether they actually know it or not, let's just keep bluffing for now.
"Really? Will he be able to find us?"
The dog raised its head and looked at He Jiuniang with a look of surprise.
He Jiuniang had a bit of a headache, but she still patiently tried to persuade him: "Of course we can find him, he's your father! Your father is so powerful, a great hero, how could we not find him?"
"Is Father a great hero?"
The dog's eyes lit up even more; he hadn't heard his mother mention his father yet!
"Of course! Your father works for a security escort agency, he knows martial arts, he's really good! Your mother admires him!"
"Wow!"
The puppy's voice grew louder and louder. Realizing what had happened, it quickly covered its mouth and asked in a low voice, "Then why hasn't he come back to find me yet?"
"Because he's doing something important! A great hero naturally has to do something important, and he'll come back to you when he's done!"
He Jiuniang fought off her sleepiness and deliberately exaggerated her words, making it sound like she greatly admired the man.
"So it's not that Daddy doesn't like dogs, right?"
Gou'er asked cautiously. Back in his hometown, he had heard some children say bad things about him, saying that he was born sickly and that's why his father didn't want him.
"Of course Daddy loves the dog! If Daddy knew how cute, smart, and lovable the dog is, he would be so happy!"
The puppy listened, and its smile grew wider and wider.
"Go to sleep obediently, get well soon and wait for Daddy to come back. Daddy will let you go out and play, okay?"
"Mmm, I'll go to sleep obediently!"
The little guy nodded emphatically, then closed his eyes contentedly in He Jiu Niang's arms.
Sun was lying next to the mother and son, and heard their conversation clearly. Thinking of her most beloved third son, she couldn't help but tear up.
They are all very happy here now. It would be great if the third child were here too.
I just don't know where he is now.
Sun turned over, forcing back her tears, not wanting to cry out loud and disturb the children's rest.
Meanwhile, in Nantai, a hundred thousand miles away from Anping Village, a man dressed in black was sitting on a rooftop drinking alone.
After some time, another person dressed in the same black outfit sat down beside him and asked with some confusion, "You lad, you've done a great service, why are you still so sullen? When I came here, His Highness specifically said that when you go back, he will definitely go to the Emperor to ask you to become a Grand General!"
The speaker was Qin Jian, who had just returned from Jinzhou City in the Northern Yan Kingdom that afternoon. The man drinking alone was Sun Qi, his brother who had shared life and death with him, and the one mentioned in the letter who had infiltrated the Southern Tai Crown Prince's residence alone and taken the Crown Prince's life.
"The outcome remains to be seen."
Sun Qi twitched the corners of his mouth, a bitter smile plastered on his handsome face. He stretched out his long legs, leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and looked at the starry sky, lost in thought.
"What's wrong with you? This sudden change is making me a little nervous!"
Qin Jian looked at him with great dissatisfaction. He hated him the most for being like this. He couldn't say what he wanted to say properly. Instead, he kept it all inside and then looked miserable. It was so annoying!
"It's nothing, I just miss home."
Sun Qi spoke softly, but Qin Jian reacted as if he had heard a joke: "Didn't you say you were the only one in your family?"
"Um."
He responded, but showed no intention of continuing.
Qin Jian was even more puzzled: "If that's the case, why are you thinking about home when you're all alone?"
Sun Qi refused to say anything more, and Qin Jian, too lazy to argue with him, snatched his wine and took a sip.
Wow, that's really spicy.
It seems this kid is really in a bad mood.
Just when Qin Jian thought Sun Qi wouldn't speak again, he heard him ask again after a while: "You passed through Changzhou this time, what was the situation there?"
"Changzhou? Tsk, that's no ordinary place!"
Qin Jian shook his head and took another sip of wine, unaware of the eager look in Sun Qi's eyes after hearing his words.
"We saw corpses all along the way, some who died of thirst and hunger, some who were killed by bandits, and even... the remains of many children left behind from cannibalism..."
Speaking of this, Qin Jian couldn't help but sigh again. The current emperor is incompetent. Even in this state, there are no concrete disaster relief measures, and he pushes everything onto Prince Chen.
Sun Qi clenched his fists silently and closed his eyes in pain.
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