The reason for this certainty lies in understanding Liang Laifu's character. He wasn't without feelings for Xiao Qiao'er, but he was more afraid of his domineering wife. His audacity in challenging Li Jianghai was also based on his wife's influence.
"I'm just that sure, hehe, alright, let's just wait and see!"
Tao Wanniang wouldn't explain much to them; she was just a village woman fleeing from war.
The next day, Tao Wanniang woke up naturally. Since she couldn't go to her stall anyway, she didn't need to get up early to prepare.
After waking up, I leisurely ate breakfast, watered the vegetables I planted, fed the chicks and ducklings some millet, and then lay down in a relaxed position. There's no rushing things.
"Are you really leaving? We've only been here for a little over half a month!" Zhou Xiaoyun said unhappily in Ling Dapeng's room.
"There's nothing I can do. You really didn't see what our wonton shop was like yesterday." Ling Dapeng was also reluctant to leave. Life had been going so well, and now that he suddenly had so much free time, he felt a little uneasy.
Er Gou on the bed was babbling and making noises; the child was growing up in the most visible way.
Zhou Xiaoyun was very unhappy to see that her son had grown up a lot since he was in Lingjia Village. Just when she thought things were looking up and looking forward to the future, things were about to change again.
“Little Qiao’er, Little Qiao’er, I knew Mother was too biased, always putting Little Qiao’er first. If any of us had caused such a big mess, she would have definitely kicked us out.”
Listening to his wife's nagging, Ling Dapeng pretended not to hear it. After all, in this family, his mother was in charge.
Liang Laifu didn't come that day, but Tao Wanniang didn't mind. After dinner, the Ling brothers couldn't sit still and talked with Tao Wanniang in the front hall.
"Mom, we can't set up a stall here, and no one's coming from over there. What are we going to do?" Ling Dahu said with a worried face. "We make so much money every day!"
"Ten coins, do you want me to give them to you now?" Tao Wanniang mocked, "What an impatient young man."
"Bang bang bang, bang bang bang!" There was another loud knocking on the door. The Ling brothers were delighted, thinking that Liang Laifu had come.
"Don't think about it. The knocking is so urgent, it can't be Liang Laifu. I bet he's about to kick the door down!" Tao Wanniang sat calmly, but as soon as she finished speaking, the door crashed down with a loud bang.
A group of soldiers stormed in; it was Li Jianghai's men again. They began a thorough search of every room.
The Ling brothers were the first to run out when they heard the noise, but they chickened out when they saw the soldiers.
"Lord Li, what are you doing now? You gave me quite a fright. I'm getting old and can't take a scare anymore," Tao Wanniang said, patting her chest.
Li Jianghai ignored Tao Wanniang and simply ordered his men to search carefully.
The most effective way to achieve results is to take someone by surprise. Is there anyone hiding inside? They deliberately barged in without warning, just to catch someone off guard!
"Reporting to your Excellency, there is no suspicious person in the front yard." The search by the men shocked both of the wives, and the little grandson was so frightened that he cried loudly.
"Then go to the backyard and call Bai Yumei over!" Li Jianghai said with a stern face. After thinking it over, he realized that the problem lay with Bai Yumei. Under the veil, it was unclear whether she was a man or a woman, wasn't it?
"Lord Li, it's already dark, yet you're still working so hard!" Bai Yumei asked curiously as she approached Li Jianghai.
"You say you're Bai Yumei, do you dare to take off your mask?" Li Jianghai looked Bai Yumei up and down. "As far as I know, Bai Yumei has been missing for over a year."
"Uncle Li, it's me, Yu Mei. Can't you even recognize my voice?" Bai Yu Mei said sadly, hearing Li Jiang Hai's doubt. "I've suffered terribly. I have nightmares whenever I see my face. Uncle Li, do you really want to see it?"
"Uncover it!" Li Jianghai remained unmoved.
"Turn your faces away!" Tao Wanniang said to the Ling family. Bai Yumei's face was injured, and she was already bothered by it. She must be very upset that Li Jianghai forced her to take off her veil.
Upon hearing this, the Ling family members obediently turned around.
But judging from Li Jianghai and his group of soldiers, they were clearly waiting to see Bai Yumei's true colors.
When the veil was removed, Bai Yumei's scarred half-face was revealed. Seeing her self-deprecating expression, Tao Wanniang felt a little sad. Bai Yumei was really going all out to stop Li Jianghai!
Li Jianghai's eyes twitched slightly. Bai Yumei's half-face was truly terrifying, especially when illuminated by torches at night.
"Could the ghost emanating from this house be you?" Li Jianghai asked in a flash of inspiration.
Bai Yumei put her veil back on and said slowly, "Yes, it was me. I had nowhere to go, so I came back to this house. The Huang family is gone, but I know this house very well. I hid here and there, and when no one was around, I would come out to find food. I was seen by others a few times. When people saw my face, they thought they had seen a ghost!"
Li Jianghai fell silent for a moment. The things that happened to Bai Yumei were indeed somewhat unbelievable, but when he saw her face, he felt that it made sense.
The people who searched the backyard returned, but they found no one suspicious.
"Lord Li, I just don't understand. There are plenty of people who come to my shop to eat wontons every day, so why are you targeting my family?"
Tao Wanniang complained, "Now look what's happened! Our shop has been smashed, and our family has no means of livelihood. They're forcing us to leave!"
Li Jianghai was well aware of the prefect's daughter's actions, and he calmly asked, "Are you leaving?"
"Doesn't Lord Li know? Alas, even Lord Liang has come to persuade us to leave. We just don't understand why the government can't tolerate ordinary people like us?" Tao Wanniang sighed heavily. "In this vast world, where can our family find refuge?"
"If Sister Tao leaves, I'll leave too. I don't even know where Master Huang has gone. I might not find a household head as good as Sister Tao next time!"
Bai Yumei chimed in, "Sister Tao, I'll go with you!"
"Sister Yumei, we're all pitiful people. If you don't mind our Ling family's decline, then come and live with us. It's a pity I have to pay half a year's rent for this place!"
Li Jianghai remained unmoved by Tao Wanniang and Bai Yumei's singing.
"I naturally believe you don't have the guts to harbor an assassin, but villains are cunning and treacherous. The government's thorough search is also to protect the safety of the people. Since we haven't found anything, I'll take my men and leave."
Li Jianghai spoke in a grand and dignified manner, then withdrew and left in one swift and decisive step, which was indeed clean and efficient.
It was that collapsed door that made it impossible to erase everything the government had done.
"Alright, everyone, go ahead and check on how to fix this door. Tonight, we're afraid a thief might break in!"
Tao Wanniang spoke to her two sons, comforted the frightened children, and finally went back to the backyard with Bai Yumei.
"Sister Tao, we can't let our guard down yet. If Li Jianghai can't catch the person, he'll still find a way to keep bothering us," Bai Yumei reminded her.
"So, it all depends on whether Liang Laifu can persuade his new wife!" Tao Wanniang said calmly. The couple together should be able to keep Li Jianghai in check!
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