"Sang Laosi, aren't you being too clever for your own good? If they really are that guy's accomplices, why would they need to bring six or seven kids to lull us into a false sense of security? Aren't they afraid of holding us back?"
"And another thing, you've been working in the yamen for several years now, haven't you? Although you can't immediately determine whether someone is good or evil just by looking at their face, you should be able to get a rough idea, right?" one of the officers asked helplessly.
"Forget about him, I'll go get some water. There are so many fish, let's grill half of them and make soup with the other half to warm ourselves up." The other person eagerly divided the tasks.
"In our line of work, it's good to be cautious, but being overly cautious isn't ideal. You always need to use your brain a little and analyze things. This fish wasn't delivered to us willingly; Shao Xiang went to ask them first if they had any extra ingredients."
"Tell me, if the other party heard what you just said, what would they think?" Cui Zhong, the leader of the four officers, whispered to his subordinate who was being criticized.
Sang Laosi now realized he had been too petty, nodded in acknowledgment of his mistake, and turned to look for tree branches.
Before long, Hong Xiaoduo was already drinking the fish soup from her bowl. She wanted to tell Tianxuan that next time the fish soup should be simmered longer to make it milky white. But then she thought that she didn't know anything about cooking, so she decided not to give any unsolicited advice.
And believe it or not, this is fish boiled in water with only one seasoning—salt—yet the soup is incredibly delicious, no worse than what I've had at restaurants before.
Hong Xiaoduo suddenly felt that the current days seemed quite comfortable.
However, it seems like winter will arrive tomorrow. It's not yet the time of year when it's freezing cold and we can still wander around. Otherwise, I should get a set of utensils for brewing tea around a stove.
After drinking tea a few times, I found it much tastier than plain water. Anyway, in this dynasty, we can buy goat milk and cow milk, so it would be good to make milk tea later.
She remembered seeing that kind of stove once in a grocery store, but it didn't have the modern stainless steel grill rack; she could figure out a way to make one herself.
She can't cook, but she can make milk tea.
Hong Xiaoduo was already full before the roasted buns, meat patties, and fish soup were even cooked.
Sitting on the stool, looking at the prison cart not far away, I was really curious about what crime the prisoner had committed that required four officers to escort him.
She watched as the officer handed roasted rations to the prisoners in the prison cart and gave them water.
But even though she was very curious, she didn't go over to inquire or watch. Being too curious isn't a good thing.
At this moment, Tianxuan said that the duck meat was ready to eat. She first served a bowl to Hong Xiaoduo, who picked up a piece to try. The taste was good, but she was full and couldn't eat it even if it was delicious.
One duck was enough for seven children. The duck meat was already stewed until very tender, so Hong Xiaoduo wasn't worried about the children getting indigestion from eating too much.
Seeing that Tianxuan was not in a hurry to eat the duck meat after it was cooked, she first found a jar and ladled out some of the duck soup, saying that she would use it to stew noodles the next morning.
Then there's Tian Shu. After each rest, he would pick out large pieces of unburnt charcoal from the charcoal fire, pour water on them to make sure they wouldn't catch fire, and then put them into a ceramic jar to keep for later use.
The charcoal I've been using on the road lately is the kind of charcoal I bought from the shop, which I haven't used yet.
They're all kids, but they're all so shrewd and good at managing money, making Hong Xiaoduo feel like she's a complete waste!
I wanted to tell the children that they didn't need to do that, but then I thought that the children would be thrifty, which is a good thing, so why should I interfere?
Hong Xiaoduo was about to get up and take a walk to digest her food when she saw that the prisoner and the guards seemed to be arguing. The prisoner was very agitated and was shaking the cage vigorously with both hands.
Then the officers surrounded them, each drawing their swords.
No one knew what the prisoner said, but several officers turned to look at Hong Xiaoduo.
What's going on? Hong Xiaoduo was confused by their stares when she saw the officer from before walking over.
Since it was the other party who came, Hong Xiaoduo didn't ask what was going on first, but sat there waiting for the other party to speak.
"Young lady, I'm sorry, but he said he wants to ask you for a favor, something like to pass on a message. He insisted I come and ask, otherwise he won't rest easy," Shao Xiang said, quite embarrassed.
"Oh, I see," Hong Xiaoduo understood. "What did he do wrong?" Now she could gossip legitimately.
"It's murder, there's plenty of witness testimony and physical evidence, and he's already confessed and signed the papers. But he's been causing trouble all the way here, repeatedly begging passersby to pass on messages for him. Doesn't he realize who would agree to that?" Officer Shao Xiang explained simply, looking quite troubled.
"So where are you going to take him to be detained?" Hong Xiaoduo asked again.
"I will be exiled to the Fifth Pass," Shao Xiang replied immediately.
Military service? Hong Xiaoduo had heard this term in TV dramas before, but she didn't know the specific rules and procedures.
"Young lady, I know this is very impolite, but it's alright if you don't go. Anyway, he saw that I delivered the message, and seeing that it still didn't work, he'll calm down after making a fuss for a while," Shao Xiang said apologetically.
He never expected Hong Xiaoduo to agree to meet that person. Countless times along the way, regardless of whether the other person was male or female or how old they were, they would shake their heads and walk away in a hurry to avoid them.
"In that case, I'll go over and see what message he wants to deliver. Please stay here with my child, officer." With that, Hong Xiaoduo walked towards the prison cart.
The three officers and the person in the prison cart all looked incredulous, never expecting that she would actually come.
The head of the prison, Cui Zhong, tapped the bars of the prison cart with the hilt of his knife and whispered a reminder: "She's just a young woman. It's already quite difficult for her to come and listen to you. Watch your tone and don't frighten her."
"Hmm," the person in the prison van replied in a somewhat hoarse voice.
The three officers were even more surprised to hear that he had agreed.
When Hong Xiaoduo arrived at the front and back of the prison cart, the three officers nodded to her as a greeting.
"What do you want me to do?" Hong Xiaoduo asked directly. Even at such close range, she still couldn't see the other person's face because the other person's loose hair covered the entire face.
The person inside the prison van used his shackled hands to painstakingly brush the hair covering his forehead to the sides, revealing a dirty, blood-stained face.
His lips were cracked and dry, with blisters at the corners of his mouth, and his eyebrows and eyes were covered in scabs. He looked at Hong Xiaoduo with difficulty.
He opened his mouth several times, but couldn't make a sound because he was too excited.
"Don't rush, take a few deep breaths with me." Hong Xiaoduo didn't know why, but she gently guided the other person to take a few deep breaths.
"My surname is Nie, and my given name is Qing. Young lady, don't be afraid. I didn't kill anyone, I'm not a murderer. I was just framed by my relatives. They threatened me with the lives of my mother and younger sister, saying that as long as I confess, they would let them go."
However, I am worried. Could you please go to my house and check on them to see how they are doing and whether they are still alive?
"I'm kneeling before you, young lady, please help me!" After saying this, Nie Qing knelt down before Hong Xiaoduo in the prison cart...
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