Xiao Yunhai rubbed his brow. He had finally managed to drive out most of the refugees who had flooded into the city, but a large portion of them had scattered and couldn’t be found.
’My n have been pursuing them down the main road for so long. Why hasn’t any news co back yet?’
"Your Excellency, the commoners who reported the miracle have been brought here."
Xiao Yunhai imdiately sat up straight. ’If there really was a miracle, this might be a golden opportunity for .’
"Bring them in!"
"Yes, sir!"
Looking at the two trembling figures kneeling before him, Xiao Yunhai’s expression turned stern. "So you’re the ones who wanted to see ? Where is this so-called miracle you spoke of? If you have deceived in any way, you should know the consequences, shouldn’t you?"
The barrage of questions made He Tuliang and Lan Yun, kneeling in the hall, want to prostrate themselves completely. They didn’t even dare to lift their heads.
Xiao Yunhai didn’t have ti to waste on them. He grabbed the gavel from the bench and slamd it down hard. "I’m asking you a question! Hurry up and tell the truth."
Lan Yun mustered his courage and gave an embellished account of everything he had seen and heard on their journey. He didn’t forget to add at the end, "Your Excellency, every word I’ve said is the truth. The containers gifted by the heavens are still on their oxcart. If Your Excellency sends soone to retrieve them, you’ll know that I am not lying."
He Tuliang also found his courage. "Yes, Your Excellency. Our entire group of several hundred people survived the journey here because of that water. Not only were the containers sothing we’d never seen or heard of, but the water inside was completely free of impurities and even had a sweet taste."
Xiao Yunhai snorted. "And why would the heavens be so kind to your group alone? Gifting only you with drinking water? This isn’t so stunt you’ve pulled just to get attention, is it?"
He Tuliang replied, "Your Excellency, we’re just ordinary country folk. We couldn’t possibly conjure so much water out of thin air. Even the containers themselves were unlike anything we’d ever seen before. I truly dare not hide a single thing. Unfortunately, for so unknown reason, all the containers vanished in an instant last night."
"Vanished?" Xiao Yunhai turned his head and stared at Lan Yun. "That’s not what you said."
Lan Yun panicked. "Impossible! They were there yesterday during the day. I saw them with my own eyes."
’Yesterday, when my father went to fight alongside Li Chuntong, I took advantage of the chaos to sneak into their group. The items were still tied securely to the oxcart back then.’
"Didn’t your precious brother-in-law tell you? The items vanished into thin air without a sound," He Tuliang said with conviction.
"So you’ve wasted half my day here with a story you can’t even prove?" Xiao Yunhai stood up, flicking his sleeves in anger. "n! Give them both twenty strokes of the board and throw them out of the city."
"..."
"Your Excellency, I’m telling the truth! If you don’t believe , you can go outside and ask around. Many people know about it!" He Tuliang was frantic. ’This isn’t how the stories go. Aren’t people who present treasures or offer strategies supposed to be rewarded? Why am I about to be beaten?’
Lan Yun said, "Your Excellency, we really didn’t lie. Because of my sister, our family even received several bamboo tubes of the water. I still have half a tube right here. If you don’t believe , try it. This water is completely different from any other."
A governnt official at the side took the bamboo tube from him and respectfully placed it before Xiao Yunhai.
After pouring half a bowl of water, Xiao Yunhai lifted it and sniffed it carefully before slamming the bowl back down on the desk. "Take them away."
"Your Excellency, should we still administer the beating?"
Xiao Yunhai replied, "Water of this quality can be found in any mountain spring. These people are always looking for shortcuts. Take them away and beat them!"
"..." He Tuliang and Lan Yun wanted to cry out about the injustice, but their mouths were muffled. They could only be dragged away in despair.
Xiao Yunhai, still seated in the main hall, tapped the desk. He quickly summoned his confidant, whispered a few instructions, and after the man left, he also stood up and walked toward the back hall with his hands behind his back.
As the rooster crowed outside, Jin Qianqian opened her hazy eyes and was t instantly by a pair of deep, mysterious ones.
"Morning!" Ancient Wen Heng said, propping his head up with one hand and staring at her without blinking.
Jin Qianqian turned her head awkwardly to look outside. Faint light was seeping in through the cracks in the window and door. "It doesn’t seem to be completely light out yet. Do you know what hour it is?"
Ancient Wen Heng replied, "It should be the Hour of the Tiger. I can already hear noises from the kitchen."
"So early?" Jin Qianqian squinted. "I haven’t slept this well in a long ti. I really don’t want to get up."
Seeing her languid expression, Ancient Wen Heng’s heart softened. "If you want to sleep, then sleep a little longer. I’ll wake you up later."
Jin Qianqian buried her head in the belly of the small bear she had taken out last night. "Ah! I’m already awake, so I might as well get up. I need to put this thing away. If soone sees it later, it’ll be hard to explain."
Ancient Wen Heng couldn’t resist any longer. He cupped her face and planted a kiss on her right cheek, startling Jin Qianqian into stillness.
"It seems a little unbalanced," Ancient Wen Heng murmured, then left another kiss on her left cheek before his gaze settled on her slightly pouting, cherry-like lips.
Jin Qianqian snapped to her senses and quickly covered her mouth with both hands. "I haven’t brushed my teeth."
Ancient Wen Heng was amused. "I don’t mind."
Jin Qianqian shook her head quickly. "But I mind."
Ancient Wen Heng imdiately put on a hurt expression. "So you mind ... Why don’t you give it a try? See if it’s really that bad?"
Watching his face get closer and closer, Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but push him away with one hand, then quickly rolled over to hide in a corner of the heated brick bed.
Hearing the sounds from outside, Ancient Wen Heng gave up on his teasing. He sat on the edge of the brick bed and put on his cloth shoes. "Hurry and pack all this up. It’s ti for us to leave."
Only after seeing him get off the bed did Jin Qianqian cautiously crawl over and put away everything she had taken out yesterday.
Seeing the young couple slide open the door and co out, Granny Zhu stopped what she was doing. "Did I wake you two?"
Jin Qianqian quickly shook her head. "It was ti for us to get up anyway. We’re so sorry for troubling you yesterday."
"Nonsense, it was no trouble at all. Go over there and wash up. I’ve made so congee. You should eat before you leave."
Jin Qianqian and Ancient Wen Heng both waved their hands in refusal. "No, it’s alright. We should leave now while there’s no one around."
They had agreed yesterday not to cause any trouble for their hosts. Regardless of whether the Prefecture City’s investigation would lead here, they shouldn’t linger.
Granny Zhu didn’t say anything more and silently helped them open the courtyard gate. "Those two boys were exhausted from working on the mountain all day yesterday, so they won’t be up this early. And my old man, he tossed and turned for most of the night and only just fell asleep at dawn."
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