The beloved baby has a space

The fact that someone silenced the only witness in the prison indicates two things: first, the government office is unsafe and there's an inside man; second, this matter is not as simple as they thought—the fact that the perpetrator was so afraid of leaving a witness alive that they even killed their own people suggests that the witness may have revealed some fatal information.

“The prisoner was arrested a month ago. We didn’t get anything out of him during the interrogation. He’s just an ordinary robber, not a leader. He’ll probably be locked up for three to five years at most,” Wang Qilang said. “I specifically inquired about him. He seems to be a local from Lingkong City. Because he never studied hard, his family kicked him out when he was a child.”

Little Ayu grasped the key point: "This is the flaw!"

"How so?" Wang Wulang asked.

“Think about it, didn’t Grandma say she would kick you out before? But when did she ever actually do it?” Ayu was very qualified to speak on this point. “And it was when we were little. If you kick a little kid out, he’ll either be eaten by wild animals or kidnapped by human traffickers. How can he grow up then?”

She spoke very naturally and logically, without noticing the subtle differences in the expressions of the people present.

Although they were young, they were already sensible and knew how their younger sister came to be.

Isn't that because I was kicked out when I was a child and they picked me up?

“Ahem—such things do happen.” Wang Wulang had only said one sentence when Wang Sanlang glared at him, so he changed his words and said, “Alright, that is indeed a flaw. So that person must have borrowed an identity. It’s very likely that he replaced the person who was kicked out and then infiltrated Lingkong City to become an inside man.”

Ayu always felt that things weren't that simple, but she hadn't encountered that many upsetting things. The cases she had encountered during her years of studying abroad were also very simple, basically requiring no brainpower from them.

But this is different; it involves their safety.

"Brother Ayou, I just have a feeling this matter is going to be very troublesome. Let's not stay at the government office for now." Ayu felt uneasy thinking about the young lady who had fallen into the water earlier.

She disliked places filled with deceit and treachery.

“That’s right. I’ll go out and find an inn. When I entered the city, I saw several inns that looked pretty good.” Wang Wulang patted his belt. “There’s still some money left over from what Grandma gave us. It’s enough for each of us to get a room and stay comfortably.”

None of them were the type to drag things out; they packed their things immediately before leaving. Wang Sanlang, as the eldest brother, went to say goodbye to Prefect Liu.

Prefect Liu was in a state of panic and didn't have time to greet them. He was received by a prefect who didn't know them before and let them go on the spot.

That evening, the prefect's wife subtly recounted the day's events to the prefect, adding, "My niece Yuan Yuan from my maternal family acted this way and that, and I feel sorry for Qiao'er, but my husband is currently undergoing performance evaluations, and we can't afford to be careless. Fortunately, the guests you invited home helped, otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble it would have caused. Luckily, Yuan Yuan realized she had made a big fuss and went home today. Husband, I'd like to host a banquet tomorrow to properly thank them. What do you think?"

Just as Prefect Liu was about to agree, a steward came to the door and said, "Sir, the guests left something here before they left. Should we send it over?"

"What guest?" Prefect Liu was momentarily confused.

"Those guests you invited home have already left today, saying that you had already agreed to it—didn't you know?"

Prefect Liu slapped his forehead: "This is bad!"

The prefect's wife hurriedly asked, "Husband, what's wrong? Also, why are the guests leaving when they're perfectly fine? I didn't hear a word from them."

They summoned the people and asked them questions, only to find out that they were people released by the prefect. The prefect himself did not know the identities of these people, and even Prefect Liu was not very clear about them.

All he knew was that these people were coming because his prospective in-laws, Prefect Wei, had given him instructions to treat them well.

Now look what's happened! He was busy investigating the case and trying to subdue those villains, but someone neglected to send off the distinguished guest.

What is this!

If it affects his performance evaluation, he is already at a significant disadvantage compared to his in-laws. If things go wrong, who knows how he will handle the situation?

Prefect Liu hurriedly left, arranging for several of his trusted men to disguise themselves as ordinary citizens and investigate the inn where Ayu and the others were staying. Thinking that these people didn't want to stay at the prefectural government office, he secretly sent men to protect them, to prevent the assassins from returning.

Unexpectedly, after searching for a long time, a group of constables still couldn't find them.

We searched all the nearby restaurants, inns, guesthouses, and cottages, but there was no news of them checking in.

"Could it be that they've gone back to the prefectural city?" Prefect Liu was terrified. From Lingkong City to the prefectural city, it would take two days by carriage if they traveled slowly. Without an escort, he was afraid they would encounter another assassination attempt.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, so he simply sent people to rush towards the prefectural city, determined to get these people there safely no matter what.

If something happens to them, he'll be in big trouble!
Unbeknownst to them, on an inconspicuous street in Lingkong City, a courtyard closed its gates as usual.

The neighbor across the street noticed the newly replaced lock on the door and muttered to himself after returning home, "It seems like the family across the street has moved back in. I only heard that the house was sold before, and the owners hadn't come to live there for years. I thought no one wanted it anymore."

"I guess it's some rich family. They bought the yard just in case they need to move in sometime, so they leave it there," the man's wife casually replied.

The group they were discussing at that moment was, of course, Ayu and her friends.

They had originally planned to stay at an inn, but Qin Huai said, "Let's go to my courtyard."

Only then did they realize that Qin Huai also owned a house in Lingkong City.

Why "also"? Because they passed through dozens of cities, large and small, and in most of these cities, Qin Huai had bought houses, but some were large and some were small, and they were not very uniform.

The only similarity is that each house has a small pond with fish, and there's a swing set standing on the grassy area next to it.

It looks very similar to the house the Wang family owns in Nanhe Town.

Qin Huai used most of the money he extorted from Empress Qin to buy these courtyards.

“Brother Ayou, this courtyard is lovely! Look, there are grapevines over there, just like the courtyard in our city.” Ayu wasn’t picky about the environment, and seeing the lush green grape trellis made her happy.

She loved eating grapes. In the courtyard of Nanhe Town, and now in Hujia Village, grapes were planted everywhere, and they tasted very sweet.

Seeing grapes always brightens my mood.

She sat on the swing, and Qin Huai automatically came behind her and helped her push the swing.

Ayu laughed with delight.

Seeing this from a distance, Wang Sanlang couldn't help but laugh along; Ayu's laughter was so infectious.

But the laughter didn't last long. Suddenly, a person appeared on the wall. He skillfully climbed over the wall and jumped down, sitting cross-legged in front of a tree.

Suddenly, the man felt something was wrong, opened his eyes again, and met the eyes of Ayu and the others.

He stared in surprise, his internal energy, which he had been regulating, became disordered, and the uncontrollable true energy surged wildly within his body. He coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

Wang Wulang exclaimed, "No way! It's going to turn into a haunted house right after we moved in?! Qin Huai, what kind of luck is this? It's so unlucky!"