My whole family time-traveled! I became a god during my exile in a famine.

Chapter 22: Stealing chicken but losing rice
“You couldn’t possibly have missed it.” The bearded man looked at them with a suspicious expression.

Having seen Xie Ninglan and her daughter leave the group, he immediately sent Gouzi to ask for money. He figured the Xie family must have provided them with plenty of travel expenses for protection, and with Gouzi's skills, he could surely squeeze some money out of them.

But to everyone's surprise, the dog disappeared without a trace, as if it had vanished into thin air.

"He clearly went looking for you two, how could you not have seen him? You're definitely lying. Tell me, where did Gouzi go?"

Where are you going? Go to heaven and find your grandpa to hug your grandma's legs!

A hint of impatience flashed across Xin Nian's eyes.

Why are these people so annoying? She's been so well-behaved, not causing any trouble the whole way, why are they still picking on her? Let's just kill them all and be done with it.

Xie Ninglan, being close to her daughter, could best sense her daughter's emotional changes.

Seeing her body tense up inch by inch, and her fingers moving slowly, he immediately felt a jolt of fear and thought to himself that something was wrong.

If the guards were all killed in front of everyone, it would be no different from treason...

They've only been away from the capital for a day. If the dog emperor finds out about this, he'll definitely mobilize the guards of the capital region to wipe out these traitors in no time.

It wouldn't be a problem for the whole family to run away, but that would drag down the local residents of Xinfu.

That family, young and old, hasn't broken any laws, so there's no need to drag them into this mess.

Xie Ninglan quickly grabbed her daughter's hand, pondering how to resolve the matter, when Liang Guang, along with the old escort Xiao Jia and several others, walked over, his face stern, and said angrily, "What are you making trouble for now? You're always so tired from traveling, but you're full of energy when it comes to causing trouble."

He waved his hand and pointed at the people who were halfway around him, "Looks like you're not tired yet. Walk another five miles tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, the convicts immediately began to complain, each offering their own explanation: "Sir, it's not that we're causing trouble here."

"Yes, yes, sir, it was the Xin family who had a conflict with the escort officer. This matter has nothing to do with us..."

Liang Guang frowned and glared at Xin Wenyuan and the others. "What happened? You tell me."

"My lord, my lord!" Xin Wen'an hurriedly squeezed forward, bowing repeatedly as he explained, "Women are often ignorant; when things happen, they only cry and can't explain themselves. Actually, it's like this..."

Xin Wenyuan glanced at the third brother who interrupted him. This guy was usually so talkative that it was annoying, but today he was acting like a proper third uncle.

He explained the whole story to Liang Guang, who understood. He relaxed his brows and looked at the furious-looking man with the thick beard. "Why did you send Gouzi to find her and her daughter?"

One sentence hit the nail on the head, and the man with the beard stammered and couldn't answer.

Could he say that he sent his dog to find Xie Ninglan and her daughter, openly demanding benefits? Of course not.

Seeing his dog-like behavior, how could Liang Guang not understand the reason behind it?
I was just wondering what to do with my beard when I stumbled upon this opportunity.

Liang Guang sneered with a smirk, putting on an air of righteous indignation, and criticized with a serious expression, "Old Mao, you're not a newcomer anymore. You know all the rules perfectly well without me having to explain them."

"Even though they are all exiled prisoners now, we still have to abide by the rules. We should also keep a certain distance from female exiled prisoners, so that everyone can be at peace."

"We're not far from Beijing yet, so don't try to cause any trouble. Don't forget that I still have all your performance reviews in my hands. It's obvious who did well and who didn't! I'll be reporting them all after we get back to Beijing."

Mao Hu Zi gritted his teeth, seething with hatred.

Damn it, you think you're all doing this because you've taken bribes? You've pocketed so much money from the Minister's mansion that your hands are sore, but you don't even bother to share a little with your subordinates.

If he had gotten his share of the money, would he have secretly sent people to ask that mother and daughter for it? His yellow teeth were grinding together, but he still had to put on a show of bowing and scraping.

"Yes, what Liang Tou said is true. I will definitely manage my men better in the future. But what do you think about Gouzi? People can't just disappear into thin air, can they?"

Liang Guang glanced sideways at Xie Ninglan and her son, noticing that apart from mud and dust, there wasn't a trace of blood on their prison clothes. He couldn't help but sneer, "Old Mao, you don't think those two killed and buried your brother, do you?"

Isn't this ridiculous? Two defenseless noblewomen, how could they possibly have this ability? Wouldn't they be out of their depths?
"Alright, alright, enough nonsense. That guy likes to drink a little. I wonder if he got drunk and fell into some pit and can't climb out. You all go and search the outer perimeter again." Liang Guang waved his hand and led his men away.

"Everyone, hurry up and get some sleep. We'll set off at 3 AM tomorrow."

"Liangtou, Liangtou." Bearded man followed along unwillingly, gesturing wildly, "Dogzi might really be in trouble."

"What could possibly happen to a drunkard? Have you searched both upstream and downstream? Is there any blood on the ground?"

"People from both upstream and downstream have been sent to search, but there is no blood."

"Hey." Liang Guang couldn't help but sneer, "There's no blood on the surface and you're already suspecting someone? Does this dog think it can turn into a kite and be flown away?"

Old Zhang, the escort, followed behind them and couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

As the farce came to an end, Xin Nian's medicine was also ready.

After it cooled down a bit, Xin Wenyuan hurriedly poured the medicine down his eldest son's throat.

Xin Wen'an came over and took a look. "I've never heard that Sixth Sister can treat illnesses and brew medicine."

"There are plenty of things you haven't heard of. My daughter is usually very low-key." Xin Wenyuan snorted and used a burlap sack to wipe the medicine that had spilled from his eldest son's lips.

The elderly father held his eldest son's hand and kept saying, "Son, you have to get better soon. Your mother and your sister are waiting for you."

Xin Wen'an curled his lips, "She's been treated with the best soup and medicine in the manor for three days and still hasn't woken up. Do you think your young lady can have a miracle after just one bowl of medicine?"

Xin Wenyuan glanced at him and said irritably, "You just have a way of talking nonsense. You're so rude and annoying!"

"Me!" Xin Wen'an exclaimed angrily, "Am I not telling the truth?"

Xin Wenyuan took out half a hard, brown rice cake from his pocket and shoved it directly into his third brother's mouth. "Eat it, and shut up."

He wouldn't have bothered with this person if it weren't for the fact that he could help his family in a critical moment.

Xin Wen'an took the pancake out of his mouth and looked at Lao Si with a puzzled expression. "Why did you give me this?"

"I saw you haven't eaten enough these past few days, so I kindly shared half with you. Don't pay me back."

"Pah! I'm giving it all back to you. Aren't you disgusted? Who the hell are you to talk to me?"

*
Under the banyan tree upstream, a figure was stretched long and slanted by the moonlight.

The gentle moonlight fell on the plain sleeves, as if they were filled with watery light and shadow, shining brightly.

Zhu Yan knelt before this person with her head bowed, not daring to raise her head even slightly, only able to hear the pounding of her heart like a drum.

It was so scary, so scary, he didn't dare ask any more questions.

If his master hadn't suddenly appeared beside him, he would have been discovered by that murderous little girl!
(End of this chapter)