At the beginning, I saved a little mute

Cheng Shu hurriedly asked him to get up.

The old servant looked at Jiang Zao with tears in his eyes.

"Thank you Miss Jiang for letting my young lady return home safely."

As he said this, he was about to kowtow to Jiang Zao.

Jiang Zao leaned aside to receive the greeting.

With Jiang Zao's consent, the old servant stood at the other end of the room and talked in a low voice with Cheng Shu.

The voice was very low, and Jiang Zao had no intention of prying into other people's privacy.

But she was worried about Cheng Shu, a young girl, so she asked Huai Jian and Mo Bai to go out and wait while she and Dong Xue waited at the other end of the room.

The sound was faint and not clear.

There was only the sound of Cheng Shu's sobbing and the old servant's comforting voice.

Not long after, the old servant came to Jiang Zao.

Kneel on the ground.

"Ms. Jiang, Huang Zhong appreciates your kindness. Please take good care of my daughter in the future."

He banged his head on the ground with a loud bang.

Then he took Jiang Zao to Cheng Hua's home.

Cheng Hua's home is at the east end of the town, and it can be seen that he is a wealthy family in the local area.

Behind the high gate and courtyard wall is a screen with the word "Fu" written on it.

Turning around, you will arrive at the front yard.

After entering the yard, Jiang Zao saw that the yard had been carefully cleaned.

The yard is very big, but it seems a bit lonely because there are few people living there.

After the front yard is the main house.

Huang Zhong did not lead them to the main house, but went around it and came to the backyard.

There is a pond and two rockery in the backyard.

There is a small hole under the rockery for people to pass through.

Huang Zhong plunged in.

Cheng Shu followed behind.

Jiang Zao did not move forward, but stood at the entrance of the cave, hesitating.

Huang Zhong waited for a while and knew Jiang Zao's concerns.

He came out and said, "Miss Jiang, you can wait outside. Let the guard take the young master's seal and go down with me."

Huaijian and Jinbao volunteered to follow.

And left Huai Tie and Mo Bai Dongxue with Jiang Zao to protect her.

Jiang Zao gave the seal to Huai Jian.

She waited up there.

The scenery up there is beautiful, just desolate.

After all, Huang Zhong is old and powerless, and the best he can do is clean up.

After waiting for half a quarter of an hour, Huai Jian and the others still hadn't come up.

Instead, Jin Yi came running quickly from the gate.

"Miss, there's a knock on the door."

Jin Yi arrived in front of Jiang Zao and panted, "There are a lot of people outside the door."

"Tell the owner of this place to leave immediately. From the sound of this person, he is not a good person."

Jiang Zao frowned, "Go down and call Huang Zhong up to see what's going on?"

Huang Zhong came up quickly.

However, he did not go out immediately. Instead, he looked angry and his whole body was shaking.

"Ms. Jiang, these people are blood-sucking worms. This is not the first time they have come here."

"what happened?"

Jiang Zao gestured for him to speak slowly.

Huang Zhong was very upset.

"Since the young master left home, I have been guarding the family business at home. But a few months ago, it was said that the third prince of the dynasty was sent by the emperor to repair the dam. The county magistrate and the mayor advertised everywhere every day, asking the villagers to contribute money and labor. I am too old to contribute, and at first I thought it would be good to contribute money to prevent the flood from washing away all the things in the house. But these officials are not satisfied. They go from street to street all day, conscripting able-bodied men. If they can't pay, they can only do hard labor.

The people were suffering terribly.

Everyone had to leave their hometown and live somewhere else.

But I can't leave. I have to take care of this inheritance that my master has accumulated with great difficulty. So these officials come to ask for money every now and then. How can I get the money?"

His clothes were washed white and had many patches.

"They come to the mansion to take some things away when they have nothing to do, saying that they are paying off their debts with goods."

"Ugh......"

Huang Zhong shed bitter tears and couldn't help but burst into tears.

"But the Cheng family has no debts. It's still the government that has the final say."

Jiang Zao let out an almost inaudible sigh. There are corrupt officials in every government office.

She didn't believe that the third prince would plunder the people's money to build a dam.

If the emperor knew about this, he would probably be the first person to escape punishment.

No matter how foolish and ignorant the emperor is.

Many people in the court only consider their own interests.

Standing on the side of other princes, he wished that the emperor had only one son.

Neither the Crown Prince's Party nor the Seven Princes' Party headed by Concubine Shun wanted the Third Prince to perform outstandingly and be appreciated by the Emperor.

The third prince has been in the limelight recently, and many people want to make a big fuss about him.

This time, the government plundered in the name of the third prince building a dam. I wonder who was behind it?

Jiang Zao was thinking about these things and did not notice Cheng Shu who followed Huang Zhong out.

When he heard the third prince's voice, a calculating look appeared in his eyes.

Jiang Zao said, "Don't worry about the people outside for now. They will disperse if they can't find anyone."

Huang Zhong also said, "I will listen to Miss Jiang."

At this time, Huai Jian, who had followed down just now, whispered in Dong Xue's ear what he saw and heard below.

Dongxue turned around and passed the words to Jiang Zao.

Jiang Zao called Cheng Shu and Huang Zhong to his side.

"Miss Cheng, old man, before Cheng Hua left, he hoped that I would change Miss Cheng's name and surname and live under a different identity from now on, but I think we need to consider Miss Cheng's own opinion."

She stared at Cheng Shu gently.

"In the future, Miss Cheng, do you want to follow me to the southern border, or do you have other plans?"

Cheng Shu is not a child. Although she is young, she has her home here, and there are old servants and perhaps other relatives at home.

Cheng Shu's future should not be decided so early.

She planned to give Cheng Shu a chance to make her own choice.

"Can I choose?"

Unexpectedly, Cheng Shu broke her silence and spoke out, and it was obvious that she was also surprised.

"Although Cheng Hua and I have a deal, you will be a person from now on and have your own ideas. Moreover, you are the master of the Cheng family. The path I choose for you may not be suitable for you, so I naturally want to hear your thoughts."

Jiang Zao finished speaking, Cheng Shu stood there, and Huang Zhong seemed to be more anxious than her.

"Miss Jiang, whatever my young master says is what it is."

"Old man, let's wait a little longer until Miss Cheng makes her own decision."

Jiang Zao said calmly.

The knocking sound outside the door cannot be heard here.

She has plenty of time to wait for Cheng Shu to make her own decision.

After a long time, Cheng Shu spoke, gritting her teeth.

"Can I keep part of the family fortune?"

Seeing that Jiang Zao didn't say anything, she hurriedly said.

"Ms. Jiang, please don't misunderstand me. I am very grateful that you saved me and brought me back home."

"But, but I will go to look for my brother in the future. If I don't have any gold and silver, I'm afraid it will be difficult to pay for the journey."

"Don't worry, Miss Jiang. I only need a little bit, enough for my own living for a short period of time. Once I find a way, I will make money and pay you back in the future."

Jiang Zao sighed and shook his head.

Cheng Shu was very disappointed and her eyes were sad.

"This, this is not possible?"

Jiang Zao coughed and said, "Miss Cheng, you misunderstood me. I don't want to take your property."

"But, you and my brother..."

Cheng Shu already knew about the deal between her brother and her.

"The situation was urgent at the time, so I could only take the seal and go save you first."

"As for the family property, I never intended to take it away."

"It's just that I will charge you for your living expenses and travel expenses along the way."

Jiang Zao spread his hands.

"Of course, of course, of course, Miss Jiang, you are such a good person."

The fire in Cheng Shu's eyes rekindled, which made Jiang Zao a little confused.

"I will definitely thank Miss Jiang handsomely."