New Return of the Pearl: The Group's Pet Swallow Flies

Xiaoyanzi ate the meat in the bowl without raising her head. She had no idea that her beloved little sister, Ziwei, would be here tomorrow.

Xiao Zhihang chatted with his wife and children. After the family had a warm reunion dinner, everyone washed up and rested.

Hearing that a new prefect would be coming tomorrow, Xiaoyanzi, who loves lively activities, secretly discussed with her brother before going to bed and asked him to take her out to play tomorrow.

Xiao Feng secretly glanced at his parents, and seeing that they didn't notice, he thought that his sister liked to stick to him now, and he was only taking her out to play this time, so nothing should go wrong, so he nodded and agreed.

Little did he know that this time when he was taken out, he was almost scared to death.

The next morning, the sound of music began to be heard in the streets of Hangzhou. People looked curiously towards the city gate and talked about something.

"Ever since the original prefect was killed by the prince, the prefect position in Hangzhou has been vacant. I heard that a new prefect has come, but I don't know what his personality is like and whether he is easy to get along with."

"Why would a prefect get along with us common people? I don't have any ideas. I just hope that this prefect won't be like the previous one, oppressing the people and harming young girls."

"Yes, yes. I hope this prefect can do something good, but I hope he won't do the same evil things as the previous one. If it weren't for Master Xiao, we would have been bullied to death."

"Who says it isn't?"

"..."

Everyone was talking about it, but their eyes were still looking towards the city gate.

Dozens of guards were seen blocking both sides of the road, preventing passers-by from entering the middle of the lane, scaring the new prefect and his family.

At the innermost part, there were a few horses leading the way, followed by a row of plain carriages. At a glance, there were about seven or eight of them, as if they were families moving. Except for the first three carriages which had some people sitting in them, the ones at the back were all loaded with luggage.

The wheels made a rumbling sound on the bluestone slabs, but outside the carriage there was a lot of noisy noise.

Xia Shi and his wife Gu Qingyou sat in the first carriage. They listened to the discussions of the people and it still felt like a dream.

I don't know if Xia Shi is really destined to be with the royal family. Four years ago, the emperor came to Xia's house to stay overnight and unexpectedly had physical contact with Yuhe. Now even a little princess was born, although the royal family has not acknowledged it.

A year ago, Prince Yu, along with his wife and daughter, passed by the Xia Mansion in Jinan and stayed overnight. He chatted with Xia Shi for a long time and learned that Xia Shi was quite talented but lacked opportunities. Prince Yu nodded and said, "I understand."

At that time, Xia Shi didn't think there was anything wrong. He was thinking about whether he should talk to Prince Yu about Yuhe and Ziwei, but he was hesitant. What if Yuhe was taken to the palace and locked up in the deep courtyard? He had no power and could not protect his daughter.

After hesitating for a long time, he still said nothing. Yuhe didn't say much to the princess either. She only said that the child's father was working away from home and had never returned home.

They also didn't expect that half a year later, the prince would give them such a big surprise.

An official gave him the good news, appointing Xia Shi as the prefect of Hangzhou.

Xia Shi was stunned. Although it was far away from home to go to Hangzhou, he was still an official after all.

So the Xia family decided to pack up their things and move to Hangzhou. As for the old house, they would of course keep it so they could live there when they came back to worship their ancestors.

The carriage traveled slowly for several months before finally arriving in Hangzhou. Although they were physically and mentally exhausted, Xia Shi's family were still very excited.

Sitting in the carriage at the back were Xia Yuhe and her daughter.

Xia Yuhe, wearing a white and pink double-breasted long dress, had a gentle face and a peaceful smile. Her pretty face was rosy at this moment, and she did not look as exhausted as before. Although she was a little tired from the long journey, she was in good spirits.

Sitting next to him was a three-year-old girl with a cute bun and a lotus pink skirt. She had a delicate face and a pair of peach blossom eyes similar to her mother's. When she heard the hustle and bustle outside, she couldn't help but lean forward curiously, quietly lifted the curtain and looked out.

Seeing the crowds of people outside, he was a little surprised, "Mom, there are so many people outside."

Xia Yuhe listened to her daughter's baby voice, smiled and touched her little head, and said softly, "Because they are all welcoming us."

"why?"

Little Ziwei looked at her mother in confusion, her eyes full of bewilderment.

Xia Yuhe thought for a moment and said, "Because my grandfather is an official now, and he will work hard to be a good official for the people. The people have never seen a new official before, and for the sake of their future lives, everyone is curious and rushes to the streets to see what the new official looks like."

Ziwei was confused when she heard it, but she roughly understood it. It seemed that her grandfather was an official, and a very high-ranking official, so others came to see them out of curiosity.

"Oh, that's right."

She nodded as if she understood, with a look on her face that said she understood everything, which made Xia Yuhe burst out laughing.

The carriage moved slowly on the street, heading towards the new mansion.

Suddenly, a man holding a child jumped out in front of the carriage. The man wanted to escape in panic, but was pushed by the crowd and broke through the obstruction of the officers and soldiers and went directly to the street, just blocking the team.

The crowd was suddenly in chaos. Everyone was wondering whose child this was and why he was led into the middle of the convoy. How dangerous it was. They were also blaming the child's family for being so irresponsible.

The convoy stopped instantly, causing the carriage to stop hastily as well, almost causing the people in the carriage to fall.

Xia Shi, Xia Yuhe and others curiously pulled aside the curtain and looked outside.

I saw a burly man holding a baby girl of three or four years old in his arms. The girl looked a little uncomfortable, but she didn't shout or cry. She just looked around with her eyes open. She didn't look like someone who was caught for being naughty. She didn't panic, but she didn't get close to the man either.

The man was unaware and said in a panic, "I'm so sorry, the child was playful and I accidentally bumped into the prefect's car while chasing her. I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, he wanted to leave with the child.

Xia Shi frowned, feeling that the man was a little suspicious, but he could explain it away by saying that it was just a naughty child.

Gu Qingyou couldn't help but said, "Husband, I think there is something wrong, please stop it first."

Xia Shi nodded in approval, "Someone, stop him."

In an instant, several guards rushed forward and blocked the man's way.

The man became even more panicked. He never expected that the kidnapped child would not be able to escape and accidentally ran into the prefect's motorcade. It was all over.

However, what made him even more desperate was that the little girl in his arms, who had kept her eyes wide open and had not spoken for a long time, suddenly spoke.

"Help! My name is Xiaoyanzi. I don't know him. He is a beggar. He kidnapped me. Help! Help!"