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

When Xiao Zhihang and Du Xueyin heard what their sister-in-law Yang Anxia said, they were very angry. They never thought that the county magistrate was so hateful.

Although this strategy was successful, it had many loopholes.

Xiao Zhihang couldn't help but raise his own doubts, "This plan has many loopholes. Logically speaking, no one of them can succeed.

First, the county magistrate is just a county magistrate. What qualifications does he have to blockade the entire city of Suzhou?

Second, what was the epidemic like at the time? If it was life-threatening, how many people died or were injured, and how long was the city locked down?

Third, was there no one else trying to enter or leave the city gate during this period? Even more, when Suzhou City was blocked for no reason, were there no higher-level officials to investigate?

Fourth, where did a county magistrate get so much money that he had to ask the wealthy merchants to pay so much money? Why did they ask for so much money?

Fifth, who is that doctor? Why does he need so much Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng? If Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng are effective, why do they have to be used every day?"

Du Xueying frowned when she heard this. Yes, there were too many questions, which was not normal at all.

After hearing this, several people from the Du family couldn't help but sigh in unison.

"We are not unaware of the loopholes. The key point is that during that period, the entire city of Suzhou was really plunged into darkness, and the streets were filled with the wailing of patients.

At first, it seemed that this epidemic was just caused by someone who was hunting and ate a strange deer. Afterwards, he inexplicably developed a rash and a high fever. Later, people who came into contact with the deer would unconsciously develop a rash and a high fever.

It was no use going to any doctor, even those doctors were infected.

The county magistrate, who had usually done nothing, sealed off the entire city the night he learned about the epidemic. He clearly did not have the authority or qualifications to do so, but he still had the entire city sealed off.

Last November, the month when the epidemic began, on the second day after the epidemic began, the county government said that he had found a famous doctor, and then he ransacked drug stores in the city, under the pretext of treating the people.

They looted all the precious medicinal materials.

The next day, some ginseng soup was served and people were given a bowl for free.

After drinking the medicine, most of the people felt much better, with less itching and their high fevers subsided. The people cheered and thought they had met a good official who cared about the people.

As a result, the next day, some people who did not drink the ginseng soup died directly in a miserable way, which frightened those people who drank the ginseng soup and relieved their symptoms, fearing that they would be the next to die.

The people at that time were all in danger. Every household locked their doors and dared not contact anyone. They thought that since the government's medicine was effective, they prayed that the government would continue to distribute the medicine so that they could recover soon.

So, the county magistrate began to direct and act his own show, saying that he wanted donations and even looked for wealthy businessmen from all over the city.

Just because the county magistrate had given the people ginseng soup for free to relieve their symptoms, the people regarded him as a great official. Therefore, the people became the knife in the hands of the county magistrate. If we did not do as he wished, he would find ways to incite public opinion and let the people retaliate against us.

After all, those people have put their entire family's lives on ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum. Even if we say that ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum are useless and it doesn't cost too much, the people will not believe it.

This resulted in us being controlled by the people and the county magistrate.

So, in March of this year, within a short period of four or five months, our Du family was cheated by the county magistrate and other merchants. Not only did we lose the support of the people, but we were also condemned by everyone.

All our money was given out, but it was embezzled by the county magistrate and others, and they clearly told the people that we did not donate to the people. Even when we produced proof of transaction and donation, the county magistrate slandered us as forged.

We in the Du family really have no way of making excuses.

Later, our Du family collapsed, but the epidemic situation among the people gradually improved. A piece of ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum was used again and again, but no one could find where the money went.

The Du family's accumulated retainers, wealth, and connections were all destroyed by the county magistrate's insidious tactics.

It's not that we haven't thought about sneaking out of the city, but it's too difficult. Unless you have extraordinary martial arts, no one can escape from the city of Suzhou, which is surrounded like an iron barrel.

Later, our Du family went bankrupt, all our shops were closed, and were almost smashed by the people. We became the rats that everyone in Suzhou City wanted to kill.

When we were packing up our few belongings, we received your letter. Thinking that you were counts and of high status, we wanted them to let us go, but they didn't believe us and laughed at us for overestimating our own abilities.

We had no choice but to leave Suzhou in disgrace. As far as we know, the city of Suzhou was unsealed the day after we left, and everyone was able to travel normally. Those who were sick also recovered.

Except for the group of people who died at the beginning, everyone else is fine, and the families of those dead people also received hush money.

Those wealthy businessmen divided up all the resources of our Du family. They were satisfied, while our Du family fled Suzhou city in embarrassment.

Only then did we realize that this was a conspiracy against us. We really didn't know who would go to such great lengths to frame us, even at the cost of ordinary people's lives, after having been in Suzhou for decades. Is it because we are the richest man in Suzhou that others are jealous?

We can't figure it out, and we don't know what to do next. If we hadn't temporarily gone to An Xia's house for a while, I'm afraid our Du family wouldn't even have the money to go to the capital."

Du Xueyang took a sip of water and added the details. When talking about the experience, he couldn't help but clench the cup, his eyes full of anger.

Xiao Zhihang and Du Xueyin still found many things difficult to understand, but they also knew that the Du family might have really been plotted against, and they needed to conduct a thorough investigation to find out.

“You must have offended someone. We need to investigate thoroughly to find out the exact circumstances.

All right. Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you can just stay in the Xiao Mansion for now. We will arrange for someone to go to Suzhou to investigate and see what is going on.

You must be tired after all this journey, Xueyin, tell the servants to prepare a nice meal. I will have a few drinks with Dad and Big Brother in the evening."

Xiao Zhihang first smiled and tried to calm the Yue family, then asked his wife to arrange the banquet.

Du Xueyin smiled and nodded, then took her mother and sister-in-law's hands and led them out the door.

I wanted to show them around the Xiao Mansion and take them to a resting place, but just as I reached the door, I heard a roar.

“Ahhhhhhh, I’m going to smash their dog heads off!”

Du Xueying had just helped her mother out of the house when they heard Xiaoyanzi's angry voice. They listened carefully for a while and found out that Shaoan had told Xiaoyanzi and the others everything that happened at the Du Mansion in Suzhou.

At this time, Xiaoyanzi and others were standing up for Du Shaoan and others with angry faces.

"Okay, okay, don't be angry, kids, are you hungry? I'll ask the kitchen to make you some delicious cakes."

Du Xueying thought about it and decided to support her mother and sister-in-law and go to the children, smiling and comforting them.

As a prince, Yongqi would tell his father if anyone dared to do such a thing to harm the people, no matter if he was instructed by someone or did it himself, that the bad guy should not be allowed to continue to harm others.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but take a step forward and said seriously, "Aunt Du, I'm going back to the palace to tell the emperor about this and ask him to send someone to investigate what happened in Suzhou."

He is obviously just a boy of seven or eight years old, but he is very serious about such important issues.

Du Xueyin did want to give an explanation to the Du family and those who died in vain, so she nodded and said, "Then I'll send someone to take you back."

When Xiaoyanzi, Ziwei and the others saw Yongqi preparing to return to the palace, they looked at each other and said, "Mother, grandmother, aunt, we plan to go back together and talk to Father Huang about this first, and then come back for dinner in the evening."

"Ah, you guys are going back too?"

Ertai and others looked at Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei reluctantly, with disappointment in their tone.

Xiaoyanzi said, "Brother Yongqi ran away secretly. Ziwei and I have to go back and prove to Brother Yongqi that he didn't run away secretly, but was invited by us. Otherwise, what if he gets scolded when he goes back?"

Seeing how thoughtful a three-year-old child was, Old Madam Du's eyes were full of joy at seeing her little granddaughter was so well-behaved and cute. She only regretted that she had not accompanied the child well in the past few years.

Du Xueying also knew that Xiaoyanzi's decision could not be changed, so without further delay, she quickly sent a carriage to take Xiaoyanzi, Ziwei and Yongqi back to the palace. After thinking for a while, Benjamin also followed, otherwise he was afraid that the master would see that he did not go back and draw circles on his face.

It was a short reunion with good friends. Although they should be able to see each other again in the evening, it was undeniably too hot. Xiao Feng and others were very disappointed.

Also reluctant to leave was my cousin Du Shaoan, who had just arrived today.

He was the oldest child present, and he had nothing to talk about with the youngest child. They had just met for the first time today. However, the little girl seemed to have some magical power. Just by simply getting to know her, he began to like this little sister.

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Xiaoyanzi, Yongqi and others returned to the palace.

When Xiao Zhihang, his father-in-law Du Chengyu and his brother-in-law learned that Xiao Yanzi had returned to the palace, they all felt a little regretful as they had not had much time to talk to the little girl.

When night fell, the Xiao Mansion was brightly lit, and Xiaoyanzi, Ziwei and the other three rushed back.

Just then, a delicious meal was prepared in the dining hall and everyone gathered together.

One table for adults and one for children.

Xiao Zhihang, his father-in-law and his elder brother-in-law drank and chatted happily.

None of the three of them are people who drink often, and it was a rare occasion for them to get together today, so they drank happily.

Du Xueying had a private conversation with her mother and sister-in-law, talking about what had happened in the past few years. She felt very satisfied. It was a great feeling to be reunited with her family.

At this moment, she was quite grateful that the Du family only lost their business and no one was killed, otherwise, she would have no mother's home.

Xiaoyanzi and others sat at the small table nearby. The children, who hadn’t been seen for a long time, chatted non-stop and were having a great time.

Du Shaoan looked at this group of little kids and felt that they were worthy of being children of the royal family. Each of them was very mature, not at all like those little brats he had seen in Suzhou who would cry for their parents at every turn.

The children were all given fruit tea, which was orange juice made by squeezing oranges. The children followed the adults' example, raising their glasses to drink together, with smiles on their faces.

After the meal, Du Shaoan and others secretly asked Xiaoyanzi and others about what the emperor said about returning to the palace.

Xiaoyanzi said that the emperor had already ordered a thorough investigation in Suzhou to find out which county magistrate was so bold.

When everyone knew that the emperor had arranged people to investigate, they breathed a sigh of relief and stopped thinking about it.

The Xiao Mansion is now the Earl's Mansion, with many vacant courtyards and rooms.

Therefore, the people of the Du family were arranged in a side courtyard not far from the main courtyard. The courtyard was quite large, more than enough to accommodate more than a dozen people, so Xiao Zhihang arranged a number of maids and servants to serve them, and settled them very well.

Du Cheng and Hua Yan lived in the Xiao Mansion, which was just like returning to their daughter's home. Although they felt a little uncomfortable, they were well taken care of, and they had begun to like this place.

Du Xueyang and his wife felt that they could not always live in their sister's house. Although Xue Yin and the others did not say anything, if they continued to do nothing like this, it would really give people the feeling that they were taking advantage of the situation.

The couple discussed whether they should find a shop in the capital to start a small business.

Du Shaoan also has his own room, which is nicely decorated according to his own preferences. If he hadn't just come today, it would be hard to believe that this is his new room, because the decoration inside is very similar to his original room.

Xiaoyanzi wanted to keep her good friends at home to rest, so she sent people to the Wang Mansion, the Bachelor's Mansion, and the Liu Mansion to deliver letters, saying that their young ladies and young masters were staying at the Xiao Mansion.

The people in those three mansions knew that they had a good relationship with Xiaoyanzi and others, so it was normal for them to live in their homes, and they did not interfere.

For the next ten days or so, outside the palace and at the Xiao family, Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei lived happily every day.

With elders pampering and loving them above them and friends to catch fish and shrimps with them below, they were having so much fun that they didn't want to go back to the palace.

Yongqi and Benjamin were also having so much fun that they almost forgot that someone was waiting for them in the palace.

Because when the two little guys entered the palace that day, they went straight to the Qianqing Palace to find the emperor, and did not even have time to report their safety to their mother and master.

If the emperor had not sent someone to deliver a letter to them, how could he have allowed these two little ones to stay outside for so long?

Xiaoyanzi and others stayed in the Xiao Mansion for twelve days. Qing'er and others did not go back either. They had a great time playing with Xiaoyanzi and others in the Xiao Mansion every day.

Until this day, someone came to the palace.

Xiao Luzi trotted all the way to the Xiao Mansion and informed these princes and princesses that the Shangshu Mansion had been tidied up and it was time for them to go back to class.

Xiaoyanzi and others immediately wailed, it was over, the good days were over.

Qing'er is a princess, so if she wants to go to class with Xiaoyanzi and the others, that's fine. So she asked the emperor's uncle to let her go to class with them, and the uncle agreed.

Xiao Feng was accepted into the Shangshu Mansion as an exception by the Emperor because he was the son of the Earl's Mansion, the future Earl, and the brother of Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei.

So, on that day, except for the siblings Liu Qing and Liu Hong and Du Shaoan, everyone else went to the palace to attend classes together.