Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

That day, Li Guiren's house caught fire.

For some unknown reason, he'd been feeling restless yesterday. After enjoying his concubine, he returned to his wife's room, still full of energy, and even invited two of her maids to join him in the fun. He hadn't been this high and mighty in years, so naturally, he got carried away. His wife, a formidable figure, immediately emerged from her room, locked the door, and set the house on fire.

If the fire had not been put out in time, Li Guiren and the two maids would probably have died inside. Although they were not dead, they could not see.

Right now, he was only focused on treating his eyes and had no time to care about anything else.

"Then he won't send those two children out today?" Tao Jiuxi asked hurriedly after hearing this.

"Don't worry, Jiang Qu used Miss Xue's special poison. Not only will he lose his sight, but he will also be unable to speak soon." Shen Zhiyi's voice was steady, and there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.

"And then? Would he be poisoned to death like this?"

"No, that would be too easy for him. No one involved would be able to escape."

"It's just that those children can't come back."

"I shouldn't have let you know these things." Shen Zhiyi touched Tao Jiuxi's head lovingly.

He regretted letting Tao Jiuxi be exposed to these dark things. He hoped that she could always remain pure and kind and not be hurt by the ugliness of the world.

"After we go back, can we have all the orphanages thoroughly checked? We should keep a record of the adopted children. If they are adopted, we should make regular and secret visits. If no one adopts them, we should teach them skills so that they can be self-reliant when they grow up. It's mainly a human issue. We should find two different departments to strictly monitor and prevent child abuse and neglect." Tao Jiuxi said his thoughts seriously.

"Little girl, if you have some free time, why don't you write down your thoughts in detail for me to see, okay?"

Shen Zhiyi was worried that Tao Jiuxi would have random thoughts when she was idle, so he wanted to find something for her to do.

"Okay, I have some ideas, I'll write them down for you." Tao Jiuxi nodded firmly.

Another day passed.

Suddenly, a large number of officers and soldiers from the imperial court came without any warning, surrounded the county government office, and arrested the county magistrate and all the officials involved in the case on the list. None of those who knew the law but broke it escaped.

They were tied with a long iron chain and walked in a line on the street.

The people were all shocked and spat on and despised these people. They took out vegetable leaves and moldy food from their homes and threw them at them.

Li Guiren's head and body were hit so hard that he bled profusely and fainted several times, but was revived by the doctors who attended him. The price he had to pay must have been many times greater than those children who died tragically.

Among the rescued children, Gou Wa was still alive, and it was said that his mother was so happy that she fainted from crying. This was undoubtedly a ray of comfort in this tragedy, giving people a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

Tao Jiuxi didn't go to see it. She just wanted to stay away from these terrible things.

Jiang Shun went to investigate the situation in Sucheng and came back to report the results of the investigation.

"There's nothing unusual in Sucheng, except that there are many lotus ponds by the river. The young lady has looked listless these past two days. Why don't you take her to have a look?" Jiang Shun said.

"I don't want to go." Tao Jiuxi was not interested.

She was still immersed in the dark events that had happened before, unable to let go and had no interest in anything else.

"Fuya... likes flowers..." The baby on the side pulled Tao Jiuxi's hand and swung it.

Fu Ya looked at Tao Jiuxi with innocent eyes, and Tao Jiuxi couldn't bear to refuse.

Shen Zhiyi understood Tao Jiuxi's discomfort and wanted her to relax: "Why don't we take Fu Ya with us?"

When they arrived at the place, there were many lotus ponds. Tao Jiuxi had never seen so many lotus ponds before.

At first, she felt better because of looking at these beautiful scenery, but as she looked at them, she felt something was wrong.

"I once read a book in your study. It said that because many officials in a certain river area enclosed land around the river to raise fish and build ponds, during the heavy summer rains, the water was difficult to drain, so floods occurred in the surrounding area."

Tao Jiuxi just looked at the lotus pond and said something casually, and then heard Shen Zhiyi's response.

"Jiang Shun, send some people to find more flood surveyors, and also find some from other places to check and see if it's as the young lady predicted."

Tao Jiuxi's casual remark saved many people in the future.

After leaving Lotus Pond, Tao Jiuxi didn't want to stay in Sucheng, so he left that day and went to find Xue Yunmeng to say goodbye to her.

At night, Tao Jiuxi sat on the gently swaying bow of the boat, watching the bright moonlight shining on the river, creating ripples on the water.

"Why are you sitting here alone? Aren't you afraid of the cold wind?" Shen Zhiyi came from behind with a gentle voice, holding a thin cloak and draping it over Tao Jiuxi.

The cloak fell gently, bringing a burst of warmth.

"Mu'er is coaxing Fuya to sleep, so I came out to take a break." Tao Jiuxi forced a smile, but there was a hint of fatigue and sadness in his smile.

Shen Zhiyi sat next to Tao Jiuxi and let her lean on him: "I'm sorry I scared you this time. It's my fault that I failed to take good care of you."

"I'm scared. Although I know there are many dirty things in this world, this is the first time it's happening to me. I can't control myself from being afraid." After saying that, Tao Jiuxi threw herself into Shen Zhiyi's arms, sobbing.

Shen Zhiyi felt that Tao Jiuxi, whom he had just met, never cried, as if he had a way to solve any problem.

Now she cries more and more.

"I should have kept you on the boat."

"Do you think I'm useless? Miss Xue encountered these things and was able to investigate on her own. Now she still stays in Sucheng to continue tracking, while I can only snuggle in your arms and cry." Tao Jiuxi's voice was filled with a hint of inferiority and helplessness.

"Then if she hides in my arms and cries, I will definitely not want her to do so."

"Come on, that's a nice thought."

"I really don't think so, but you don't have to be so self-deprecating. I have read the management plan for the orphanage that you wrote, from personnel, materials, systems to funding sources. It is truly extraordinary. You have very different personalities and experiences, so why do you despise yourself like this?" Shen Zhiyi gently stroked Tao Jiuxi's hair, his tone firm and gentle.

At the same time, Shen Zhiyi also secretly reflected on whether he had not given Tao Jiuxi enough sense of security.

However, he never even said a single extra word to Xue Yunmeng, for fear that Tao Jiuxi would bring up the past in the future.

However, Tao Jiuxi never showed even a hint of jealousy from beginning to end, which instead made him feel a little disappointed.

"I'll adjust slowly. Where are we going next?" Tao Jiuxi sighed softly. She knew that she needed time to adjust her mentality.

"Yuncheng."

Under the moonlight, the two sat quietly, enjoying this moment of tranquility.