The ring connects the past and present, the exiled prince worships me as a god

"Of course it's a secret."

The refugees refused to say anything more.

The yamen runners also waved their whips and shouted angrily, "When you're full, get up and get to work. The temple hasn't been built yet, the well hasn't been dug yet, and you still have time to chat here? I warn you, you are now a fugitive!"

Qi Yu suppressed Jiang Zhi's anger that was about to explode. He turned around and picked up the hoe. At the same time, a stone was shot out from somewhere. He heard an "ouch" from behind. Qi Yu secretly gave Jiang Zhi a look, and the latter took advantage of the chaos to walk away.

Not long after, Jiang Zhi came back to report.

"I heard that the village chief of Huai Village believed in the gods and was blessed by the gods, who gave him a source of water. His home was the only one within a hundred miles that had water. So every three days he would have the government send people to his home to fetch water, in exchange for the government sending people to build a temple."

"Oh? Is there such a strange thing?" Qi Yu chuckled, his eyes filled with contempt. "Since the village chief has water and can distribute it for free, why are there so many refugees around?"

"Because the water in the village chief's house is not inexhaustible."

Jiang Zhi said, "I heard someone saw it with their own eyes. The gods only gave the village chief's family two jars of water a day. Once they took it, it was gone. No matter what they did, the water would not come back. There were several nearby villages with thousands of people. Everyone watched helplessly as the water was taken away, and no one could do anything."

"It is said that the village chief said that only the villagers of Huai Village can use the water. Other villages have it. Lingnan is suffering from famine, and everyone is just a mud Buddha crossing the river. The government doesn't want to interfere."

Upon hearing this, even Qi Yu, who had heard many bizarre stories, found it absurd.

"It seems that the head of Huai Village is a big shot."

It really proved the people's saying that the emperor is far away and the sky is high, and there are big secrets hidden in places that the emperor cannot control.

Qi Yu unconsciously touched the jade token, "Jiang Zhi, do you think there are really gods in this world?"

"If His Highness says yes, then yes. If His Highness says no, then no."

"Ben... I never believed in gods, but maybe I'll have a chance to see one in Huai Village someday."

Hearing His Highness' words, Jiang Zhi's melancholy and defeat of the past few days disappeared instantly, replaced by a faint excitement.

Is Your Highness planning to help the refugees in Lingnan? Take over Huai Village and investigate the village chief?

His Highness finally came back to life, no longer trapped in the self-blame of killing the little prince.

That’s great. With time, he will definitely be able to convince His Highness to escape from here.

-

At exactly seven o'clock in the evening, just like in the previous life, the doorbell of the villa rang on time.

Song Nian knew that it was his father who came with his stepmother and stepsister.

When she was eight, her mother died in a car accident while seriously ill. Her father never remarried and became both a father and a mother to her, never neglecting her no matter how busy he was at work. When she was fifteen, she persuaded her father to remarry. He was reluctant, but he couldn't resist her persuasion and finally married Li Lin a year later. Li Lin had a daughter named Song Lai.

Song Nian originally thought that having a stepmother would mean she would have a stepfather, but her father never changed, and her stepmother treated her as her own daughter, even more than her own daughter.

She lived a very happy life in those years. Everyone envied her because of her privileged background, the love of her parents, and a younger sister who always admired her.

She hadn't suspected a thing at the time. She hadn't questioned the coincidence that her stepmother's ex-husband also had the surname Song. She hadn't questioned the coincidence that her stepsister was the same age as her and attended the same middle school. She hadn't suspected that all this was a hoax orchestrated by her father!

"Sister. You may not know this, but I'm not your stepsister at all. Your father is my biological father."

"Haha, you call yourself so smart, but you never thought that your mother's car accident wasn't just an ordinary traffic accident. And she was hospitalized. Do you really think she was sick?"

At that time, she was drunk and fell on the carpet of the bar in a daze. Song Lai looked down at her with a ferocious face.

"Why do you think my mom treats you better than me? Are you really naive enough to think my mom is a good person? Bah! Your mom, that bitch, stole my mom's fiancé and made her a secret lover for ten years. How could she like you? She's just trying to get you to lower your guard against us."

"Go to hell, Song Nian. Die like your mother."

Song Lai screamed and slammed the door, allowing several big men to rip off her clothes roughly and eventually dismember her with knives.

She cried and struggled to break free, banged on the door hard, and questioned Song Lai who was holding a camera.

"Dad will never forgive you if he finds out!"

Song Lai just smiled.

She said, "Dad? Have you forgotten that everything we do always requires his approval?"

thump.

The water cup in Song Nian's hand fell to the ground, and she shuddered in fright and couldn't stop shaking.

It was not only the physical humiliation and pain, but also the truths she heard.

Li Lin, Song Lai, and Song Jin!

Her most trusted family members in the past are all lining up to wait for her to launch an attack!

"Xiao Nian, why don't you open the door?" Li Lin's gentle voice came from outside the door.

Song Nian recovered his composure as quickly as possible and opened the door while suppressing his nausea.

"Dad, Aunt Li?"

Even though she had been treated like her own daughter for ten years, she only called Li Lin "Auntie". For this reason, people around her said that she was ungrateful and did not know how to be grateful. Whenever this happened, her father would stand up and gently enlighten her.

"Our Xiao Nian can be called whatever she likes. Why force a child to do that? Besides, everyone has only one mother, right, Xiao Nian?"

How grateful she was at that time that she had a loving and open-minded father.

"Why are you here?" She asked with pretended curiosity, just like in her previous life.

"Oh, why are there broken glass on the ground?"

Li Lin saw the broken water cup and rushed in to pull her aside, her eyes filled with anxiety as she asked, "Xiao Nian, are you okay?"

"I accidentally dropped it. I'm fine."

She retracted her arm without leaving a trace. Song Nian felt that if she was touched again, she would vomit.

"You must have dropped the cup in a hurry to open the door. It's all our fault. We didn't even say hello to you before we came."

As Li Lin spoke, she went to get a broom to sweep. That was just like her. No matter what happened, no one would blame her but would always take the responsibility on themselves.

"It was your Aunt Li who saw the news and said that you will be filling out the college application form tonight, so we came here to give you some advice." Father Song touched her head lovingly and walked into the study.

"Yeah sis, look what I brought you?"

Song Lai suddenly jumped in front of her with a pile of books in his arms, holding them above his head like a treasure. "They are all famous classics. And these are the notes Mom made after listening to the expert analysis in the live broadcast room."

Li Lin finished sweeping the floor and came over, smiling and waving her hands. "I don't understand either, I just watched it randomly. I heard there's a retired professor from Peking University or Tsinghua University in the live broadcast room. I watched it for a few days and just analyzed it. I hope it helps our Xiao Nian."

The mother and daughter sang in unison. In the past, Song Nian was immersed in this "warm" atmosphere and ended up losing her life.

"Thank you, Aunt Li, and thank you, sister."

Song Nian took the information, politely walked around the two of them, and followed Song's father into the study.

Although he was smiling, his distant and indifferent tone made the mother and daughter startled.

Song Lai hurriedly grabbed her mother's arm and whispered, "Mom, I really feel that Song Nian has been acting strangely since the past few days. It's like she's become a different person. Has she noticed anything?"