Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Zhang Jingwei's consciousness struggled to rise from the depths of a pitch-black pool. Before he could even take in his surroundings, a wave of intense nausea gripped him. He jerked sideways, retching and coughing heartbreakingly: "Cough cough cough... Ugh!" His throat burned, his lungs felt like they were being rubbed against rough sandpaper, and every breath he took was a sharp pain in his chest and abdomen. All he vomited was bitter bile and a few wisps of muddy river water, the suffocating smell of mud still lingering stubbornly in his nasal cavity.

He collapsed weakly onto the rough straw mat, only then becoming oblivious to the shadowy figures surrounding him. Familiar, yet fearful, faces blurred in the dim, flickering light of the oil lamp.

"See? I told you the young master choked on water!" A voice thick with a rural accent, a mixture of relief and anxiety, rang out. It was Jia Renyi. He squeezed to the front, his weathered face etched with concern. His rough hands subconsciously wanted to pat Zhang Jingwei's back, but stopped mid-air, afraid of hurting him.

Zhang Jingwei tried hard to focus his vision, his throat hoarse like a broken bellows: "This... where is this?" Looking around, there were low beams, adobe walls, and the air was filled with a unique smell mixed with firewood, wet clothes and herbs - the smell of Jia Village, but not the spacious wing of his home in his memory.

"Master, you're home!" Jia Renyi quickly moved closer, his cloudy eyes filled with anxiety. "I'm Jia Renyi! Don't you recognize me?"

"Uncle Jia..." Zhang Jingwei recognized the honest face, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly, only to be overwhelmed by the excruciating pain radiating from every part of his body. He tried to move, but immediately gasped. Every muscle and bone felt as if it were being torn apart and reassembled, especially his chest, which was aching so much that it was almost impossible to breathe. "I... I'm in so much pain!" Cold sweat instantly soaked his forehead.

"Oh! Young master, you are injured, and the injury is not light!" Jia Renyi nodded repeatedly, with a look of relief on his face, "Thanks to God's blessing! When you were pulled out, your body was covered with cuts and blood, which was scary! Fortunately, there is an old doctor in our village who had some experience with military medicine. I quickly pulled him here. He cleaned and bandaged all your wounds. Although they are many and deep, fortunately, the old doctor said that your meridians and bones were not injured! It is really the Bodhisattva's appearance, and the ancestors bless you!" He clasped his hands together and bowed towards the void.

"Cough cough... My chest... hurts so badly..." Zhang Jingwei breathed with difficulty, and every breath felt like a blunt object stirring in his chest.

Jia Renyi showed a trace of embarrassment on his face, and then pointed at a burly young man behind him with dark skin and muscular arms. "Oh, this... When you were carried back just now, your face was as purple as an eggplant, your teeth were clenched, and you couldn't breathe. I thought you must have choked on the water and held your breath! In a hurry, I asked my nephew," he nodded at the burly man, "to lift you up... and slap you twice to try to get the blocked water out..."

Zhang Jingwei finally understood the source of the dull pain that nearly gave him a stitch in the side. He smiled wryly at the burly man, who was scratching his head with a look of apprehension, wondering if he'd done the right thing. Zhang Jingwei could only manage a weak smile, "Uh... thank you..." Those two slaps must have loosened the newly reconnected ribs even further.

Upon hearing this, the strong man straightened his back immediately, patted his chest and said in a muffled voice: "Young Master, you are too polite! If it weren't for you, my life would have been thrown into the river by Han Ye to feed the turtles! Seeing that the Young Master was in danger, how could I sit back and watch? I was the first one to dive into the water after I pulled you out of it!" His tone was full of simple gratitude and loyalty.

Zhang Jingwei felt a slight warmth in his heart, but then he remembered something more important. He endured the excruciating pain and struggled to stand up. "Am I alone? There's another person... cough cough cough... who fell into the water with me! A... man!" He pressed eagerly, coughing violently again, causing a sharp pain in his wound.

"There's another one?" Jia Renyi was stunned for a moment, then his face showed natural vigilance and disgust, "Yes! Yes! He's in the woodshed! The man fainted when he was fished out, and he hasn't woken up yet, like a puddle of mud! Don't worry, young master, you were holding on to him tightly in the water, so he must be an unforgivable villain! Dare to harm you, young master? We can't let him go! We have tied him up tightly with the thickest hemp rope and thrown him next to the firewood pile. I guarantee he can't fly away even if he has wings!" His tone was firm, with a hint of seeking credit.

"Well done..." Zhang Jingwei whispered, a weight lifted off his chest. As long as the person was still there, it was good. He gritted his teeth and tried to get up again, wanting to confirm it himself. However, as soon as his body left the straw mat an inch, he felt dizzy, his vision went black, and he fell forward like a puppet with its strings cut!

"Master, be careful!" Jia Renyi and the strong man exclaimed at the same time, frantically supporting him and pressing him back onto the straw mat. Jia Renyi stamped his feet anxiously: "Oh my little ancestor! Look at your body, how can you withstand such a toss? Your bones are almost falling apart! It's the dead of night, and the thief is tied up like a dumpling, there's no way he can get away! You just rest here and heal your wounds! When it's daybreak and you have enough strength, it won't be too late to deal with that guy!"

Zhang Jingwei leaned in Jia Renyi's arms, breathing rapidly, his whole body exhausted. He looked around the simple but safe house, his eyes sweeping over the worried faces of Jia Renyi and Dali, and the shadowy figures of the villagers outside the door. A thought came to his mind, and his voice was slightly hoarse and tentative: "Uncle Jia... today, no one... no one came to see me?"

"Others?" Jia Renyi frowned, thinking carefully, "Oh! They've been here! Two officials in black robes came on horseback and asked at the village entrance if anyone had rescued the drowned person. They even described their appearance. It sounded like they were looking for you."

He lowered his voice, leaned close to Zhang Jingwei's ear, and with the natural wariness of a countryman towards the government, "But young master, you are the county magistrate of our county. If the county magistrate was in trouble, how could there be only two officials looking for him? In Jia Village, we are most afraid of strangers. I was afraid they had bad intentions and might do something bad to you... So I told them that I did fish one out, but unfortunately it was an unidentified body with a swollen face, and it was buried long ago. After a few questions, I didn't investigate further and turned my horse around and rode away."

When I fell into the water, it must have been Mu Tou, Wang Ergou and others who came to look for me first. The others were most likely members of the Jiujun Sect.

Zhang Jingwei's tense nerves relaxed completely upon hearing this, a complex mix of relief and deep gratitude welling up within him. He looked at Jia Renyi's weathered yet loyal face and whispered, "Official... Uncle Jia is thoughtful and thorough. I'm deeply grateful for this kindness."

Jia Renyi waved his hand, a simple smile on his face: "Young Master, you are embarrassing me with your words! What's the point of being grateful? Protecting the master's family is a matter of course, isn't it? Besides, in this rural area, this little trick of fooling people is the only thing that can be used." Seeing that Zhang Jingwei's face was as pale as paper and his breath was weak, he quickly changed the subject, "Don't say words of gratitude. Look at your face, it's as white as paper. You must be in pain and hungry, right? You've been tossing and turning for most of the day, and your stomach must be empty. Otherwise... I'll make you something hot to eat? Make some millet porridge? It would be good to warm your stomach!"

Intense pain, the suffocating feeling of choking on water, the relief of being rescued, worry about the prisoners, and the relief of knowing the officials had left... all these emotions intertwined, and with Jia Renyi's words, Zhang Jingwei finally felt a deep, empty, twisting pain in his stomach. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he uttered a weak word: "Hmm."