Divorced woman with child travels through time

"Let him go!" Ouyang Junyan gestured with his chin.

Ah Li stepped forward and pulled the rag out of his mouth. "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Chao Tianying spat out the dirty water several times and cursed, "What are you saying? I didn't, I'm not, I'm the boss, do you understand?"

"Tch!" Ah Li chuckled and ignored him.

Ouyang Junyan used the cup lid to stir the tea leaves, took a sip, and asked, "Then tell me yourself? What happened? Why did you decide to come to Wangjiazhuang to rob someone? And how did you know the way?"

Chaotianying raised his head arrogantly and said, "I heard that Chen's family is rich, so I came here to rob them. So what?"

The henchman next to him straightened up from his knees and raised his hand, saying, "He's lying. He doesn't know anything. He only cares about the fourth boss and listens to everything he says. That's why he killed the first boss."

Chaotianying was furious. His hands and feet were tied so he couldn't hit anyone, but he managed to use his waist strength and his shoulder to shove his underling to the ground. He started cursing again. Ah Li hated such filthy people the most.

"Behave yourself!" Ah Li stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face. Chao Tianying's already bruised and swollen face became even more miserable and listless. Before Chao Tianying could say anything more, Ah Li covered his face with a rag and even washed his hands with water in disgust.

Ouyang Junyan straightened his posture and said, "Speak!"

The younger brother lowered his body again and said earnestly, "I was brought out by the chief, but I am small and weak. That day, I wanted to find the chief. The chief is old and has caught a cold and has a fever. I went down the mountain to buy medicine for him and overheard the third and fourth chiefs plotting. They had received 20,000 taels of silver from the Li family and wanted the chief to send men to rob Chen's manor. The chief refused, so the two of them were struck by lightning and directly poisoned him. That night, his fever wouldn't go down, and the next day he was dead. The second chief favored the fourth chief and immediately listened to him and decided to attack Chen's manor."

"I see." Ouyang Junyan looked at Ah Li and nodded slightly. Ah Li understood, clasped his hands in greeting, and led the two men, mounted their horses, and left.

"Fang Qian, take a headcount of the people. We'll take them back to the county office later," Ouyang Junyan said, standing up. The remaining officials finished checking the villagers' homes and then began searching the mountain. Once they returned from the search, they could have breakfast.

After seeing Wang Erniu, Chen Wenfang felt relieved. She and Aunt Liu, along with Aunt Nie and their family, helped prepare breakfast for the soldiers. The meat and bones stewed the night before were still warm. They added fuel to the fire and brought it to a boil again. Six large pots were lit at the same time. The men kneaded the dough, while the women made flatbreads, steamed buns, cooked noodles, stir-fried eggs with chili peppers, stir-fried eggplant and radish with chili peppers, and made a soup with boiled eggs and shredded pork. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the entire village was filled with a spicy aroma.

After searching the mountain, they found that Liu Yizhi and the One-Armed Tiger had indeed escaped. Xu Tixia didn't care about that; he was there to help anyway. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Sigh, let's eat. Good food is the most important thing." He then led the way, getting bowls and serving the dishes.

The soldiers lined up, each holding a steamed bun in one hand and a serving of vegetables in the other. Four tables were set up in the courtyard. One table had two large baskets of mixed flour steamed buns, another had two large baskets of cornbread, another had two large bowls of shredded meat noodles, and the last table had a huge plate of stewed meat and ribs. It was all pure meat, with large chunks of pork, ribs, pig ears, and pig hocks, a mix of lean and fatty meat, tender and flavorful. It was served with bright red, oily chili oil, and mixed with fragrant minced garlic and chopped green onions. The taste was absolutely amazing.

By the time the fifth table was set up, every soldier serving food was beaming with joy. There was still food! When Aunt Liu and the others brought out a large bowl of stir-fried pork with chili peppers and a large bowl of stir-fried eggs with chili peppers, they were even happier. They hadn't eaten so heartily even during the New Year. Everyone got a full bowl of meat and vegetables and sat on the ground inside and outside the courtyard to eat.

The owner of Chen's restaurant said that he couldn't promise anything else, but the food would be plentiful. The soldiers ate with great relish, their mouths greasy, and they kept asking for more steamed buns and noodles. Ouyang Junyan didn't complain either; he just took two plates of food and ate them in the side room. Aunt Liu said that he also ate four or five steamed buns. The seemingly thin county magistrate had quite a big appetite.

After the meal, Commander Xu led his men to help escort the prisoners away. Chen Wenfang asked Wang Erniu to lead the men to cut some mooncakes and said, "Thank you all for your hard work. We can't reunite with our families on Mid-Autumn Festival. We're here to help resist the bandits. There wasn't enough time, so we could only cut some mooncakes for everyone to try. Thank you."

Ouyang Junyan and Xu Tixia had no choice but to try the mooncakes again as dessert. Finally, they mounted their horses, and the prisoners were tied up and walked onto the road, where they encountered villagers who had come after hearing the news.

Wang Youcai led a group of villagers, supporting several elderly men with canes, as they walked over, trembling.

Ouyang Junyan and his companion exchanged a glance, then reluctantly dismounted and went to greet them. Each of them helped one of the elderly, saying politely and kindly, "Old man, there's no need for this!"

The Wang family patriarch was a stubborn old man. He threw aside his cane, brushed aside Ouyang Junyan's outstretched hand, and knelt down firmly. While kowtowing, he said loudly, "Thank you, sir, for protecting us. We have no way to repay such a great kindness. Please accept our bow. May you rise to high office and protect more people of our Great Song Dynasty!"

This was indeed something to be grateful for. Chen Wenfang, Wang Erniu, and the other villagers from Wangjiazhuang knelt down and kowtowed three times with deep gratitude. Wang Erniu shouted, "Thank you, Your Excellency! Your Excellency loves the people like your own children. May Your Excellency rise to great heights and bless more people of our Great Song Dynasty..."

The villagers also kowtowed and shouted together to thank the officers and soldiers.

Ouyang Junyan was moved. With tears in his eyes, he helped the old man up and said, "Thank you all for your kindness towards me, Ouyang. I am your official, and it is only right and proper for me to protect you. Why don't you thank Commander Xu instead? He brought his men to rescue us. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to hold them off." Commander Xu's soldiers had suffered many injuries, but fortunately, only a few were seriously wounded and no one had died. Luckily, the bandits were a rabble and had set many traps. Hearing this, the soldiers straightened their chests and were very proud.

The crowd knelt again to thank the soldiers brought by Commander Xu, and offered him some vegetables from their own home, which were refused. Only then did they rise and leave. Commander Xu wiped away a tear; this trip had truly been worthwhile. He had enjoyed Chen's delicious food, received the villagers' gratitude, and most importantly, Ouyang Junyan had given Chao Tianying all the more than five thousand taels of silver notes he didn't want. He would use the money to give to his subordinates for the festival.

Along the way, several oxcarts dragged the corpses of bandits, with bandits escorting them behind, traveling on the wide official road, attracting a lot of attention. The people in the county government were used to it; they had a famously upright and just official, whom the people usually respected.

The local soldiers, however, were different. They weren't part of the Imperial Guards; good deeds rarely came their way, yet they were often the scapegoats, poorly treated, and disliked everywhere. Their equipment was inadequate; their swords were discarded by the Imperial Guards. At this moment, amidst the people's praise, they received respect for the first time. Perhaps, in the future, they could do more good deeds like this? Perhaps they could become good officials like Ouyang? Xu, the military commander, pondered this as he watched his friend's figure from horseback…