The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Another point is that they are all women from rural areas, with little knowledge, so it's normal that they don't recognize official boots.

However, the other party still asked again, "Take a closer look at these boots and see if there's anything wrong with them, like the fabric."

Du Mingxian looked puzzled. "Is there...is something wrong with this? This material must be good quality, otherwise the owner wouldn't have paid us such a high price for making boots in our hometown..."

"Alright." The interrogator had lost patience and concluded that Du Mingxian was just an ignorant country bumpkin who didn't recognize official boots at all. "You can leave now."

"Oh." Du Mingxian hesitated for a moment before leaving.

The people asking the questions exchanged glances, but ultimately said nothing and moved on to the next person.

After they went outside, someone registered Du Mingxian and the others' information, including their family situation, where they lived, etc., asking very detailed questions. After the registration was completed, those who had been questioned were arranged to wait in a room.

No one is stupid. The way the other person asked the question clearly meant something had happened. They were all in the same room, but no one dared to speak. They were all huddled up.

Du Mingxian quietly found a seat and sat down, waiting for further instructions.

After everyone had been interrogated, a dozen or so people who were identified as officials from the same group as Du Mingxian were taken away. These people were essentially guilty of deliberate offenses, so they were all taken away.

Du Mingxian and the others, who knew nothing and seemed ignorant, were all released. However, they cannot go anywhere for the time being and can only stay here obediently. The government officials may come to check on them at any time, and they may need their cooperation later.

It was already afternoon. Du Mingxian and the others walked towards the city. The road was difficult to walk on, and they were not walking fast. But everyone was anxious. If they were any slower, the city gates would probably be closed.

Fortunately, they were lucky; when they arrived at the city gate, it was still open.

Before Du Mingxian even reached the city gate, she saw Ling Silang standing outside the city waiting for her. She hurried forward and asked, "Why are you standing here?"

"I'm worried about you. Sister-in-law Sun has already gone home, and I haven't seen you for a long time. I wanted to go find you, but I don't know where you are, so I can only wait here."

The two weren't talking in secret, and several people turned around to look.

Du Mingxian chuckled, "I'm fine. Go home quickly. Have you been out for a long time? You're feeling cold."

"I was so worried about you, but now that you're alright, that's all that matters."

"Well, let's go home first."

As the two walked home, two women who had been walking with Du Mingxian gathered together behind them, talking openly without trying to lower their voices.

"Her husband is so kind; he's even standing at the city gate waiting for her in the dead of winter."

"What's there to envy? They're all scholars. If he gets cold at the city gate, he'll have to wait three more years to take the exam. It's not worth it. He'll have to wait another three years to take the exam again."

That sounds so sour.

Du Mingxian and Ling Silang exchanged a glance, neither of them spoke, pretending not to hear, and continued walking forward.

On the way home, Lin Guixiang saw Du Mingxian return and hurriedly came out to ask her questions.

"Are you okay?"

"It's nothing, I just asked a few questions."

Lin Guixiang was truly frightened. Even now, seeing Du Mingxian, her heart was still pounding. "I haven't had a moment of peace all day. I feel extremely uncomfortable."

"It was so sudden, just like that, I was living a perfectly good life and it was all gone."

Lin Guixiang was also feeling unwell. "Never mind, it's good that you're back. Go home and rest for a while."

"Ah."

Du Mingxian had no desire to say more and went straight back to her room.

It was a bit cold at home, so Ling Silang started a fire. Du Mingxian took out some ready-made food from her spatial storage to eat. She hadn't eaten during the day and was really starving.

She had only eaten half of the meal when Du Mingxian heard someone knocking on the door, making a lot of noise.

"Open the door! The government is investigating a case. Open the door immediately."

Du Mingxian's heart jumped, and Ling Silang's first reaction was, "You should dress warmly first, I'm afraid things might change."

"it is good."

They could already hear Liu Ya talking outside. Du Mingxian had already gone into the space to put on more clothes. That was all there was outside, but she could put on some more clothes inside.

She quickly put on her clothes, while also keeping an eye on the commotion outside. Ling Silang had already gone out to block those people at the door of the room.

When she came out of the space, those people were already very impatient and were about to make a move. She hurriedly lifted the curtain and went out, saying, "I'm here."

"You must be Du Mingxian? Come with us."

"Sir, what have I done wrong?"

"There are still some things we missed today that we need to inquire about further. Let's go."

Du Mingxian didn't know what to say, so she stepped out, gave Ling Silang a look, and immediately followed the officers outside.

Ling Silang watched the person leave. Although Du Mingxian remained calm, he was still uneasy.

Du Mingxian followed the officials out, only to be led directly to the outside of a house. She asked, "Sir, aren't we going to the yamen?"

If government officials take suspects to an outside residence instead of the yamen (government office), who can believe they are legitimate government officials?

“This case is special. It’s good for you men to stay here for now. The court protects scholars.”

Du Mingxian looked enlightened and said, "Okay, okay."

She was led directly into the courtyard, where she saw no one else. She was then taken to a side room, and upon entering, she discovered that... the people she had parted ways with half an hour earlier had all been brought here.

Some people couldn't bear it and started crying, while others remained relatively calm but looked distressed, clearly heartbroken.

Du Mingxian didn't know what the other party's plan was, so after entering, she found a place to sit down and closed her eyes to rest. Fortunately, she was wearing thick clothes, so even sitting on the ground, she wasn't too cold.

While Du Mingxian was temporarily imprisoned, Ling Silang felt increasingly uneasy about the situation and went to the Crown Prince's residence in the dark.

When he finally met the Crown Prince, the prince was leaning back in his chair, looking tired. He seemed quite surprised to see him and asked, "Is there something important at this hour?"

"Your Highness, those people were released and then taken away again. Is there anything they want to be questioned about?"

"What do you mean?" The crown prince frowned, looking as if he didn't understand.

Ling Silang's heart skipped a beat. "Before dark, I picked up Mingxian at the city gate. She had just taken a bite of something hot when soldiers came to her house, saying that there was something they had forgotten in the afternoon. They took her away. She wasn't His Highness's person?"

The Crown Prince, who had been somewhat relaxed and not sitting up straight in front of Ling Silang, an acquaintance, immediately leaned forward upon hearing this. "She's been taken away?"

The tone was one of disbelief.