The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

At this moment, an old acquaintance accompanied the martial artist with a sword hanging from his arm to the front.

Tong Huaqiong looked closely and saw that it was Magistrate Liu.

With Magistrate Liu around, Tong Huaqiong felt somewhat at ease.

Magistrate Liu said, “His Majesty is most concerned about agriculture and sericulture, and always admonishes officials that food is the most important thing for the people and that they should not neglect farming. When I promote farming, I always remind everyone of His Majesty’s concern for agriculture and sericulture. This villager has kept it in mind, so he is full of thoughts about crops. Country folk do not understand things in Shengjing, so please do not take offense, Lord Liang.”

When Lord Liang arrived at Tong Huaqiong's door, the plaque above the door, inscribed with the words "Selfless and Upright," shone brightly.

Lord Liang looked up and saw the inscription, then asked, "Was this plaque issued by the government?"

Magistrate Liu pointed to Tong Huaqiong and said, "Yes, this is the award given to this old lady to commend her for her contributions to agriculture."

Lord Liang glanced at Er Gouzi and Tong Huaqiong, waved his hand, and pointed at Tong Huaqiong's soldiers, who then put away their swords.

Tong Huaqiong's entire back was covered in sweat, but she didn't feel cold even when the cold wind hit her.

Magistrate Liu asked Liu Tielian, "Village Chief Liu, have any strangers entered your village recently?"

Liu Tielian replied, "Your Excellency, apart from a few passersby, there really weren't any strangers who came in."

Lord Liang gestured to the officials behind him, who then produced two portraits.

Tong Huaqiong's heart pounded, but she glanced at the portrait and felt relieved.

Su Chengmin does resemble him quite a bit, but the child's portrait bears absolutely no resemblance to Xiaolong.

Tong Huaqiong speculated that the Crown Prince probably never allowed Xiaolong to show his true face in order to protect him.

The official asked, "Village chief, have you seen these two men?"

Liu Tielian examined it carefully, then shook his head and said, "No."

"I've never seen these two before?"

"Oh dear, he's just a child? How can a child rebel?"

"Well, don't even mention it, royal children raised in the palace are incredibly cunning."

The villagers had no concept of treason or remnants of rebellion, so they all came out to watch the spectacle and started whispering among themselves when they saw the two portraits.

No matter what people say, the core issue is that they've never seen these two people.

Regardless of whether anyone had seen him before or not, Lord Liang began searching the village.

The officers and soldiers scattered.

The villagers weren't worried at all, munching on sunflower seeds as if they were just enjoying themselves. Anyway, there was no one hiding in their homes, so they weren't afraid.

Magistrate Liu said with certainty, "There is absolutely no way there could be any strangers in Aunt Tong's house."

Lord Liang sized up Tong Huaqiong a few times, concluding that this woman probably didn't have the ability to harbor a stranger.

Given the inscription on the gate, the officers and soldiers only walked around the courtyard once, inspected the chicken coop and vegetable garden, and then left.

Tong Huaqiong breathed a sigh of relief and almost wanted to grab Magistrate Liu's hand to express her gratitude.

Despite her and her family's thorough preparations, she was still worried about the possibility of something going wrong.

Now I'm not even afraid of the worst-case scenario.

Tong Huaqiong, with a calm expression, instructed Er Gouzi to unload the corn into the yard, and then she, along with Gu Dahan, Gu Jingzhe, and others, spread the corn out in the sun to dry.

While the soldiers were searching the village, Granny Huang and Granny Yan got together.

Granny Yan said, "Last night I went out to digest my food and saw Widow Tong carrying someone off the cart as she returned from the prefectural city. I heard Widow Tong say something like, 'Slow down and be careful of the wound.'"

Old Mrs. Huang said, "What you said reminds me. I think I saw several children in her house this morning."

Granny Huang and Granny Yan exchanged a glance.

They didn't believe that remnants of the rebellion would appear in Qinghe Bay, and they certainly didn't believe that Tong Huaqiong would dare to harbor such remnants.

They wanted to seize any opportunity to cause trouble for Tong Huaqiong and make things difficult for her. The soldiers conducted a thorough search of the village but found nothing, so they decided to withdraw.

When the drums were sounded to collect the gold, Granny Huang came running over, her bound feet shuffling along.

Old Woman Huang said, "Sir, you have been deceived by that widow Tong."

The soldier who had drawn his knife and pointed it at Tong Huaqiong, upon hearing what Granny Huang said, asked with a startled expression, "What do you mean by that, Granny?"

Old Mrs. Huang said with a forced smile, "Widow Tong is the widow you just met, the one who employs a servant. She went to the prefectural city a few days ago and seems to have brought back an injured stranger, and she also has a new child at home."

The officers and soldiers frowned and asked, "Is that really true?"

Old Woman Huang mustered her courage and said, "Why don't you just search the place, sir?"

Liu Tielian had been instructing his family members to keep an eye on the villagers' movements. After receiving a tip from Granny Huang that she was talking to the soldiers, he rushed over and arrived at the village. He overheard Granny Huang urging the soldiers to search Tong Huaqiong's house.

Liu Tielian angrily said, "Old woman Huang, what nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean there are two more people in Widow Tong's house? This kind of thing, which involves beheading, is not something to joke about. Even if you have a grudge against Widow Tong, you can't joke about this."

Granny Huang was startled, but she forced herself to say, "What are you afraid of, village chief? A search would clear Widow Tong of suspicion."

Liu Tielian was so angry he wanted to beat up Granny Huang.

This old woman is out of her mind. If Widow Tong really harbors remnants of a rebellion, not only will the entire Gu family lose their heads, but the entire Qinghe Bay will be wiped out.

Old Woman Huang also has to drop it.

The officers and soldiers ignored Liu Tielian's explanation and rushed to Tong Huaqiong's house in a swarm.

Magistrate Liu and Lord Liang were talking at the gate of Tong Huaqiong's house when they saw soldiers surrounding Tong Huaqiong's courtyard.

Magistrate Liu was greatly alarmed.

The officers stepped forward and said, "Lord Liang, Lord Liu, we just received news that the woman went to the prefectural city a couple of days ago and brought back two strangers, one adult and one child."

Lord Liang stared at Magistrate Liu with a dark and ambiguous look in his eyes.

Magistrate Liu was covered in sweat.

Although he didn't believe that Tong Huaqiong would harbor any remaining criminals, it was hard to say if there really were two strangers in her house.

"Search," Lord Liang said.

A group of soldiers entered Tong Huaqiong's home.

What left Tong Huaqiong speechless was not the group of soldiers who entered, but Xiao Long.

For some unknown reason, Xiao Long suddenly grabbed Gu Dahan's leg and started crying loudly before the soldiers rushed in.

“Father, why don’t you want me anymore? You said that our eldest son’s family has no descendants and you have no face to face our ancestors. You lied to my mother about giving birth to me while you were working outside, and now that my uncle has brought me home, you don’t acknowledge me.”

"Waaaaah, you're such a big liar! Waaaaah, if I hadn't come here to find my family, my uncle wouldn't have been hit by the carriage."

The little dragon clung to Gu Dahan's leg and cried with heartfelt emotion, even switching his accent from Shengjing to Pingchuan County.

So smooth, anyone who heard it would assume he had grown up here.

Gu Dahan's face turned bright red as he tried to break free from Xiaolong's legs. When did he ever have such a big son?

He looked up and saw the soldiers entering, and broke out in a cold sweat.

Is this kid acting?

How should he cooperate?
What to do? Wasn't it agreed that the child's uncle was his own coachman and the child was the coachman's nephew? How did he become his illegitimate child?

"Gu Dahan, you're a scoundrel. I used to understand how hard you worked when you went out to work, but I never expected you to do this to me."

"Waaaaah, I don't want to live anymore. Your grown son came to visit, and you've completely disgraced me."

While Tong Huaqiong was still figuring out how to act with Xiaolong under the noses of the officers and soldiers, Chen Sufeng had already stepped onto the stage of "I Am an Actor".

The performance was incredibly satisfying. (End of Chapter)