Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

"who?

You son of a bitch!

"Let us go right now, or I won't let you get away with this!"

Tao'er instinctively struggled and strained, shouting and cursing loudly as she did so.

"Don't move!" came an old and urgent voice from above. "Young lady, I won't harm you."

Tao'er froze, and her struggling stopped.

Ayan on his back also held his breath, the footsteps of the pursuers were already close at hand.

Should we trust this old man?

Tao'er's mind raced.

But even if she wanted to harm them, she probably couldn't do anything about it.

But then I thought, if he wanted to harm them, he could have just shouted for the pursuers to come over. Why go through all this trouble?

Thinking of this, Tao'er felt much more at ease.

She loosened the straps on her shoulders; they were hurting her terribly, and loosening them made her feel a little more comfortable.

Then he gently patted Ayan on the back, thinking to himself that Ayan must have been terrified when he was suddenly covered by the basket.

Afraid that the child would cry out of fear, she whispered, "Ayan, don't be afraid, Sister Tao'er is here!"

Ah Yan whispered in her ear, "Sister Tao'er, I'm not afraid, don't worry about me."

Tao'er thought to herself that this child was so sensible that it broke her heart.

"Hey old man, have you seen a girl who looks about fourteen or fifteen and a child who looks about five or six?"

The rude voices of the Imperial Guards rang out from outside, interrupting Tao'er's thoughts.

The two people in the basket became a little nervous, but the Imperial Guards still caught up with them.

Tao'er could feel that Ayan's body was still trembling slightly, so she gently patted the child's back again, offering silent comfort.

"Sir, do you know how old that child is?"

Boy or girl?

Is there a reward?

The same aged voice was speaking, but now the tone carried a hint of inquiry and snobbery.

Tao'er's heart sank.

Oh no, could this old man really be trying to exchange them for silver?

Was telling them to be quiet just a way to keep them calm?

This world is truly treacherous; I was too naive!

She bit her lower lip, her mind racing as she considered how to escape.

But the basket was weighed down tightly, and she was carrying Ayan on her back, so she couldn't move around at all.

Even if she managed to break out of the basket, with soldiers right in front of her, it would be suicide.

Forget it, let's just wait and see. Maybe she guessed wrong, and the old man said it on purpose.

"You old bastard, stop talking nonsense, don't you want to live anymore?" The Imperial Guard's voice grew increasingly vicious. "A mere chamber pot shoveler, and you still want a reward?"

"Letting a wanted criminal go free, you wouldn't have enough heads to lose!"

The sound of a broadsword being drawn came from outside, particularly jarring in the silent dawn.

Tao'er was startled. Could this person be planning to kill the old man?

Didn't the old man die trying to save them?

She felt a deep sadness. These wicked soldiers, couldn't they just not kill people?

Human life is truly worthless!

What should she do?

Thankfully, I didn't hear any sounds of someone being chopped.

It seems that the man was just trying to scare the old man and didn't really intend to kill him.

"Sir, spare my life! Sir, spare my life!" The old man's voice immediately turned terrified. "I didn't know they were wanted criminals!"

I didn't mean to mess with you, sir. I just wanted to make sure you understood what was going on. If you arrest the wrong person, you won't be able to explain yourselves, will you?

I'll tell you, I'll tell you...

Tao'er held her breath, her nails digging deep into her palms.

It's over, it's all over, the old man is really going to say it.

The last bloodline of the Xiao family is about to be extinguished here.

She's going to die here too, and Ayan is going to die too!

Fortunately, what the old man said next was just a false alarm for her!

"Sir, I saw them running down that road!" the old man's voice pointed in a certain direction.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"You'd better tell the truth," the Imperial Guard said suspiciously. "If you dare to lie to us, watch out for my whip."

Tao'er heard the whoosh of the whip, and the old man cried out in pain.

"I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare!"

"That's the road I just ran along! A girl carrying a child on her back ran east!"

The old man bowed and scraped, but a flash of anger crossed his eyes.

As these people turned to leave, Ayan felt a tickle in his nose and couldn't help but sneeze.

"yawn………"

The old man, who had just stood up, nervously sat back down on the basket.

Upon hearing the sound, the officers and soldiers turned around instantly and shouted angrily, "What was that sound?"

"Sir, there wasn't much noise. I just caught a cold yesterday, so I sneezed a little."

The old man hurriedly explained, but his legs were trembling uncontrollably.

"That's not right. I clearly heard a child's voice just now, not your old man's voice."

Old man, are you lying?

Are you trying to fool us?

The officers and soldiers looked at the old man with a fierce expression and suspicion.

"Boss, look, this old man's legs are shaking, he's scared!"

I don't know which soldier reminded me.

"Old man, what are you afraid of? Or are you really lying?"

The whip lashed out again.

They heard the peaches in the basket very clearly.

She desperately wanted to rush out; these people were going too far!

But reason prevailed over everything.

"Sir, I'm not scared. I've just had a strange illness since I was a child. My legs start to tremble whenever I sit down, and I walk unsteadily, like a crab. If you don't believe me, I can show you."

The old man, fearing they wouldn't believe him, stood up and paced back and forth in front of the soldiers.

He deliberately made some bizarre gestures, which made the officers and soldiers burst into laughter.

"Sir, I didn't lie to you, did I!"

You'd better hurry and chase after them, it's too late and they'll be far away, then it will be difficult for you to catch up.

The old man wanted to get rid of these people as soon as possible.

One of the leaders thought the old man's words made sense, so he waved his hand and said, "Ignore this old man and hurry up and find someone!"

Otherwise, if we can't deliver, we'll all be in trouble!

Tao'er breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Fortunately, she was young and had a strong heart that could withstand pressure; otherwise, she would have died of a heart attack long ago.

"Hey old man, your smell is so strong, get out of here."

"Yes, yes, sir, I'll leave right away... right away..."

Suddenly one of the soldiers pointed to the basket the old man was sitting in and said, "Sir, this basket is so big."

"Those two aren't hiding inside, are they?"

The military leader, who was about to leave, stopped in his tracks and glanced at the enormous bamboo basket.

This basket is big enough to hold two people.

Upon hearing this, Tao'er's heart jumped into her throat once again.

Ayan prayed silently: Please, please don't find us.

"Old man, what's in this basket?"

"Are you hiding someone?"

The official roared and lashed out with his whip again.

"Sir, no, no..."

How could I dare!

I'm just an ordinary citizen, very timid.

"Boss, don't believe him. This old man has been sitting on this basket the whole time; there's definitely something fishy going on."

The other officer in charge nodded, agreeing that it made sense.

So he pointed at the old man and said, "Old man, since you say there's no one hiding, then open the basket and take a look!"