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

Tao'er stayed by Xiao Yi's side because she was worried that he would have a recurring high fever. A fever is no joke; in severe cases, it can turn a person into a fool.

Whether it was because Xiao Yi had a good constitution or because of the spiritual spring water, the boy didn't have a fever and his breathing was steady.

She felt his pulse; it was strong and steady, so it seemed there was nothing seriously wrong with him.

Tao'er was finally completely relieved. She wondered what kind of expression Ayan would have when he saw Xiao Yi tomorrow.

I bet they'll cry tears of joy!

That kid always seems so mature for his age. Poor thing, he's so thoughtful at such a young age.

Tao'er was full of questions. Why was Xiao Yi here? Shouldn't he have been almost in the North?

Or has the political landscape changed again?

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. These things are too complicated.

Looking at the hourglass, I thought to myself that it had been almost an hour, and Qingge should have returned by now, but I hadn't seen her come back yet.

Tao'er frowned slightly, and began to worry. Had she been caught?

That's not good!

After thinking about it, I shook my head. It shouldn't be that bad!

Qingge's skills are no joke, and she probably knows how to use sleeping potions or something to knock the people in the old house unconscious before making her move!

Just as Tao'er was guessing, a black figure jumped directly in through the window.

Tao'er looked up and saw a tall, lithe woman in black, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit and wearing a mask standing in front of her.

"Young lady, guess who I am?"

Tao'er laughed, "Qingge, we're home now, so you don't need to cover your face anymore, right?"

Qingge removed her veil and chuckled, "As expected, I couldn't hide it from you, Miss."

"Even with only my eyes showing, you recognized me."

"I knew it was you as soon as you stood next to me."

We've known each other for so long, how could I not recognize you?

Enough with the banter, let's get down to business. Why did you take so long?

Tao'er wanted to know as soon as possible whether Qingge had brought back any useful clues.

Although her father seemed indifferent on the surface, she knew that he still wanted to know if his family was still around, or if anyone else was still alive.

"Ugh, it's all that old man Liu's fault. He never sleeps and just sits in the house smoking non-stop. It's so annoying!"

I was being bitten to death by mosquitoes while waiting outside.

Later, I decided to go all out and simply used sleeping powder to knock the old man unconscious.

Qingge sighed.

"Actually, you should have drugged him from the beginning. That way, he could have done his job more easily and without any mistakes."

If you wait until he falls asleep, and then wake him up while you're looking for something, he'll be discovered, and that would be a huge problem.

Just as she had guessed.

This girl is usually quite clever, but why does her brain always short-circuit at crucial moments?

"What the girl said is true, so I ran to Liu Laosan's room and drugged them too."

Girl, I've been looking for this for a long time, but I couldn't find anything at first.

But I finally found it.

Guess where I found this.

The thought of how well that old man hid his things made Qingge want to throw him into the latrine and feed him shit.

"You little rascal, you've learned to keep people in suspense. Hurry up and tell me where you found it."

Tao'er glared at Qingge with annoyance.

"That old man actually dug a hole in the bed board where he was sleeping, and then covered it with a wooden board that fit perfectly. You couldn't even tell unless you looked closely."

It was covered with straw, and then there was a straw mat on top of that.

It was hidden very well.

It took me a lot of effort to find it.

"Girl, look, it's this little box."

Qingge produced an ordinary little wooden box as if by magic.

The wooden box looked cheap; it was probably just something that Grandpa Liu and his family had someone make.

Tao'er took the box, opened it, and found a longevity lock inside, which was gold.

"Wow! Girl, there's a longevity lock inside, and it's made of gold."

It seems the master comes from a wealthy family.

Qingge's eyes widened; she hadn't expected that the master's background was actually quite prestigious.

"Qingge, you're already engaged to my second brother, so you don't need to call me 'father' anymore. Just call me 'father' like I do."

They're already engaged, so calling him "Master" is inappropriate.

"Understood, young lady."

Qingge nodded shyly.

Tao'er picked up the longevity lock and examined it carefully. She found that one side of the lock was engraved with two characters: "Hengsheng" (恒生), and the other side was engraved with the character "Zhang" (章).

She thought Hengsheng was probably her father's previous name, and Zhang was likely his surname.

She remembered that among the prominent families in the capital at that time, there was a Zhang family, which was rumored to be a family with a history of over a hundred years, and even the emperor had to give them some respect.

Tao'er was also shocked when she thought of this. Then her father must be...

However, this has not been confirmed yet, and nothing can be concluded definitively.

"Miss, is there something wrong with this gold lock?"

Why aren't you saying anything?

Qingge noticed that Tao'er hadn't said anything and was staring at the gold lock in her hand.

"Qingge, don't tell anyone about Jin Suo. Don't tell anyone in the family, not even my parents."

Tao'er said firmly.

Why?!

girl……

I saw that there were words engraved on the gold lock; it must be my father's name!

Why don't we tell Dad this good news and let him be happy?

Qingge didn't understand why they still needed to hide it.

"Qingge, you don't understand. My father might not be from an ordinary family. We can't be completely sure yet."

We also don't know what the family's current situation is.

We can't just take Dad to meet his relatives without proper preparation, since it's been too long.

So we have to take it slowly.

Tao'er explained patiently.

They might even have to make a trip to the capital.

However, with the current turmoil in the capital, they are still fugitives in principle, and it is impossible for them to go to the capital now.

Going there now would be like walking right into the old emperor's inner circle; it would be sending him to his death, not a chance to reunite with his family.

"Oh, I understand. I won't tell anyone, not even my parents."

Seeing Tao'er's serious expression, Qingge quickly nodded.

"Qingge, you've worked hard today. There are only two hours left until dawn. Go back to your room and get some sleep."

Otherwise, I'll wake up tomorrow with panda eyes, and I won't look pretty.

Tao put the longevity lock back into the wooden box and closed it again.

"And you, girl, aren't you going to sleep?"

Qingge glanced at Xiao Yi, who was lying unconscious on the bed; in fact, he was asleep.

"I won't go anymore, I'll stay here, don't worry about me."

I can always just take a nap on the corner couch next to me.

Tao'er shook her head, glanced at Xiao Yi, and wondered when this guy would wake up!

"Girl, go back to your room and sleep. I'll stay here and watch over you."

Qingge felt sorry for Tao'er.

"Silly girl, just go to sleep when I tell you to."

Don't forget, you're engaged to my second brother. If you spend a night with a man, what will my parents and my second brother think?

Do you even care about your reputation?

"Listen to me, go inside and go to sleep right away."

What Tao'er said is true. After all, her parents and second brother are from ancient times and their thinking is not so open-minded.

She's different; since she's not engaged, she doesn't care about reputation.

Qingge gave up and went back to her room.

The next morning, Xiao Yi vaguely heard birds chirping outside.

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Tao'er asleep, her head resting on the edge of his bed.

This girl seems to have grown even prettier.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Zhang Su'e pushed it open to come in; she had come to get something.

The moment she saw Xiao Yi, she screamed and shouted outside, "Master, Tiezhu and Tiechui, come quick! Someone's bullying Tao'er!"