Chapter 312: Steamed Egg Custard The mule cart quickly stopped in front of the main courtyard of Shishi Village. Shu Yu carried a hungry Quan Quan, who was whimpering and on the verge of tears, out of the cart. Lan Hua sat at the entrance, holding a small stool and sewing while waiting for them. Seeing their figures, she quickly placed her needle and thread basket on the stool and greeted them, "Father, how is fourth Aunt's house?" "Let's go inside first." Lu Dasong's expression was far from relaxed, causing Lan Hua to feel anxious. She looked at the wound on Xiaozhen's forehead, who was being led by Da Niu from behind, and was immediately shocked. After everyone entered the house, she hurriedly closed the door. Li Shi furrowed her brows and came out of the main hall, about to say something when Lu Dasong instructed her, "You should first make something for Quan Quan and Xiaozhen to eat. Steam two bowls of egg custard to fill their stomachs." Li Shi frowned and hesitated, not moving. "What's going on? Why do they need to eat? And egg custard at that! We've saved those eggs for a long time, isn't he being too generous?" "Oh, don't ask now. Hurry up. Once the children finish eating, we still have to rush to the county town." Li Shi was unhappy and dragged her feet. Fortunately, Lan Hua was quick-witted and had already run to the kitchen to get busy. Shu Yu couldn't be bothered to look at Li Shi and carried Quan Quan into the kitchen. Seeing this, Xiaozhen pulled on her sleeve and hurriedly followed. Shu Yu comforted Quan Quan while explaining the situation in Daxu Village to Lan Hua. In the yard, Lu Dasong briefly explained the situation to Li Shi. Lan Hua's face was filled with shock after hearing everything, while Li Shi was on the verge of erupting in anger. She had just mentioned Yuan Shanchuan's name when Da Niu, who had sharp eyes and quick hands, pulled her aside. "Mother, Xiaozhen is still here. Don't say anything that will upset her. Besides, Ah Yu is here too. Haven't you forgotten about the time Uncle Erbai's shop opened and sent gifts from the officials? Don't worry, Aunt Si will be fine." "Of course, I hope she's fine." Otherwise, it would be their burden. Li Shi was already troubled these past two days and now her heart was aching. She didn't want to see Xiaozhen and the others, so she simply returned to her room. Lu Dasong didn't have the time or energy to argue with her at this critical moment, so he didn't bother to say anything. He instructed Er Niu, who had already returned, to find his childhood pants and change Quan Quan into them. Although Shu Yu had removed his diaper, the child's pants were still wet. The steamed egg custard was quickly ready, and Lan Hua handed a bowl to Xiaozhen, who hesitated. She knew that this was a precious thing. When she had visited her third uncles' houses before, she hardly had the chance to eat it. Her eldest uncle's house had her eldest aunt to take care of things. Her second uncle's family was struggling, and her mother wouldn't let her eat. As for her third uncle, well, let's not even mention it. It was already good enough if they didn't cry poor and say they didn't have egg custard for their precious daughter. So in Xiaozhen's heart, the egg custard at her uncles' houses was very precious. Now, there were two bowls steamed at once, and she was hesitant to take action, especially when her parents were not around. Lan Hua took a spoon and said, "Hurry up and eat. We still need to go to the county town to see your mother. Don't delay." On the other side, Shu Yu had already started feeding Quan Quan, who was obviously very hungry and ate vigorously. After feeding him one bowl, Quan Quan was still not satisfied and tugged at her hand, babbling, "Eat, ah, eat." Shu Yu wiped the corners of his mouth and said, "Okay, let's not eat for now. We'll eat later when we go to the county town." After speaking, she turned to look at Xiaozhen, who had already finished eating and was eagerly looking at her, wanting to go to the county town to see her mother. Shu Yu switched Quan Quan to her other arm and said, "Let's go." Special thanks to these patrons for their support!!!

Chapter 311: Shu Yu Soothes the Baby Da Niu was in a hurry to drive the mule cart, so he handed the baby in his arms to Lu Dasong, who was struggling to hold the child stiffly. Lu Dasong was clearly not used to carrying children, especially a baby who was only eleven months old. He was afraid of accidentally hurting the child. Quan Quan was already frightened and crying hoarsely. He had calmed down a bit in Da Niu's arms, but now he started crying again. Xiaozhen was very anxious and couldn't control her tears either. She cried while comforting her younger brother. Shu Yu reached out her hand and said, "Give me the child." Lu Dasong hurriedly handed the baby over, then let out a big sigh of relief. Shu Yu checked the baby first. Not only had he wet his diaper, but he also looked very hungry. Moreover, such a young child was easily affected by shocks and could easily be in danger. After crying for so long, his voice had become hoarse. Shu Yu thought for a moment and said to Da Niu, who was driving outside, "Big Brother Da Niu, Shishi Village is closer from here. Let's go back there first and ask eldest Aunt to help prepare some rice soup or porridge for the child to eat before we go to the county town." "Okay." Although Da Niu was also very worried about his fourth aunt, Quan Quan's condition was definitely more serious now. The mule cart turned towards the fork in the road, and Shu Yu did a good job of comforting the child. She removed Quan Quan's diaper, luckily there were clean cloth pieces in the mule cart, so she wiped him with it first. Quan Quan felt a little more comfortable, and his crying subsided. Shu Yu gently rocked him and patted his back with one hand, then hummed a soft tune. The baby gradually stopped crying, pouted his mouth, and raised his wet eyes to look at Shu Yu. Shu Yu smiled at him, and Quan Quan also grinned. The child's emotions finally stabilized, and Lu Dasong immediately breathed a sigh of relief. So many things had happened one after another at youngest sister's house, and he was afraid that something else might happen to the child. Sixing wouldn't be able to withstand such a blow. "Ah Yu, you sing so beautifully," Xiaozhen looked up at Shu Yu, feeling a little less anxious in her heart. She finally knew that Ah Yu was the sister her mother had mentioned before, the sister who had gone missing from second Uncle's family. She was supposed to meet her last time, but something happened at home, and her mother didn't take her to see Ah Yu. Now she finally saw her. Xiaozhen held her brother's hand and listened to Shu Yu's lullaby, feeling a little drowsy. However, Shu Yu reached out and touched her forehead, asking softly, "How did you get the injury on your forehead?" She didn't believe that the officials caused the injury when they were arresting people. Since it was Wang Hong who was in charge this time, he specifically waited for her in the village. He wouldn't allow his subordinates to be so violent towards children. Sure enough, Xiao Zhen lowered her head and whispered, "It was thrown by my grandmother. When my mother was taken away, my grandmother beat her and said my mother was a jinx, causing trouble for the Yuan family. I wanted to protect my mother, so my grandmother accidentally hit me." Grandmother was so terrifying at that time, she was holding a stone as if she wanted to fight her mother to death. She instinctively went to shield her mother, and as a result, the stone hit her head. Fortunately, the official grabbed her in time. Her grandmother could only throw stones, but if she had hit her directly, she might have died. Shu Yu frowned but didn't say much. She just gently touched the injury. Xiaozhen pressed her lips, not crying out in pain, but she couldn't hold back her gasps. Shu Yu whispered, "When we get to the county town, both you and Quan Quan should see a doctor first." Xiaozhen relied on her and held onto her sleeve with her right hand, saying, "Okay." Special thanks to these patrons for their support!!!

Chapter 310: Shocking the Entire County Office Shu Yu took a deep breath. "So, what would be the most severe punishment for my aunt?" "Exile," Wang Hong replied. Exile again. Every time Shu Yu heard the word "exile," she felt a headache coming on. Wang Hong looked at her with a hint of pity. Nobody could have predicted this turn of events. There was something he didn't mention. In fact, they hadn't paid much attention to Yuan Shanchuan before. Even when Yuan's family came to the county office to report his disappearance, they didn't have the energy to focus on him. It was only when Shu Yu came and asked for their help that they allocated manpower to search for Yuan Shanchuan. Well, during their search, they unexpectedly unraveled a major piece of evidence that they couldn't find before—the one entrusted by the former county magistrate to Yuan Shanchuan's hands. It truly shocked the entire county office. Wang Hong didn't know whether to thank Shu Yu or feel sorry for her. Unable to fully understand Wang Hong's expression, Shu Yu simply asked, "Has my fourth uncle been found?" "No, we are still searching for him with all our efforts," Wang Hong replied. Shu Yu understood that they hadn't found him yet, so they didn't know the specifics of his situation or how severe his punishment might be. "Can I go see my aunt?" Shu Yu asked. "I can't guarantee that, but Hu Li is still at the county office. You can ask him about it. It should be possible to see her, but you'll need someone to accompany you," Wang Hong explained. "I understand. Thank you, Brother Wang. Let's go to the county town now," Shu Yu said. "Okay." The two of them returned to the Yuan family's doorstep, and Wang Hong nodded at Shu Yu before turning and entering the house. Shu Yu, under the bewildered gazes of the villagers of Daxu Village, walked over to Lu Dasong. Da Niu eagerly asked, "How did it go? What did the master say?" Shu Yu shook her head. "Let's talk while we walk." "Okay." Lu Dasong picked up Xiaozhen, and the group followed behind Shu Yu as they made their way towards where the mule cart was parked. As they left, the villagers immediately started discussing. "Wow, this Miss Lu actually knows people in the government?" "The leading officer earlier seemed to have a surprisingly good attitude towards her." "Do you think Miss Lu will really take Xiaozhen and the others to see the Yuan family?" As they spoke, someone turned their head and looked at Aunt Yao. By now, her face had turned pale, and she hurriedly ran back home in a panicked manner. "I guess even if Yuan Shanchuan is guilty, the Lu family should be able to save Aunt Lu." "But as for the other members of the Yuan family... it's hard to say." The villagers looked towards the three sisters-in-law of the Yuan family, who were in a daze. Someone reminded them, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and follow them. You might as well take this chance to see your husband." The three sisters-in-law suddenly snapped back to their senses. "Right, right, let's catch up." They still had the mule cart, so they could sit in it and be more comfortable. The three of them quickly wiped their faces and stood up to catch up. However, they were a step too late. Shu Yu and the others had already boarded the cart, and Da Niu was urging the mule towards the village entrance. "Wait for us! We're coming too!" the three sisters-in-law called out from behind. Da Niu hesitated for a moment, looking somewhat uncertain. But Shu Yu, with an expressionless face, said, "Just keep going. The mule cart can't fit so many people." Da Niu immediately picked up the pace, and in no time, the cart had left Daxu Village, heading straight for the county town. However, not long after leaving the village, Lu Dasong looked nervously at the crying Xiaozhen and said, "What should we do? Xiaozhen has been crying all along. Will something bad happen if it continues like this?"

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 Chapter 309: The Matter with the Yuan Family is Not Small

 Chapter 308: Can You Shut Up?

Chapter 307: The Two Children of Fourth Aunt Shu Yu frowned as she listened, finding the situation quite chaotic. How could all of this be related? Da Niu, who was standing beside her, also grasped the situation and grew anxious upon hearing that Fourth Aunt had been taken away by the officials. He turned to the people from Daxu Village and asked, "What about Xiaozhen and the others? Are the two children also taken away?" "No, the two children were frightened and are resting in the neighboring house," the woman replied. As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of a child crying could be heard from a distance. Shu Yu suddenly looked up and followed the source of the sound. She saw a six or seven-year-old girl, tears streaming down her face, stumbling towards them. Not only was her face covered in tears and snot, but there was also a wound on her forehead. The size of the wound was unclear, but it was stained with blood, creating a large patch of red. But what was even more distressing was that she was holding a baby in her arms. However, her posture wasn't stable, and it seemed like the baby was about to fall to the ground. Both the older and younger child were crying, but the older one was visibly trying to hold back her tears, while the younger one had cried to the point of losing his voice. Da Niu's face changed slightly, and he quickly pushed through the crowd, rushing forward. "Xiaozhen." The little girl looked up and burst into tears as soon as she saw Da Niu. "Big Brother Da Niu." Da Niu barely managed to catch her before her hands weakened and she almost dropped the baby in her arms. With one hand holding the baby and the other patting Xiaozhen's back to comfort her, Da Niu said, "It's alright, it's alright. Big Brother Da Niu is here, everything will be fine." Xiaozhen hugged Da Niu, crying and sobbing as she spoke, "Mother... Mother was taken away. They said... they said my father is a bad person... but he's not, my father is good. They're talking nonsense... the baby has been crying all this time, and I couldn't calm him down. I'm so worried that he'll hurt his throat... I don't know what to do... it hurts so much..." Da Niu squatted on the ground, feeling a pang of distress as he listened. Shu Yu and Lu Dasong also approached. Shu Yu glanced at the two children and then looked up at the woman from the neighboring house. The woman smiled awkwardly and explained, "Well, after Xiaozhen's mother was taken away, I felt sorry for the two children and brought them home to take care of them. But when I heard that the children's uncle had come, Xiaozhen couldn't stay at home and insisted on coming out. She also wanted to hold her little brother by herself and wouldn't let me touch him. I couldn't do anything about it." A villager nearby bluntly exposed her, "Oh, spare us your pretense. It was the village chief who asked you to bring Xiaozhen and her brother home to take care of them before he left. You weren't willing at the time." With another villager chiming in, "Exactly. Don't pretend to be compassionate. Look at how you've taken care of them. Xiaozhen has a bleeding wound on her forehead, and you didn't even bother to get a cloth to wipe it." That villager, being helpful, handed Da Niu a clean cloth dampened with water to wipe Xiaozhen's face. "I think you panicked and rushed the two children out when you heard Xiaozhen's uncle was coming. Otherwise, how could Xiaozhen and her brother end up crying like this?" The woman, exposed by several villagers, became somewhat angry and embarrassed. "What else could I do? The Yuan family has caused such a big incident, and the whole family has been taken away. Who knows if everyone will be executed? What if I get implicated?"

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 Chapter 306: Lu Sixing Gets Arrested