Chapter 94

Gu Xixi didn't encounter any suspicious person on her way back to the village.

But as she drove past the village entrance under the locust tree, she saw a stranger man peeking toward the village.

Gu Xixi became alert, slowed the vehicle, and asked, "Are you here to visit relatives?"

The man turned at the sound of her voice; face to face, Gu Xixi suddenly felt the man seemed somewhat familiar.

But she also couldn't recall exactly where she had seen him.

The man's eyes flickered, he sized up Gu Xixi, and put on a warm smile, saying, "I'm not visiting relatives; I'm looking for kin."

"I heard your village has a few foreign sons-in-law, including one exiled from the capital?"

Gu Xixi thought of Mu Nan Zhao's origin, and her heart skipped a beat.

She said calmly, "They are all assigned by the county office as marriage matches; not just our village, but surrounding villages too."

"Such people are recorded by the government office; since you've come from afar looking for kin, going directly to the county office for help is more convenient than loitering at the village entrance."

While Gu Xixi spoke, she kept observing the man's expression.

He smiled and said, "Oh, I was anxious to find someone, I actually forgot there was this method."

After thanking her, he was about to leave.

"Wait," Gu Xixi called out to the man, showing a friendly smile as he turned.

"It's rare to meet like this; tell me the surname and name of the relative you're seeking, and I can help keep an eye out."

A fleeting sinister glint passed in the man's eyes, then he smiled and said, "Surname Liu, ordinary family, just using the birth order in the clan as a name; saying it wouldn't help in finding someone, so I won't trouble you, miss."

Gu Xixi watched the man walk away, her face devoid of any smile.

She could be certain that the man had just been lying.

Under Qing Tian County, officials have fish tallies and imperial seals proving identity, and traveling merchants also have identity documents issued by the court.

But most ordinary commoners lack household registration documents that can prove identity.

Except for Qing Tian County, elsewhere it's the same.

Only the capital of the Great Undertaking Dynasty is different.

To safeguard the imperial capital, the capital's household registration system is strict; all native residents of the capital have household registration.

This means they must have a name from birth.

Even temporary residents from elsewhere in the capital must hold identity documents issued by their native locality's government office.

And this man who claimed to be looking for kin first inquired about those exiled from the capital, then said the person he sought had no name.

It's evident this person not only lied, but also isn't familiar with the capital's situation.

Plus his accent.

Although not obvious, there are still traces of the northwest in his speech.

Gu Xixi returned home and told Mu Nan Zhao about encountering the suspicious person.

Mu Nan Zhao was flipping through a book, with little reaction, "Oh, indeed suspicious."

"Maybe he's the human-trafficker gang that Meng Dangni zi mentioned to you."

Gu Xixi felt it wasn't that simple, 'But I feel like I've seen him somewhere, I just can't recall.'

Mu Nan Zhao finally lifted his eyelids, 'Human traffickers appear in the county town; you merely caught a brief glimpse, so it's normal not to remember.'

Mu Nan Zhao has always been meticulous, even to the point of suspicion; he even said that…

Gu Xixi frowned, also began to doubt herself, 'Could it be that I overthought?'

Mu Nan Zhao reminded, 'There are so many children in the village; you'd better tell Lao Qian to notify each household to stay alert.'

Gu Xixi stood up, 'Right, this is urgent; I'll go right away.'

She hurried off.

Mu Nan Zhao gazed at the doorway, his eyes deep, as if lost in thought.

One month later, the village school began its New Year holiday.

Gu Xixi woke early to find it had started snowing sometime; heaven and earth were a vast white expanse, and overhead still floated goose-feather-like heavy snow.

Little Flower feared the cold, poked her little nose out from under the hall's door curtain, then quickly withdrew it.

Zhang Shen lifted the curtain and came out, smiling, 'With this snow, next year's wheat harvest is assured.'

Gu Xixi lifted her head to look at the snow, and the corner of her mouth unconsciously rose.

'Yes, what a fine snow; the timing is just right, freezing pests and diseases, retaining moisture.'

Not only does the winter wheat benefit; the fruit trees in the Zhang Family Nursery also don't need extra watering this winter.

Thinking of the nursery, Gu Xixi asked, 'What about Shitou?'

Zhang Shen said, 'He's already gone out to play.'

'He saw the snow early this morning, so happy he forgot to eat, grabbed two roasted sweet potatoes and ran off.'

Gu Xixi is in a good mood now, also feeling playful, 'Chen Fang! Come out quickly to accompany me for a ride!'

After a while, Mu Nan Zhao walked out of the west room, wearing a black velvet gray-fur cloak, identical to the one previously destroyed.

'Let's go.'

The horse borrowed from the Northwest Army is named Feng Chi, a chestnut-red mare.

During this time, Mu Nan Zhao, as promised, taught Gu Xixi how to ride.

Gu Xixi initially felt that being in ancient times, riding a horse was akin to modern people taking a driver's license test.

Both are basic skills serving life's convenience.

But once she became proficient, she gradually fell in love with this horseback riding, the feeling of swift tread in the wind.

Amidst the heavy snowfall, Gu Xixi had already ridden her horse around the open ground outside the village two large circles.

She stopped before Mu Nan Zhao, unable to stop her exhilarated laugh, 'Still not enough fun.'

"If only one day we had the chance to make a thousand‑mile raid, that would be great."

Mu Nan Zhao said, "Perhaps there really is."

Gu Xixi felt he seemed to have something in mind; as she stared at him, she suddenly heard children's shouting.

"Come quickly, someone!"

"Help!!!"

The sound came from the village, not far away.

Gu Xixi and Mu Nan Zhao exchanged a glance; Mu Nan Zhao immediately leapt onto his horse.

The two rode together on one horse toward the village.

Upon arriving at the big locust tree, they met several children running out.

Gu Xixi pulled the reins, "Whoa!"

"What happened?"

A boy panting said, "Gouwa, Brother Gouwa saw several people stuffing Xiaotao and Doudu into such a big sack and carrying them away!"

Xiaotao and Doudu are girls from the village, also studying at the village school.

Gu Xixi startled, child traffickers?!

She hurriedly asked, "Where is Gouwa? And Shitou, have you seen Shitou?"

Another four‑year‑old child said in a baby voice, "I saw!"

"Brother Gouwa and Brother Shitou have gone after those bad guys."

Gu Xixi's head buzzed; she immediately turned the horse's head, urgently saying, "What are they chasing? Why didn't they call an adult first?"

"Now it's great, lost two and got two extra."

Before leaving, she emphasized, "You kids are not allowed to run out!"

"Hurry back and call for help!"

The few little beans looked at each other, still hesitating.

Until Mu Nan Zhao gave a cool glance sweeping over, "Did you all hear?"

The little ones seemed to have returned to the village school classroom, instantly they all shivered.

"We heard."

Watching them rush back, Gu Xixi breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly chased outward.

Mu Nan Zhao sat behind Gu Xixi, continually lowering his head to observe the traces left in the snow.

Wheel tracks, hoof prints, children's footprints...