The wicked sister-in-law is in charge; meals include fish and shrimp.

Chapter 63 I'll go to your house.

The atmosphere in the family suddenly became tense. Wen Luozhi pursed her lips and comforted them, "We should always think of the best-case scenario. Maybe they're just passing through and won't stop."

She herself didn't sound very confident saying that; it was such a hot day, and it was midday, those people should be eating, right...?

After dinner, everyone went to bed early. Little Wolf snuggled up next to Wen Luozhi and snored comfortably.

Wen Luozhi was so worried about tomorrow that she tossed and turned in bed like a potato, unable to fall asleep.

"System, do you think something bad might happen tomorrow?"

The system remained silent, but the little wolf next to her kept snuggling into her arms.

Wen Luozhi helplessly hugged it and lay down obediently, unaware that the little wolf's eyes were constantly and alertly staring at the roof in the darkness.

"You scared me to death, Yue!" Gu Yunqi clutched his chest, looking terrified.

"Hmph, a dog can scare you like this?" Helian Yue glanced at him. The little white dog was indeed special; its eyes were a bewitching purple.

It didn't look like a dog; it looked more like a snow wolf that he had encountered by chance when he was fighting in the north!

"Ah Yue, I think this place has a good location; you can see Grandfather Duke and the others from any direction."

Gu Yunqi sat on the tree swinging his legs. They had received news a couple of days ago that the group would pass through here and might stop, so they quietly came over at night to find a good spot to check on the old Duke and his party.

"You won't admit you're stupid. How could the two of us possibly hide under that thatched roof?"

Helian Yue looked around and found that the big tree they were standing under was the most suitable.

The dense foliage could easily conceal the two of them.

Gu Yunqi let out a wail; then he would have to spend tomorrow in the tree! It was hot and sunny there, and there were bugs biting him.

Is he going to be tempted by that family's cooking smells again? Tonight he almost couldn't resist going down to beg for some food.

When he arrived here, he found that the villagers were very poor. Even if they had meat to eat, it was just cooked and that was it, unlike this family's cooking which was so delicious.

He's been eating cold steamed buns for two days now, and he really wants to eat some delicious food!

Helian Yue ignored him, leaned against the tree trunk, closed his eyes, and thought that he would see his family tomorrow and he must get his health back.

The next day, everyone in the village got up very early, finished their work in the fields, and closed their gates early, leaving the whole village quiet.

Around noon, the village chief and several young men from the village waited nervously at the village entrance, among them Wen Zi'an.

Because he was big and looked intimidating, they weren't so afraid to stand there.

As the group came into view, the village chief's palms were sweating with nervousness. Their hearts tightened as they watched the group slowly approach the village.

"Are you the village chief of this village?" the leading soldier asked as he approached the village chief.

The village chief nodded repeatedly. The soldier glanced at the nearest few houses, all of which had their doors closed, and said angrily, "We brothers are exhausted from traveling. What do you mean by closing your doors?"

He glared menacingly at the group, and the village chief, sweating nervously, replied, "These families have all gone out on business. I'll take you to my house, sirs." The village chief quickly led the way.

Everyone was terrified when he said it yesterday, but thankfully he made the worst-case scenario plan and arranged for his family to move to another place.

There's no one home right now, so even if these people go to his house, there's no need to worry too much.

The group marched into the village in a grand procession, and along the way they saw that every household had its doors tightly shut. The soldiers became furious. "I work for the imperial court! And not a single person has offered me a bowl of water all this way!"

He cursed a few times, and seeing that the doors of the houses ahead were also tightly closed, he simply stopped walking. He didn't know where the old man's house was, and he was too lazy to go any further.

Since they're all closed, I'll just pick any place to rest.

He looked around at the houses and couldn't help but frown. What good things could they possibly have to offer them in such dilapidated conditions?

He glanced at the people standing behind the village chief and immediately spotted the tall and imposing Wen Zi'an.

I thought to myself, this young man is so strong, his family must be well-off, at least he can afford to eat his fill, right?

Thinking this, he pointed at Wen Zi'an and said, "Let's go to your house."

The village chief was terrified and quickly grabbed him, saying, "Sir, please come to my house; it's not far."

The soldier shook him off and said, "I can go wherever I want, what right do you have to tell me what to do?"

Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Wen Zi'an quickly pulled the village chief aside and said to the soldier, "Then let's go to my house."

My older brother and his family are at home, and the children are all inside. My younger sister prepared self-defense weapons for everyone yesterday in case of this situation.

The official patted Wen Zi'an on the shoulder with satisfaction. "Then lead the way, young man. We haven't had a decent meal in days."

Not only were they escorting people, but many of those being escorted were also suffering from heatstroke and were barely clinging to life due to the hot weather. Helian Zhiyan was one of them.

But they couldn't care less; the higher-ups had said that it was better to let one die than to keep up with the constant scrutiny.

Wen Zian led his group to his home, where the people from the Duke's mansion were seated in the courtyard.

As soon as he entered the house, the official threw a silver ingot on the table and said to Xie He, who was standing to one side, "Auntie, please cook whatever good wine and dishes you have for us brothers and bring them up."

Xie He was somewhat startled and didn't have time to react. Wen Zizhou picked up the silver ingots on the table, put them in his sleeve, and grinned obsequiously, "Don't worry, brother, the good wine and food will be up in a little while."

After saying that, he pulled the somewhat dazed Xie He to the kitchen.

"Mom! How could you be so distracted at such a crucial moment!" Wen Zizhou complained, patting his chest as he entered the kitchen.

Xie He slapped his thigh and cursed himself, "Look at me, so spineless! I got a little scared when I saw the knife on that guy's waist."

After saying that, she stretched out her hand and demanded money from Wen Zizhou, saying, "That's a silver ingot. If you don't give it to me, you'll cause a huge uproar!"

Wen Zizhou pursed his lips and reluctantly handed the silver to her.

Wen Luozhi was surprised that these soldiers, who looked fierce and menacing, still had some humanity and actually knew to exchange silver for good food.

She wasn't stingy at all; she took out most of the leftover meat and vegetables from the house and cooked it up in no time, serving it on the table.

The soldiers escorting the goods wolfed down their food, and for a moment no one paid any attention to the people in the courtyard.

Wen Ziming and his brothers stood guard at the door, watching them intently, fearing that they might harm their family.

Suddenly, a woman reached out and tugged at Wen Ziming's trouser leg. "Kind man, please, please give my daughter a drink of water."

Lan Cai held the dying Helian Zhiyan, tears welling in her eyes. The rest of her family was too far away for her to help.

Helian Yu and the others were separated and were anxiously watching this side, but dared not make any rash moves.

Wen Ziming hesitated, but Lan Cai immediately knelt before him, holding Helian Zhiyan in her arms. "Please, kind-hearted person, our Zhenguo Duke family has never done anything immoral. Please, save my daughter!"

Lan Cai put down her daughter from her arms, and the baby banged against him repeatedly.