Zhao Jiaqi smiled and shook her head slightly, deeply understanding such matters herself.
"Why would I laugh? It's only natural for people."
If one didn't care anymore, didn't love, perhaps they wouldn't feel unnecessary worry.
After a brief exchange, the two women retired to rest.
In one bed lay two pregnant women. They had wanted to chat a bit longer, but it was late, and for the sake of their children, they had to rest.
Only when they knew they were both safe did the two women fall asleep. In the blink of an eye, the outside world had dawned.
At that time, Fan Zehao had been busy apprehending people all night. By morning, the villagers of an entire hamlet had been apprehended. Without rest, he rushed towards Wang Yuanzhi's house.
Wang Zhen, following closely behind him, was the same. Both men were disheveled and paid no mind to their appearance. Their first priority upon returning to the village chief's home was to check on the people they cared about.
Seeing the two women eating, the two men could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Zhao Jiaqi saw how disheveled they were and knew last night must have been intense. Seeing no injuries on them confirmed that the two were indeed unharmed.
She waved to them, "Go wash up, and hurry to eat. It's just been prepared."
Fan Zehao pursed his lips into a smile and turned to go wash up. Conversely, Wang Zhen pulled Wang Tangshi up. The two offered Zhao Jiaqi an awkward smile, "This humble general will not disturb the Prince and Princess Consort's meal. While I attend to my duties, I implore the Princess Consort to look after her for me. I would be eternally grateful!"
He knelt on one knee, pleading with Zhao Jiaqi.
However, as his leg was about to bend, Zhao Jiaqi quickly stopped him, supporting him, "General Wang, please rise."
"It is we, my husband and I, who should be thanking you. Otherwise, you two wouldn't have traveled such a long distance to be here."
Zhao Jiaqi looked at Wang Tangshi and smiled sincerely, "Your wife and I hit it off quite well. Even if you didn't say it, I would certainly take care of her. General Wang can rest assured of this."
Wang Zhen, hearing the Princess Consort's words, was grateful from the bottom of his heart. He bowed his head, listening attentively.
"Thank you, Princess Consort."
Alas, it was always thank you. Zhao Jiaqi truly disliked hearing such words. Seeing his current demeanor, it was completely unlike how they had met yesterday.
She teased Wang Zhen, "You didn't call me that last night. Back then, you kept calling me 'Sister-in-law' with every breath. How did you change your address so quickly!"
After she finished speaking, Wang Zhen chuckled sheepishly and awkwardly said, "I was only acting that way to cooperate with the Prince. Now that the matter is settled, I naturally cannot be so presumptuous."
Just as he finished speaking, Fan Zehao, who had just entered, overheard him and joined in with a smile, "Your calling me 'Big Brother' was quite affectionate. From now on, you'll be another younger brother to your sister-in-law and me."
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhen and Wang Tangshi were so excited they were about to kneel and kowtow, but Fan Zehao stopped them. He solemnly warned him, "I believe you've heard of my character. But if you were to do anything wicked, I would personally apprehend you without regard for anyone's feelings."
These words spoke his true intentions. He would not allow anyone to act illegally under his name.
Wang Zhen immediately wanted to swear to the heavens, but as his mouth opened, his words were cut off by Fan Zehao, "I don't believe in any poisonous oaths. If oaths were effective, there would be no wicked people in this world."
With the Prince saying so, Wang Zhen was genuinely put in a difficult position. He stammered for a moment and then stated directly, "Big Brother's teachings, this younger brother will certainly bear them in mind. I will absolutely not do anything that goes against natural justice, nor will I act recklessly by leveraging Big Brother's name. From now on, this younger brother will act with even more caution and prudence. Big Brother can simply watch this younger brother's performance."
These words were sincere and precisely what they, as a couple, liked to hear. There were no flowery phrases; they were genuine and much more pleasant to hear than any flattery.
Zhao Jiaqi smiled at Fan Zehao, "From now on, we have another brother and sister-in-law."
As soon as the Princess Consort spoke, Wang Tangshi immediately followed, stepping forward slightly and bowing, "Tangtang greets Sister-in-law."
Wang Zhen stood tall, adjusted his clothes, and respectfully cupped his hands towards Zhao Jiaqi, "Greetings, Sister-in-law."
"Alright, you don't need to be so formal in the future." Zhao Jiaqi waved her hand, "You've been busy all night. Go wash up quickly and come eat with us."
Upon hearing his Sister-in-law's words, Wang Zhen happily agreed without needing to consult his Elder Brother and ran off. Seeing this, Fan Zehao gave a wry smile.
It seemed everyone here knew that pleasing the wife was more important than pleasing him.
Several more dishes were served for breakfast, all specially prepared by Bailu and suitable for pregnant women.
During the meal, Zhao Jiaqi seized the opportunity to ask, "Husband, did last night's matter go smoothly?"
Fan Zehao took a sip of his porridge and nodded, "It was relatively smooth, though a few soldiers were injured during the apprehension of Wang Yuanzhi."
"This village, as we suspected, most of the villagers were in the cave making the Immortality Elixir. Some were on lookout. The elderly and children, anyone who could move, were all in that cave."
Zhao Jiaqi frowned upon hearing this, "Good heavens, what about the children?"
When children were mentioned, the smile gradually faded from Fan Zehao's face, replaced by anger and exhaustion.
"Even three-year-olds were made to work. Anyone who could move was working in there. Those who couldn't were assigned to chop vegetables and cook."
"When we were apprehending those people, you wouldn't believe it. Three and five-year-old children were wielding sticks and hitting us. They had no humanity whatsoever. If I don't deal with this Wang Yuanzhi properly, I'll change my surname."
He spoke through gritted teeth, veins bulging on his neck. It was evident that her husband was furious.
Wang Zhen shuddered, recalling the scene. He continued, "This village has many villagers, and they are very combative. They are not afraid of the government soldiers at all. Let alone the three-year-olds fighting, even the women and children rushed forward, completely fearless of death. These people are truly detestable."
Zhao Jiaqi shook her head upon hearing this. She was quite impressed with Wang Yuanzhi now. How had he managed to influence the villagers' minds? The brainwashing was a great success. She would have to learn from him later and see how he achieved such a feat.
However, to be honest, these villagers deserved no sympathy for such actions.
"Husband, how do you plan to handle this matter?"
Handle it?
Fan Zehao pondered. Wang Zhen pricked up his ears, also curious how "Big Brother" would arrange things for this peculiar situation.
Soon, he said, "Since Gangshang Village is Huangfu Xi's territory, it naturally falls to him to handle it. This matter will be handed over to him for now."
He paused and furrowed his brow, "If his handling of it doesn't meet my expectations, I will not let it go, and I will deal with Huangfu Xi as well."