A moment later, Kong Xingzhuo hurried in.
Seeing the young county princess and the young crown prince present, he suppressed his inner urgency and stepped forward, cupping his hands, "Your Highness, County Princess..."
Ever since Xiao Xitian was enfeoffed as the County Princess of Dongping, Kong Xingzhuo dared not call her "Sweet Baby" anymore, feeling it was disrespectful.
Who would call a county princess "Sweet Baby"?
Xiao Jinheng frowned slightly, "What is it?"
This Commander Kong always ruined his good deeds...
He had just wanted to tell the little village girl that the prefectural city was holding a lantern festival in a few days, and he wanted to take her to see the lanterns.
Before he could even say it, Commander Kong barged in.
Kong Xingzhuo chuckled and looked at Xiao Xitian, "County Princess, I inquired at Yun Gui Fang. Sister-in-law Guihua said the restaurant is not short of people for now..."
Xiao Xitian was surprised to hear this, "Not even for odd jobs and errands?"
Someone as diligent as Sister Niu could do everything, like chopping firewood, washing dishes, and carrying water.
Besides, Sister-in-law Guihua had been complaining a few days ago that the restaurant was short-handed and needed to hire four or five people. It shouldn't be possible to hire them all so quickly...
"County Princess!" Kong Xingzhuo looked troubled. He glanced back, saw no one passing by, and then leaned closer to Xiao Xitian, "County Princess, please don't be angry when I say this!"
Xiao Xitian: "???"
What was going on? Just say it if you have something to say...
"Brother Kong, please speak freely!" Xiao Xitian pursed her lips and reminded him, "Also, Brother Kong, you don't need to call me County Princess anymore. I'm not used to it!"
Kong Xingzhuo was stunned for a moment, then chuckled foolishly, "Alright, then Xitian younger sister. The thing is, when I went to Yun Gui Fang, Sister-in-law Guihua was busy with accounts and didn't even look at me. When I mentioned this matter to her, she was very impatient and said things like 'even cats and dogs want to get into Yun Gui Fang, but they don't look at their own abilities.' Seeing her firm attitude, I didn't ask further and just, just came back directly!"
Xiao Xitian: "..."
Good heavens, isn't Sister-in-law a bit too conceited?
Yun Gui Fang was clearly funded and managed by her, and she had also found workers to renovate it. Sister-in-law Guihua was at most managing the restaurant for her; she did not own the restaurant...
Why was she so domineering?
Hearing this, Xiao Jinheng's handsome young face was filled with gloom, "Did you tell her that the little village girl sent you?"
"I did, but Sister-in-law Guihua wouldn't listen, alas..." Kong Xingzhuo sighed.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinheng, without another word, took Xiao Xitian's hand and walked out.
Since Sister-in-law was so unreasonable, it was time to let her know who the owner of Yun Gui Fang was.
Seeing this, Kong Xingzhuo quickly followed, "Your... Your Highness, where are you going? I still have something to say!"
"If you have something to say, spit it out!" Xiao Jinheng stopped, looking straight ahead.
Kong Xingzhuo let out a long sigh and pointed in the direction of the county town, "Your Highness, Xitian younger sister, I know where Jiaojiao is hiding..."
As Kong Xingzhuo's lover, he naturally didn't want Han Chi Jiao to wander alone. So, this time he went to the county town, he used some connections and found the inn where Han Chi Jiao was staying.
Xiao Xitian's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Where is Sister Han?"
As long as she was safe...
"I can take you there!" Kong Xingzhuo said.
So, the three of them mumbled an excuse to the Gu family and then took a carriage to the county town.
At the same time, on a dirt road outside the prefectural city, Prefect Qin was happily heading towards Dashui Village in his carriage...
"Haha, I'm going to be reinstated! It's just a hundred windmills; I can make them in less than three months!" Prefect Qin said with a smile.
A while ago, the Crown Prince had assigned tasks to him and Magistrate Chen. As long as they could provide free windmills to the people of the prefectural city, county town, and surrounding villages within three months, the Crown Prince would petition the Emperor to reinstate them, and even promote them...
To complete this arduous task, Prefect Qin slept only three hours a day and lost a lot of weight. Finally, at the end of the third month, he had made all the windmills.
Now, Prefect Qin was going to Dashui Village to report back to the Crown Prince...
Just then, the carriage suddenly jolted and stopped abruptly.
Prefect Qin lost his balance and hit the carriage with a thud, getting a large bump on his forehead.
"Coachman Old Li, how are you driving? Can't you see the road?" Prefect Qin scolded.
Coachman Old Li was also confused. He turned and lifted the carriage curtain, "Prefect... Prefect, there are bandits ahead!"
"What nonsense?" Prefect Qin twitched his mouth and his anger flared, "Who dares to be so bold as to rob even my carriage?"
Prefect Qin had guards protecting him when he went out.
The two guards had already gone to investigate the situation...
"Damn it, under my governance, the people live in peace and have plenty to eat. Who would come out to rob?" Prefect Qin was puzzled.
Coachman Old Li shook his head, indicating he didn't understand.
A moment later, the two guards returned and reported, "Prefect, the men in front are not bandits..."
"Then why are they blocking the road? Are they performing a ritual?" Prefect Qin said, then stooped and jumped off the carriage, looking ahead.
"Hmm? Foreigners?" Prefect Qin was surprised.
Indeed, the group of men in front all had blonde hair, blue eyes, slightly dark skin, and were tall and strong...
Foreigners with such strange appearances could only be seen on the streets of the capital. What were they doing in the prefectural city?
"Yes, these foreigners don't speak Central Plains dialect well. They only took out a portrait and kept gesturing. The boy in the portrait is about ten years old, and, and I think I've seen him somewhere before..." the guard murmured.
Prefect Qin: "???"
"Where have you seen him?" Prefect Qin asked curiously.
The guard said uncertainly, "It seems... it seems to be in Dashui Village!"
Since these two personal guards had been following Prefect Qin for a long time, they had also been to Dashui Village a few times.
Upon hearing this, Prefect Qin pushed aside the guards and quickly walked up to the group of men, "Come, let me see the portrait!"
The leading big man quickly unrolled the portrait and handed it to Prefect Qin, "Prince... Prince, looking for... looking for Prince!"
Prefect Qin didn't understand what he was saying but was attracted by the boy in the portrait.
"Wow, looking at it this way, it really does look like that child..." Prefect Qin slapped his thigh.