Madam Xue glared at him fiercely, "Useless good-for-nothing!"
Just moments ago, she had said that Little Sweet Treasure was his savior, a benefactor to their entire Qin family...
And now, that little girl had been abducted, and this good-for-nothing was acting as if nothing had happened. He deserved to be scolded.
Madam Xue had no intention of sleeping. She called for her maid, Luoluo.
"Madam, you're not asleep yet?" Luoluo bowed.
"Sleep? What sleep? Go pack some luggage. This madam intends to visit Dashui Village tomorrow..."
The Yun family must be frantic after losing their youngest daughter. It wouldn't be wrong to go and see them now.
After all, she still wanted to marry her daughter into the old Yun family.
"Understood, Madam!" Luoluo replied and turned to leave.
"Mother!"
As soon as Luoluo left, two adorable little heads poked in from outside the door...
It was Qin Yiyi and Qin Fenglan.
Madam Xue smiled slightly and beckoned to her two daughters, "Come in quickly, it's cold outside!"
The two little maids trotted over, climbed onto the bed, and snuggled into Madam Xue's quilt.
"Mother, I just heard you say you're going to Dashui Village. Is that true?" Qin Yiyi asked.
Madam Xue hummed and flicked her daughter's nose, "What, do you want to go too?"
"Yes, yes, I want to go..." Qin Yiyi nodded. She hadn't seen Brother Jinshan in a long time.
"What about Xiao Lan?" Madam Xue looked at Qin Fenglan.
Qin Fenglan seemed indifferent. She mostly missed Sister Xitian.
"Is Sister Xitian at home?" Qin Fenglan asked.
Madam Xue sighed and hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell them about Little Xitian being abducted.
"She... she's lost!" Madam Xue said mournfully.
"Ah? Lost?" The two little sisters exchanged wide-eyed glances, both looking astonished.
How could someone so big just get lost?
"Your father has already sent people to look for her. We'll set off tomorrow and go to Dashui Village to visit them..." Madam Xue sighed.
Qin Fenglan was heartbroken. If Sister Xitian was lost, what was the point of going to Dashui Village?
It was no longer interesting.
Prefect Qin handed his token to his subordinate and instructed him earnestly, "Convey my order to the city guards to closely monitor movements around the river. Any boats entering the city are to be thoroughly searched..."
He specifically described the appearances and heights of Xiao Jinheng and Little Xitian.
He did not reveal the little prince's identity.
The subordinate took the token and immediately went to make arrangements...
Prefect Qin was not idle either. He led a dozen men and the yamen runner on horseback, searching upstream along the great river.
Although it was not yet dawn, they could still spot a boat floating on the river.
"All of you, look carefully. If you catch that human trafficker, this official will reward you handsomely. Do you understand?" Prefect Qin asked loudly.
His subordinates responded in unison, "Understood..."
At the same time, Little Xitian and Xiao Jinheng were huddled together on a small, dilapidated boat, having slept for several naps.
The man was still unconscious. He had a high fever in the first half of the night, his body burning hot.
Little Xitian had given him another fever-reducing injection, and only then did the man's temperature drop.
"Little village girl, you should get some sleep!" Xiao Jinheng sat up and draped the blanket over her.
Little Xitian pursed her lips and smiled, looking towards the east, where a faint dawn was breaking...
It would be daylight in less than half an hour.
"Are you hungry?" Xiao Jinheng asked softly.
"You're hungry, aren't you?" Little Xitian couldn't help but laugh.
She had clearly heard the "grumble" of the brat's stomach just now.
Since they got on the boat, their food had been almost entirely fruit, with no protein intake, making them easily hungry...
Xiao Jinheng's small face turned red. "I'm not a glutton, I'm not hungry at all!"
"Hmph, stubborn." Little Xitian rolled her eyes.
She searched through her space and found nothing edible except for crabapples and plums.
There were plenty of donkeys, horses, cows, sheep, sika deer, wild boars, etc.
But they couldn't be butchered on this small, dilapidated boat. Moreover, starting a fire would be a problem. She was afraid of accidentally burning the entire boat to ashes...
"Here, Tian Tian's big plums!" Little Xitian took out a handful of plums and handed them to Xiao Jinheng. "Have a little something to tide you over. When we dock, we'll figure out how to roast some meat!"
Xiao Jinheng was subtly moved.
He couldn't imagine if he hadn't had the little village girl's company on this journey, whether he would have starved to death.
If nothing else, when he was washed away by the flood and submerged in the water, if the little village girl hadn't rescued him, he would have definitely drowned...
His corpse would have become bloated.
"Hey? Why aren't you eating?" Little Xitian shoved the plums into his hand.
Xiao Jinheng coughed lightly and turned his face away, looking at the faintly brightening sky. "Little village girl, have you ever thought about leaving Dashui Village and living in the capital?"
As he spoke, he took a bite of the plum...
In the past, Xiao Jinheng was very picky about food, refusing this and that, and wrinkling his nose at all kinds of fruits.
But the plum in his hand tasted so good now.
Little Xitian blinked her big eyes. "You seem to have asked me this question before!"
"Then answer it again, do you want to go to the capital?" Xiao Jinheng was eager for her answer.
Little Xitian leaned against the boat and said without thinking, "The capital is indeed prosperous, but I'm too young now. If I go to such a big place, I'll definitely be taken away by someone..."
"So, you want to go?" Xiao Jinheng was overjoyed.
Little Xitian ate a plum, its sweetness making her eyes squint. "Who can say what the future holds? This is a false proposition, I can't answer it!"
Xiao Jinheng: "..."
Just say you don't want to go, why bring up a false proposition.
What does "false proposition" mean?
"Little village girl, if you ever go to the capital, please tell me, okay?" Xiao Jinheng leaned closer to her. "Because as long as I'm here, no one will dare to bully you!"
Little Xitian was stunned for a moment, then giggled, "You talk as if you're the emperor..."
Xiao Jinheng choked, snorted, and sat back down, thinking to himself: If you're willing to let me be emperor, what's impossible about that?
Little Xitian casually tossed a plum pit into the water and murmured, "I wonder how far the prefectural city is from here!"
"Soon!" The man, who had somehow opened his eyes, looked at Little Xitian with exhaustion. "We'll be there in another half a day..."
The waterway was definitely faster than the land route, and this great river had strong currents, with no stops for rest midway.
"Big brother, you're awake! Does your wound still hurt?" Little Xitian's face lit up with joy, and she hurried over.
Unexpectedly, the man grabbed her head and shushed her, also gesturing for Xiao Jinheng to duck down.
The sound of horses' hooves echoed from the shore ahead...