Chapter 191 The adults were kidnapped
The autumn sowing process was the same as the spring sowing process, and everyone had already mastered it. After ten days of hard work, all the rice fields had been planted with seedlings, and everyone finally relaxed. The kitchen also prepared good wine and food to reward the workers who had worked hard for a month, and Shen Zhi even gave them a five-day holiday.
Prime Minister Zhu had never come to see Shen Zhi since the first time he met her. He didn't want to cause trouble for his daughter because there were too many people around. They were about to leave for the capital, and Prime Minister Zhu wanted to see Shen Zhi before leaving, so he and Xue came to Baiyun Villa together.
"Nannan," Prime Minister Zhu couldn't help choking up when he saw Shen Zhi.
Fortunately, there was no one else around, Shen Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and took Prime Minister Zhu and his wife to the small courtyard where he lived. Now that He Jin's family had been recalled to the capital by the emperor, Shen Zhi was the only one left living in Xiaoyan.
"Dad, why are you here?" Shen Zhi poured tea for them and sat next to them.
Prime Minister Zhu said, "We will be leaving for the capital tomorrow. Dad can't bear to leave you, so he came to see you. Nannan, why don't you come back to the capital with us?"
Xue also said: "Yes, don't worry, you will be my own daughter from now on. Your brothers and sisters are all kind people, they will get along well with you."
Shen Zhi felt warm in her heart. It was not easy to meet someone who truly loved her in another world, but her current identity was the daughter of the Shen family. Since God had given her this identity, she would live well with it.
"Dad, Aunt Xue, I'm doing fine in Qingzhou Prefecture now. If I leave, my mother won't be able to survive. Don't worry, I will go to the capital to visit you."
Prime Minister Zhu knew that he could not persuade his daughter. The child had been stubborn since she was young, and once she made up her mind, no one could change her mind. However, when he left, the child was only a dozen years old. So many years had passed in the blink of an eye. He really wanted to bring his daughter to his side and watch her grow up.
"Dad, wait a minute. I'll go prepare some of your favorite tea and wine for you." Shen Zhi said as he ran into his room, took out some items from the space and went to the side hall again.
When Prime Minister Zhu saw what Shen Zhi had pulled over on the small trailer, his eyes lit up. On the small trailer were several bottles of Maotai and Wuliangye, as well as several boxes of Longjing tea. He hadn't touched these things for more than ten years, and he was almost dying of greed.
Shen Zhi also prepared gifts for the two non-blood-related brothers and sisters. He prepared a set of high-quality paper products for Zhu Mingzhe, and a set of skin care products for Zhu Mingyue and Xue.
Xue was surprised and delighted that the child had prepared such a good thing for her. She had heard from her husband that these were things from a thousand years later and could not be bought with money now. Xue had originally thought of preparing a set of fine headwear for the child after returning to the capital, but now that the child had given her a gift, she, as an elder, could not meet her empty-handed for the first time, so she took off the red gold and ruby bracelet on her wrist without hesitation and put it on Shen Zhi's wrist.
Shen Zhi was stunned for a moment. This exquisitely crafted bracelet was obviously priceless, but Xue gave it to her without blinking an eye. This was too generous.
"Nannan, how old are you now? When is your birthday?"
"What year was I born? I don't know how the years are calculated here. I am exactly twelve years old this year. My mother said that I was born at the first quarter of the first hour of the Hai period on the first day of the Lunar New Year." Shen Zhi said.
"Twelve years old is the Yi Si year, the first day of the Lunar New Year?" Xue was stunned for a moment while speaking, turned her head to look at Prime Minister Zhu, and found that Prime Minister Zhu's expression was equally shocked.
"She was born on the same day as our sister Qiao, even their birth date and horoscope are the same." Xue murmured to herself.
Xue recalled the day when Qiao Jie'er was born. Her maid Ah Hong told her that a strange scene quietly appeared when Qiao Jie'er was born. In the sky, colorful clouds spread out like brocade, gorgeous and dazzling. The shape of the clouds kept changing, sometimes like a flying phoenix, noble and mysterious; sometimes like a galloping unicorn, majestic and awe-inspiring. This strange scene attracted everyone to look up and exclaim in amazement.
But she couldn't figure it out. This was a good omen, but why was her daughter...
Prime Minister Zhu sighed and said to Shen Zhi, "Sister Qiao is the youngest daughter of your father and Aunt Xue. She is born with bright eyes and white teeth, and is extremely beautiful, but she is born without a mind. She cannot look at others, and cannot speak. Over the years, we have announced to the public that she is ill, and have never taken her out of the Prime Minister's Mansion. The maids and old women who take care of her are all confidants. Although this child has always lived in her own world, she is particularly attached to her brothers and sisters. Her brothers and sisters never look at her strangely, and always take her to play in their yard."
Shen Zhi understood that this was somewhat similar to autism in her previous life, and she was powerless to treat this disease, but she still prepared a gift for this sister whom she had never met.
Prime Minister Zhu and his wife chatted with Shen Zhi for a long time here before reluctantly leaving with the gifts Shen Zhi had prepared for them.
Shen Zhi was reluctant in her heart, but after all, she had been separated from her father in her previous life for so many years, so she quickly adjusted.
The workers had a holiday, and the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture also took a holiday, and they all agreed to go to the town to have some fun. Although Taiping Town was not as prosperous as the capital, it had a superior geographical location, and merchants from all over the country passed through here, making it very lively.
Everyone originally planned to go to Wangxian Tower for a big meal first, and then go to the theater to listen to some folk songs or storytelling.
Less than an hour after they left, a bruised servant came back to ask for help, saying that the masters had been captured and he had escaped by pretending to be dead. When Eunuch Cao heard this, his eyebrows knitted together, wondering who was so bold as to even capture an official appointed by the imperial court.
Seeing that the boy was still kneeling on the ground, Shen Zhi said, "Stand up and answer. What's your name? Do you know who those people are?"
The servant staggered to his feet and said, "My name is Liu Quan, and I am a servant of Master Jiang. We were walking peacefully on the street when suddenly a group of strangers rushed out from the crowd. They were quick and agile, and before anyone could react, they kidnapped us. The servants tried to stop them, but they beat them to death. I pretended to be dead, and they let me go. I could only watch my masters being kidnapped. I dared to come back to report the news when they were far away. They were not tall, but they were very strong."
"There are forty or fifty of our masters who went out today. Were they all captured by them?" asked Eunuch Cao.