This matter made Xiaoxiao very emotional, but Yang Ming was calmer than Xiaoxiao. He felt that Wang Xiangxiang’s agreement to Han Yongsheng’s marriage proposal must have some hidden circumstances, so he spoke up, "Wife, let’s go back too."
"Right, we should go back too. I need to ask my sister." Xiaoxiao said as she turned to look at her family members, "Eldest brother, second brother, youngest brother, let’s all go back. We can come again after a few days."
"Okay." Everyone agreed and went back to pack up the simple bundles they had brought along.
Han Yongsheng was utterly helpless. He always felt that if this family returned home, they would ruin his good fortune.
Soon after everyone was ready, they got into the carriage and set off on the road home.
In the carriage, Xiaoxiao and Yang Ming started chatting.
"Husband, what’s all this about? I clearly saw those two kissing that night. Could it have been fake?"
"..." Reminded by his wife, Yang Ming was also bewildered. He hadn’t seen Chu Lian since that night, and it had always been just as his wife said, that those two had gotten together. Could his wife have misunderstood?
"So, did the two of them really get together or not?"
"They did, I guess. Later, when I talked with my sister, I kept mentioning her and Young Master Chu’s matters, and she didn’t object," Xiaoxiao said, somewhat puzzled. She was confused herself.
"Don’t worry, we’ll find out once we ask when we get back," Yang Ming comforted his wife, though he was also anxious for Chu Lian.
The carriage had just left the city when they were forced to stop not far from it.
"Everyone in the carriage, get out." Xiaoxiao and the others in the carriage heard someone outside shouting at them to get out, and the tone was very unpleasant. Could it be that they had encountered robbers?
Yang Ming held his wife’s hand, signaling her not to be scared, then opened the carriage door.
After opening the door, they were all stunned. Why had they encountered government soldiers? What did the soldiers want with them?
"Government officer sir, is there a problem?" Yang Ming asked.
The officer was visibly impatient, "Stop the chatter and get out of the carriage quickly."
With no choice, Xiaoxiao and the others followed the officer’s command and got out of the carriage, lining up to the side all together.
"Lift your heads up so I can get a good look."
Yang Ming and the others lifted their heads, just to see the officer scrutinizing each of their faces carefully, and then he complained, "It’s not them."
Xiaoxiao was extremely puzzled, what exactly were they looking for?
At this moment, the officer produced a portrait and looked it over in front of them, "Take a look, have any of you seen this person?"
Xiaoxiao looked over and her heart skipped a beat. Wasn’t this the man who had fallen off the carriage clutching Liufu? She was extremely nervous, continuously gripping Yang Ming’s hand.
Yang Ming held his wife’s hand, signaling her not to be afraid, then said, "Government officer sir, we have not seen this person."
"Look carefully, this is a serious criminal wanted by the imperial court."
Yang Ming pretended to look carefully again and then shook his head, "Government officer sir, we really haven’t seen him."
Seeing Yang Ming deny having seen the man, the officer then turned to Yang Dong and the others, "How about you? Have any of you seen him?"
Yang Dong and the others also shook their heads in turn.
"If you encounter him later, you can report it to the government office. There is a substantial reward."
"Understood, government officer sir. If we run into him, we will definitely report it," they replied.
Seeing that no one had seen the man, the officer had no choice but to let them pass, giving a gesture indicating they could proceed.
Yang Ming led his group back into the carriage. Inside the carriage, they could still hear the officer grumbling, "What bad luck, it’s been several days and we still haven’t found him."