Chapter 180: He Finally Finds Out
The Zhou and Xiao family arrived at home in Hejia Village around noon. Xiao Jingran was already waiting.
"Jing’er!" Zhou Anran called out, heaving a sigh of relief.
Xiao Qingya also ran to her brother. Since the family had decided they were going to the Capital, she needed to quickly fulfill the water ghosts’ wishes.
This can only be achieved by relying on the golden thigh called her eldest brother!
Anyway, she guessed that the preparation to move to the Capital would take a while, considering they might need to switch to a better transportation mode or sell the remaining paddy rice.
"Mother, I am sorry, we couldn’t find Yan’er," Xiao Jingran pursed his lips.
A look of complexity flashed in his eyes as he stared at his mother.
He had found the answer.
Xiao Yuanwei always ate his meal in the camping tent, but in the one last meal before they went their separate ways, he caught a glimpse of his face.
Same name and face...
He was already ninety percent sure he was their missing father.
Xiao Wei or Xiao Yuanwei seemed to have lost his memory again. He didn’t remember his small family in Hejia Village.
The moment Xiao Jingran asked about Xiao Yuanwei’s name, he had observed the reaction of the people around him.
"Impudent! How can you–" One guard tried to scold and taught him a lesson, almost successfully landing his whip in his direction. Fortunately, he moved away in time.
They had a look of disapproval on their faces as though he had committed a grave offense.
The guard was about to struck again, but Xiao Yuanwei raised his hand to stop them, causing the guards to have a look of bewilderment.
They could only shot Xiao Jingran a secretive unwilling glare.
To their shock again, Xiao Yuanwei actually said his full name. "Xiao Yuanwei."
Xiao Jingran’s pupils constricted for two different reasons. This name was too similar to his own father, and the surname Xiao combined with the character Yuan...
This person should be related to the current imperial family.
By the time they parted with each other, he already determined he was his father. He had been suffering another amnesia, retaining his old memories and identity while forgetting his wife and children in Hejia Village.
"It’s fine, it’s fine." Zhou Anran’s heart ached slightly. She patted his shoulder in her attempt to console him.
Her usually elegant son had an exhausted look on his face. He must have been searching non-stop for so many days.
[System, buy something that can cure my brother’s fatigue in an instant.] Xiao Qingya told the System, gazing at her eldest brother worriedly.
[I will run a scan on such an item, Host.] The System immediately executed the order.
While Xiao Yuxi and Zhou Shuran went to the kitchen, the little one followed.
"Take a seat and rest," Zhou Anran immediately urged her son to sit down.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the deep questioning in his eyes. Most likely, Xiao Jingran had found out that the man who led the guards was Xiao Yuanwei.
Not long after, small footsteps pattered into the room. Xiao Qingya brought a drink to her brother.
"Eldest brother, drink it," she told him.
He took the drink from her and began to take a few small sips. Although he was already prepared, he didn’t expect that the effect was really instantaneous.
Every single one of his cells felt refreshed, and he let out a relieved sigh.
He drank the water in the cup in one go.
It looked like ordinary water, but the effect was really miraculous.
Seeing that her son’s slightly pale face gradually recovered a lot of his color, she quietly smiled. Then, they can directly talk about the important things and prepare to go to the Capital soon.
"Jing’er, we are going to move to the Capital."
Xiao Jingran looked up. The look of puzzlement was all over his face. Seeing that his grandfather and Xiao Fenghao didn’t seem to be surprised, it seemed that he was the last one to know.
"Why?" He asked, sighing softly.
However, he had a vague guess it was related to Xiao Yuyan. If Zhou Anran wanted to avoid Xiao Yuanwei, she wouldn’t have proposed to go to the Capital where the imperial family resided.
Xiao Yuanwei’s stay here should be temporary.
"Yan’er is in the Capital." Zhou Anran recounted how a ghost had directed them to the place of kidnappers and found Xiao Yuyan’s traces there.
Xiao Jingran immediately nodded, his pupils contracted. Then, a relieved sigh escaped from his lips.
It meant that Xiao Yuyan was still alive.
Judging from the way they treat her, she should be safe for the time being. The kidnappers’ movements were unpredictable and they could only bet to find Xiao Yuyan in the Capital.
They surely wouldn’t transport her through conventional paths.
During the time he spent with Xiao Yuanwei and his people, they were also rooting out several human traffickers’ hideouts after they couldn’t find Xiao Yuyan’s traces on the river.
There were actually so many of them.
They began to prepare for lunch, and once they had a meal, they were going to prepare for their journey to the Capital.
The little one dragged Xiao Jingran somewhere, and the latter obediently followed her. "Little Ya needs something?"
She nodded furiously and pointed to the river, whispering, "Eldest Brother, I promised them to fulfill their wishes."
The ones requesting for incense sticks were easier to fulfill, but some of them needed small investigation to find out their identities and family.
Xiao Jingran didn’t question the reason. He just nodded as he ruffled her hair dotingly. Xiao Qingya squirmed, still feeling a lot of guilt in her heart.
When Magistrate Xu visited their home in the county a few days later, he was surprised to see two horse carriages in front of the Zhou family’s old house.
Su Wan also felt the same. She gripped Zhou Anran’s hands. "Sister Anran, you are really moving to the Capital?!"