221 Popular Support
When the families of the kidnapped women received the news, they were all overjoyed.
They immediately set off from home and rushed to Wangsong City overnight.
When the girls saw their loved ones, they immediately burst into tears. The fear and helplessness they had suppressed for many days were all released at this moment. They cried uncontrollably.
Their loved ones were no better. They had been prepared for the worst, thinking that they would never see their daughters or daughters-in-law in their lives. Now that they saw them standing in front of them, happy and surprised, they could not even speak properly.
When Yu Niaoniao saw this scene, she was deeply moved.
She missed her mother too.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw County Magistrate Liu wiping his tears and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you touched?”
Magistrate Liu held his pouch and sobbed. “I’m mourning the hundred taels of silver that I sent out.”
Yu Niaoniao was speechless. “It’s just a hundred taels of silver. Do you have to do that?”
County Magistrate Liu said, “You’re Prince Min’s heir. You’ve been living in luxury since you were young and don’t know the hardships of the world. Naturally, you don’t know how important a hundred taels of silver is to an ordinary official like me.”
Yu Niaoniao patted his shoulder and comforted him.
“Don’t be sad. Although you paid a hundred taels of silver, you won the hearts of the people. The hearts of the people are priceless.”
County Magistrate Liu pursed his lips, but he did not think so. How much could the hearts of the people be worth?
In the courtyard, the girls and their families had calmed down.
They gathered in front of County Magistrate Liu and took out everything they had brought.
A dark-skinned man grinned.
“It’s all thanks to Lord Liu this time. Otherwise, my wife wouldn’t have been able to come back.
There is nothing good in my house except for these two old hens that had been raised for years.
If you don’t mind, use them to make soup to nourish your body.”
A woman whose eyes were swollen from crying spoke,”Lord Liu saved my daughter, so he’s equivalent to her second parent. This roll of fabric was originally reserved for my daughter’s dowry. I’m giving it to Lord Liu now as repayment for saving my daughter’s life.”
An old woman with white hair and clothes full of patches said, “I only have this one granddaughter. If she doesn’t come back, I won’t be able to live either. These are the vegetables I planted myself. They’ve all been washed and can be eaten after they’re cut and cooked. You must accept them.”
… .
Everyone rushed to send their items to County Magistrate Liu.
Ever since Magistrate Liu became an official, he had never seen such passionate citizens.
The things that were brought to him were not worth much, but they were the best these poor people could offer.
They were all sincerely thanking Magistrate Liu.
A thin old scholar stepped forward, holding an umbrella.
“Lord Liu, this is the Myriad People Umbrella we made for you together. It has our signatures on it. I hope you can accept it.”
With that, he opened the oil-paper umbrella.
The umbrella was covered in names.
There were many commoners who could not write and the old scholar had taught them stroke by stroke.
Magistrate Liu looked at the Myriad People Umbrella in a daze for a long time.
He had only wanted to complete the mission given to him by Prince Min and use this opportunity to hug his black veil hat more tightly.
Unexpectedly, his unintentional actions received the gratitude and respect of the commoners.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t actually done much.
He had been thinking for himself from the beginning to the end and had never thought for the commoners.
At this moment, Magistrate Liu felt guilty and did not dare to reach out to take the Umbrella of Myriad People.
The old scholar was nervous when he stood still.
“Do you think our umbrella isn’t exquisite enough? We were in a hurry, so we can only make it like this. If you think it’s not good, we can make another one. It’ll just take more time. I hope you can wait a little longer.”
Yu Niaoniao reached out and took the Myriad People Umbrella. “No need. This umbrella is quite good.”
She raised the umbrella over County Magistrate Liu’s head and asked with a smile, “Do you think so?”
How would Magistrate Liu dare to let Prince Min’s heir hold an umbrella for him?
He hurriedly took the Myriad People Umbrella. “Yes, yes, yes. The heir is right. This umbrella is already very good.”
Only when the handle was in his hand did he feel the weight of the umbrella.
It was heavier than he had expected.
It was so heavy that he almost lost his grip.
This was not just the weight of an umbrella, but that of the expectations of the people. It was also his responsibility as an official of the people.
The old scholar laughed. “As long as you don’t mind, sir.”
After expressing their gratitude, the commoners went home happily.
Only County Magistrate Liu was left standing there.
He held the Umbrella of Myriad People in his hand and looked at the many thank-you gifts piled up in front of him. His emotions were extremely complicated.
Yu Niaoniao casually took out a corn cob from a pair of thank-you gifts.
She used the corncob as a microphone and handed it to County Magistrate Liu.
“Please allow me to interview you. How do you feel now?”
Magistrate Liu let out a long sigh.
“To be honest, it doesn’t feel good.”
Yu Niaoniao said, “Why?”
County Magistrate Liu said, “In the past, it didn’t matter how I lived my life. But now that I’ve accepted this Umbrella of Myriad People, I can’t be a good-for-nothing anymore. I have a feeling that my comfortable days are coming to an end.”
He looked sad and wanted to cry.
Yu Niaoniao smiled happily.
“Good luck. If you do well, you’ll be promoted and get a raise. If you don’t, I’ll send you to the Justice Department for a day trip.”
County Magistrate Liu was speechless.
He wanted to cry even more!
Yu Niaoniao returned to the station with the corncob.
She saw that Shen Xu was wearing the clothes of the Eagle Guards and could not help but ask.
“What are you doing?”
Shen Xu puffed out his chest. “After the past two days, I’ve finally realized that it’s not necessarily safe to pretend to be the princess. What if I encounter a guy who has designs on me again? I think it’s safer to wear male clothes.”
Yu Niaoniao smiled evilly. “Even boys might not be safe.”
Shen Xu glared at her. “Shut up!”
Yu Niaoniao circled him and asked curiously.
“Where did you get this Eagle Guard outfit?”
Shen Xu said, “I borrowed it from Duke Lang. In the future, I’ll pretend to be an Eagle Guard. This way, I should be safe.”
He saw that Yu Niaoniao was about to say something and quickly covered his ears.
“Alright, stop it. I don’t want to hear it!”
With that, he turned around and ran, not giving Yu Niaoniao a chance to retort.
Yu Niaoniao laughed rudely.
Dang Gui heard the sound and walked out. When she saw that it was Yu Niaoniao, tears rolled down her face.
She spoke as she wiped away tears, “You were almost kidnapped. I was scared to death. How can you still smile? Take me with you wherever you go in the future. Even if I’m abducted, I want to be abducted with you. You’re not allowed to leave me alone again!”
Yu Niaoniao did not know whether to laugh or cry.
“Okay, stop crying. I deliberately lured those human traffickers out. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself. Besides, there’s still Duke Lang. He’ll protect me too.”