My whole family time-traveled! I became a god during my exile in a famine.

Chapter 38 Switching Freely
The atmosphere was so eerie it was almost frightening.

The guard who rode up to deliver the Crown Prince's message was startled, staring blankly at the scene before him.

Who is he? Where is he? What did he see?
In the middle of the large area, a disheveled, dirty girl in prison clothes pinned Zhou Shaoqing to the ground, rendering him unable to move.

The little girl had one thin arm pressing down on Zhou Shaoqing's shoulder, while her other hand held a sharp, dry twig against his throat.

Hearing the sound of hooves, she turned her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling, and a chilling smile appeared on her face.

Hundreds of people, some sitting and some standing, watched with strange expressions, holding their breath, almost completely silent...

The guard quickly jumped off his horse, waving his hands and rushing forward, "No, no, it's a misunderstanding! Sixth Miss, please let go of my hand, Lord Zhou needs to return to the capital immediately."

Xin Nian slightly raised her chin and gave the guard a meaningful look. "You know me? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

When the guard saw her innocent and carefree smile, a chill inexplicably crept into his heart.

"At the previous palace banquet, I was fortunate enough to... be by your side and see the Sixth Miss once." The young guard carefully chose his words, his gaze fixed on the other person's hand.

A sharp, withered twig—how could he have the illusion that this thing could pierce Zhou Shaoqing's veins at any moment and kill him?

"What's your name?" The little girl's voice rose at the end, her soft words revealing a hint of joy.

"Your humble servant, Liu Huo." The guard didn't understand why his aura seemed to weaken when he looked at the other person.

"Oh," Xin Nian replied in a drawn-out tone, her face full of curiosity as she sized up the other person. "Your master is... the Crown Prince?"

"Yes Yes."

"Then, do I know Your Highness?"

Liu Huo felt a chill in his heart and hurriedly nodded, "I...I know him."

What does "know each other" mean? If you know each other, you know each other; if you don't, you don't. Adding "know each other" just feels a bit strange.

Liu Huo pointed at Lord Zhou, who was pinned down by the young girl and unable to move, and said with a forced smile, "Miss, could you please release Lord Zhou? I need to take him back to the capital to report immediately."

"Oh, I see." Xin Nian suddenly pulled her hand away, quickly climbed off Zhou Linchuan, gave him a shy smile, and winked. "Sorry, Zhou Shaoqing, I didn't hurt you just now, did I?"

The voice was soft and gentle, like a feather brushing past.

A slight smile played on his lips, conveying endless provocation.

The onlookers all looked at her with mixed feelings.

That's incredibly bold! I've never seen such a daring girl before; she's truly opened everyone's eyes today.

Several guards from the Dali Temple quickly stepped forward to help Zhou Linchuan up, glaring angrily at Xin Nian.

"Sir, the two men she kicked to the ground earlier are unconscious and haven't woken up yet. It seems this girl knows martial arts, and her kicks are quite powerful!"

"No way, no way, your Dali Temple can't find a scapegoat, so you want to drag me into this?" Xin Nian clutched her heart, looking surprised.

"Unfortunately, everyone here can testify for me that I never left this team from beginning to end."

"Don't even think about framing me." The little girl smiled, raised her chin, and turned to leave.

"Zhou Shaoqing, it is indeed a misunderstanding. The disappearance of Princess Jiu Ni from Yunlin Villa has now been verified and is related to bandits roaming Heng County. The imperial court will send people to Heng County to resolve the matter and will surely be able to rescue the princess."

After being helped up, Zhou Linchuan didn't say another word.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk, it was that he was in too much pain to speak...

That damned little girl, she's ruthless and heartless, who knows what she did to him. Now he only feels a dull pain in his chest, and he suspects that the brat may have broken his bones!

"Lord Zhou?" Liu Huo rambled on for a while, but when he saw that the other party ignored him, he couldn't help but glance at him.

The latter's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his eyes were dark as he stared in the direction where the Sixth Sister had left, as if he could burn a hole in someone's back.

Xin Nian walked back to her mother's side, boiling water and decocting medicine as if no one else was around, and resumed her obedient and well-behaved demeanor.

Grandma Yu rubbed her eyes.

If I hadn't just witnessed it with my own eyes, I would have thought I was dreaming.

Her usually crybaby and indecisive granddaughter had just turned into a ferocious beast unleashed from its cage, as if she would tear someone's chest apart with her sharp claws at any moment.

The switch between wild and obedient is so skillful!

"Lord Zhou, let's head back as soon as possible?" Liu Huo pointed to the horses in the distance, signaling Zhou Linchuan to leave with him.

Zhou Linchuan took a breath, enduring the pain in his chest, and forced out a voice, "Does Your Highness truly believe that the fire at Yunlin Villa was committed by bandits from Heng County?"

"Otherwise what?" Liu Huo glanced at him with a smile. "Does Lord Zhou perhaps think there's more to this case than meets the eye?"

Zhou Linchuan hesitated before nodding. "The sixteen corpses in the villa were all found with their throats slit. Such a clean and efficient method suggests the work of a well-trained assassin. Among those bandits, were there any with such skill?"

"The waist tag of the bandits from Heng County was found on the spot, and Lord Zhou witnessed it with his own eyes, didn't he? The evidence is irrefutable, and there's no room for them to deny it." Liu Huo waved his hand. "Alright, whatever you have to say, let's go back to the capital first. Lord Zhou, please."

Zhou Linchuan still felt something was off, and before leaving, he glanced at Xin Nian again.

The young girl was chatting with the woman beside her, her eyes crinkling with a smile as she spoke.

She doesn't look like a female prisoner on her way to exile! She looks more like a noble lady enjoying the scenery with her relatives.

Zhou Linchuan turned and left, sullen and unhappy the whole way.

The guard spurred his horse forward and whispered, "Does Your Excellency still find the exile convoy suspicious?"

“Princess Jiu Ni has offended many people in the capital. The exiled group that appeared there not only included members of the former Jingzhao Prefecture’s Si family, but also people from the Xin State Duke’s Mansion, the Yongkang Earl’s Mansion, and the Enyi Marquis’s Mansion.”

"The princess met with them before she disappeared, and then vanished overnight. To say that there was no connection between them... I find it hard to believe."

Zhou Linchuan clutched his chest and coughed heavily twice. The pain in his sternum made him unconsciously furrow his brow.

Thinking of something, he asked in a cold voice, "Who was that woman just now?"

"Sir, that looks like the sixth young lady of the former Duke of Xin's mansion," the guard whispered. "Didn't Lord Liu Huo say that he had seen her a few times at palace banquets before?"

"I have absolutely no recollection of this." Zhou Linchuan searched his memory but couldn't reconcile the person in front of him with the sixth young lady of the Xin family.

How could I not have any impression of such a bright, passionate, violent, and unruly girl?

Unless, she was previously invisible at palace banquets!

"My lord, could what that girl said—that the earth dragon is turning over and the heavens are about to change—be true?"

"Otherwise, how could that perfectly good royal villa have been reduced to ashes?"

"Nonsense and utter nonsense." After thinking it over, Zhou Linchuan realized that what Liu Huo said made some sense.

Perhaps it really was bandits burning, killing, and looting; he had been overthinking things before...

(End of this chapter)