The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

It was afternoon when we entered Xingye County.

Street vendors carrying loads, peddlers riding donkeys, and scholars in long gowns came and went, their cries and laughter filling the air.

Cai Zhen clung to the edge of the cart, her eyes sparkling, having long since forgotten the sorrow of parting.

"Mom, look at that sugar painting!" she exclaimed, pointing at the sugar figurine stall on the street.

Yang Yuyan smiled and replied, "I'll have your father buy it after we're settled."

Cai Yan wasn't as excited as her younger sister.

She quietly looked at the shops along the street, her gaze lingering on the blue brick and tile houses for a long time, before suddenly saying, "The walls here are higher and sturdier than those in the village."

Qin An heard this and his heart stirred slightly. This girl was meticulous and was actually observing these things.

Yang Yuyan also noticed this and nodded secretly.

The mother and her two children had originally come from the capital and had seen much more of the world.

Facing the bustling county town, there was neither the awkwardness of a country person entering the city nor excessive surprise; they simply calmly observed the place where they would soon settle down.

The house is located in a quiet alley.

The two stone lions at the entrance are not particularly tall, but they still exude a certain grandeur.

The copper rings on the vermilion gate gleamed. Qin An took out his key and unlocked the gate, a faint smell of dust wafting towards him.

The courtyard was paved with bluestone slabs, and in the middle was a pool of water, the water of which was somewhat murky.

The pomegranate trees in the corner were still green. As soon as Cai Zhen entered the gate, she took off running all over the yard, exclaiming, "It's ten times bigger than our yard!"

Yang Yuyan stood in the courtyard and looked around. The main house, side rooms, and kitchen were all complete, and there was also a small garden in the back.

A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes; that Magistrate He was truly generous.

Qin An led them to see each room one by one.

The main house has three rooms, with the main hall in the middle and bedrooms on both sides. The window paper is newly pasted, and although the tables and chairs are covered with dust, the wood is of good quality.

The side room is a bit small, just right for the two sisters to stay in.

"There's a study here!" Cai Yan pushed open a door, her voice unusually filled with surprise.

The room contained a desk and a bookshelf, which, though empty, were enough for her to house her precious books.

Cai Zhen had already run to the backyard, where there was a square open space paved with blue bricks, which looked just like a small martial arts training ground.

"Father, we can practice kung fu here!"

Yang Yuyan walked alone to the back garden.

The rose bushes weren't blooming very well, but you could tell they used to be cared for.

She reached out and touched the petals, then turned to Qin An with a smile: "It really is a nice place."

Seeing the smiles on the faces of the mother and her two children, Qin An finally felt relieved.

"I'm glad you like it. It's just that the yard is too big, and it'll feel empty for you three. I'll go to the brokerage and pick out a few honest and dutiful maids to help with the cleaning and tidying, so they can keep you company."

Yang Yuyan nodded.

Such a large house is too much for just the mother and daughter to manage.

Just then, Cai Yan's urgent voice came from the master bedroom: "Father, Mother, come quickly!"

Cai Yan's shouts were urgent and panicked. Qin An and Yang Yuyan's hearts tightened, and they rushed into the master bedroom in three steps.

"What's wrong?" Qin An instinctively shielded Cai Yan behind him, his gaze quickly sweeping across the room.

Cai Yan pointed to the wall, her little face full of certainty: "Father, this room is wrong. I just went through the layout of the whole courtyard in my mind. The dimensions of the rest of the room match up, but this master bedroom is smaller than it should be."

If someone else said this, they would probably be dismissed as childish nonsense.

Qin An knew Cai Yan's capabilities; this girl was meticulous and had an exceptional memory. If she said that, there must be a reason.

"you mean……"

"There's a secret room," Cai Yan said confidently.

Cai Zhen perked up immediately, her eyes lighting up: "A secret room? Is there treasure hidden inside? Let's find it quickly!"

The group immediately began searching around the room.

I knocked on the wall, stomped on the floor, and tried to move the bookshelf, but after a lot of fuss, I found nothing.

Qin An remained calm and looked at Cai Yan: "Yan'er, think about it carefully again, where is the problem?"

Cai Yan took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and quickly reviewed the books on mechanical ingenuity she had read.

A moment later she opened her eyes, walked straight to the east wall, and scanned the bricks inch by inch until her gaze finally settled on one of them.

At first glance, the brick looked no different from the surrounding ones; its color and size matched perfectly.

Upon closer inspection, a very fine gap can be seen around the edge.

Qin An stepped forward, shielding the mother and her two daughters behind him: "You all step back." Although most of these secret rooms don't have traps, it's always better to be careful.

After the three men had retreated some distance, he reached out and pressed down on the brick. The brick sank in half an inch, and with a soft click, the entire brick popped out.

Immediately afterwards, the wall in front of them silently rotated, revealing a dark doorway.

"There really is a mechanism!" Cai Zhen couldn't help but come closer.

Qin An turned to Yang Yuyan and said, "You two wait outside, I'll go in and check it out first."

"I'll go too!" Cai Zhen immediately raised her hand.

Cai Yan nodded and followed behind her younger sister.

"I'll make sure there's no danger before I bring you down." Without waiting for a reply, Qin An stepped through the hidden door, holding a tinderbox.

Inside was a narrow passage with rammed earth walls covered in old cobwebs.

After walking a dozen or so steps forward, the passage suddenly widened, and a bright and open view opened up before us.

A basement roughly the size of two rooms.

The dim light from the tinderbox illuminated several old wooden crates and a long-dried-up water vat in the corner, and the air was filled with a damp, musty smell.

Qin An quickly checked around and, after confirming there was no danger, returned the way he came, prepared several torches, and brought the mother and her two daughters down with him.

With the torches lit, the basement became much brighter.

Cai Zhen took off running towards the wooden crate, shouting, "Let's see if there's any treasure!"

Qin An walked to a wooden box and reached out to wipe away the accumulated dust.

The brass lock on the box had long been rusted shut. He pried it off with force, and the lock snapped off.

Upon opening the box, there were indeed some gold and silver inside, of acceptable quality, but not much in quantity.

He was not disappointed.

Xingye County was not a wealthy place to begin with, so this amount of stuff was to be expected.

Having experienced the devastation of Pingxiang City, this amount of money was not enough to move him.

Cai Zhen reached out to take it, but Qin An stopped her: "Don't move yet, let me wash it first."

Even at this point, he remained cautious.

More than money, Qin An cared about the secret room itself.

Magistrate He said that this was a house that had been idle for many years, yet it contained such an ingenious secret room with hidden mechanisms.

Judging from the amount of dust and the rust on the copper lock, the secret room must have been there for quite some time.

It's likely that even Magistrate He didn't know it existed; it was probably a creation of the original builders.

He looked back at the layout of the basement and suddenly had a plan in mind.

"This secret room is well-ventilated and has a flow of air. It is not a completely sealed-off dead zone. If it can be cleaned up and some food and water can be stored, it will be an excellent safe house for the mother and her two daughters."

Before he could speak, Cai Yan said, "We can hide some things here. If we encounter bad guys, we can hide here and go out when it's completely safe."

"That's right." Qin An gave her an approving look. "These past few days I've cleaned up this place, ventilated it, dehumidified it, and stocked up on some food and water. In case of any trouble, this is your escape route."

Yang Yuyan listened from the side, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

She knew that when Qin An was away from home, his biggest worry was the safety of her and her two children.

Now that he has such a secluded room, he can feel a little more at ease.

After coming out of the basement, Qin An put the wall tiles back in and examined them carefully. Sure enough, they fit perfectly without any trace of wear.

Cai Zhen was still thinking about the gold and silver, and tugged at Qin An's sleeve, saying, "Father, that silver..."

"Let's leave it for now." Qin An flicked her nose, chuckling at her mischievous look. "Our family isn't short of money right now."

What he said was true.

The salary after becoming a captain was not low. In addition, he brought back the spoils of war from his previous campaign in Baekje. It was more than enough to support his mother and two daughters.

Yang Yuyan and her two daughters exchanged a glance and laughed from the bottom of their hearts.

Even though we've gotten used to hard times, who doesn't want things to get better?