County Magistrate Liu’s mouth twitched. After a long moment, he finally managed to say, “Aren’t you afraid he’ll run away?”

“Of course I’m afraid! I’m definitely afraid!” Seeing that he hadn’t denied it, Qingheng decided to take a chance and spoke boldly: “So, I’d like to ask you for a favor, Magistrate Liu.”

County Magistrate Liu looked at him with a mixture of surprise and bewilderment. “What’s the matter?”

Qingheng quickly took down the bundle, opened it, and pulled out ten flatbreads, placing them on the bedside table before pushing them toward County Magistrate Liu. “Sir Liu, these are homemade. Please try some.”

County Magistrate Liu glanced at them but didn’t respond.

Qingheng didn’t seem to mind. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice: “I’d like to ask you to let me take care of the little one.”

He said, “If the boy stays with him, his living conditions at the barracks aren’t good. The weather’s about to turn cold, and if he keeps getting sick, how can he focus on his work? He might even start causing trouble, which would only create more headaches for the authorities.”

Before Qingheng arrived, he hadn’t realized that Lord Xing’s wife had passed away on the journey into exile, and that the Xing Family’s young wives had either followed her or severed ties with the family.

Under normal circumstances, if they were implicated and sent to the place of exile, they would also live in the workhouse, with their movements restricted. However, they were allowed to take on some needlework or laundry to earn a meager income to support themselves and their children. If they were already married, they would not be implicated; they could usually keep the Xing Family’s children under the age of ten with them to care for, and could even send money and supplies to Xing Yue and the other exiles from time to time.

If the bond was deep enough, and they were unafraid of being implicated and willing to endure the hardships, they could even apply to visit, letting the exiles know that someone back home was thinking of them.

To give the exiles performing hard labor something to look forward to, the authorities did not force their children under the age of ten to accompany them to the place of exile, and family visits were generally permitted.

Of course, this was contingent on having family members willing to care for the children and visit them.

Now, members of the Xing Family have either left or severed ties with the family. The youngest child came along, but with no one to care for him—too young to work—the authorities won’t provide him with food. Xing Yue has no choice but to perform hard labor while scraping together whatever he can from their already meager rations to feed the child.

Living conditions at the detention center were poor, and a sharp drop in temperature was imminent. With their lack of food and clothing and no hope for the future, even if he recovered from this illness, the two of them wouldn’t last long in the detention center.

Starvation or illness—one of these fates was bound to befall them.

Qingheng had originally only intended to bribe the county magistrate to secure a visit.

Now, however, he had to find a way to take the boy in and raise him by his side.

“If the boy stays with me, I’ll nurse him back to health. I’ll take him to see his family from time to time so he can rest assured and feel grateful to me. Once he’s released from the detention center and my mourning period is over, we’ll marry and settle down here. I’m confident this plan will work,” Qingheng said.

“Furthermore…” Qingheng pressed his case, “he’s a man of talent. How often does Jiaohe County produce a jinshi? Not even once in ten or twenty years, I’d wager. Once his mind is restored and he’s released from the detention center, even if he becomes an ordinary farmer, with a little ingenuity, he might just come up with some ideas to contribute to our county.”

“County Magistrate Liu, tell me—am I on the right track here?” Qingheng looked at County Magistrate Liu and asked earnestly. County Magistrate Liu glanced at the ten flatbreads on the bedside table, then at Qingheng’s earnest gaze.

After a long moment, he snorted derisively. “You’ve certainly got a quick mind.”

“According to the rules, non-family members are not allowed to visit exiles serving their sentences or take away children under the age of ten, unless the children have sold themselves into slavery and are being visited or cared for by their masters.” He saw right through Qingheng’s scheme: “Your plan not only spares them from having to sell themselves into slavery, but also takes care of the guarantor, the caretaker, and the visits.”

Qingheng forced a smile. “That is all thanks to Magistrate Liu’s wisdom and consideration for Jiaohe County.” 

“But can you afford to support the child?” County Magistrate Liu posed the most practical question.

“That won’t be a problem,” Qingheng replied quickly. “I have twenty mu of land. Though much of it is dry land—far from water sources, poor in fertility, and requiring fallow periods—it just happened to be in fallow this year. I can plant millet next spring. If I tend the fields properly, I can certainly support him for a year. Once he is released, we’ll rent some more land, and we’ll manage to get by.”

After a pause, he pointed to the flatbreads on the bedside table and smiled. “These are wheat flour flatbreads. I brought them specially today for the brothers. I like the big one, so I certainly won’t shortchange the little one. You can rest assured, Magistrate Liu.”

County Magistrate Liu：“……”

He’d been in Xizhou for over twenty years—what kind of ger hadn’t he seen? But someone this brazen? That was a first.

County Magistrate Liu pondered for a moment, then relented: “It seems you’re truly determined to act as their guarantor. I won’t stand in your way, but if anything goes wrong in the future, don’t say I didn’t warn you today.”

“Of course.” Qingheng let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “I know you’re only looking out for my best interests, Magistrate Liu.”

Seeing this, County Magistrate Liu said no more and made his arrangements: “Then tonight, you should take them to see a doctor first.”

As he spoke, he stepped down from the kang and put on his boots. “I’ll have two constables accompany you. In three days, the younger one will follow you, and the older one will return to the barracks to resume duty. You should come by then to complete the necessary paperwork.”

With that, he stood up to escort Qingheng out.

“Magistrate Liu!” Qingheng paused, hurriedly stopping him, and pulled a string of coins from his bundle to hand over. “Here are two strings of guans. I’d like to apply for a month of ‘substitute service’ for him, so he can stay home to recuperate for a month before reporting to the workhouse.”

As soon as Qingheng stepped out of County Magistrate Liu’s house, Jiang Shen, who had been waiting at the door, grabbed him.

“What did you two talk about? Why did it take so long?” Jiang Shen noticed his bundle was much lighter and looked anxious.

Qingheng knew that Magistrate Liu would be coming out shortly after changing his robes, and that this wasn’t a suitable place for a conversation, so he led him a short distance away before saying, “I’ve arranged for their medical care and secured a month of payment-in-lieu-of-service. I’ve already handed over the money.”

Jiang Shen：“……”

His face went ashen, and he thought to himself: It’s over. Completely over.

“Here, take these five flatbreads.” Qingheng rummaged through his bundle, counted out five, and handed them to him.

Jiang Shen’s eyes lit up, but he still wore a gloomy expression. “With you acting like this, how am I supposed to have the heart to eat?”

“Really?” Qingheng twisted his wrist, pulling the pastry back. “Then I’ll just eat it myself.”

“Hey, don’t be like that.” Jiang Shen immediately stopped looking so glum, reached out to snatch it back, and stuffed it into his clothes, making his chest bulge out. He argued, “I can’t go away empty-handed. If I can’t persuade you, at least I can have the flatbread to comfort me.”

Qingheng couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing Magistrate Liu emerge from his courtyard and glance at the two of them, she quickly tugged at Jiang Shen’s sleeve. “Let’s go. Magistrate Liu has assigned some constables, and you can lend a hand too. Let’s get them to the pharmacy first.”

Back at the courtyard where the constables were staying, Magistrate Liu called two constables out of the detention cells and took them aside to brief them on the situation.

Qingheng bent down in front of Xing Yue. This time, he saw Xing Zhao peeking out from under his clothes, nestled in Xing Yue’s arms. Though he was filthy, his cheeks flushed red, and his spirits low, upon seeing Qingheng, a hint of curiosity and affection flashed in his eyes. He whispered, “Thanks for the flatbread, big brother.”

He spoke in Mandarin, though it was simple enough. Qingheng understood and smiled; this kid was quite sensible after all.

He nodded and replied with a grin in the dialect of Xizhou: “You’re welcome. Just make sure to keep a close eye on your big brother and tell him to behave himself. I’ll be grateful to your ancestors for eighteen generations.”

Then he looked up at Xing Yue and found the man staring back at him. Though his face was so filthy that his features were barely recognizable, his pair of bright, handsome eyes was actually quite striking.

At that moment, the wariness and caution in his eyes had faded; he seemed a little embarrassed. When he met his gaze, he blinked and quietly looked away.

Qingheng was certain he didn’t understand the dialect of Xizhou.

But in less than half an hour, the guy’s attitude had changed.

Qingheng couldn’t help but marvel inwardly as his gaze swept over the two brothers: Could it be that the older one is a total pushover when it comes to his younger brother? Does his own attitude change whenever his brother’s does?

If that were the case, as long as he kept his younger brother around, he probably wouldn’t run away or cause trouble. Qingheng mused idly, waving his hand in front of Xing Yue’s face. “Hey.”

When Xing Yue looked over, he said in Mandarin, “I’ll take you to the pharmacy in a moment.” Xing Yue’s eyes flickered with confusion.

Qingheng casually glanced at the younger one. Xing Zhao’s eyes held surprise, not confusion.

A thought struck Qingheng. He paused for a moment, then bent down to pick up a broken earthenware bowl from the ground. “Here, just like this…”

He raised the bowl to his lips, opened his mouth wide, pinched his nose, and tilted his head back, looking as if he were struggling to swallow.

When the bowl seemed empty, he set it down, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, stuck out his tongue, and fanned his face vigorously with his palm, panting, “Hah-chi, hah-chi.” Then, still sticking out his tongue and fanning himself vigorously, he gestured to Xing Yue: “There you go—that’s how you take medicine. Got it?”

Xing Yue：“……”

Seeing that the other person didn’t retract their tongue, and that their sparkling eyes were staring at him intently, as if waiting for a reaction—looking just as comical as a modern-day poodle sweating in the heat—he couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

He could only nod, feigning a look of sudden realization.

Meanwhile, Xing Zhao’s eyes widened; he covered his mouth with his small hand, his eyes crinkling into little crescents.

He was clearly amused by Qingheng’s expression, trying to stifle his laughter while feeling a bit shy.

Qingheng had no idea what Xing Yue had compared him to, but he breathed a sigh of relief: It was confirmed—this big guy wasn’t stupid; he could understand the act. It seemed he wouldn’t have to spend too much on brain treatment; the copper coins left in his pouch would suffice.

However…

Qingheng looked at Xing Yue’s face, which showed not a trace of dullness, and couldn’t help but fall into a new confusion: If he isn’t stupid, then why can’t he understand the official dialect? If it’s because of the Xizhou accent, the little one can clearly understand it.

County Magistrate Liu, standing nearby, had stopped speaking the moment the performance began and was now watching him with a twitching mouth.

Only after his “performance” had ended did he clear his throat, drawing everyone’s attention back: “You may go now. Qingheng, be sure to hand over all the documents. Don’t forget.”

“Yes, sir.” Qingheng quickly pushed Xing Yue’s thoughts aside, turned, and bowed to him: “Thank you for your trouble today, Magistrate Liu.”

County Magistrate Liu glanced at him and Xing Yue, gave a slight nod, then, with his hands behind his back, strolled away with ease.