Liu Qiaoer brought quite a lot of things with her to the prison. When the Lu family's house was searched, everyone was only wearing undergarments.
It is winter now, and everyone should have at least a long coat, some spare clothes, clean underwear, and some food.
The large and small bags can't be too ostentatious.
In order not to attract other people's attention, Liu Qiaoer put on two pieces of clothes, stuffed one piece in her arms, and let Lu Yunxi hold the rest. She held Lu Yunyang's hand with one hand and carried the food box with the other hand and came to the prison in front of the county government.
"Sir, my man is in jail. Please let me take the children to see him."
The weather was cold and there were not many people guarding the prison, only one yamen runner. Liu Qiaoer reached out and stuffed two taels of silver into his hand.
The yamen runner weighed her, stared at her with his shrewd eyes, and suddenly said, "I recognize you."
Liu Qiaoer's heart skipped a beat and her hands, which were holding Lu Yunxi's, began to sweat.
The bailiff whispered in Liu Qiaoer's ear, "You are here to see Lord Lu and his family, right? I saw you on the day of the house search."
Liu Qiaoer looked at the bailiff carefully and recognized him. It was the bailiff who let Liu Qiaoer and the two children go.
"Oh, thank you for last time, sir." Liu Qiaoer took out another two taels of silver from her bosom and gave it to him, but he did not take it.
"No need, this little money is enough to treat the brothers to a drink. When Lord Lu was in office, he was very good to the brothers, so it is only right for us to take care of him."
It really is true that good people are rewarded. The bailiff did not try to stop her and let Liu Qiaoer in.
There was a yamen runner guarding the gate inside. When he saw the people outside letting in, he didn't ask any questions and led Liu Qiaoer into the prison.
He chatted on and on about some gossip.
Only then did Liu Qiaoer know that Pei Yuanshan brought the officials to search Lord Lu's house. Because they found no evidence left by Lu Yunzheng, all the local yamen runners in the county government were demoted, and the head of the yamen runners was even beaten with a stick.
These people have served County Magistrate Lu for more than ten years, and have never suffered such injustice.
As soon as Pei Yuanshan left, the yamen runners relaxed.
I originally thought that the Lu family's incident came suddenly, and it seemed that the death penalty would be executed immediately, but with Pei Yuanshan's departure, there was no movement on this matter again.
The cell was dark, eerie, cold, and smelled bad. Lu Yunyang hugged Liu Qiaoer's neck tightly, almost suffocating her. Lu Yunxi hugged Liu Qiaoer's arms tightly, and stepped on her several times with each step.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here. Don't be afraid, Xiaoxi."
Lu Yunxi nodded obediently, her big eyes filled with fear and curiosity.
"Sister Qiaoer, do father and mother live here?"
The environment is not good. They used to live in luxury, so how can they get used to living in such an environment
"It will come out, sooner or later." Liu Qiaoer could only comfort her.
Two or three months later, when Liu Qiaoer saw Mrs. Lu again, she could not recognize them. If it were not for Aunt Sun's call, Liu Qiaoer would have walked away with the two children.
"Xi'er..."
When Aunt Sun's familiar voice sounded, Liu Qiaoer stopped immediately, put Lu Yunyang down and took a closer look. In the prison, Madam Lu saw him and crawled over using her hands and feet.
"Yang'er."
There were two cages facing each other, one holding Mrs. Lu and Aunt Sun, and the other holding County Magistrate Lu and the second son Lu Yunqing.
Several people looked different from before, with messy hair. Each of them looked like a beggar, dirty, and so thin that their cheekbones were exposed.
Compared to the two plump and white kids raised by Liu Qiaoer, they look so miserable now that even Lu Yunzheng would find it difficult to recognize them.
All the children of the Lu family except Lu Yunzheng are here. Lu Yunzheng and Lu Yunyang were born to the eldest wife. Aunt Sun was Madam Lu's maid who came with her as a dowry and gave birth to Lu Yunqing and Lu Yunxi.
"Yang'er, Xi'er..."
Across the cage, Mrs. Lu reached out to the two children.
The hands that were once pampered are now skinny and the fingernails are black.
Lu Yunyang was so scared that he went straight into Liu Qiaoer's arms. Lu Yunxi was also scared, but she had grown up and became sensible after all. Although she was also scared and held Liu Qiaoer's arm tightly, her eyes were wide open.
"Mother, aunt?"
Aunt Sun leaned against the cage, covered her mouth, and cried.
On the other side, Lord Lu and Lu Yunqing also hugged the cage and cried, "Yang'er, Xi'er."
Liu Qiaoer handed Mrs. Lu a clean handkerchief, and she wiped her face with her tears, and finally she was recognized.
Lu Yunxi hesitated for a moment, then suddenly threw herself into Mrs. Lu's arms and burst into tears.
Lu Yunyang listened to Mrs. Lu's voice, suppressed his fear, and finally walked slowly to Mrs. Lu and slowly called out "Mom".
The family was reunited, except for the eldest son. At this moment, everyone thought that he was dead and no one mentioned it.
County Magistrate Lu did not recognize Liu Qiaoer. There were so many maids in the house, and he was lucky enough to only recognize a few of the ones around Madam Lu. He was busy all day long and had no energy to remember anything else.
Mrs. Lu was only forty years old, but now she was weak, her hair was white, her face was without makeup, and she was very thin. She looked like a sixty-year-old woman.
However, both Mrs. Lu and Aunt Sun remembered Liu Qiaoer.
"Qiaoer, how did you escape with the two children?" Mrs. Lu was weak and had difficulty speaking, so she was supported by Aunt Sun.
Liu Qiaoer simply recounted what happened, without any embellishments, as simply as possible.
"Sister Qiaoer made buns for us. She is the older sister." Lu Yunxi kept holding Liu Qiaoer's hand and never let go.
"Master and Madam, Qiao'er is being rude. I'm afraid the police will recognize us. We should call each other brother and sister."
"It's a temporary solution, but it's still not easy to keep them safe. Poor me, Lu Xiuzhi, who claims to have never treated my relatives and friends badly, didn't expect that when I was in trouble, only a maid would lend a helping hand to my Lu family."
Although County Magistrate Lu was thin, he still had a strong character. He sat in the prison with his back straight.
Mrs. Lu's eldest sister-in-law broke off the relationship with Mrs. Lu. Otherwise, the two children should have been raised in their family. But now they were brought here by Liu Qiaoer. Mrs. Lu knew what her family had done without asking.
"Master, Qiao'er has done a great favor to the Lu family. If we can ever see the light of day again, she will be the real eldest daughter of our Lu family." Mrs. Lu suggested.
Liu Qiaoer waved her hand and refused: "No, no thanks, Qiaoer's ability is limited and I can only take care of two children. I don't deserve such a generous reward."
Unexpectedly, Lu Yunyang was extremely happy: "Then I will have two sisters and two brothers."
Everyone was silent upon hearing this, while Mrs. Lu wailed: "My Zheng'er died unjustly..."
Mrs. Lu had cried all her tears dry and was exhausted both physically and mentally. She almost fainted.
Lu Yunyang blinked his clear and tender eyes and said, "Big brother can't leave yet. When he can leave, he will definitely come to see mother."
What? Lu Yunzheng is not dead
Lord Lu looked at Liu Qiaoer with surprise, and Liu Qiaoer nodded hesitantly.
"Ah, I forgot to tell you that the eldest son is not dead, but his legs are broken and his health is not very good. He will be recuperating at home."
Mrs. Lu came to her senses at once and knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Liu Qiaoer.