The Zhou Household Settled in Azure Cloud Stronghold

Shen Jingchuan stored all three horses into his spatial storage.

The adults in the courtyard, seeing the horse come and go as it pleased, were puzzled but wisely refrained from asking any further questions.

But Zhou Tong's youngest daughter, with her little face tilted up and her bright eyes sparkling, stared at the spot where the horse had disappeared and spoke innocently.

"Uncle, did you conjure up that giant Pegasus and then make it disappear again?"

Shen Jingchuan bent down, picked her up, gently pinched her cheek, and smiled.

"Yes."

The little girl hugged his neck and asked again.

"Uncle, can you conjure it up again?"

Just as Shen Jingchuan was about to answer, Zhou Tong came over from the side, smiling as he took his daughter from him.

"Sweetie, Uncle has a lot of things to do. We'll talk about it later." He handed his daughter to the woman beside him.

Shen Jingchuan had already taken off his mask. Father Zhou had met Shen Jingchuan in Chang'an before and even discussed business with him, which was over a year ago.

At that time, he only thought the other party was a capable young businessman. He never expected that this Young Master Shen would have such extraordinary means.

He was both surprised and respectful, and quickly stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Young Master Shen, thank you so much for saving the lives of my entire family."

Several women nearby also curtsied in greeting.

Shen Jingchuan quickly waved his hand and reached out to help.

"Uncle, you mustn't! Please rise." He said sincerely, "Zhou Tong and I are best friends who would risk our lives for each other. How could I stand idly by when your family is in trouble?"

He then pointed to the courtyard.

"This is near Yuxi Prefecture, Azure Cloud Stronghold."

"This courtyard used to be where my family and I lived, but now they... have moved away, and the house is empty, so it's perfect for you to live in."

He spoke vaguely, without offering further explanation.

Just then, the door to the east wing opened, and a man in his forties, dressed in shorts and draped in a coat, strode out. It was the steward, Liu Zhong, followed by his son, Liu Hu.

He was taken aback when he saw the crowd in the courtyard, but when he saw Shen Jingchuan, his face lit up with joy, and the two of them quickly went forward.

"Young Master, you're back."

Following him, his wife, Madam Liu, and daughter, Liu Cui, also dressed neatly, came out of the house and greeted Shen Jingchuan.

Shen Jingchuan nodded, then turned to introduce Zhou Tong's family.

"This is Liu Zhong, the steward of this courtyard. You can just call him Uncle Liu."

"This is his wife, Madam Liu, and that's his daughter Liu Cui. This is his son, Liu Hu."

They are all honest and law-abiding people.

He then turned to Liu Zhong and pointed to Zhou Tong's family.

"Uncle Liu, this is Zhou Tong, my good friend. These are his family members, who will be staying in this courtyard for a while. Their food, drink, and daily life will be entrusted to your family."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhong immediately led his son, daughter-in-law, and daughter forward to greet them respectfully.

"Greetings, Master Zhou; greetings, Young Master Zhou; greetings, ladies."

Father Zhou quickly returned the greeting, repeatedly saying he dared not accept it.

Liu Zhong's family were all servants bought by Shen Jingchuan. They assumed that the young master's family members had gone out a few days ago, but they didn't know that the ladies, young misses, and maids had all been taken into Shen Jingchuan's spatial storage.

Shen Jingchuan would not reveal such a secret, nor did they dare to ask further.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Shen Jingchuan turned to Liu Zhong.

"Uncle Liu, everyone must be exhausted from the journey. Go and prepare some breakfast, and have the kitchen boil some more water."

He glanced at the dirty prison clothes worn by Zhou Tong and his family.

"Let them all take a hot shower and change into clean clothes."

Madam Liu and Liu Cui quickly agreed.

"Yes, young master, don't worry, we'll take care of it right away."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law turned and went into the kitchen.

Just as Liu Zhong was about to get busy, someone suddenly banged on the courtyard gate.

His son, Liu Hu, heard the noise, ran over, unlatched the door, and opened it.

A burly man stood outside the door, wearing an overcoat, and strode in. It was Lin Qingyao's second brother, Lin Yue.

Upon seeing this, Shen Jingchuan quickly went to greet him.

"Second brother, so early."

Lin Yue waved his hand, his voice booming.

"It's my turn to be on night duty tonight. I just heard from the guards on the wall that you've returned from heaven, and you've brought quite a few people with you."

He glanced around the yard.

I rushed over to take a look.

Shen Jingchuan smiled and ushered him over, then introduced him to Zhou Tong's family.

The two sides exchanged greetings.

Upon hearing that they were people rescued from prison, and seeing their disheveled appearance, Lin Yue understood the situation and his face became serious.

Shen Jingchuan pulled him aside and lowered his voice.

"Second brother, I need your help with something."

"Their clothes are dirty and tattered; they need to change. Go home and help gather some suitable clothes—clothes for your uncle, aunt, both sisters-in-law, and the children."

Without saying a word, Lin Yue patted his chest.

"Leave this to me."

He turned and walked out, and Lin Yue returned shortly afterward.

He not only carried a large bundle of clothes himself, but also his wife followed behind him, along with two servants from the Lin Household, all carrying things, as they entered the courtyard.

When the bundle was opened, it was neatly organized, containing men's items, women's items, children's items, and even shoes and socks—everything he and his wife had hastily packed.

Lin Yue's wife was also a capable person. As soon as she entered the door, she and her family joined hands to help Liu Cui and Madam Liu and get things done together.

The courtyard suddenly became lively.

Shen Jingchuan ushered Lin Yue into the main hall, and the two sat down, drinking tea and discussing recent events.

Zhou Tong was busy running around inside and outside the house.

Liu Cui led the people to tidy up the house and make the arrangements; Madam Liu cooked in the kitchen, boiling pot after pot of water.

After the family had tidied up and eaten breakfast, Zhou Tong's mother and wives took the children to rest in the side room.

Lin Yue's wife also led the Lin Household members to say goodbye and return home.

Inside the main room, Shen Jingchuan, Lin Yue, Father Zhou, and Zhou Tong remained, and the four of them sat down around the table.

After taking a bath, changing into clean clothes, and eating a hot meal, Father Zhou finally regained some color in his face and recovered.

He held the hot tea, sighed, and recounted the whole story of how this trouble had happened.

"Alas, speaking of which, it was the Prince Jing's Heir who colluded with a prince in the capital."

"These two have their eyes on our Zhou Household's businesses in Chang'an —trading carriages, watches, and mirrors—and are forcing us to give them up."

Father Zhou gave a wry smile and shook his head.

"The price they quoted was practically robbery."

"I gritted my teeth and refused to budge, but in the blink of an eye, I was framed and thrown into prison."

He didn't suffer too much.

The Zhou Household had been operating in Chang'an for many years, and everyone in the government office knew him. He was also a man of good manners and had often helped others out, so the jailers and guards all gave him some face.

Prison life is certainly not pleasant, and people often go hungry, but it's still much better than being a poor prisoner.

"At first, some people did inquire about it," Father Zhou recalled. "Later, after hearing that the prince and the Prince Jing's Heir had both died in the chaos of war, the case was abandoned."

"No one inquired about the person's whereabouts, but they also wouldn't release them; they just kept them locked up like that, making it a cold case."

As he said this, he stood up and was about to bow to Shen Jingchuan.

"If it weren't for Young Master Shen's intervention, our whole family would probably be spending the rest of our lives in jail."