Chapter 402: Chapter 402: The Disposition towards Cen Hong

Qiao Xiaomai was unaware of Tong Xingda’s wicked intentions. She had just returned from the town, where she cleaned her newly purchased buckets, and filled them with Spiritual Spring water before placing the fish and shrimp inside.

After being nurtured in the Spiritual Spring for a while, the taste of these fish and shrimp would definitely improve.

After this, she went to consult Dr. Wu.

Although Yang Ye had said the retired emperor had no dietary restrictions, she wasn’t sure about the dietary preferences of elderly people.

Especially for retirees in their eighties or nineties.

She had to consult with Dr. Wu about this matter to avoid making a mistake.

To tell the truth, she didn’t want to cook for the retired emperor. If anything untoward happened, it would be her responsibility.

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As Xiaomai was busy preparing the meal, time quietly slipped away. With the sudden arrival of numerous soldiers in Anping Village, the villagers quickly adapted within three days and were no longer afraid.

The children, looking at the deep trenches, even found it interesting.

Entertainment was meager in ancient times. The sudden appearance of a large trench and a mysterious secret tunnel on the mountain, coupled with the tale of the treasury of the former dynasty, filled the villagers with curiosity rather than fear.

With Yang Ye’s command, the soldiers, fully armed, treated the villagers cordially. Thus, the children took the trench as a plaything, dangling on a rope hanged on the edge, climbing up and down.

Even Qiao Dami had a go, returning with reddened hands.

The ropes were coarse and climbing up along the wall while holding the rope requires both technique and strength.

Qiao Xiaomai frowned and chided Dami a few times, only allowing him to watch others play by the trench in the future, but not to go down himself.

The trench was ten meters deep. Dami, a gentle boy, was not good at climbing trees, much less being compared with the mischievous monkeys in the village.

Qiao Dami nodded obediently, signifying that he would follow her instructions.

In truth, he did not like this kind of thrilling game. Having tried it once and found it not fun, he would definitely not play again.

Three days later, the decree on Cen Hong’s punishment finally arrived.

He had brought a rabid dog out of the military camp to intentionally harm the civilians, a serious violation of military discipline and rules, and extremely heinous.

So, his rank was degraded from a second-rank national protector to an eighth- rank county head, responsible for the public security of the stationed troops in Huai’an County.

Being degraded from a second-rank official to an eighth-rank county head, dropping six ranks in total, Cen Hong became as white as a sheet when the decree was announced. He almost fainted.

Qiao Xiaomai, on the other hand, couldn’t help but bend over in laughter.

Cen Hong, originally the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces nationally, had been reduced to a county head in such a short span. This was like going from the position of a Provincial Chief of Police to the head of a county police station.

The fall was truly staggering.

An eight-rank official, he was even lower than the County Sheriff now.

This was so satisfying, extremely satisfying!

Xiaomai didn’t believe that Cen Hong would be penalised severely just because he had injured her; this was no ordinary society, after all.

Even in contemporary times, there were many instances where the privileged class would escape punishment after harming others.

So, she was pleased with this result.

Very pleased.

Tormenting a person like Cen Hong, a drastic demotion like this was more effective than physical torture.

She guessed that Cen Hong must be too embarrassed to show his face now.

The more she thought about it, the happier she became, and her mood, which had been gloomy for several days, finally cleared up.

Straight after, another imperial edict arrived. The retired emperor would visit Anping Village, and all affairs of Anping Village had to remain unchanged. No one was allowed to act recklessly.