62 Chapter 62

◎Xu Xiuying was rescued and returned to the village◎

Xu Xiuying has been feeling uneasy since she entered Yunzhou City. She is always worried that the axe hanging over her head will chop her down.

But things were quiet instead. Manager Lu didn't send anyone to torture her again, nor did he repeat those repetitive words. She had peeked out when the messenger opened the door, and there were guards outside, several of them, so not even a fly could get in.

She had nothing to do and was bored to death. She could only think about what happened that day over and over again. She wondered if Saohu and the others went to find Madam Cheng after they ran away. Would Madam Cheng save her?

However, the bully in the old palace of Yunzhou City, even if Madam Cheng wanted to save him, she would be powerless...

That afternoon, the tightly closed door finally opened, and a steward said to her respectfully, "Madam Cheng, Prince Jing wants to see you."

Afraid that she didn't know the rules for meeting the prince, the steward taught her all the way.

Xu Xiuying was just a peasant woman who had never dealt with the powerful. Moreover, she was impersonating someone else to deal with the powerful. She was so nervous that she was sweating. After entering the door and feeling the atmosphere, she couldn't even walk and knelt down on her knees.

She was nervous but not stupid. She knew that Prince Jing and his wife came to see her to make the decision for her. She wanted to say that she was not Madam Cheng, but she couldn't open her mouth.

She tried to make herself feel more confident. Anyway, she had no chance to say that she was not Madam Cheng from beginning to end. It was others who made the mistake, so it had nothing to do with her.

She was given a seat, and only then did she dare to look up at Prince Jing and Princess Jing.

Wow, what a pair of gods! Handsome man, beautiful woman, a match made in heaven.

The two men were also looking at her, but because of her low status, she didn't dare to look at them openly. She lowered her head and looked at them out of the corner of her eye.

Princess Jing stared at her for a while, then said to Prince Jing, "I'm a little tired. Your Highness, I'll go back and rest first."

Prince Jing nodded and told the maid who was helping the princess to her feet, "Be careful."

The maids and old women accompanied the princess away. Xu Xiuying thought that Prince Jing would question her formally, but Prince Jing only told her that the manager of the palace had oppressed innocent people and he had punished him, so she could go home.

Prince Jing arranged for guards to send her off.

Xu Xiuying was dazed and followed the guards again.

Sao Hu had been able to follow closely before, but when Prince Jing came back, the guards in the palace chased him away again and again, so he could only squat on another street. The guards rode out with Xu Xiuying and passed by in a flash, so he thought he had seen it wrong.

Suddenly, I was patted on the back.

"Gui'er!" Saohu said in a daze, "I think I saw Xiuying passing by. I hope it's not dazzling me."

Gui'er folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the wall. "Manager Qin has already sent a message. There's no need to keep an eye on him. Let's go back."

Sao Hu hurriedly asked, "How is Xiuying?"

Gui'er said, "Manager Lu has been beaten to death. What else can Sister Xiuying do? Come back."

Gui'er didn't know that Xu Xiuying had been sent away at this time. When they returned to the inn, Manager Qin's message came again.

Sao Hu finally felt relieved, "The prince sent someone to send Xiuying back, all right!"

Gui'er went to ask Cheng Mu, "Madam Cheng, shall we go?"

Cheng Mu said, "I'll follow Boss Chang. We'll go first. You and Sao Hu go deliver a message to Mr. Huang, and then we'll catch up."

Cheng Mu went to talk about her plan with Chang Qing and the others, and left immediately. She quickly checked out of the hotel and took the horses. However, there were not enough horses, so she rented a few more in preparation for Chang Qing and the others' return to the city.

The group went to Zhaojia Village.

Xu Xiuying was sent back by the guards of Prince Jing's Mansion, and everyone in the village saw it.

The women in the drying yard huddled together and whispered to each other.

I didn't expect that she would come back safe and sound.

Xu Xiuying had been jolted all the way on horseback and was dizzy. After the guard left, she sat on the doorstep in a daze for a long time until she heard the sound of horse hooves.

It was already completely dark and no one could be seen, but the sound of horse hooves made her feel inexplicably uneasy, and they were coming towards her.

She hurried into the house, locked the door, and peeked through the crack.

"Thank you for your hard work, Saohu, take everyone to the hill behind to prepare food and lodging, and come back tomorrow to chat."

It was Cheng Mu's voice.

Because the men were so unfamiliar, Xu Xiuying waited until only Cheng Mu and Gui'er were left at the door before rushing out, "Madam Cheng!"

"Sister Xiuying."

Gui'er spoke faster than anyone else, "Sister Xiuying, you're here. We thought you went back home."

Cheng Xi urged: "Come inside and talk."

No one had lived in the house for several days. They lit the lights and checked inside and outside the house. The vegetable garden was intact, the cows, sheep and chickens were all there, and there was some uneaten grass in the corner of the feed trough. Guier took a broom and swept it. Judging from the freshness of the grass, it was fed today.

The uncle next door is not at home.

Gui'er came into the house holding an oil lamp. Xu Xiuying and Cheng Mu had already started a fire on the stove.

The three of them gathered in the kitchen, cooking and chatting.

Cheng Mu was most concerned about whether Prince Jing and the Princess had met her and what they had said.

Only at this moment did Xu Xiuying dare to get excited. It was Prince Jing and his wife who released her personally, and it was also them who dealt with Manager Lu. When Cheng Mu told her that he was beaten to death, she felt very happy and praised Prince Jing and his wife with the utmost praise.

When Gui'er came over, Xu Xiuying said, "I have the same adventure as you now. I will have so much to brag about in the future!"

"Times have changed, and now the dynasty has changed. It's not appropriate to bring up Gui'er anymore," Cheng Mu said with a smile, "You are better than her."

"Although Prince Jing and Princess only met me once and sent me back without asking any questions, others don't know." Xu Xiuying scooped out the water from the hot pot. "They are quite kind. Oh, and the princess seems to be pregnant. Prince Jing is very worried about her. Princess Jing is as beautiful as jade. She is so blessed."

"Kind?" Gui'er chopped the noodles with a knife, making a clanging sound. "Will Manager Lu be beaten to death if I'm kind?"

"Yes," Cheng Meihe said, "Don't judge by appearances."

Prince Jing led his troops all the way into the capital, and Princess Jing also fought her way out among many outstanding women waiting to be married. When the second master Xu Rong rebelled, it was Princess Jing who stabilized the situation. Their kindness comes from need, and they are kind only when they need to show kindness.

Prince Jing and the Princess could have just had Xiuying released, but they insisted on meeting her in person. This was probably because of the "Cheng" in "Madam Cheng". Her original nickname was Meimei, and she was known as Cheng Jiuniang. Cheng Mu, and Mu is pronounced as Mei. The government officials and people around her got her information from the household registration card she left at the yamen, so the two of them must have been suspicious before meeting her.

When the original body escaped from the old house, Cheng Li sent people to keep an eye on the original body. No one knew what happened later. Anyway, after Cheng Li came through, she did not sense the presence of her people around.

After making some simple noodle soup, the three of them had dinner, washed their hands and feet, and rested together, talking until midnight.

This time, Xiuying suffered an unexpected disaster, and she also saw through some things.

After Madam Cheng and Gui'er fell asleep, she couldn't fall asleep for a long time and soon heard the rooster crowing.

Since she couldn't sleep, she stopped lying in bed and got up early to work.

After Saohu brought Chang Qing and others to the hill behind the mountain last night, he didn't even have time to eat dinner. He took the opportunity to sneak to Xu Xiuying's house. He didn't find anyone at home, so he came to Madam Cheng's place. He heard them talking and laughing outside the house. After confirming that they were there and in good condition, he went back with peace of mind.

He got up very early today, prepared breakfast, and then brought Chang Qing and others to see Madam Cheng.

Now that he is back, with the help of Prince Jing, he must fulfill the promise he made to Manager Qin.

Chang Qing had been holding this thought in his mind yesterday, and only today did he feel the time to ask, "Madam Cheng, is Manager Qin really going to give us a thousand acres of grain seeds?"

"Here." Cheng Mu said without hesitation or regret, "Just send him a message when you return. Tell him you've paid the money and ask him to pick a day to deliver the seeds."

Only then did Xu Xiuying realize that Madam Cheng had given away so many grain seeds just to save her, and her heart was filled with emotions.

Chang Qing and his companions talked about some other things with Cheng Mu. Cheng Mu asked them to complete their mission and settled the escort fees with them.

Chang Qing and others said goodbye and set off as soon as possible.

Xu Xiuying carefully prepared wine and food and set up the table and chairs. "Madam Cheng, please take a seat."

Cheng Mu sat down, and Xu Xiuying said, "Madam Cheng, please accept my gift." She bowed her head several times and said, "If it weren't for Madam Cheng's help, Xiuying wouldn't be where she is today!"

Cheng Mu: "Sister Xiuying, why are you being so polite? It's really embarrassing! Your misfortune was caused by me. Everything I did was what I should have done. You don't have to take it to heart."

"That's not what I meant. Everyone in Zhaojia Village looks down on me, but Madam Cheng, you have always treated me with indifference. You have dug wells, cleaned the fields, planted new crops, and built greenhouses to grow winter vegetables. Whenever I asked, you would teach me. Madam Cheng, I would never be able to repay your kindness even if I died."

"You can remember the good things about others, so you are someone worth helping." Cheng Mu said in a relaxed tone: "I was in trouble because of you before, and this time you took the blame for me. We are destined to be together."

"I still remember when Madam Cheng was in trouble, everyone in the surrounding area came to her aid and demanded justice. This time, I was in trouble. On that day, everyone present knew that Manager Lu had arrested the wrong person, but no one spoke up for me. In the end, only you, Madam Cheng, and Gui'er were left running around for me."

Cheng Mu jokingly said, "There's still Sao Hu."

Xu Xiuying's face was shy. "So today I made a decision."

The fox girl's heart suddenly rose to her throat, and she was suddenly overwhelmed by happiness. She staggered, and when Cheng Mi asked "What decision?", her legs softened and she knelt down.

Gui'er couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.

Xu Xiuying had her back to him and didn't see him. She replied to Cheng Mu, "I don't want to be the widow Xu anymore. I want to be Xu Xiuying. I won't fight for the Xu family's land, I don't want the house, and I won't raise the son I gave to Zhao Shu." She took a deep breath and said, "Xiuying is willing to serve my benefactor as a slave and a maid."

The fox's kneeling legs stood up again on their own.

Gui'er looked at him with contempt, and the twitching of the corners of her mouth spread to her face.

Cheng Mu said, "That's not necessary. I don't have the habit of using slaves."

Xu Xiuying asked: "Aren't Saohu and the others slaves?"

This... Saohu and the others are not honest. In order to make it easier to manage them, we hold their indentures and force them to earn food and clothing through labor. Cheng Mu is very tolerant of them. If they want to regain their freedom, she can deregister them at any time.

Gui'er interrupted, "Sister Xiuying, are you willing to be a slave so that you can become a good match for Sao Hu?" She raised her head slightly. "Why don't you learn from me and earn money with your own ability to redeem him and take him as your husband?"

Xu Xiuying turned her head and gave her a glare.

The fox lowered his head and was secretly happy.

"Well," Cheng Mu said seriously, "I'm shocked that you can say you don't want to be Widow Xu and want to be Xu Xiuying. You did a great job as Widow Xu. You kept the house and the land, and you also passed on the incense to your late husband. I believe you will be even better as Xu Xiuying. You can stay with me in the future. If you want to learn about farming and raising seedlings, I will teach you everything I know."

Xu Xiuying said respectfully, "I wish to follow Madam Cheng and serve her like a dog or a horse."

Xu Xiuying did it right away. After making up her mind, she went to find Mr. Zhao without stopping for a moment.