Chaos reigned inside the inn; tables and chairs were overturned, and cups and plates were shattered. The guests and staff were all cowering on the floor, too terrified to utter a sound. Several men dressed in black rushed out of the inn, closely following the three in front. Their steps were firm and powerful, clearly indicating they were well-trained.

The remaining men in black who hadn't escaped were tied up and taken away by the soldiers, while a squad of soldiers followed the few who had run away. Seeing that there were no further developments, Li Xi returned to Meng Zhelan's side, told them the whole story, and then, without resting, drove the carriage on its way.

The unexpected events had frightened the three women. Having traveled peacefully without incident, they had assumed the outside world wasn't as dangerous as described in their books. Now it seemed things weren't as easy as they'd imagined. They decided to travel several dozen more miles to find an inn before nightfall. Just as Li Xi was thinking about finding a place to stay, someone suddenly collapsed in the middle of the road.

"What's wrong, Xi'er?" Meng Zhelan asked Li Xi, lifting the carriage curtain. "Someone suddenly rushed out and collapsed in the middle of the road," Li Xi said, pointing to the person. "Let's go see what happened. The carriage can't pass if they're lying there. If necessary, we'll move them to the side of the road." Based on her experience, Li Xi knew that one shouldn't just pick up people from the roadside.

Upon closer inspection, Li Xi recognized the man as one of the men being chased by those in black. He was dressed in a deep blue brocade robe, tall and handsome. Meng Zhelan crouched down to examine him, and after a moment said, "This man has sword wounds, his face is ashen, and his pulse is tangled; he's likely poisoned." "What? Poisoned? We're in big trouble! It must be related to those men in black. Quickly move him aside, let's hurry on our way!" Li Xi was frightened. Ancient times were quite dangerous; there were no soldiers on the road, and if anything happened, they'd be left helpless.

“That won’t do. He’ll die if we don’t save him,” Meng Zhelan disagreed. Li Xi was about to advise her that she shouldn’t just pick up people on the street, but then she remembered that she had also been picked up by Meng Zhelan, so she shut up. Throughout history, doctors have saved lives; how could you expect a doctor to stand by and watch someone die?

Li Xi carried the man in a princess carry to a shady spot under a tree. Strangely enough, this was the first time she had ever carried a man in a princess carry in both her past and present lives. Although the man was heavier than her, she had practiced carrying him.

Meng Zhelan took out her father's medicine box from the carriage. She gave the wound a quick treatment, sprinkled some medicine powder on it, and wrapped it with gauze. She took out silver needles from her needle case and began acupuncture on the man. After half an hour, the man's complexion returned to a rosy hue. Seeing this, Meng Zhelan took out an antidote pill and put it in his mouth. She then poured water from a bamboo tube and made him swallow it. Although the man was unconscious, his instincts made him swallow it.

Meng Zhelan took the man's pulse and was relieved to find it had stabilized. "Let's go then. He seems alright, probably won't die. His people will definitely come looking for him soon," Li Xi said hurriedly. Meng Zhelan disagreed: "Let's take him to the clinic in the prefectural city. It'll be dark in an hour, and it's not safe at night. Besides, the weather is getting cold, and it might not be comfortable at night. Anyway, we're going to spend the night in the prefectural city. Judging from this young master's clothes, he must be rich or noble. His family must be worried. Taking him to the clinic won't delay things."

Li Xi had no choice but to carry the man into the carriage. She had no other option but to do so, since Lan'er was now the one with the most money in her pocket.

The three of them didn't say anything more. Although the man appeared to be unconscious from the moment he fell down until now, he was actually still conscious. However, his body was out of control. Once he knew he had been rescued, he truly lost consciousness and was completely unconscious.

Li Xi drove the carriage, whipping it high, and finally arrived at the prefectural city before the city gates closed. Although Jingyuan did not have a curfew, the city gates would be closed at 5:00 PM, and would only be opened with an official token.

The city gate captain inspected the three men's lodgings and gestured for the carriage curtain to be opened. Li Xi, seeing the injured man, quickly said, "Sir, this man was injured and collapsed on the road. We rescued him and plan to take him into the city to find a medical clinic." Two men at the city gate hurriedly checked, but Meng Zhelan and Ling'er had already alighted from the carriage and weren't worried about the two men recklessly barging in.

“It’s our young master Wang… thank you for the three ladies’ righteous rescue,” a man said with delight. They led the soldiers in two groups; the others searched for Prince An outside the city, while the two men waited for news at the city gate.

"It's fortunate we ran into you. We also happened to be here. The young master still has some residual poison in his body, so these are the antidote pills he's already taken. Give him one of the remaining pills tonight, and if he still hasn't woken up by tomorrow, give him another one." Meng Zhelan took out a medicine bottle and handed it to one of the men, explaining the situation before preparing to get into the carriage.

Concerned for Prince An's safety, the two men left without saying much, and Li Xi and the other two entered the city without further ado. Finding an inn to stay in was their most pressing need. They were all exhausted after a day's travel.

After asking several people, we finally found a fairly large inn. We went inside and asked the innkeeper to book three superior rooms. We took our valuables and gave the innkeeper some copper coins to have the carriage driven to the backyard to settle the horses.

The three asked the waiter for hot water and went back to their room to wash up quickly. Then they went downstairs and ordered four dishes and a soup. The aroma of the food was delightful, and it tasted even better. These dishes were truly appetizing, and every bite was satisfying, washing away the day's fatigue. Meng Zhelan and Ling'er, who usually ate their dry rations slowly all day, now ate heartily. Li Xi, needless to say, ate twice as much as usual and ordered two more dishes. Half an hour later, the three of them finally put down their chopsticks, completely satisfied, and smiled at each other. After eating and drinking their fill, the three of them went to the night market to digest.

Jingyuan has no curfew, so the night market is bustling with activity. People of all social classes, from commoners to high-ranking officials, enjoy strolling around after dinner.

The night market was bustling with activity, attracting many locals and tourists to sample the food and shop. The stalls were overflowing with a dazzling array of snacks, their aromas irresistible, making it hard to look away. Candles flickered throughout the market, illuminating the entire street. Laughter and cheerful voices filled the air as people thronged shoulder to shoulder, as if the entire city had gathered to enjoy this beautiful evening.

The three were drawn to the bustling night market. After walking around for a while, Li Xi realized she was a little hungry, so she bought a lot of snacks along the way. Meng Zhelan and Ling'er couldn't resist trying some as well. Li Xi bought quite a lot, including dragon beard candy, mung bean cake, pea flour cake, candied fruit, osmanthus cake, poria cocos cake, cloud cake, lotus flower pastry, and donkey roll, saving the rest for tomorrow.

After walking for an hour, Meng Zhelan and Ling'er were too tired to walk any further, so the three of them returned to the inn and went to sleep contentedly.

Prince An, who had been taken to the Governor's Mansion, woke up in the middle of the night and summoned his guards to inquire about the situation. Only then did he realize that he had arrived at the Governor's Mansion. It was his attendant, Zuo Yi, who found Prince An and rushed to his side to serve him upon hearing that the prince had woken up.

"Your Highness, you're finally awake! That girl's medicine was truly effective," Zuo Yi exclaimed. "Where is the woman who saved me?" Prince An asked. Zuo Yi stammered, "Um... I don't know. Of course, with you injured like that, I didn't think to ask." Seeing Prince An's anger, Zuo Yi quickly said, "I'll go find her right now," and slipped out. Prince An summoned Zuo Er and inquired about the torture of the man in black…

Meng Zhelan had already forgotten about saving people, and besides, she didn't want others to know her identity, so she didn't say much to the men that afternoon, only wanting them to leave with their people as soon as possible. It seemed this was just a minor incident.

Li Xi had been driving the carriage all day, and despite her excellent physical condition, she was now fast asleep. She was the same way in her past life; even with three cups of coffee a day, she would fall asleep the moment she lay down in bed. It was as if some kind of magic worked.

Ling'er was thoughtful and began to feel uneasy, but she was already overcome by sleepiness.

The night market closes after 9 PM. The town under the cover of night is quiet and peaceful, as if everything has fallen asleep.