The Xu family of three, supporting each other, managed to come down the mountain, covered in mud and water. Upon reaching the village, they discovered it was a small village, with numerous thatched houses surrounding a rather large three-courtyard complex. This must be an estate belonging to some noble family.

Because of the rain, there weren't many people outside in the village. The Xu family of three helped each other to the front of the three-courtyard house. Xu Rao and Chen Zhaoci were too tired to walk any further, so Xu Di went over and knocked on the door. After a while, someone finally came to open the door.

Xu Di bowed respectfully to an elderly man in his sixties standing inside the door and said, "Greetings, sir. My family of three was on our way to Chengguang Temple to burn incense and fulfill our vows, but we encountered a mishap on the way. Our carriage fell into the river, and we were fortunate enough to escape. We are too exhausted to walk any further, so we hope you will take us in."

The old man quickly helped Xu Di up and said, "Young master, please don't stand on ceremony. Since you have a request of me, I will do my best. Please come in."

Xu Rao and Chen Zhaoci followed behind, supporting each other as they entered. Xu Rao straightened his clothes and said, "Uncle, we are from the Yongning Marquis's residence. May I ask which family your family belongs to?"

The old man smiled and said, "We are from the Jingbei Marquis's residence. This estate is part of the dowry of the old lady of the manor. You can rest assured and stay here. I will ask someone to boil water and make ginger soup. You can take a good rest and return to the city when the weather is better tomorrow."

The Xu family of three quickly expressed their gratitude.

Marquis Jingbei is the only one among those who were enfeoffed as marquises back then who still holds military power. There is no other reason than that the northern border cannot do without the guarding of the Cheng family of Marquis Jingbei. Although most areas are now peaceful and prosperous, and some places are even enjoying peace and prosperity, the northern border is often a battleground. Therefore, as the best military commander in the entire Liang Dynasty, the Cheng family of Marquis Jingbei has always been the most trusted court officials of the emperor.

The old man's surname is Shen. He came with the dowry of the old lady of the Jingbei Marquis's mansion and has been in charge of the affairs of several of the old lady's dowry estates. There are still some crops to be sown, and Old Man Shen has been guarding the estates here.

Old Man Shen led the Xu family of three into the house, instructed them to boil water and make ginger soup, and then went to find a few sets of clothes to change into. Xu Rao and Xu Di were fine, but as for Chen Zhaoci, there was no one of similar age in the village. So he could only find two clean sets of clothes for his wife and have her bring them to Chen Zhaoci.

The Xu family was very grateful for Mr. Shen's help. After taking a hot bath and drinking ginger soup, it got dark. Mr. Shen prepared a delicious meal, and after the Xu family ate, they went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, someone banged on the courtyard gate, and Chen Zhaoci woke up immediately. Hearing the noise, she quickly woke up Xu Rao and Xu Di. She was very scared and didn't know if the people who were chasing the family of three had come looking for them.

Xu Rao and Xu Di naturally understood these things, and the three of them held hands tightly and huddled together on the kang (a heated brick bed).

When Mr. Shen heard the noise, he went to open the door. After a startled cry, he fell silent. The Xu family of three only heard the sound of boots, interspersed with a few neighs of horses.

Xu Rao gritted her teeth and said, "I've seen it. There's a back door in this courtyard. Xu Di, sneak over there later and take the opportunity to open the back door and run out. No matter what, we should try to get as many people out as possible."

The three of them were discussing when someone knocked on the door. Old Man Shen called out softly, "Third Master Xu, Third Master Xu."

Xu Rao quickly got up, opened the door, and said, "Uncle, what happened?"

Old Man Shen looked anxious and said, "Our young master is injured. It's quite far from the capital. Your wife is from the Chen family, the imperial physicians. Could you come and take a look?"

Chen Zhaoci looked completely confused, but Xu Di knew what was going on. He whispered, "Chen's family were imperial physicians in earlier years. Later, the whole family moved to the south. You married into the Xu family before their family moved south."

Chen Zhaoci then understood what was going on. As a doctor, she was used to it and would rush to help whenever she heard of an injured person. She quickly put on a coat, pushed Xu Rao, who was standing at the door, aside, and asked Old Man Shen, "Where is the injured person?"

Old Man Shen didn't care about anything else now. He led his men to the front yard and whispered as they walked, "The young master was ambushed and injured on his way back to the capital. Several others with him were also injured, but the young master's injuries were the most serious."

The injured were all placed in a room in the front yard. Before Chen Zhaoci even entered the room, he smelled a strong stench of blood. He frowned slightly, took a few quick steps, and hurried into the room.

Inside the room was a four-poster bed, and by the window was a rather large daybed. There was one person on the bed, two people lying on the daybed, and two others sitting on stools in the room, who looked to have injured either their arms or legs.

Chen Zhaoci is a surgeon who has been immersed in surgical procedures for many years, especially orthopedic surgeries. He can spot injuries at a glance.

The wound on the bed was on his chest, simply bandaged, but in Chen Zhaoci's opinion, such a wound should be stitched up. The others were probably fractures, either an arm or a leg.

Old Man Shen followed behind Chen Zhaoci and said, "Grandma Xu, what do you think?"

Chen Zhaoci thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Shen, do you have any medicinal herbs on the estate?"

Mr. Shen said, "Some commonly used items are all here. Grandma Xu, please come and take a look."

Chen Zhaoci followed them to the next room, where there was a small medicine cabinet with drawers, each with the name of a medicinal herb written on it.

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