The next day, before dawn, Yan Ning entrusted the affairs of the manor to Zhao Xing and Zhu Xiang. She only allowed Ming Xin to accompany her and ordered the coachman to drive the carriage fifty li east of the White Pagoda Temple outside the city to find the vegetable garden that Fu Chang'an had mentioned.

The winter dawns slowly, and the clatter of horses' hooves echoes loudly on the deserted ancient road. Yan Ning draws the curtains, and the shop signs and banners outside flutter in the cold wind.

The driver wore a fur hat and a thick cotton coat that covered his muscular body. Every now and then, a shout of "Giddy up!" would come from the open space, followed by a loud crack of a whip.

If it weren't for Mingxin by her side, Yan Ning would have been quite afraid of this ancient and deserted street.

The guards outside the city gate, dressed in blue cotton-padded uniforms, would occasionally stamp their boots to ward off the chill.

"Who is leaving the city at this time?" Two soldiers guarding the city gate stopped the carriage carrying Yan Ning.

Mingxin pulled back the carriage curtain for Yanning. The guns they held, illuminated by the cold light, had a gloomy color that inspired fear.

Yan Ning was a little nervous. She had forgotten that leaving the city gates before dawn would definitely lead to questioning. She was about to reveal that she was the wife of Fucha Fukang'an and that there was an emergency at home, so she had to go outside the city to find him.

"Let them through!"

A man's voice came, followed by the sound of riding boots.

Heshen appeared before the soldiers, his magnificent official robes shrouded in cold air, losing their luster, and his whole demeanor exuding an aura of authority and coldness.

"yes!"

The two soldiers blocking the way immediately made way and opened the city gate, the heavy gate scraping against the stone slabs on the ground.

The soldiers moved with surprising speed and efficiency, leaving Yan Ning astonished. How could Heshen, a civil official, command the soldiers guarding the city gate? Peeking out, she saw Fu Chang'an, dressed in official robes, standing beside Heshen, looking at her with a wicked grin. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly. In just a few months, Fu Chang'an dared to so brazenly travel with Heshen, completely disregarding Fu Kang'an's words.

As soon as the city gate opened, the coachman drove the carriage away. Yan Ning glanced out the window and saw He Shen's crescent-shaped eyes staring at the carriage, his whole body exuding coldness. She really didn't know what kind of person he was.

The paths outside the city were rugged, and after the snow melted, the unpaved roads were all muddy as far as the eye could see. The driver moved very slowly to keep the cart stable.

After traveling fifty miles, by the time Yan Ning found the vegetable garden, the sun was already setting in the west.

The vegetable garden was empty, which puzzled Yan Ning. Didn't Chef Wu say that most of the vegetable gardens had already been bought? Why would those officials buy the barren and frost-covered vegetable gardens?

Upon hearing Yan Ning's question, Mingxin couldn't help but cover her face and laugh. "It's understandable that Madam, living in seclusion, wouldn't know about the affairs of farmers! In autumn, after harvesting the vegetables from their gardens, farmers far from the capital would store them up, waiting for officials from the capital to come and buy them in winter. This would earn them many times more money than setting up a small stall in the capital to sell them!"

Yan Ning's furrowed brows relaxed; she had originally thought that there were greenhouse vegetables here just like in her time.

A fence enclosed a desolate garden, where two simple thatched houses stood tall in the bleak winter wind. Because of the tall piles of thatch around the houses, they looked rather warm.

At Ying Yan Ning's command, the coachman knocked on the wooden door hidden by the thatched roof. There was a rusty iron ring on it. Instead of touching the ring, the coachman pounded on the door with his palm. In his early twenties, he was easily impatient. Having spent his days working for the Fucha family, he was used to being treated like royalty outside of their household. The coachman called out gruffly, "Is anyone there? Money's here!"

After a pause, the door was suddenly opened. The driver's hand was still in a palm shape in the air. He was so frightened by the burly man in front of him that he took a step back. His thick black cotton coat made his steps a little clumsy.

Seeing the door open, Yan Ning helped Ming Xin forward. "I heard that this elder brother has some vegetables stored up from the autumn harvest. I wonder if they could be sold to the Fucha family?" Yan Ning said, holding a lake-blue purse out from under her pearl-white cloak, her face full of worry as she looked at You Yuanzhi.

You Yuanzhi was startled when he saw Yan Ning. Then he noticed that the purse that Xiang'er had been carrying was in Yan Ning's hand, and her face was full of worry. He guessed that something had happened to Xiang'er.

Mingxin and the driver loaded the vegetables from the cellar onto the cart, while Yanning briefly explained Xiang'er's situation to You Yuanzhi inside the house.

You Yuanzhi overturned the table in front of Yan Ning with one hand, sending the already broken teapot flying and shattering it into pieces on the ground. Several rough ceramic bowls also broke into pieces.

Aside from a bed, this table was the only item in the small thatched hut. Now, it too has been damaged by You Yuanzhi.

Yan Ning was so frightened that her face turned deathly pale, and it took her a long time to recover. She had expected You Yuanzhi's behavior, but seeing it with her own eyes still terrified her.

You Yuanzhi paced back and forth in the house. Although Yan Ning hadn't mentioned Xi Ying's underhanded tactics, You Yuanzhi guessed that Xiang'er and her child must have been murdered. A surge of hatred welled up within him. He wouldn't let Fukang'an get away with it, nor would he let anyone from the Fucha family involved in this matter go unpunished!

You Yuanzhi's eyes turned bloodshot, and the veins on his hands bulged. The hand that had just slammed its fist on the table still had a piece of wood stuck in it. Blood was gushing out, and because the room was cold, the blood flowed very slowly, as if it would never stop.

Yan Ning couldn't bear to look, so she took You Yuanzhi's hand, removed the wooden piece, and used a handkerchief to bandage his wound.

The white handkerchief was immediately soaked in blood and turned bright red.

Feeling the warmth in his hand, You Yuanzhi suppressed his earlier impulse and withdrew his hand from Yan Ning's. As Yan Ning lowered her eyes, she saw a dark shadow flash past the door and disappear in an instant.

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