They were almost at Li Family Village, but the Duchess of the State had not yet appeared, and Ye Caiping couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Help—help me—" At this moment, a scream rang out.

Suddenly, a horse-drawn carriage appeared from a side road not far ahead.

The carriage, without a driver, was speeding along when a woman stuck her head out of the window, repeatedly calling for help.

It's here!

"Oh dear!" Ye Daquan was startled and quickly reined in the ox.

"Brother, give me the whip." Ye Caiping snatched the ox whip from Ye Daquan's hand and jumped off the oxcart.

Just as the carriage passed by, Ye Caiping lashed the horse with her whip.

Startled, the horse immediately veered off course and crashed headfirst into a haystack not far away.

The horse fell to the ground, struggled incessantly, and finally broke free of its reins and ran away.

The carriage was overturned on its side, and the wheels were still spinning.

Ye Caiping rushed over: "Ma'am, are you alright?"

A round-faced old woman, around forty years old, climbed out of the carriage, pleading, "Quick, save our mistress... Waaah..."

"Don't cry, sister. Let's help her out first," Ye Caiping said.

Ye Daquan heard that it was a woman and didn't want to help, so he stood aside in a flustered manner.

Ye Caiping and Granny Yu worked together to drag the elegantly dressed woman out of the room.

The woman was nearly forty years old, dressed in luxurious clothes, and had a dignified and beautiful appearance. Unfortunately, she was unconscious. When Ye Caiping touched her back, she found it was covered in blood.

Ye Caiping's eyes flickered slightly; she knew this was the Lady of the Duke of Pingguo.

Knowing how the other person was injured, he exclaimed in surprise, "Oh no! How did you get hurt? Quick, take him to the town clinic!"

Granny Yu's expression changed: "No, no, there are thieves over there who want to kill my mistress. Young lady, please have mercy and find us a place to settle down."

Ye Caiping said, "Then...why don't you hide at my house first!"

Granny Yu said with a face full of gratitude, "Okay, thank you, young lady."

"Big brother, come and lend a hand."

The three of them worked together to lift Lady Pingguo onto the oxcart. Ye Caiping then ran to the haystack, pulled some hay off, and covered the carriage.

After getting into the car, Ye Caiping took off her coat and used it to cover up the Duchess of Pingguo.

The oxcart started and slowly drove away.

At this moment, Ye Caiping was taken aback.

From the direction of the town, Li Jiaojiao was seen running towards them.

When Li Jiaojiao saw Ye Caiping's oxcart not far away, she paused in surprise.

When she saw the messy tire tracks on the ground, for some reason, Li Jiaojiao felt as if she had been hit hard in the head, and her heart felt as if a piece had been ripped out.

The oxcart, moving further and further away, seemed like some priceless treasure that belonged to her, gradually disappearing into the distance.

Ye Caiping looked at Li Jiaojiao, who was standing there in the distance, and her eyes turned slightly cold: "Big brother, hurry up."

Ye Daquan responded, and the oxcart quickened its pace.

"Wait a minute..." Just as Li Jiaojiao was about to chase after her, her hand was suddenly grabbed.

"Jiaojiao?" Li Ziming said angrily, "Why did you suddenly run away? That was five taels of silver! If you hadn't run away, we would have already gotten it."

He was confident he could eat one bowl, but two bowls would be impossible, even if he ate himself to death.

Seeing Li Jiaojiao about to chase after the oxcart, Li Ziming said angrily, "What are you doing?"

"I..." Li Jiaojiao didn't know what she wanted to do either, "I just felt that I should catch up with that car... I..."

"Isn't that the Ye family's car?" Li Ziming said irritably. "What's gotten into you again? You always do things out of the blue... You were just cheated out of two hundred taels last time. What are you up to now?"

Li Jiaojiao looked at him with a mixture of grievance and anger:

"What do you mean? I've always been like this, and in the end, I even dragged you and Mother out of that hell. I only made one mistake, and it's a capital offense? If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have the chance to stand here; you'd be dead by now!"

Li Ziming's face turned ugly: "That's not what I meant... it's just..."

"Hmph!" Li Jiaojiao shook off his hand.

When I looked up again, the oxcart was nowhere to be seen.

Li Jiaojiao felt an emptiness in her heart.

...

Ye Caiping settled the Duchess of Pingguo in an empty room next to Huan'er, which was the only empty room in the inner courtyard besides the back room.

Hearing the noise, Old Lady Ye and Madam Du and others gathered outside.

Soon after, Dr. Zhao arrived.

Upon examining the wound, it was a knife wound, extending from the left shoulder down to the shoulder blade.

Dr. Zhao said that the knife contained an extremely potent sleeping potion, and the patient would be unconscious for at least one or two days before waking up.

After bandaging her wound, Dr. Zhao left.

Inside the room, Granny Yu, filled with gratitude, curtsied to Ye Caiping: "Thank you, young lady."

Ye Caiping quickly helped her up: "Sister, you're too kind. Saving a life is a great act of kindness."

"After talking for so long, I still don't know your surname, young lady."

"My surname is Ye, and my given name is Caiping. You can just call me by my name, elder sister."

“My surname is Yu, you can call me Granny Yu. The lady inside is my mistress. We come from... Baizhou, we are merchants and have a little money. The lady was visiting relatives in Anzhou and was passing through this place when she was targeted by some thieves.”

"We chased after them all the way, and the servants in the house scattered. Luckily, we met Ye Niang, otherwise we wouldn't know what to do."

The horse was startled, and if Ye Caiping hadn't stopped it in time, causing the mad horse to crash into a haystack, the mistress and servant might have lost their lives.

Ye Caiping nodded: "I see. Madam and Granny, please rest here and recuperate! It's not too late to make plans after you've recovered."

Granny Yu was filled with gratitude.

Ye Caiping left the house and closed the door.

At this moment, Ye Jin'er and her sisters, along with Ye Yong and others, all returned. Upon learning that their family had rescued two people, they were very curious but dared not ask too many questions.

As Ye Caiping left the side room, Old Madam Ye and Madam Du immediately surrounded her, asking, "Who are those two people?"

Ye Caiping said, "We met them on the way, and when we saw that they were injured, we took them to our home."

Madam Du said, "Judging from those clothes, they belong to a wealthy family. How did they get injured? Did they encounter bad people?"

“They were merchants from Baizhou who encountered bandits on the road. Their servants were scattered along the way, which is why they were injured and ended up here,” Ye Caiping said.

Grandma Ye said, "No matter what, saving people is always a good thing. Let's treat them well! Eldest daughter, let's go to the kitchen and cook some food."

After preparing the meal, Ye Caiping brought the simple dishes to the side room.

The meal was very ordinary: a plate of scrambled eggs, a small portion of steamed ribs, a vegetable dish, and a clear soup.

Granny Yu was both excited and relieved.

Fortunately, they encountered such a wealthy farmer; if it were an ordinary villager, they probably wouldn't even be able to afford a doctor.