Chapter 371 The Old Woodcutter Arrives
"It's alright," Madam Min Qiao said with a smile, "Just go and come back quickly."
After thinking for a moment, she added, "Here's what you'll do: take everything we have that we can exchange for money. Just say you're going to pawn it somewhere."
"I suppose they won't easily touch me, whether it's for money or to capture us all."
Although he was worried about Min Qiao's safety, he still had to go out and find out about the situation of the marriage procession.
After hesitating for a moment, she pulled out a palm-sized sheathed dagger from somewhere and handed it to Madam Min, saying, "Please keep this with you, just in case."
"Alright. Go ahead, don't worry about me." Madam Min Qiao took the dagger and hid it in her bosom.
She actually packed up the expensive clothes she and Min Qiao had changed out of, along with the gold hairpins and jewelry she had taken off, and told the village chief's wife that she was going to pawn them before leaving the house.
Min Qiaoshi and the village chief's wife saw them off at the door.
Seeing Huanzhen hurrying away, the village chief's wife, Granny Liu, said with some concern, "It's too unsafe for this child to go out alone. I didn't even have time to tell her that my youngest son could run errands for her later. Why make her, a young girl, go out like this?"
"It's alright, we've already troubled you enough. There's no reason for us to cause you any more trouble." Madam Min Qiao smiled and took Granny Liu's hand, changing the subject, "Let's go back, don't let us, grandmother and granddaughter, delay your own affairs."
"Okay, sure."
***
After leaving the village, they went to the grove to look for the carriage. Fortunately, it was still early enough that the carriage was still there, along with the two fine horses that pulled it.
He actually untied a horse, led it out of the grove, mounted it, and headed straight for the route he had taken the night before.
However, after traveling only half an hour, they encountered an old woodcutter riding towards them.
After seeing each other clearly, the two pulled on their reins and stopped at a distance.
"Really, Miss! Is it really you? Where is the old lady? Where is she now?" Old Woodcutter asked Zhen Huan excitedly.
He indeed squinted his eyes slightly, carefully examining the old woodcutter.
His eyes were bloodshot and he looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept all night.
He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but his arm seemed to be injured; there was a cut on the sleeve with bloodstains still visible.
No matter how you look at it, it looks like a haggard person who has escaped after a fierce battle.
But he did subconsciously distrust the old woodcutter.
As for the reason, it was naturally because she didn't even see the old woodcutter's shadow when she was attacked last night!
Logically speaking, shouldn't Old Woodcutter have brought people to protect the old lady immediately? Even if the incident was sudden, he should have disregarded the difficulties and dangers and rushed to the old lady's side as soon as possible.
However, from the black-clad men's night raid on the camp, to her leading the old man across half the camp to hide in the carriage, to their observation of the situation from the carriage, and finally their departure on horseback, at least a quarter of an hour had passed.
But the old woodcutter never appeared!
Where was he during that time? What was he doing?
Is there anything more important in this world than protecting the old lady?
Although Zhen Huan suspected the old woodcutter, she dared not show it on her face.
There was nothing she could do; she couldn't beat the old woodcutter.
Fortunately, she was used to having a blank expression and didn't need to pretend.
So, with a cold expression, she didn't answer but instead asked, "What's Steward Qiao doing here? How's the main force doing? How are the Seventh Princess and the King of Chu?"
The old woodcutter said with a sorrowful expression, "The whole marriage procession was killed by those men in black. I barely escaped with my life."
"As for the Seventh Princess and the King of Chu, I didn't see them either. They must have escaped in the chaos."
"Let's not talk about that now. The old lady should be with you, young lady, right? Please take me to see the old lady."
Hearing the news that the entire marriage procession had been wiped out was truly shocking.
She had heard from the old lady that there were five hundred soldiers responsible for escorting the bride. This did not include the palace maids who accompanied her, the eunuchs who followed, and the cooks and coachmen who were responsible for logistics.
So many people, all of them died overnight?
This was absolutely a premeditated assassination! And it was 100% aimed at the marriage alliance!
"A real girl?"
Seeing that he still didn't speak, the old woodcutter called out loudly, "Where is the old lady? Is there anyone else with her?"
He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, looked at the old woodcutter, hesitated for a moment, then turned his horse around and said, "Come with me."
If the old woodcutter has any problems, let the old lady handle them.
The most important thing now is to get back as soon as possible. She's worried about leaving the old lady alone.
The two men attracted attention as they rode their horses into the village, but they paid no attention to it. They only dismounted when they arrived at the village chief's house and quickly entered the courtyard.
In the courtyard, Min Qiaoshi was sitting on a small stool, picking beans with the village chief's wife.
Upon seeing that Zhen Huan, who had just gone out, had returned with the old woodcutter, Min Qiaoshi immediately stood up.
Before she could even lift her foot, the old woodcutter had already strode forward, knelt on one knee, and said with a remorseful expression, "Madam, I'm so sorry to have startled you!"
Madam Min quickly raised her hand to beckon people to get up, "Get up quickly, there's no need for such formalities at this time."
Just then, Madam Min Qiao suddenly noticed the wound on the old woodcutter's arm and exclaimed in alarm, "You're injured?"
The old woodcutter rubbed his arm, shook his head with a smile, and said, "It's just a minor injury, nothing serious."
Min Qiao wanted to say something more, but thinking of the village chief's wife who was already terrified, she quickly stopped talking and turned to her to explain, "This is my family's guard. We finally found him. Please help me boil some water, give him some clothes to wear, and prepare some food for him."
Then, turning to the old woodcutter, he asked, "Do you have any money on you?"
The old woodcutter nodded, took out a purse from his person, and respectfully handed it to Madam Min.
When Madam Min took it, she was astonished to find it filled with silver.
Apart from two ten-tael silver ingots, the rest were all loose silver pieces.
Min Qiaoshi couldn't tell the difference, so she casually took a small piece of silver, about an ounce, and handed it to the village chief's wife, saying, "Don't mind, sister-in-law."
"Oh, oh, no problem, no problem at all. I'll go prepare some hot water right away." The village chief's wife, who had been terrified by the bloodstains on the old woodcutter, was now overjoyed to have received the money and feared nothing more.
This rich person is so generous! He just threw out two taels of silver! My goodness! He's really rich!
The village chief's wife went off to do her work, while Min Qiaoshi led Lao Qiao and Zhen Huan into the house.
Madam Min asked the old woodcutter to sit down and personally examined the wound on his arm. Seeing that the wound had been simply treated and the bleeding had stopped, she was relieved to find that there was nothing seriously wrong.
Madam Min gave Zhen Huan a look, and Zhen Huan understood. After looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, she stood at the entrance of the main room and became a door god.
After confirming that everything was safe, Madam Min then seriously inquired about the situation of the marriage procession.
Old Woodcutter repeated what he had said to Zhen Huan before, and finally suggested with a look of fear, "Everyone has gotten separated and we don't know where they are for the time being. Why don't I escort the old lady back to Dayan first, and then send someone back to find the Seventh Princess and the others?"
"There's no rush to go back."
Madam Min waved her hand, looking at the old woodcutter with a cold expression, "Tell me first, how much do you know about what happened last night?"
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