Chapter 33: Why did those distinguished guests occupy this place?
In the second half of the night, heavy snow suddenly began to fall from the sky, and the snow was so heavy that you couldn't even see the road clearly.
It was the first time that Ruan Mian saw such heavy snow. In less than a cup of tea, the whole world was covered in silver.
The temperature also dropped sharply. The good weather of the past few days seemed to be a last gasp before the coming snowstorm.
Everyone was shivering with cold and trying their best to wrap themselves tightly.
The heavy snow was accompanied by a biting cold wind, which scraped at my face like a knife.
After finally making it to the next morning, they cooked some hot porridge and quickened their pace to head towards Huicheng.
It will be much warmer when you get to the post station, and maybe you can get some thicker supplies.
With this motivation, I dare not be lazy even if I have to walk in the snow.
But everyone's faces and skin suffered a lot. Even Ruan Mian felt that the skin on her face was dry, cracked, red and tight.
Seeing her distress, Mei Xi, who was standing by, said, "Miss Ruan, you'll be at my house soon. I made some ointment myself. Applying it on your face can protect you from the cold and prevent your skin from drying out. I'll bring you some when you get there!"
When Ruan Mian heard this, she thought, isn’t this just a face cream?
Not to mention that they really need this thing as they are heading all the way north.
She searched the entire space but couldn't find anything suitable for face painting, and the things she got from the herbal medicine shop didn't have it either.
There were only some rouge and powder that she had taken from the Qi Mansion, but they were of little use.
"Did you make the ointment yourself? Do you have the skill?"
Mei Xi replied, "To be honest, young lady, I was born poor and couldn't bear to spend a few taels of silver to buy ointment, so I studied and made it myself. Apart from the lack of fragrance, it is quite effective."
"Having a skill is a great thing! Don't underestimate yourself and have confidence in yourself."
Ruan Mian's words really inspired Mei Xi, but sometimes reality made her helpless.
"It's great that the girl has such an open-minded idea."
Ruan Mian seemed to see her worry, and he had a vague guess in his heart: "Are you afraid of the prefect of Huicheng?"
"He has committed many evil deeds. The world will not tolerate him. He will be punished one day!"
As we were chatting, a small village appeared in front of us.
In the snow-capped valley, it is like a paradise.
Meixi became excited and pointed to the first cabin in the village and said, "Miss Ruan, do you see it? That's my home!"
"My parents must be very worried about me right now. Since you're going to be passing by anyway, why don't you rest in my yard for a while? I'll make you something delicious to fill your stomachs and also bring you some ointment."
However, when they came out of the yard and opened the wooden door, they were shocked to find that the vast white snow was covered with blood.
The crimson blood had a strong impact against the white snow!
The women and children in the team were so scared that they screamed!
"Murder has been committed, murder has really occurred!" Mei Xi widened her eyes and hurriedly ran into the yard.
I saw a middle-aged couple lying on the ground, covered in blood. Even the seven-year-old child could not escape the disaster.
All her relatives were killed, and Meixi could no longer hold back. She immediately knelt on the ground and cried bitterly!
"Dad, Mom! Xier is back, wake up! Xier is back!!" She cried until she died, and Cuizhu and her elder sister couldn't help but shed tears when they saw this tragic scene.
Ruan Mian looked around and saw that the bloodstains had been there for some time. He guessed that he had been killed last night.
There is no need to think too much. It must be that the prefect wanted to rob her but failed, so after losing her, he went to question her parents.
This is what caused this situation.
Ruan Mian clenched his palms and stepped forward to comfort Mei Xi.
However, the officers were unwilling to stay any longer, fearing that the murderer would return and they would all be buried with him.
So he urged Ruan Mian to leave.
Mei Xi must be brought along. If not, she might be used as a handle by Princess Chun according to the plot of the original book.
But Meixi was in a state of emotional distress and couldn't leave for the moment. She also had to deal with the funeral arrangements, so Ruan Mian could only go and talk to the officials.
"Sir, this family was murdered last night. The murderer won't be back anytime soon. Please give me a little more time to help the young lady deal with the aftermath..."
"You're gambling all our lives here! Ruan Mian, don't go too far!"
Before she could finish, Qi Nanfeng interrupted her: "You said the murderer won't come back, so he won't come back? What if he does come back?"
"Besides, she has no relatives or friends with us. We are exiled, not just a family like you from the Ruan Mansion who are just going on a leisurely trip! How can you delay our journey by saving her? Sir, I think it's best for us to leave quickly and reach the post station before dark. Only then will we be safe."
Although Liu recovered as before after waking up, Qi Nanfeng still remembered Ruan Mian.
He was trying to show his affection, but Ruan Mian was dismissive of his feelings!!
Then don't blame him for being rude!
Ruan Mian saw that he was targeting her. Qi Nanfeng's words frightened the others so much that they quickly agreed with him. No one dared to stay here.
At this moment, Mei Xi suddenly walked to Ruan Mian, bowed slowly with bloodshot eyes, and said.
"Miss Ruan, please go first. Don't get implicated because of me."
Despite her great grief, she still held back her tears and said goodbye to Ruan Mian.
Ruan Mian looked at her deeply and nodded.
However, after the team continued to move forward, she paused for a moment and whispered to her, "Girl, you must know that if you want revenge alone, it will be as difficult as climbing to heaven."
"But I can help you. If you want to avenge your family and take care of their affairs, then come find me at the post station. If nothing unexpected happens, we will stay here for three days."
The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and the road ahead was all mountains and forests. If the mountain was blocked by heavy snow, it would be impossible to get through.
After saying this, Ruan Mian returned to the team.
The eldest sister came over quickly and whispered, "Sister, are we really going to leave Miss Mei alone? Her family... her family has all been killed."
Ruan Qing didn't dare to think about what she would do if her family encountered the same thing.
Ruan Mian looked at her blankly and spoke earnestly.
"Big sister, don't you think we're in a difficult situation right now? When it comes to saving people, we have to do it within our capabilities."
···
The post station is just ten miles away.
They had hoped to find a place to shelter from the wind and snow, but unexpectedly, when they arrived at the post station, they found a group of people occupying the inner room, and they, a group of exiles, were decisively stopped outside and could only rely on the dilapidated stable to block the wind and snow.
The officials went to negotiate, but returned empty-handed.
Upon inquiry, he told Ruan Mian and the others, "The road ahead is blocked by heavy snow, and we can't enter the city for the time being, so some of the prefect's distinguished guests are temporarily staying at the post station."
"The post station is full of people now, so you just stay here for a while! You can set off when the road ahead is open." This news was like a bolt from the blue to them.
"Sir! Can we still get supplies? With such bad weather, we must have some thicker clothes, right?"
"Yeah, otherwise, if we stayed outside, we would freeze to death sooner or later!! With this much snow, I'm afraid the shed wouldn't be able to hold up."
Why did those distinguished guests occupy this place?
However, the only answer they had was a stick, and now they didn't even have a place to rest, let alone supplies.
Seeing this, Ruan Mian temporarily put their things in place and divided the thick clothes and mattresses among them.
Everyone huddled together, holding a hand-held heater and lighting some charcoal fire in the middle. With so many people around, even the people from the Qi Mansion could get some warmth.
So as not to freeze to death.
However, before they could relax, a few sharp-eyed men passed by and saw the pottery Ruan Mian and his men were using to keep warm, as well as the animal skin blankets they were covered with. They were immediately shocked! Pointing at the officers outside the post station, they demanded, "These exiled prisoners? They have such good things?! I've never heard of this!"
After saying that, he kicked away their charcoal fire and snatched away the pottery used for heating without hesitation.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingsong stood up suddenly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com