The two hurried back to Ningdu County. In the carriage, Granny Fang said, "After the incident with Concubine Lin, some people in the mansion were purged. Granny Fang's niece has been expelled from the mansion."
"Do you know where her hometown is?" Song Anxin asked.
"Granny Yan's niece is named Xiuhua. I heard that her hometown suffered a disaster and all her family members died, so she came to seek refuge with Granny Yan. Granny Yan has no children of her own and treats her like her own daughter. Although Yan Xiuhua works in the Liu family, she is not registered as a slave. Granny Yan even bought her a house in the county. Yan Xiuhua will come back to this house every day after finishing her work in the mansion. We can find her at that house."
Song Anxin asked in confusion, "How do you know so much, Granny Fang?"
Granny Fang sighed and said, "Granny Yan, Granny Qi, and I were actually the dowry maids of the eldest daughter of the Su family. We started serving the eldest daughter in the Su family and have always had a good relationship. After Concubine Lin came to the Liu family, the eldest daughter took pity on Concubine Lin and let me follow Concubine Lin. Later, the eldest daughter died in childbirth, and the second daughter married into the family. Granny Yan and Granny Qi then followed the second daughter, who is now the madam."
Granny Fang's eyes filled with sadness, as if she had recalled something.
"Ever since Granny Yan and Granny Qi started following the current Madam, they've both slowly changed, and naturally, we've drifted away. If the young lady were still here, they certainly wouldn't have become so vicious. It's a pity that the young lady passed away with the little master in her belly."
Song Anxin sighed deeply after hearing this, and asked:
"What were the circumstances surrounding your First Madam's difficult childbirth?"
Granny Fang replied, "It was postpartum hemorrhage."
Song Anxin asked in confusion, "How could she have suffered a postpartum hemorrhage? Logically speaking, your First Madam's body was damaged during her previous childbirth, making it difficult for her to conceive again. Now that she has finally become pregnant, shouldn't she be taking extra care of herself to prevent any dangerous situations?"
"Yes, the young lady was very careful, and the master sent piles of tonics to her courtyard. Madam Su even found a doctor to help her recover. Everything was going well, but for some reason, she suddenly went into labor early and suffered a massive hemorrhage and died."
After listening, Song Anxin felt uneasy for some reason. If it was a case of pre-existing weakness and hemorrhage, there should have been warning signs beforehand. Before she could figure anything out, she heard Qingshan's urgent voice from outside.
"My lady, something terrible has happened! We've been surrounded by bandits!"
Sitting in the carriage, Song Anxin immediately looked shocked.
"Why would bandits surround us?!"
“Your Highness, there is a caravan ahead of us, and the bandits probably think we are with them.”
Song Anxin lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out, and the four people immediately gathered around her amidst the green hills and gentle breeze.
They were now in a narrow passage between two mountain peaks. Ahead of them was a caravan led by a middle-aged merchant dressed in fine silks and satins, followed by goods pulled by horses and mules. Song Anxin's carriage was right behind them.
Meanwhile, a group of burly men with their faces covered by black cloth stood on both sides of the hillside, each holding a large knife and surrounding them.
A masked man led a group of people down to the merchant who was in charge.
The man said gruffly, "Leave the goods, take out all your valuables and money and throw them on the ground, then you can leave!"
Song Anxin breathed a sigh of relief. There were just too many bandits surrounding them. The four men from Qingshan were indeed skilled in martial arts, but if they were to fight head-on and break through, it would definitely be a fierce battle. Money could be earned again, but if they lost their lives, they would have nothing left.
The leading merchant trembled as he threw his money bag on the ground, and the people behind him quickly took out their money as well.
Song Anxin naturally threw her purse and some jewelry on the ground as well. She had specially put five hundred taels of silver notes in it just in case, along with some loose silver. Song Anxin felt heartbroken!
"What is this?! How dare you hide something from me? Give it to me right now!"
Suddenly, a short, stocky man next to the burly man noticed a jade pendant in the merchant's pocket and reached out to snatch it. The merchant desperately tried to protect it and pleaded:
"Please, my good sir, this jade pendant is a peace charm that my youngest daughter got for me at the temple. It's small and not a high-quality item, but it's a token of my daughter's filial piety. The money in the purse I lost could buy a better jade pendant. Please, have mercy and leave it to me."
The short, stocky man said fiercely, "I don't care what kind of bullshit you are, what I see is mine, and I think you don't want your dog's life anymore!"
As he spoke, he raised the gleaming broadsword in his hand and slashed at the merchant.
The burly man in the lead shouted, "Stop!"
But it was too late. The knife was only half an inch away from slicing into the merchant's neck, and the guards behind him cried out in terror.
"Boss!"
At the critical moment, a loud clang rang out, and the knife fell to the ground. The short, stocky man recoiled in pain, his wrist snapping back as he cursed loudly:
"Which little punk dares to scheme against me! Come out here!"
"It's us!"
A clear, cold female voice was heard.
Song Anxin stepped forward with Qingshan and the others.
"Heroes, we've all risked our lives for money, so why risk our lives for this tiny piece of jade? I have a jade hairpin here, which is much more valuable than that broken jade pendant. How about I use that to pay for it?"
Song Anxin tossed a jade hairpin over.
The leader was startled when he suddenly saw Song Anxin.
"You son of a bitch! You..."
The short, stocky man was stopped by the leader before he could finish his rant.
"Mountain demon, shut up! Brothers, let's retreat!"
As he spoke, he led a group of people back up the mountain. The one called Mountain Ghost, who had been left behind, realized what was happening and hurriedly gave chase.
"Hey! No, Second Boss, we didn't take any money or valuables. How are we going to explain this to the Boss if we just leave like this...?"
In an instant, the bandits on both sides of the mountain withdrew completely.
Song Anxin and the others, along with the caravan members, were completely dumbfounded. The bandits had just left like that?! And they didn't even want their money?
At this moment, Qingshan spoke up: "Madam, I feel as if the bandit leader knows you."
“Yes, it seems he only left because he recognized you, Madam,” Qingfeng said.
Song Anxin was also puzzled. It seemed the bandit leader recognized her before leaving, but how could she possibly know such a bandit leader? Song Anxin shook her head. In any case, she was safe now, and she wouldn't lose any money.
"Oh dear! Thank you so much, my benefactor! Otherwise, I would have lost my life here. Thank you so much, my benefactor... thank you so much, my benefactor..."
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