"Mother's here, Zheng'er. How are you feeling? Is your head very uncomfortable?"
"It hurts, I'm dizzy! And I'm cold."
The Crown Prince's wife was terrified. Her son had just put on a new cotton-padded coat and shoes last night, how could he be cold? Could her son be dying?
"Zheng'er, don't scare your mother."
She frantically pulled the child into her arms, trying to warm him, but Ning Yan quickly stopped her, saying, "Sister-in-law, the child has a slight concussion from being hit. Your movements will only make him feel worse."
The child has taken the medicine and will be fine once he wakes up. It's normal for him to be cold, given how much blood he lost.
Chu Zheng frowned in discomfort, and the Crown Prince's wife quickly released him. "It's all my fault, it's all my fault. Is Zheng'er feeling particularly unwell?"
"It's alright, Mother, don't worry..."
"Sister-in-law, Xiao Zheng says he's cold. Why don't you give him some more water? It should help."
Although he took the medicine, he still needs some time to recover. He can't eat anything right now because it will make him feel nauseous.
Ning Yan gently draped the cloak from the carriage over Chu Zheng, and the Crown Prince's wife quickly brought him hot water to feed him.
Chu Zheng took two sips and then stopped drinking; he felt unwell.
Just then, the older brother came over. "Brother."
"Yes, it's good that you're awake. Don't worry, I'll definitely avenge you."
Ning Yan simply got off the carriage, letting the mother and son stay with Chu Zheng, while she squatted down by the fire she had built. At this moment, more guards came down the mountain, and someone had hunted two wild rabbits. The old woman stewed the rabbits, and the aroma of the meat wafted far and wide.
Inside the carriage, Chu Zheng was much better. Chu Lin squatted down next to his second brother, looking at him expectantly, "Are you still dizzy, second brother? Are you not dizzy anymore?"
He had asked this question several times already, and Chu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "Why do you keep asking this question?"
"Once you're not dizzy anymore, you can eat rabbit meat. Second Brother lost so much blood, you should eat more."
The Crown Prince's wife patted Chu Lin's head and said, "Good boy, you three brothers must always be good to each other, help and support each other. The future of our Chu family depends on you."
Chu Lin raised his little fist. "My mother said that if anyone bullies my eldest and second brothers, I will beat them up. She also said that when we get to the North, she will ask someone to teach me kung fu. Then I will beat that kid to death to avenge my second brother."
The Crown Prince's wife was amused by the children's appearance, and Chu Yu and Chu Zheng liked their younger brother even more when they remembered him secretly feeding them.
"If anyone bullies you, your brothers will help you get revenge."
Chu Lin chuckled, "Second Brother, are you still dizzy? You're not dizzy anymore, are you?"
Well, after all that talk, this kid has come full circle.
"alright."
"Then wait here, Second Brother, I'll go get you some rabbit meat."
The boy moved swiftly, jumping off the carriage with a "thump" and running to where the nanny was cooking. "Nanny, nanny, quickly serve me some rabbit meat. My second brother lost so much blood, he needs to be well nourished."
The old woman hurriedly said, "Young master, please wait a moment, this old servant will bring it to the second young master right away."
She found a bowl, filled it to the brim with rabbit meat, and personally carried it to the carriage.
The Crown Prince's wife took the bowl of meat and carefully fed it to her son.
Seeing that her second brother had already started eating, Chu Lin pulled her eldest brother toward her mother's place, saying, "Come on, eldest brother, let's eat together. My mother heated up some meat buns."
Ning Yan asked Yu Zhu to scoop out a portion of the meat from the pot, and then took a small bowl of meat buns to Jin Daofei. It's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. You can't praise someone like Jin Daofei too highly, but you still have to maintain a relationship with him, otherwise he might turn on you at any time.
If you eat well yourself, take his share with you to shut him up, and he won't be able to make a fuss or cause trouble for you.
The weather was too cold, and some of the prisoners fell ill. For some reason, these people actually came to Ning Yan for help.
The person who came was a woman in her thirties, whom Ning Yan did not recognize.
"Fourth Madam, I know you must have some medicine. Consider it a loan from you. I will repay your kindness when we get to the North."
Ning Yan frowned. "I came here in a hurry, and I'm not fully prepared. I don't have any medicine with me, so I can't help you."
This person was not a prisoner implicated by the Chu family, and Ning Yan didn't know him at all. She didn't know how he dared to open his mouth like that.
In order to make extra money, the constables would prepare all kinds of pills, and even deliberately withhold or under-issue food, then force the prisoners to pay them to buy more.
She indeed didn't let the servants buy medicine. The pills she gave Chu Zheng were all from her divine palace. Chu Zheng's fate in both his lives was bad. He died on the road to exile. Even if he hadn't received the medicine she gave him for the injuries he suffered today, he would have died from the fever afterward, even if he hadn't died then.
The Chu family is destined for the top, and she wants to benefit from their success, so she naturally won't be stingy with two pills.
Why should others have the right?
She's not a bodhisattva!
Furthermore, giving her the medicine would offend Jin Daofei, and she would never do such a losing deal.
Unexpectedly, this woman was a shrew. When Ning Yan refused to "lend" the medicine, she threw a tantrum on the spot, cursing: "It's no wonder the Chu family was exiled, it's no wonder you were divorced and abandoned. You won't even help with such a small favor, even the heavens are watching..."
Ning Yan waved her hand: "Hold her down!"
Yu Zhu and the others immediately stepped forward to restrain the person, and Ning Yan raised her hand to slap him, "Who do you think you are to act arrogantly in front of me? Even if I had the medicine, I would throw it on the ground and stomp on it rather than give it to you!"
Zhang Mama said nervously, "My mistress, how can I let you do it yourself? Let this old servant do it!"
Ning Yan immediately took a step back; it was the dead of winter, and her hands were indeed a bit cold when she stretched them out.
Granny Zhang immediately stepped forward. She was just wondering how to find an opportunity to show off, and this opportunity came knocking on her door. She swung her hand so hard that the woman's mouth was agape.
The convicts had been keeping an eye on this area, and when they saw the woman being beaten, several of them tried to rush over!
Jin Daofei had been watching this side closely and was very satisfied with Ning Yan's reaction. Seeing that someone was about to cause trouble, he immediately stood up with his whip in hand. "What are you doing? Sit down, all of you. If you dare to cause trouble, my whip won't be merciful."
"Sir, please help! That fourth madam has hit my wife without provocation! Please, sir, help me!"
"Hitting someone for no reason? Do you think I'm blind?"
"Crack!" A whip lashed across the man who had spoken, and now the couple howled in pain!
Granny Zhang slapped the woman more than twenty times, asking as she did so, "Do you still dare to cause trouble in front of our master? Do you still dare to talk nonsense?"
The woman wanted to say she wouldn't dare, but Granny Zhang didn't give her a chance to speak. She could only shake her head desperately. Only when Granny Zhang was tired of beating her did she speak with a swollen face, begging for mercy: "I was wrong, I won't dare to do it again."
Granny Zhang looked at her mistress, awaiting her instructions. Ning Yan said, "Throw her back!"
The woman said, "That won't be necessary. She can walk by herself."
However, she had no choice!
Yu Zhu and his companion dragged her back into the group of convicts. (End of Chapter)
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