12 Your Highness, please take care.
Father, let's leave Li Family Village!
Qi Gu stepped forward and pressed her ear against the door to listen, afraid she might have misheard, but she didn't hear anything.
No, the clanging and banging sounds inside were the sounds of weapons clashing. Qi Gu thought of the sounds she heard coming from not far away after the eunuch shouted in her previous life.
She pounded on the door: "Sister Cheng, what's wrong! Sister Cheng! Open the door!"
No matter how much Qi Gu knocked on the door, all she heard inside were chaotic fighting sounds and muffled groans; no one came to open it.
"Sister Cheng, wait for me, I'm going to report this to the authorities!"
Qi Gu ran, trying to save Sister Cheng, who was the first person she met after her rebirth, besides the people from Li Family Village.
Cheng's parents also died in the war. She often saw Cheng sitting alone in front of the stove, and she knew that Cheng was thinking of her parents.
She and Sister Cheng look so alike, but unlike Sister Cheng, she is lucky to have a father who found her and loves her, while Sister Cheng can only live with the elders in the clan.
Qi Gu ran recklessly, shouting all the way, "Help! Someone, help me!"
The passersby, unaware of the situation, only saw a young woman carrying a bamboo basket running in the heavy rain, shouting, "Something has happened at the Zhao family's blacksmith shop! Please help!"
But as it rained, passersby all left, and no one was willing to go with her to Sister Cheng's blacksmith shop. The rain soaked her hair and clothes, but she was oblivious. Sister Cheng must not get into trouble.
Finally, she stumbled to the yamen (government office), "Brother constable, something has happened at Sister Cheng's blacksmith shop, you must go and see!"
The uniformed constable looked at the woman carrying a bamboo basket in front of him, and saw that it was either sweat or rain that was streaming down her face.
The constable asked suspiciously, "Are you talking about the family of that woman who works as a blacksmith?"
Qi Gu nodded vigorously, "Yes, no, there's no time. If we go any later, we might have to reveal names. Brother Constable, please come with me."
The two constables looked at each other strangely. "Young lady, you don't need to concern yourself with her family's affairs. Go home quickly."
Qi Gu was so anxious that she cursed loudly: "Are you even government officials? Sister Cheng has been robbed, and you, as officials, have done nothing about it. This is like sitting in the latrine without doing your business. You are not fit to be government officials!"
"Go away! What do you know? That family is a bunch of scoundrels..."
"Stop talking, we're not allowed to say anything from above." One of the constables stopped the other, then said to her, "You should go back now. We can't handle this, and we advise you not to get involved..."
Sister Cheng must have offended someone she shouldn't have. It was a rainy summer day, and when Qi Gu looked up, raindrops fell on her face.
She remembered that Sister Cheng was the first friend she made after her rebirth. No, she couldn't go back like this. Sister Cheng had given her a small hoe, repaired it for her, and treated her to plain noodles.
"If you won't go to save them, I'll go myself!" With that, she turned and ran back to Sister Cheng's blacksmith shop.
This time, Qi Gu looked at the tightly closed door in front of her, took a few steps back, turned slightly to the side, and ran forward with all her might, trying to break the door open with her own strength.
Hmph! She'd like to see who dares to commit such a heinous act in broad daylight!
One, two, three... but it won't open, it simply won't open!
Could Sister Cheng have met with some misfortune? Qi Gu couldn't imagine what would become of someone who was alive and well just a few hours ago.
She wiped the raindrops from her face, retreated back into the rain, gathered her strength, took a running start, and crashed!
In the last second before Qi Gu closed her eyes, she didn't feel the sharp pain of the door hitting her shoulder; instead, she smelled a familiar scent.
She unexpectedly bumped into a slightly cool embrace.
Qi Gu looked up and was startled by the man's unfathomable eyes and his stunningly beautiful face, which was both familiar and unfamiliar. She immediately jumped away from his chest!
"It's you! Where's Sister Cheng? What have you done to her?!"
“I think Miss Qi should explain how you got here.”
"I came here to fix a hoe, what's wrong with that getting in your way!" Aunt Qi said angrily. "What exactly did you do to Sister Chengjia?"
"Do you know Yan Cheng?" Sima Hong frowned, his eyes scrutinizing.
"What do you mean Yan Cheng doesn't know? I'm asking where the female blacksmith from this blacksmith shop is. What are you doing arresting a woman like her?"
Sima Hong grabbed Qi Gu's hand, "What exactly is your relationship with Yan Cheng!" Only then did he notice that Qi Gu's hair was disheveled and her hands were very cold, and he loosened his grip.
Qi Gu's wrist was tightly held by Sima Hong. Strange, in her past life, this man was upright and aloof, how come he is so unreasonable in this life?
"Let go of me, it hurts!" Qi Gu struggled to pull her hand back. "What Yan Cheng? I don't know him."
Qi Gu looked over Sima Hong's shoulder toward the blacksmith shop, but it was getting late, and it was raining that day, so the sky was gloomy. The blacksmith shop was already poorly lit, and now it was so dark that everything was blurry.
As if shrouded in a dark mist, Qi Gu became increasingly puzzled as to how Cheng A-Zhi and Sima Hong had become connected.
"The Cheng sister you mentioned is Yan Cheng, the son of the Prince of Chen."
“How could that be? Sister Cheng is a woman, how could she be…” Qi Gu looked at Sima Hong’s eyes, which were as unfathomable as an ancient well, and knew that he had no reason to lie to her.
She thought she finally understood why Sima Hong was here; in her previous life, she had just happened to meet Sima Hong on her way back to the capital.
Sima Hongming was ostensibly on behalf of his father, the emperor, to inspect the famine in various counties, but in reality, he was secretly leading men to wipe out the remaining forces of Prince Chen.
Because she was satisfied that Sima Hong had brought back the true situation of the famine, her father appointed him directly as the Minister of Justice, one of the Nine Ministers. It was only much later that she learned of this from her mother.
In her past life, she thought she and Sima Hong were destined to be together, but now it seems that it was not destiny at all, but clearly a calamity, which was hers and his as well.
Sister Cheng, whom she thought would be her first friend after her rebirth, never expected that he would have such a background.
Qi Gu silently said in her heart, "I'm sorry, Sister Cheng."
She didn't know why they had met in this lifetime, but in any case, it was only this.
Qi Gu took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them again. She said, "I... I want to go home." She turned to leave, as these matters in her life were no longer her concern.
"Wait!"
Sima Hong walked towards her, and Qi Gu became inexplicably nervous. "What are you doing? Do you want to kill me here? I am a law-abiding citizen. You can't kill me so easily." Qi Gu was frightened and gripped the shoulder strap of her basket tightly.
Now that there's no one around, if he really wanted to kill her, it would be a piece of cake!
No! She absolutely cannot die at his hands a second time! Her father is still waiting for her to return.
Qi Gu reached behind her and pulled out a hoe from her basket. If he really wanted to silence her, she would kill him with the hoe!
His actions drew a cold laugh from Sima Hong, "Qi Gu, do you think that if I really wanted to kill you, your hoe would be faster than my sword?"
Qi Gu gripped the hoe with both hands, her legs bent and one in front of the other, adopting a defensive stance. "Then try it. Don't come any closer, my hoe doesn't have eyes!"
Sima Hong walked forward with determination. Qi Gu waved the hoe in front of her, but unfortunately, Sima Hong grabbed the hoe when it was above her head.
Qi Gu's hoe was taken away. She only knew how to use a hoe to farm, she would never use a hoe to kill someone.
Moreover, this person is incredibly strong. Although he looks rather thin, he has practiced martial arts for many years and his skills are quite good.
Qi Gu looked at the person in front of her. He was still dressed in pure white clothes, but there were some red bloodstains on the hem.
Qi Gu shuddered as she thought of something.
Sima Hong saw this and knew that Qi Gu had been in the rain for too long, so he naturally reached out and touched her forehead.
Qi Gu stepped back, but Sima Hong grabbed her shoulder to prevent her from doing so. She did not have a fever.
"Why did you get yourself into this state? Are you very familiar with Yan Cheng?"
Qi Gu tilted her head, denying it, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Sima Hong took off his cloak and offered it to Qi Gu, but Qi Gu refused. However, no one could refuse what Sima Hong was about to do.
He held her arms firmly with both hands, and Qi Gu could only let him drape his cloak over her body.
"I...I'm leaving." Qi Gu turned around again.
This time, Sima Hong did not stop her. He simply said softly behind her, "Your Highness, take care..."
Qi Gu heard it, but ran faster than a ghost. What "Your Highness"! She hoped it was just her imagination. Did they have mushrooms? She really wanted to eat them!
Qi Gu rushed home. Li Shi was standing at the gate of the courtyard. When he saw her return, he was soaked to the bone. "Oh dear, what happened?"
When Qi Gu saw her father, she threw herself into his arms, "Father, I thought I'd never see you again, sob sob sob~"
Li Shi hurriedly asked, "What happened? Who bullied you? Come on, your father will help you get revenge!"
Qi Gu grabbed her father's arm, "Father, let's leave Li Family Village!"
Looking at Qi Gu's red and swollen eyes, wet hair, and clothes covered in mud, Li Shi's expression became unusually serious. "Qi Gu, tell your father what happened."
If it is true that Qi Gu was murdered, Li Shi will risk his life to seek justice for Qi Gu!
“Father, don’t worry. I just miss the days when we traveled with you from Yu County back to Lijia Village when we were little. Back then, we were focused on getting there and could collect some seeds in the mountains. We even saw fireflies at night, and the mushrooms in the mountains were delicious. It was like traveling the world.”
"What nonsense! Back then, we had enemies in front and pursuers behind. Now we're living a peaceful life."
Seeing that Qi Gu's face had turned an unnatural red, Li Shi reached out and touched Qi Gu's forehead. "Qi Gu, you have a fever. Don't talk. Go back to your room and change into dry clothes. Father will go and fetch Yi Jiang."
"No, no need, Father. I'm just a little tired, too tired today..."
Li Shi was still worried. Medical conditions were poor in ancient times, and even a simple cold could be fatal. If something happened to Qi Gu, would he be able to survive?
Li Shi helped Qi Gu back to her room, told her to change her clothes quickly, and then went to the kitchen to boil water and make ginger soup.
When I entered Aunt Qi's room again, she was already fast asleep on the bed, muttering something to herself.
Li Shi lowered his head to listen, "Father, I'm scared, Father, save me, Father, I regret it..."
"Oh, this silly child, she's more mature than those bratty kids these days, and she's adorable too." Li Shi placed a handkerchief dampened with ice water on Qi Gu's forehead. "Don't be afraid, Father is here. Be good, Qi Gu, Father is here, always here."
The next day, when Qi Gu woke up, she was startled by the scene before her. The room looked like it had been ransacked, and there were several large bundles on the table.
Qi Gu put on her shoes, calling out, "Father, Father!"
Hearing his daughter call, Li Shi stopped packing and asked, "Is Aunt Qi awake?"
Qi Gu pointed to the bundles on the table, "Father, the house has been robbed. What's the meaning of these bundles?"
“Didn’t you say yesterday that we were leaving Lijia Village? Father is packing our luggage. We’ll take what we can, and I’ll send what we can’t take to Gouwa’s house later.”
[Author's Note]
Li Shi: As a male mother, if my daughter wants to leave, of course I won't stay for even a second longer!
With tears welling up in her eyes, Qi Gu said: Father…
Li Shi: Finally, we're going back to the palace! I've never seen an ancient imperial palace before!
Qi Gu: ...No, hehe
Have you all seen the new cover? Isn't it adorable? I spent a fortune on it, even though nobody seems to care, I still wanted to dress my "daughter" up beautifully! [Sunglasses] I hope more people will see my beautiful "daughter," hahaha~
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