In an instant, a thought flashed through He Jiuniang's mind. She strode forward and called out to the carriage, "Please wait!"
The carriage stopped abruptly, making Sun, who was hiding not far away, tremble with fear: "What is this third son's wife doing? Those people are obviously not to be trifled with, they're always causing trouble!"
"Mother, don't worry, your sister-in-law must have her reasons for doing this."
Qin Shi supported and comforted her, her eyes fixed on He Jiu Niang, fearing something might happen to her.
The maid who had intervened earlier came over and asked, "What is it?"
He Jiuniang bowed respectfully: "Thank you for your help, young lady. My family are farmers and we have nothing to offer. These are some pills that I obtained by chance. They help with sleep and regulate qi. Please accept them."
The maid glanced at the carriage, a look of shock in her eyes, but when she turned back, she regained her usual aloofness, her tone slightly arrogant: "This young lady is not here to save you."
He Jiuniang smiled and said, "In any case, you have saved my family's life, so I hope you won't look down on us."
As she spoke, she handed over the medicine bottle in her hand.
This is the Cinnabar Tranquilizing Pill that she just took out from her spatial storage. The packaging has been changed to a small porcelain bottle that is appropriate for this era, and there is no flaw in the packaging.
The young maid could tell at a glance that the small porcelain bottle was exquisitely crafted and far beyond what a farming family like her could afford.
Could it really be just a coincidence?
"Ling Yue, please accept it."
The woman in the carriage suddenly spoke up, and the maidservant immediately dared not say another word and accepted the gift.
After walking for a while, the maid named Lingyue checked the bottle of medicine and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with it before handing the porcelain bottle to the woman in the carriage.
The woman's name was Jiang Ruoya. She was extremely beautiful, and every move she made exuded the elegance of a lady from a prominent family. Her face was unadorned, and she appeared pale and sickly.
Jiang Ruoya took the porcelain bottle and examined it. It was an exquisite white porcelain, without any flaws, and could fetch a high price even in the capital.
Lingyue's voice came from outside the carriage: "Madam, how did that peasant girl know that you have trouble sleeping? Could it be that she..."
"Alright, you're the one who worries the most at such a young age. If you really think there's something wrong with her, why did you step in to save her just now?"
Ling Yue felt a little embarrassed when her secret was exposed: "This servant just didn't want those people to disturb Madam's peace and quiet."
Jiang Ruoya chuckled softly. How could the child she had raised not know that she was kind-hearted?
She handed the porcelain bottle to another maid and said, "When you get back to the capital, just find a doctor to take a look at this medicine."
"yes."
“Madam, shall we return to Jingzhou now? We’ve been away for over a month, and it’s during a time of chaos. The Pavilion Master must be worried about you.”
After leaving Jingzhou, they encountered many refugees migrating north. If they hadn't brought a large group of people who were all skilled in martial arts, they would have had a hard time escaping if they hadn't encountered some daring and reckless refugees.
"Let's go to Ganzhou City first. I heard that most of the people who fled from Maozhou passed through Ganzhou on their way to Anzhou. Maybe my Jiu'er is in Ganzhou."
Jiang Ruoya sighed softly. She had gone out this time because her scouts had found out that her daughter was in Maozhou. Her husband said that he would accompany her to search for her daughter after he finished his work. Maozhou was suffering from a severe drought and the people were living in misery. She was worried about her daughter's safety, so she brought a group of people to search for her on her own.
At first, she was still hoping for the best, but after witnessing so many tragic scenes of people exchanging children to eat, she became increasingly disheartened. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw images of her daughter suffering, and she hadn't had a good night's sleep for several days because of this.
"Madam, please don't worry. The young lady is blessed with good fortune and will surely be alright."
The maid Lingxue offered words of comfort. In truth, everyone knew that the girl was likely dead, but in order to calm the lady down, they could only believe that the girl was still alive.
“You don’t need to comfort me. It’s been more than ten years, and I’ve already prepared for the worst. But since I’ve come all this way, I’ll go and see it anyway, and it will make me feel a little better.”
Jiang Ruoya gave a self-deceiving smile, a few strands of hair falling across her forehead, making her look even more haggard.
Ling Yue and Ling Xue responded and withdrew, and the caravan headed towards Ganzhou City.
After the caravan left, the Lu family members immediately tied up the remaining bandits and pointed their swords at their throats.
Old Lu asked hesitantly, "Did you kill that group of people five miles outside Liu Family Town?"
Knowing they had no chance of resistance, the bandits frantically shook their heads, desperate to save their lives: "No, it has nothing to do with us! We only rob, we don't kill!"
He Jiuniang sneered: "Do you even believe what you're saying?"
Just now, he was wielding a knife and attacking people without a word. All four members of the Lu family were injured. If they hadn't also had weapons, who knows how badly they would have been hurt.
Without wasting words, Boss Lu exerted force, drawing blood instantly from the bandit's neck: "Will you talk or not?"
The bandits initially thought they were just a bunch of peasants with no backbone, and they just wanted to fool them. They never expected this family to be so difficult to deal with.
"Yes, yes, yes...it was the boss and his gang who killed them, it has nothing to do with us! Please spare us, heroes!"
The bandit knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, looking terrified. However, He Jiuniang noticed that he was secretly giving signals to the other two people, clearly still plotting something.
He Jiuniang, in a show of desperation, slashed his back. The bandit turned pale with pain and before he could speak, He Jiuniang said, "If you don't tell the truth, I'll keep slashing you like this until you bleed to death."
These words startled not only the bandits but also the Lu family. However, after they recovered, Old Man Lu looked at He Jiu Niang with admiration in his eyes. His third son had always been a man of courage and spirit, which was why he went out to work as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort). His third daughter-in-law was now somewhat like his third son.
The eldest and second eldest sons of the Lu family felt that since their younger siblings were so brave, they couldn't fall behind, so they cut two more wounds on the bandits.
The bandit fainted from the pain, and the remaining two were so frightened by the sight that they lost control of their bladders. Amidst the stench, the two stammered and finished their business.
They were also refugees, and only became bandits when they had no other choice, relying on robbery to escape.
They were indeed the ones who carried out the massacre outside Liujia Town. They looted everything and killed a few people, but most of them escaped. The remaining women and children were captured and taken back to the village. The women were used for entertainment and to be used, and the children could be raised for the time being, to be used to fill their stomachs when there was really no food.
There were still five or six people guarding the village at this time. They were the ones who had performed meritorious service in the last robbery, which is why they were able to rest in the village today. There were more than ten women and children being imprisoned.
After they explained everything, Old Man Lu didn't hesitate and picked up his knife to chop them down. Only after he finished did he realize that his hands and feet were weak.
"Father, they are all bad people, they deserve what they got."
Madam Yu offered words of comfort, then instructed her eldest son, Lei Zi, to take her second son's eldest daughter, You Ya Tou, to retrieve the runaway horse.
Old Lu remained silent for a long time, then sighed, "We have to go to this bandit stronghold!"
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