Chapter 214: Poisonous Insects and Mudslides
Shen Ning supported the Queen Mother, and Nanny Gui was supported by the palace maid beside her, and the group walked down the mountain along the steps.
There was a forest on one side, and a mountain stream down the gentle slope on the other. It was not very dangerous but also a little shocking. Shen Ning carefully supported the queen mother, fearing that the old lady would slip.
At this moment, July, who had been following closely behind her, frowned, looked into the mountains and forests, squinted his eyes, and the next moment, his expression suddenly changed.
"Miss, something is wrong in the forest. Many poisonous insects are coming this way."
Shen Ning and the Queen Mother were shocked and turned their heads to look. The Queen Mother was old and her eyes were blurry. Before she could see clearly, she was pushed into Qi Yue's arms by Shen Ning: "Carry the Queen Mother on your back."
None of the palace maids, eunuchs and guards who accompanied her could match July's skills.
Qi Yue was thinking about Shen Ning, but she still obediently carried the Queen Mother on her back.
At this time, the guards and palace servants around also realized something was wrong. The guards quickly drew out their long swords and swung them at the snakes and insects pouring out of the forest, trying their best to clear a path.
July carried the Queen Mother on her back and moved forward quickly.
But at this moment, accompanied by a few rumbling thunders, raindrops as big as beans fell down with a crackling sound.
Summer thunderstorms can get big in a flash. The group was surrounded by poisonous insects, and before they could run far, it started to rain heavily.
Chen Ning looked at the hillside behind him vigilantly, and sure enough, he saw that the gravel on the hillside outside the steps had been washed away by the rain and was sliding down continuously.
Looking down the mountain, there was still a long way to go. Shen Ning made a quick decision: "We can't go down anymore. Let's go back to the Niangniang Temple on the mountain."
The Queen Mother lay on July's back and said hurriedly, "The mountain road is full of snakes and insects."
The guards around them waved their swords and tried to strangle and drive away the snakes and insects, but they kept pouring out of the forest like crazy. Shen Ning shouted to the Queen Mother in the rain, "The rocks are sliding. If there's a mudslide, we might be buried halfway up the mountain..."
The Queen Mother showed an unprecedented panic, full of fear and hesitation, but Shen Ning could no longer care about too much and asked Qiyue to carry the Queen Mother on her back and turn back to the mountain.
The Queen Mother hurriedly said, "I haven't agreed yet..."
But the sound of the rain was too loud and no one could hear clearly. Seeing the empress dowager turning back, the guards also changed direction. They stayed outside to strangle snakes and insects while escorting the empress dowager back up the mountain.
A guard followed closely behind with Nanny Gui on his back, barely able to catch up with July. The eunuchs and palace maids behind him crawled and rolled to follow.
Chen Ning followed closely behind Qi Yue. After a moment, a torrent of sand, gravel and mud began to slide down the hillside on the other side of the steps. The mud and stones were washed down by the rain, bringing down more stones, soil and mud. The surrounding hillsides were washed loose and collapsed, spreading in all directions.
The Queen Mother also saw that scene, and her heart began to beat violently with shock... At this moment, there was a loud crash, and a large piece of rock collapsed and slid down, actually washing away a part of the foundation of the outer side of the stone steps under their feet.
Just as Qiyue was about to land, a section of stone steps suddenly broke and collapsed. The girl accidentally fell down with the Queen Mother on her back. Shen Ning hurriedly shouted, "Qiyue..."
Before the shouting ended, the empress dowager, who was originally carried on July's back, was thrown high into the air.
The Queen Mother had never seen such a scene before. She was so shocked that she opened her eyes wide and couldn't make a sound. Shen Ning was the closest and hurriedly caught the Queen Mother. At the same time, the collapsed rocks from a high place rolled down, and several stones bounced and hit the stone steps.
Shen Ning subconsciously turned her back to the falling rocks and blocked the old lady in front of her. Almost the next moment, a rock fell on her back, making her groan.
The Queen Mother was horrified.
If Shen Ning hadn’t blocked it with her back, the stone would have hit the old lady on the head.
There was a sharp pain on her back from being hit, but Shen Ning thought to herself that the Queen Mother was not mentioned in the original plot, so she was probably supposed to have passed away during this pilgrimage... It hurts so much!
But she didn't care about her own pain. Shen Ning put the Queen Mother down and rushed to the broken stone steps: "July..."
After shouting, I saw July's small body leap up as lightly as a bird in the collapsed rocks and mud, her toes touching the rolling rocks and rising high into the air, then landing next to Chen Ning in the rain.
"Miss, I'm fine."
Behind them, the suddenly broken stone steps had thrown the eunuchs and palace servants into chaos. They could not tell whether it was two or three people who rolled down with the mud and gravel. The rest of them rolled and crawled to the edge of the forest on the inside of the stone steps, not even caring about the snakes and insects under their feet.
After all, if you are bitten by a snake or insect, you may still have a chance of survival, but if you fall into the rolling and sliding mud and rocks, I am afraid that even your body will not be found.
"Miss, I'll take you away." Qiyue grabbed Shen Ning.
Shen Ning pushed the Queen Mother to her: “You take the Queen Mother with you, I’m faster than her…Where’s Aunt Gui?”
Aunt Gui didn't expect that Shen Ning could still remember her at this time, so she hurriedly said from behind: "I'm here."
Shen Ning quickly pulled up the guard who was carrying Nanny Gui and pushed him up: "Let's go."
Even if the two old ladies were not the empress dowager and her close followers, she could not abandon two familiar elderly people and escape by herself. She already knew the danger, so she just stayed away from the stairs. At most, she would get bit by a snake or insect.
It’s not like I haven’t been bitten before.
Qiyue wanted to carry Chen Ning on her back, but Chen Ning asked her to carry the Queen Mother on her back, so the little girl obediently carried the Queen Mother on her back and moved forward quickly.
It was at this time that the Queen Mother realized the extraordinary skills of the little girl beside Shen Ning.
This was a life-saving guard, but Chen Ning used it to save her... In this natural disaster, everyone panicked and relied on their subconscious to escape. However, Chen Ning not only remembered her, the Queen Mother, but also remembered Gui Mama, who was just a servant...
Away from the stone steps that posed a safety hazard, the group climbed up quickly. Most of the snakes and insects had been cleared away by the guards in front. Occasionally, someone would step on one and scream from being bitten, but they did not dare to stop.
The Queen Mother was carried on July's back at a very fast speed, and soon left the people behind her far behind. The Queen Mother couldn't help but say, "Slow down, watch your master."
Just then, a cry was heard.
"Help, help... Is there anyone here? Help..."
The Queen Mother turned her head and saw a man hanging beside the stone steps in front of her, with mud and rocks rolling down beneath him. The Tenth Princess Xiao Bi stood in the distance, crying, "Save my second brother, please save my second brother!"
Xiao Nanyong and Xiao Bi were about to go down the mountain, but unexpectedly the stone steps suddenly collapsed. Xiao Nanyong happened to be on the outside and fell down with the stone steps because he couldn't react in time. Fortunately, he grabbed the edge of the stone steps.
Qiyue, carrying the empress dowager on her back, quickly passed Xiao Nanyong and glanced at the prince who was in danger without stopping.
"Grandmother, Grandmother, please send someone to rescue my second brother..."
The Queen Mother shouted at the guards to rescue, but as soon as the two guards approached, the stone steps under their feet collapsed: the mountain under the steps had been washed away into a hollow and could not bear any weight at all. If they continued to move forward, the Second Prince would fall before they could rescue him.
"We need a lighter one, otherwise the stone steps will collapse immediately." The guard shouted.
It is their duty to risk their lives to save the prince, but if they kill the prince instead, the whole family will be implicated.
The Queen Mother was carried by July to the highest and safest place. Looking at the sand and gravel rolling down below, she looked grim and immediately asked the palace maid next to her to come forward.
But the palace maids were so frightened that their legs went limp. They approached tremblingly, but their outstretched hands could not reach the Second Prince at all. They did not dare to move forward for fear of falling down first.
Anyone would be afraid when facing death and watching the rolling mudslide.
The cracks on the stone steps are becoming more and more obvious...
At this time, Shen Ning took off her wet outer skirt and swung it towards the Second Prince like a rope. She did not get close, but shouted at the Second Prince Xiao Nanrong: "Grab my clothes."
Xiao Nanyong's fingers gripped the broken stone steps so tightly that they trembled, and there was struggle in the depths of his eyes.
A moment ago, he was the one who attracted countless snakes and insects to kill Shen Ning to silence her... A moment later, he was the one whose life was hanging by a thread, waiting for Shen Ning to rescue him.
What he could grasp in his hands were the stone steps, but at the other end of the dress was Shen Ning… He would never entrust his life and property to others.
But the cracks on the stone steps became more and more obvious.
Xiao Nanrong stared at Chen Ning's clothes in a daze, his hands trembling violently, but he never let go of the stone steps. At this moment, his hands suddenly felt light, and the stone steps broke.
The whole person fell down with a bang. At that moment, Xiao Nanyong's mind went blank, but almost at the same time, a hand suddenly grabbed him.
Shen Ning was holding her clothes with one hand, the other end of which was held tightly by two guards, and she was holding Xiao Nanrong with her other hand.
Xiao Nanrong looked up in a daze, and met Chen Ning's expression, which was almost distorted due to gritting her teeth... Her forearm was resting on the broken stone steps, and the sharp edge of the steps rubbed her until blood flowed.
The two guards exerted their strength suddenly... The next moment, they directly pulled Shen Ning and Xiao Nanrong, who was being pulled by her, up together...
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