Li Guang led Li Xue around the fields. Zhao Xiaoshan and Chen Xiaoxiao, who were working in the fields, saw Li Xue arrive and hurriedly came over to greet her.
"Greetings, Princess."
"You don't need to be so polite. I just came to take a look. You can go about your business."
There were some villagers who had come to help in the field. When they saw Li Xue, they just smiled sheepishly. They didn't know Li Xue's identity, otherwise they would have knelt down.
Li Guang accompanied Li Xue for more than an hour in the wilderness. When the sun began to set, they hurried to the farm.
When they were still some distance from the farm, the two saw the little fox Yu Hong and Xiao Hei running towards them, and the two little guys came out to greet them.
"Sister, you're amazing. Yu Hong has always been very proud and wary of many people, but she's been so kind to you, even coming out to greet you," Li Guang said with a smile.
"Of course, that's my charm," Li Xue said excitedly.
The two little ones ran up to them. Li Xue picked up Yu Hong, while Li Guang picked up Xiao Hei. The two of them walked towards the farm.
Zhao Xian was on edge again when Li Xue suddenly arrived in Shuixian Village. He immediately went to find the village head, who dared not delay and immediately summoned Guan Ping, the patrol team leader.
The village head told Guan Ping that Li Xue's identity was extraordinary, and that patrols must be strengthened during this period to protect the princess's safety.
Guan Ping nodded, accepted the order, and left.
Just then, a soldier rushed over and told Zhao Xian that there was a girl named Lin Xi who came from Qing'an Prefecture.
Zhao Xian's head immediately started spinning. One Li Xue was already enough for him to handle, and now there was Lin Xi. This girl's personality was actually quite similar to Li Xue's.
"Who is Lin Xi, and what is she doing here?" The village head, not knowing who Lin Xi was, asked.
"Do you know an old general named Lin Feiyang in Qing'an Prefecture?"
"How come I don't know General Lin? He is one of the few veterans who has served three dynasties. Storytellers have already incorporated him into their stories, and they are being spread everywhere."
"That's right. Lin Xi is General Lin's granddaughter. I saw the grandfather and granddaughter in Qing'an Prefecture last time. Lin Xi said she wanted to come to Shuixian Village to take a look, and I didn't expect her to actually come."
“Since she is General Lin’s granddaughter, we cannot neglect her and must ensure her safety in the village,” the village head said.
"Since Lin Xi is coming at this time, she will definitely need to stay here tonight. I need to go back and make some arrangements first, so I'll head over now." Zhao Xian said and left.
Back home, Lin Xi was strolling around the workshop, two maids following behind her. Upon seeing Zhao Xian, Lin Xi went to greet him.
"Young Master Zhao, please forgive me for disturbing you this time." Lin Xi finished speaking and then chuckled.
“Miss Lin, what are you saying? How can you say it’s an intrusion? I’m more than happy to welcome you,” Zhao Xian said.
At this moment, Li Chun'e came out of the workshop and said to Lin Xi, "Miss Lin, the accommodations have been arranged. There are four of you, so I have arranged three rooms for you."
"There were only three people, how come there are four? Could it be that General Lin came too?" Zhao Xian wondered.
"Has General Lin arrived?" Zhao Xian asked.
“Although Grandpa is in good health, Qing’an Prefecture is still a bit far from Narcissus Village. Although he really wanted to come, he is no longer able to do so.”
"Didn't you bring four people? Who's the fourth one?" Zhao Xian asked.
"There," Lin Xi pointed to the side of the carriage.
A person stood beside the carriage. Judging from her appearance, she should be a girl, but she was dressed as an old woman and stood silently beside the carriage.
"What's going on?" Zhao Xian asked Lin Xi, puzzled.
"I don't know who she is either. On our way here, we saw four big men holding her hostage. When she saw my carriage coming, she broke free from the men and begged me for help."
Seeing that something was wrong, and that the four burly men looked fierce and didn't seem like good people, I went up to ask them what was going on. The four men told us to mind our own business, that it was their family matter.
I asked the girl what happened, but she just cried and didn't dare to speak. So I told them to let her stay. How could I ignore something like this?
When the four burly men saw that I was a girl and the two maids were even younger than me, they thought I was easy to bully. They not only spoke rudely to me, but also tried to lay a hand on me.
In a fit of rage, I gave those four men a sound beating. They never expected me to be so skilled, and they were so terrified they ran away with their tails between their legs.
The girl was incredulous that I had chased away four big men. Seeing that she was dressed as an old woman and being chased, I asked her what had happened.
But she kept her head down and didn't say anything. Leaving her there wasn't safe, so after getting her consent, we brought her over.
Zhao Xian finally understood that the girl had been rescued by Lin Xi, so he went over to ask her.
"What's your name? What happened? Tell me and see if I can help you."
“She’s mute, you won’t get anything out of her, so it’s best not to ask,” Lin Xi said.
"I'm not mute. My name is Ruan Fang. My uncle is going to marry me off to a dead man. I escaped." The girl finally spoke.
The fact that someone was marrying a dead person stunned everyone; it was the first time they had ever heard of a living person marrying a dead person.
"You can talk. I asked you questions on the way here, but you didn't answer a single one. I thought you were mute. If I had known you could talk, I wouldn't have brought you along," Lin Xi said irritably.
"I'm sorry, sister, I'm afraid you'll laugh at me if I tell the truth, so I'm afraid to say it." After the girl finished speaking, she started to cry.
Seeing the girl so heartbroken, Li Chun'e felt a pang of sympathy. He took Ruan Fang's hand and said:
"Ruan Fang, let's go inside first, have some water, and then we can talk slowly."
As the group entered the house, Li Chun'e poured them some hot water. Ruan Fang picked up her teacup and drank it in large gulps.
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Ruan Fang began to tell her story.
It turns out that Ruan Fang's family lived in Xinkou County. Her father, Ruan Zhenggang, was a very wealthy man in Xinkou County. He had been doing business for many years and had a large business empire. He owned more than ten shops in the county town.
Ruan Zhenggang has a cousin named Ruan Jin who has been doing business with him. Ruan Zhenggang trusts his cousin very much and has entrusted Ruan Jin with managing several of his important businesses.
Ruan Jin is very capable and manages his business very well, but he is also unscrupulous and has always wanted to take over his cousin's business. Moreover, this vicious plan has been in the works.
As the Ruan family's business grew, Ruan Jin's status rose, and his words carried more weight. His position was second only to Ruan Zhenggang.
Ruan Zhenggang's eldest son, Ruan Jingui, was already eighteen years old and had started helping his father with his business. One day, while he was driving a horse-drawn carriage to deliver goods, the horse suddenly became frightened and ran wildly on the road, knocking down many pedestrians. He was caught by the authorities and thrown into prison.
Because three people died in the car accident, Ruan Jingui's crime is serious and he may face life imprisonment.
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