Seeing her daughter still so naive, Li Guilan scolded her harshly, "Shut up! Who do you think you are? You're just a peasant girl. If you go looking for Her Royal Highness, you'll end up worse than death."
"How can the higher-ups understand us? If you go, you'll offend the Censor. No matter where we go, we'll die."
"You're grown up now, why are you still so naive?"
Zhou Fang was scolded so much that she kept silent. She looked at the fire at the foot of the mountain with tears streaming down her face. Various thoughts kept flashing through her mind. If His Highness had sent them back, would the village chief's family not have been in trouble?
Nothing will happen to Zhou Yun. Since he can't help them, why should he take action? What do he think of their lives?
Li Guilan was afraid that her daughter would get stuck in a rut. The child looked very docile, but sometimes she could be stubborn. This couldn't go on.
We have to leave early tomorrow and find another place first.
The mother and daughter watched the fire burn until it was extinguished in the middle of the night. They pulled their daughter into the wooden house, hugged each other tightly, and couldn't sleep with their eyes open.
After finally waiting until dawn, Li Guilan woke her daughter and said softly, "Fangfang, it's getting late. We need to leave here quickly, otherwise it will be troublesome if the people from the Censorate come up the mountain."
"Mom will take you along a small path that no one knows about. We must get down the mountain before dark."
"Okay, mom, I'm coming right away."
Zhou Fang sniffed, followed with the basket on her back, turned back to take one last look at the village chief at the foot of the mountain, and left with red eyes.
The mother and daughter did not dare to stop for a moment. At noon, they leaned against the mountain wall to rest when they were tired. While they were talking, they vaguely heard a rustling sound.
Li Guilan quickly covered her daughter's mouth. The two of them pressed tightly against the stone wall, not daring to say a word, and pricked up their ears to listen to the noise outside.
Xiao Cui's cold voice came: "Oh, I really underestimated a village girl. I should have dealt with it on the way, instead of sending it to the village and doing it later."
The groom said bluntly, "Humph, it's not too late now. Isn't it better in the mountains? We don't even have to worry about dealing with the body. We can just throw it to the wild animals."
"The village chief's house has been cleaned up. Let's quickly deal with Zhou Fang and her daughter. Then we can go back and explain to the adults."
An impatient voice sounded: "I know."
The voices of the two people were getting farther and farther away. Zhou Fang was shaking all over, tears streaming down her eyes. The voice just now was Sister Xiao Cui's. Her voice was so cold, as if she was a completely different person from before.
Mother is right, she and the censor are in cahoots.
Li Guilan slowly put down her hand. "Shh, keep your voice down. Let's hide in the cave over there. We won't be discovered if we're covered by the vines. They definitely won't stay here for too long."
"It's not too late for us to leave after they leave."
If I leave now, I will definitely die if I get hit.
Zhou Fang held her hand, not daring to relax for a moment. After they entered the cave and covered the entrance with vines, they saw the two figures coming towards them.
After walking around for a few times, they left. The mother and daughter didn't dare to look outside. They covered their mouths and closed their eyes, waiting for the footsteps to leave.
As the sky gradually darkened, the mother and daughter did not dare to light a lamp and could only eat some steamed buns. They waited for two days before they dared to come out.
Li Guilan took her daughter along the small path, and finally reached the foot of the mountain. She let out a long sigh and said, "Let's go to Qingzhu Town and stay there for two days before moving to another place."
"Yeah, I'll listen to you."
*
On the other side, the Jiang Sheng brothers were outside the palace, planning to wait for the Lantern Festival before entering the palace. They didn't want to argue with the empress for the time being.
The two sat by the window of the inn, watching the busy streets, their hearts at peace: "Brother, the Empress hasn't responded. Could it be that she doesn't want to form an alliance?"
"No, we're just competing. This is a test of patience. If you don't want to sell out the rest of your life's marriage, don't be anxious. Go wherever you want to play."
Jiang Ling said calmly, "The more indifferent you are, the more anxious the empress will be. The alliance with Dagan will gain Beixia's reputation and suppress Donglin with military force. Beixia will want our weapons. This is called a win-win situation."
"But if they want more, they'll need other leverage, but it can't mean sacrificing your marriage. You should marry the girl you love."
"The princess is cute and lovely, but she can't be the mistress. If you marry her, there will be a lot of trouble in the future."
Jiang Sheng hummed and whispered, "I understand what you mean, brother. Once the world is settled, I want to travel around the world. If I get married, I won't be able to leave."
Jiang Ling didn't want his brother to be trapped. It would be great for him to travel around the world. If he didn't have such a heavy burden, he would also like to go out and take a look, so that his trip to this world would not be in vain.
On the street, a mother and daughter were walking in tattered clothes, with beggars pushing them around. Who else could it be but Zhou Fang and her daughter?
They had finally moved to another town, but they didn't expect to run into those two people again. They fled here in a panic and were lucky enough not to be discovered by blending in with the beggars.
The lantern festival began the next evening.
Bei Yueli brought Chenyu and Ningshuang out to see the Lantern Festival and whispered, "You said Young Master Jiang is also at the Lantern Festival. Where is he? Why don't you hurry up and look for him?"
"...Master, Madam forbids you from contacting Young Master Jiang privately. This is a critical moment in the negotiations. If you say something like this, I'm afraid you will be punished by Madam."
"It's okay. What's wrong with me going to see my savior? Besides, they just came to Beixia, so it's normal that they don't understand many things. I'll take them to see if there is anything wrong."
Chenyu sighed in her heart. What should she do since His Highness is so childish? When will he become more mature? The eldest princess is still watching him closely.
"Then don't go too far, Master. It's dangerous here with so many people around."
Bei Yueli waved her hand perfunctorily, not taking it seriously at all.
He looked around for someone, but there were too many people at the Lantern Festival, so he could only look bit by bit. He was so absorbed in the search that he didn't notice the gazes glaring at him from the dark.
Jiang Sheng took the river lantern in his hand and went to the river to start setting it off.
"Well, brother, aren't you going to make a wish?"
"Okay, then make a wish for your family to be safe and sound."
"Ha, it won't work if you tell it to me."
The two brothers were releasing river lanterns when there was a commotion on the bridge and shrill screams. On the crowded bridge, people fell into the water from time to time and cried for help.
Some people accidentally fell and were trampled, unable to get up even after struggling.
The two of them looked over unconsciously. The shadows were blurry and they could not see clearly. They could only feel that there were many people running on the bridge. With a click, the sound of the bridge breaking was heard.
"Brother, do you want to save someone?"
"As a doctor, I really can't stand by and watch someone die. I'll be back soon. Brother, please wait here. I'll be back soon."
Jiang Ling followed, found an old man, bought a rope from him, and walked towards the people who fell into the water.
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