After the favored concubine remarried, the aloof and powerful minister forcibly took her away.

Chapter 195 A Ning is not a weakling
After a short rest, the two set off again for Tingzhou.

Throughout the journey, Chenghua remained vigilant, fearing that Prince Qing's men would catch up again.

Xiang Ning sat on her horse, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted. She was worried about the Lu family and also felt inexplicably uneasy about seeing Pei Yanzhi soon.

After all, she had never said a kind word to Pei Yanzhi, and even said that she had forgotten him, and now she was going to Tingzhou with Cheng Hua.

Xiang Ning felt a bit strange.

But she couldn't go back now, otherwise it would bring disaster to the Lu family.

As evening fell, they arrived at a small town.

The town was small but very lively, with people coming and going, and it was completely unaffected by the coup in the capital.

Chenghua found an inn and decided to stay there for the time being before continuing his journey the next day.

As soon as the two entered the inn, they heard people around them talking.

"Have you heard? Prince Qing is arresting people everywhere, it seems he's looking for someone, and he's even issued bounties."

"Yes, they even said that whoever finds it will be richly rewarded."

Xiang Ning was startled and instinctively lowered her head, pulling her cloak tighter to cover her face.

Upon seeing this, Chenghua quickly led her to the room and breathed a sigh of relief after closing the door.

“Miss, it seems that Prince Qing’s men have already spread the news. We must proceed with caution.”

Xiang Ning nodded, her eyes filled with worry: "I can't drag you into this. If they find out you're with me, you'll be in danger too."

Chenghua shook his head: "Don't worry, Miss. The master gave me a strict order to protect you no matter what."

"Besides, if Master finds out that I failed to protect the girl, he definitely won't forgive me."

Pei Yanzhi left Cheng Hua here precisely to protect Xiang Ning.

Even when he was setting up the scheme, Pei Yanzhi had already considered that Prince Qing, Lu Yongkang, might use Xiang Ning to threaten him.

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Cheng Hua cautiously drew his dagger, walked to the door, and asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"

A waiter's voice came from outside the door: "Sir, your hot water and food have arrived."

Chenghua breathed a sigh of relief, opened the door, and took the items from the shop assistant.

After dinner, Xiang Ning lay in bed, but couldn't fall asleep.

The scene of the Lu family being besieged kept flashing through her mind, as did Pei Yanzhi's letter.

Just as Xiang Ning was tossing and turning, she suddenly heard a slight noise outside the window.

She immediately sat up and looked out the window warily.

A dark shadow flashed past the window at an extremely fast speed.

Xiang Ning quickly woke Cheng Hua, who also noticed something was wrong. He picked up his weapon, carefully walked to the window, and suddenly pushed it open.

There was no one outside the window, only a gentle breeze blowing, making the branches rustle.

Chenghua frowned and was about to close the window when he suddenly noticed a letter on the windowsill.

He picked up the letter, went back to the room, and opened it with Xiang Ning.

The letter contained only one sentence: "Be careful of the innkeeper."

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with doubt and wariness.

After a moment of contemplation, Cheng Hua said, "It seems we're being watched. We don't know who sent this letter, but since it warns us to be careful of the innkeeper, then the innkeeper must be up to something."

Xiang Ning nodded: "We should be careful, and not sleep too soundly tonight."

The two of them didn't sleep a wink that night. Early the next morning, Chenghua and Xiangning packed their luggage and prepared to leave the inn.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, the innkeeper greeted them with a beaming smile: "Sir, leaving so early? Why not stay a few more days?"

Cheng Hua gave him a cold look: "No, I have important matters to attend to."

As he spoke, he pulled Xiang Ning towards the door. Just as they reached the entrance, they suddenly heard the innkeeper shout, "Guards, seize them!"

Instantly, a group of people surged out from all directions and surrounded them.

Cheng Hua quickly shielded Xiang Ning behind him, drew his weapon, and glared at the innkeeper: "You really are one of Prince Qing's men!"

The innkeeper laughed and said, "If you know what's good for you, you'd better come with me obediently, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

Cheng Hua sneered: "You think you can catch us?"

As he spoke, he began to fight with those people, but Chenghua was not from a military background and soon found himself unable to cope.

Just then, a familiar figure suddenly appeared, and the men he brought quickly dealt with the enemies.

Xiang Ning looked closely and realized it was Lu Jiang.

"Brother, why are you here?"

Xiang Ning asked, both surprised and delighted.

Lu Jiang wiped the blood from his face and said, "I was worried about your safety, so I chased after you all the way here. I didn't expect that you were indeed being watched by Prince Qing's men."

Cheng Hua breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, Young Master Lu arrived in time, otherwise we would have been in real trouble."

Lu Jiang looked at Xiang Ning, then at Cheng Hua, and said, "You left without saying goodbye. Do you know how worried your father and I were about you?"

Upon hearing Lu Jiang's words, Xiang Ning was about to speak when Lu Jiang stuffed a package into her arms.

"I know you have your own opinions, and it's not safe for you to stay at the Lu family's place."

The package contained clothes and gold and silver that Lu Jiang and Lu Weimin had prepared for Xiang Ning.

After meeting Cheng Hua, Lu Jiang had some ideas in mind.

Cheng Hua is here, not beside Pei Yanzhi. It seems that Pei Yanzhi must have made all the preparations long ago.

In that case, Pei Yanzhi is much safer than Ling An.

He took a deep breath: "Whatever decision you make, I will support you. Our A Ning has never been weak."

Therefore, there is naturally no need for wind to support it.

She is a resilient cattail, able to thrive no matter what environment she is in.

Lu Jiang will not interfere with any of her thoughts.

"Big brother..."

Hearing Lu Jiang's words, Xiang Ning's eyes reddened slightly.

That's what family is like; no matter what, they are always her strongest support.

Lu Jiang knew that she left Ling An because she didn't want to bring disaster upon the Lu family.

Neither of them said anything more. Lu Jiang said he would stay and clean up the mess.

After bidding him farewell, Xiang Ning and Cheng Hua once again embarked on their journey to Tingzhou.

Cheng Hua, seeing Xiang Ning's somewhat unwell expression, said, "Only by leaving Ling An can the Lu family be safe, Miss."

"Now that I have gathered troops outside Tingzhou City, I am confident that they can protect the young lady and keep her safe."

After saying that, he turned his head away; in fact, he hadn't told Xiang Ning the truth.

Pei Yanzhi said that if they encountered danger, Xiang Ning could be taken to a safe place, but it didn't necessarily have to be by his side.

Chenghua felt that if Xiangning met the master and went to his side, the two might have a chance to reconcile.

"This time, I owe Lord Pei a favor."

Xiang Ning said this in a very polite yet distant manner.

Upon hearing this, Chenghua hesitated, unsure of what to say.

(End of this chapter)