Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 346 Ready to go
Fu Bai quickly discovered that someone was following them and sent men to investigate. It turned out to be Xiao Wang and his group. Fu Bai rode up to Si Buping, reported the matter to him, and asked, "Should I send someone to drive them away?"

"No need, let them be."

"Yes."

The official road was already crowded with people, and now that a large number of soldiers had suddenly appeared, pedestrians had no choice but to retreat to the roadside forests to avoid them.

A young woman driving a donkey cart was unable to avoid the obstacle and accidentally overturned into the bushes by the roadside.

Chaolu was sitting in the carriage when she saw this scene through the window. She hurriedly asked Uncle Jiu to stop the carriage.

"They're trapped under the donkey cart, let's lend a hand and pull them out!"

Seeing that the passersby were just watching from a distance and no one was willing to help rescue the person, Uncle Jiu had no choice but to pull the carriage over to the side and, together with Chaolu, lift the donkey cart up.

The two people pinned beneath them appeared to be a mother and daughter, both pale with shock.

The young woman's sleeves and skirt were torn, and her cheeks and neck were scratched by the coffin, but she didn't care about the pain and her mind was only on her mother.

"Mother, where are you hurt? Where does it hurt? Tell me quickly."

The woman had sunken cheeks, a thin and frail body, and dry, yellow hair; she was clearly someone who had been suffering from a long-term illness.

She said weakly, "I'm fine, please thank these two kind people."

The young lady then turned to thank Chaolu and Uncle Jiu.

"Thank you both for your help. I have nothing of value to repay you with, only this basket of eggs..." The young woman said as she reached for the bamboo basket, but suddenly cried out in surprise. "Ah! All the eggs are broken!"

The eggs, which had been neatly arranged, were smashed to pieces when the donkey cart overturned and the bamboo basket fell to the ground. Not a single egg remained intact.

The mother and daughter were heartbroken at the sight.

The young woman was so anxious that she cried, "These are the eggs we worked so hard to save up! Now they're all broken. How am I going to get my mother medical treatment?!"

Chaolu was in a hurry to catch up with Xiao Wang and the others, but she couldn't bear to leave the poor mother and daughter behind. She took out a name card from her sleeve.

"Take this to the Liu family in Jude Lane, Chang'an County. The head of the Liu family is my maternal grandfather. He works in the Imperial Hospital and is on leave today. He's at home right now. Go and ask him to take a look at your mother. He should agree."

The young lady was stunned when she heard what Chaolu said.

Seeing that she was standing still, Chaolu simply stuffed the name card into her hand and turned to leave.

The young woman suddenly grabbed her wrist: "Wait a minute!"

When Uncle Jiu saw this, he thought the young woman was trying to extort money. He regretted meddling in other people's business and was about to warn her when he heard the young woman ask quickly.

"Are you called Morning Dew?"

Chaolu nodded: "Yes, it's written on the name card."

"I can't read."

Chaolu was surprised: "Then how did you know my name? Have we known each other before?"

“Someone told me about you. She said you have excellent medical skills and a kind heart, and that you would definitely be willing to help treat my mother.”

Chaolu and Uncle Jiu exchanged a glance, and a guess popped into their minds at the same time.

The two asked in unison, "Was that person named Ning Ci?"

The young woman in front of them was none other than Aying.

In the early hours of this morning, before the villagers woke up, Aying quietly took her mother and left Xiao'an Village.

They drove their donkey cart upstream along the Yueshui River. When they reached the fork in the road, they turned left and continued straight until they finally saw the official road. They then continued along the official road, but unexpectedly encountered a large group of soldiers. The donkey was frightened and rushed into the bushes by the roadside, causing the donkey and the cart to overturn.

When Ah Ying heard the questions from the two people opposite her, she was taken aback at first, and then said, "I don't know her name, but she said her surname is Xiao."

Chao Lu frowned: "Could it be that we guessed wrong, and that person wasn't Aci?"

Uncle Nine pressed on, "What did that person look like?"

Ah Ying immediately said, "She looks to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. She's very beautiful, with fair and delicate skin. Her index finger is also fair and slender, without any calluses. She's obviously been pampered since childhood, completely different from us farmers who toil in the fields!"

"Is she also accompanied by a patient who has lost his right arm?"

Aying nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, yes! That's her mother. She said she's seriously ill, paralyzed in bed, and can't move. She needs to be taken care of in every way, from eating and drinking to using the toilet."

Uncle Jiu and Chaolu both felt that the person Aying was talking about should be Ning Ci, but there were some discrepancies in the specific details.

Just as the two were undecided, they suddenly heard Xiao Wang's voice.

Why are you still here?

Xiao Wang rode his horse toward them. He had already followed the main group for quite some time when he realized that Uncle Jiu and Chao Lu were missing. Worried that something might have happened to them, he told Li Chengge and Du Lingzhou to continue with the main group while he rode back to find Uncle Jiu and Chao Lu.

As soon as Uncle Nine saw it was him, he immediately felt like he had found his pillar of support and hurriedly repeated what Ah Ying had just said.

After listening, Xiao Wang immediately said, "That person must be Aci! She must have used a false name to hide her identity. The person with her should be the Venerable Envoy. Where are they now?"

Ah Ying recounted what happened at the prayer ceremony, concluding, "I tried to dissuade Madam Xiao, but she was determined to serve the Moon Goddess, and I couldn't stop her."

The implication was that she shouldn't blame her for not helping, as she had done everything she could.

After Xiao Wang found out the exact locations of Xiao'an Village and Yueshui River, he took out a piece of silver from his purse and handed it over.

"Take your mother into the city and find a place to stay first, then go to the Liu family tomorrow."

Chaolu added, "I'll definitely go and help your mother get treatment after I finish what I'm doing, don't worry!"

Ah Ying didn't have a single copper coin on her, and the only thing she had worth was her eggs, which were all broken. She was at a loss for what to do when she saw someone willing to give her money. She was overjoyed, as if she had grasped a lifeline.

She accepted the silver with both hands: "Thank you, sir. Consider this money a loan. I will definitely pay you back every penny when I earn money in the future!"

Xiao Wang didn't want to waste any more time, so he spoke to Uncle Jiu and Chao Lu.

"Let's go quickly."

"it is good."

After parting ways with Ah Ying and her daughter, the three continued along the main road, then turned right and left the main road, continuing along a forest path.

Xiao Wang noticed many horseshoe shapes on the ground, and the roadside grass and trees also showed signs of being broken and trampled. He guessed that Si Buping's large army must have just passed through here, and it seemed that Si Buping was also heading towards Xiao'an Village.

Soon the three of them saw the Moon River. On the open ground by the river, all the Imperial Guards and Inner Guards were ready to go.