Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The sound attracted Mrs. Lu's attention, and she looked towards Li Xia following the autumn waters. The other person seemed to be kicking something, which prompted her to call out.

"It's me, Mother. You're safe, that's good. I went out into the streets and saw Brother, but didn't see you, so I came back in to look for you," Li Xia said as she stomped, breaking the neck of the one who wasn't yet dead, then kicking the corpse aside. One of the bodies struck Lu XuanNing, who was leaning against the corner wall.

Lu XuanNing, who had passed out, was awakened by the impact. Opening his eyes, he saw a familiar-looking lady standing not far away.

"What are you doing here?"

Li Xia didn't know how to respond. Should she say she was killing people? That wouldn't work, but how could she explain? Li Xia hesitated and said, "Mother, I smelled blood and came in to take a look."

Hearing this, Mrs. Lu saw a few black-clothed figures lying on the ground, alive or dead unknown. Mrs. Lu's expression grew grave. "Let's return to the mansion first, have the Lord send someone to handle this."

"I am Lu XuanNing, son of the Lord of Northern Peace. Please, madam, save me," Lu XuanNing said weakly before passing out again.

Mrs. Lu turned towards the voice. Chunlu Granny stepped forward and, upon seeing the person's face, cried out, "Lord Lu!"

Mrs. Lu paid no heed to the bloodshed and took two steps forward to look at the person's appearance. He did bear a striking resemblance to the Lord of Northern Peace. She had seen the Lord of Northern Peace twice at gatherings in the capital. The young man before her looked seventy percent like him.

Hearing this, Li Xia thought this young man had some status. She took a step forward to get a better look.

Mrs. Lu glanced at Li Xia. "You, second daughter, stand aside," she said, then turned to Chunlu Granny and Qiu Ju, "You two help him up and take him away." Regardless of whether this was the person or not, the current situation meant he couldn't remain here.

Chunlu Granny and Qiu Ju went to support Lu XuanNing, whose body was covered in blood, staining their hands with the gruesome sight. They were afraid, but Mrs. Lu's calm instructions put them somewhat at ease as they carried Lu XuanNing.

Li Xia sensed through the wind that the fire was about to spread this way. "Mother, let's go quickly. I can feel the fire coming this way."

Thick smoke permeated the air, causing Mrs. Lu to cough. "Hurry up!"

The group moved swiftly outward. Along the way, Mrs. Lu again confirmed with Li Xia, "Are Hui and Xin safe?"

As the carriage departed, Li Xia turned to Zhang Hu. "There's a small alley marked with a wine sign. You need to bring people and a carriage to handle it."

Zhang Hu understood the vague statement and led people into the alley with a carriage.

Without transportation, Qiu Shui looked to Li Xia. "Miss, what should we do?"

"We'll walk back," Li Xia said casually, heading toward the County Magistrate's residence. The others exchanged glances before following.

Along the way, Mrs. Lu quietly revealed Lu XuanNing's possible identity and the situation in the alley.

"Mother, were those people injured by the Prince or...?" Li Hui recalled Li Xia's previous actions with the human traffickers, making him suspect her involvement this time given the coincidence of her discovery.

"The second daughter is Miss Li of the Li Family. I trust she wouldn't do anything to harm the Li Family," Li Hui didn't expect Mrs. Lu to trust Li Xia so much.

"Mother, why do you trust Second Sister so deeply?" Li Hui didn't understand.

Why did she trust Li Xia? Mrs. Lu remembered, "When Granny Mei was pregnant with the second daughter, I intended to terminate the pregnancy and send her away." She recalled the events of that day. Upon receiving news of Mei Ying's pregnancy, Mrs. Lu had been preparing to visit the Pu Zhao Temple to make offerings.

The journey left her conflicted. How could a person of such birth have a child? The people around Mei Ying were arranged by Mrs. Lu herself, so the pregnancy was real, not a deception. But with such an unsuitable birth mother, the child's future would also be difficult. Mrs. Lu wavered, ultimately deciding not to keep the child.

Lost in thought, the carriage suddenly halted. Chunlu Granny's voice came from outside the window, "Madam, an old Taoist monk has blocked our path ahead."

Mrs. Lu assumed he was there to beg for alms and instructed Chunlu Granny, "Give him some silver to send him away."

"The old monk doesn't want silver. He says he's here to congratulate you, Madam," Chunlu Granny's words made Mrs. Lu frown. What was there to congratulate her for?

Li Ming had been away from the inner court for half a month, residing in the county office and discussing solutions to the prolonged drought that had plagued Anping County for five consecutive months, leaving the common people's crops withered. Mrs. Lu, sharing his worries, had been losing large amounts of hair from the stress.

"Take a detour," Mrs. Lu didn't want to deal with outsiders at the moment and was eager to reach Pu Zhao Temple.

Chunlu Granny instructed the carriage to go around, but the old monk approached the window. "Allow this old monk to congratulate the Madam."