coobybook Chapter 285 Calm down
Chapter 285 Calm down
Facing those people, Li Xiaonuan felt a sharp pain in her eyes from the blinding white light shining in the snow.
She squinted, trying to make out the faces of the people on horseback so she could discern their origins.
"Miss Li, this is Miss Li."
As Li Xiaonuan was looking around, someone suddenly shouted excitedly.
Looking in the direction of the sound, Li Xiaonuan only saw a thin figure standing there.
Because it was nighttime, and a snowy night, even though Li Xiaonuan tried very hard to analyze the other person, she still came up empty-handed.
"Are you really Miss Li, Li Xiaonuan?" someone else asked.
"Who are you?" Li Xiaonuan asked back.
"Leave some men to protect Miss Li and the others as they return to the manor, and the rest will follow me to continue the pursuit," the man said.
In an instant, a large group of people moved about. Some stayed behind, while others went into the woods.
Having received no response, Li Xiaonuan stood there, unsure of how to react.
In the end, it was that skinny man who helped Li Xiaonuan clear up her doubts.
“Miss Li, we are here on the orders of Prince Jing to receive your family. Rest assured, we will absolutely not harm you.” After saying this, the man respectfully stood aside.
Seeing this, the others also dismounted and made way, leaving a narrow passage for Li Xiaonuan.
Looking down the alley, Li Xiaonuan saw the local earth god temple.
In front of the land temple stood the four members of the Su family.
Li Xiaonuan smiled wryly, then walked through the alley and headed towards the local temple.
I escaped in the middle of the night and it's almost dawn now. The silence before dawn is truly oppressive.
With the guards of the Prince's Mansion escorting them, Li Xiaonuan and her companions quickly returned to the Prince Jing's Mansion.
Upon returning to Prince Jing's residence, Li Xiaonuan made a startling discovery: the old nanny who had framed her for stealing the soap recipe was still alive.
So, those who were supposedly poisoned to death should still be alive.
But what exactly happened? Who schemed against whom?
Upon returning to the Prince's residence, Li Xiaonuan immediately sought an audience with Prince Jing and presented him with all the evidence of his crimes.
Of course, Li Xiaonuan also told Prince Jing the whole story about where those things came from.
Prince Jing already suspected that Uncle Qing had connections with foreign enemies and was even cooperating with them to deal with him.
But he never imagined that Uncle Qing's family were all from outside the Great Wall. Moreover, Uncle Qing's family was acting as spies.
Therefore, when he saw the correspondence and its contents, Prince Jing was truly furious beyond measure.
In the end, they misjudged the situation. Not only did they raise a tiger that would become a threat, but they also let a wolf into their home.
Upon realizing this, Prince Jing could no longer sit still. He took the items and sent someone to bring the little boy Yilou along, then prepared to enter the palace.
The little guy was probably encountering so many strangers for the first time, so he was a bit resistant and quite temperamental.
To appease the little guy and ensure he could successfully help Prince Jing and his group gather more information, Li Xiaonuan had no choice but to have Xiao Gang accompany him to the palace.
The little guy was really afraid of showing his face during the day, so he timidly held onto Xiaogang's hand and wouldn't let go.
It was only in broad daylight that Li Xiaonuan was able to see the little guy's true face.
He was far too beautiful. No wonder his parents kept him hidden so well.
The little guy was wearing Xiaogang's new clothes today. Since there wasn't time to alter them, the clothes were quite large and long.
Fortunately, it's winter now, so it doesn't affect anything.
Even though they were exhausted and hungry, Li Xiaonuan, Su Shi, and Li's father couldn't afford to eat or sleep. After all, Xiao Gang and his two children hadn't returned from the palace.
It wasn't until evening that Prince Jing sent word back from the palace. He said that the two children would be spending the night in the palace, and that Li Xiaonuan and the others didn't need to worry.
How could I not be worried!
What is the imperial palace? It is a place where, if one is not careful, one could very well be reduced to ashes.
It's terrifying to leave two innocent and vulnerable children to spend the night in such a place.
Although she was extremely anxious, Li Xiaonuan still mustered her strength to persuade her father and Su Shi to have dinner and urged them to go and rest.
Since they were people who had never experienced much of the world, although Li's father and Su's mother were a little worried, they accepted Li Xiaonuan's advice and went to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Prince Jing sent someone back again, saying that the matter had been sorted out. They would be able to safely return the two children at dawn.
With Prince Jing's assurance, Li Xiaonuan felt much more at ease. However, she still couldn't relax and lay in bed, feeling drowsy and unable to sleep soundly.
After finally enduring until dawn, Li Xiaonuan no longer wanted to stay in the courtyard.
She got up early and waited by the moon gate connecting to the outer courtyard, pacing back and forth.
They said they could return to the manor early in the morning, but Li Xiaonuan didn't see Xiao Gang and the other person until noon.
The two of them ran in from the outer courtyard hand in hand.
As they drew nearer, Li Xiaonuan finally noticed the sleepy look on the two children's faces.
"What's wrong? Didn't you sleep last night?" Li Xiaonuan asked after looking the two children up and down.
"We didn't sleep. We were all chatting with an uncle, and we didn't sleep at all," the little guy said excitedly with a smile.
"Sister, the palace is huge. But the palaces inside are very warm." Xiao Gang didn't show much excitement, but the admiration in his eyes was undeniable.
"Chatting with your uncle. Have you eaten anything? Are you hungry?" Li Xiaonuan knew immediately who the so-called uncle was.
"I ate it all! Everything in the palace was delicious, even better than the pastries my mother makes," the little guy said, still wanting more.
"Mmm, and there's also the porridge, and the side dishes, and those..." Xiao Gang chimed in from the side.
As they spoke, Li Xiaonuan followed Xiao Gang and the other boy to the courtyard of the Su couple in the outer yard. Xiao Gang and the little guy Yi Lou now live with the Su family.
"That uncle said he'd take me back to the Northwest. My dad and mom are going back with me too," the little guy said, taking Li Xiaonuan's hand.
"When are you going back? In the next few days?" Li Xiaonuan was a little reluctant to part with the little guy.
"No, we can only go back next spring when the snow melts. That uncle said the roads are slippery in the snow, and people can't go to the Northwest at all," the little guy said with a bit of regret.
“Then you can stay here and go back in the spring. But we won’t be able to see you off then. We’ll be going back to the village in a couple of days,” Li Xiaonuan said.
“Yi Lou said he would come back to the village with us and return to the capital next spring. At that time, that uncle will send someone to take him back to the Northwest,” Xiao Gang said.
I see. That's good. This way, their family will have the opportunity to repay the little guy for saving their lives as much as possible.
If the little guy presented those pieces of evidence earlier for the greater good of the country...
But afterwards, the little guy's act of killing two men in black outside the local temple was undoubtedly saving the lives of Li Xiaonuan's family.
Perhaps fearing that Li Xiaonuan's family would suffer further persecution, Prince Jing and the Emperor were very willing to let them return to the village.
However, since their family has already been exposed to the public, even if they return to the village, they are not necessarily safe.
Therefore, the emperor specially assigned a team of secret guards to escort the family.
In addition, the emperor ordered officials at all levels in the prefectures, counties, and towns along the route the Li family took to take good care of them.