coobybook Chapter 279 Helping in times of need
Chapter 279 Helping in times of need
The housekeeper's face turned purple, and after a while, she had no choice but to ask someone to bring some clothes, bedding, and other necessities.
Although the housekeeper's intention was to get rid of Li Xiaonuan's family as soon as possible.
However, Li Xiaonuan is still useful to them for now. In order to get what they want as soon as possible, they have no choice but to compromise with Li Xiaonuan's shameless behavior.
As for Prince Jing, they had already made all the arrangements, including rehearsing their statements.
Li Xiaonuan was not happy to receive the warm clothes.
To be honest, these clothes were all dirty and smelly, and they looked disgusting.
Although the Li family has no choice now, they should accept anything that can keep them warm.
But Li Xiaonuan was unwilling to suffer this humiliation.
Therefore, when those things were presented to the Li family, Li Xiaonuan threw them all into the stable's water trough.
“Go back and tell your mistress that I can’t remember anything right now. Also, your mistress is nothing but a lowly servant. Calling her ‘Madam’ would shorten her lifespan. From now on, just call her ‘Mama.’ Although it sounds like a madam from a brothel, it’s more suitable for her than ‘Madam.’” Li Xiaonuan sneered.
The visitor was furious at Li Xiaonuan's arrogant words, but there was nothing he could do about it.
After all, Li Xiaonuan is still useful now, so we can't bring ourselves to torture her.
After watching the person leave in a huff, Li Xiaonuan returned to the campfire.
This is the fire that Li Xiaonuan just rekindled. A large ladle of barley is burning on the fire. Beans are also burning in the fire.
Xiao Gang ate as he roasted the beans, his mouth covered in ash.
Seeing this, Li Xiaonuan couldn't help but laugh. No matter how big the problem, nothing is more important than eating.
Roasted beans, as the name suggests, involves throwing beans directly into a fire to cook them, then pulling them out, dusting them off, and eating them.
These roasted beans are actually quite fragrant and crispy. They're just a bit too spicy and can cause internal heat.
However, the Li family had no other choice now. In order to replenish their energy as quickly as possible and conserve their strength for their escape later, they didn't care about being picky and munched on the roasted beans.
On the fire was a large iron ladle supported by two large bricks, inside which were swollen, roasted barley grains.
Su added fuel to the fire from time to time, and occasionally scooped a handful of snow into the large iron ladle.
"Father, Mother, I've troubled you again. Let's go back to the village after we escape. I don't want to stay in the capital anymore." Seeing that her family listened to her arrangements without complaint, Li Xiaonuan felt even more distressed.
"Look at what you're saying. We're family. Since we share the good times, we should also share the hardships," said Mrs. Su casually as she poked at the barley with a straw.
“Your mother is right,” said Li’s father as he blew the dust off Xiaogang’s beans.
Xiao Gang swallowed the beans in his mouth and said with wide eyes, "Sister, I'm not scared at all. I believe we can definitely escape."
“I have the same intuition. Xiaogang, you said that in such a large mansion, it’s impossible for everyone to listen to that steward, right? In other words, the prince has already suspected the steward’s family. He’s doing this now just to follow the clues and find out who’s behind it all, don’t you think?” This was just Li Xiaonuan’s own guess.
“Yes, that’s right, just like my sister said.” Although Xiao Gang didn’t have much of an opinion on the surface, he mostly agreed with what Li Xiaonuan said.
After all, he's still young and hasn't had much exposure to the world. So even if Xiaogang is very smart, he can't analyze the intricacies of political struggle clearly.
Seeing Xiao Gang with his mouth full of beans again, Li Xiaonuan's mood suddenly brightened.
Yes, Wei Yu had said before that she always had people protecting her.
But those people haven't shown up yet. Clearly, they're waiting for the right opportunity.
As for Li Xiaonuan's family, they are currently the bait, used to lure out the big fish behind the scenes.
Thinking of this, Li Xiaonuan sighed softly. Yes, they were only good as bait, nothing else.
Hopefully, once this incident is over, Li Xiaonuan can then legitimately request that Chu Xun'er and her brother be exonerated.
Once everything settled down, Li Xiaonuan wanted to go back to her village. One reason was that she didn't want to stay in the filthy capital city any longer. Most importantly, the Spring Festival was approaching, and her family had to return to the village before then.
"Xiao Nuan, is your brother Liu Fei alright?" Su Shi and Li Di had already asked about Zhou Liu Fei before they saw him. Asking again now was just to put their minds at ease.
"Don't worry, Father. Brother Liu Fei took my things to the Prince, so he should be fine. I'm just worried that his wound might reopen, which would be troublesome," Li Xiaonuan replied.
Zhou Liufei's injury has not been properly cared for, which makes Li Xiaonuan feel very guilty.
“Liu Fei is a sensible child. Even for our sake, he will take care of himself.” Madam Su picked up a barley, chewed it, and added a handful of grass to the fire.
After Li Xiaonuan and her family had finished eating and drinking, the snow outside started falling even harder.
The already gray sky became even darker as evening approached.
As Li Xiaonuan piled the bonfire into a large "X" shape, she said to her father and the other two lying on the haystack in the middle of the "X", "You guys take this opportunity to get a good night's sleep. We'll run out again in the middle of the night. When you're full of energy, you'll be able to run faster."
The three men knew they couldn't hold them back, so they agreed without hesitation. They hadn't slept well the night before, and if they didn't take this opportunity to get some sleep, they knew they wouldn't be in good spirits.
Li Xiaonuan was worried that her family would catch a cold, so she kept adding straw to the fire.
The hay that had filled most of the house was burned in just one afternoon.
Li Xiaonuan was quite satisfied with this. At least, they didn't suffer from the cold too much.
Night truly fell. The hay hut was plunged into darkness. Fortunately, there was a fire inside, providing a small view of the surrounding landscape.
Li's father and the others were fast asleep, huddled together on the haystack. Li Xiaonuan would touch Xiaogang's hands and feet every now and then, and then she would rekindle the dim fire.
As they went back and forth like this, Li Xiaonuan broke out in a thin layer of sweat.
Suddenly, there was a sound coming from the door of the hay shed. Li Xiaonuan squinted and looked over, only to see a large bundle being quickly thrown in from the outside. Then, the door was quickly closed again.
Li Xiaonuan stood there staring at the large bundle for a long while before stepping forward to investigate.
After walking around the large bundle to make sure it was safe, Li Xiaonuan finally mustered up the courage to pull it to the fire and open it.
The moment the bundle was opened, Li Xiaonuan was stunned.
The bundle contained the family's clothes, shoes, and socks. Of course, there were also cloaks, a bag of gold and silver jewelry, and a large bag of silver.
This is clearly a timely help! Li Xiaonuan was so excited when she looked at the contents of the bundle that she gave a thumbs up to the person who delivered it.
"Xiao Nuan, what is that? Who sent it?" Su asked, still half asleep.
"Mother, someone is helping us from the shadows. Get up and put on your clothes; they've brought us some." Although there was a fire for warmth, the chill of the ground was unbearable. Wearing thick clothes would be much more reliable.