Transmigrated Leftover Woman in Rural Style

Chapter 277 Dilemma

However, although those people raised their sticks at Li Xiaonuan, they did not strike her immediately.

It was all because a well-dressed woman whispered a few words to the butler, Uncle Qing.

"Stop! You two, go and search her body. See if the item is on her." Uncle Qing stopped the men wielding sticks and ordered the two old women restraining Li Xiaonuan to search her.

The search, of course, yielded nothing.

"Damn it, she clearly took the things with her, how could they not be on her?" the more presentable woman muttered to herself in anger.

"Madam, please don't worry. Let me send someone to search the places she passed by before. Perhaps we can find her there," Uncle Qing said gently, his tone slightly ingratiating.

"Hmph, you'd better hurry. Otherwise, I'll definitely sell that little hussy when I get back." The woman flicked her sleeve and stood aside angrily without saying a word.

Li Xiaonuan sneered and let the housekeeper send people to take her to that so-called secluded place.

The things she carried were those manuscripts. Li Xiaonuan had indeed stuffed them all on her person before.

But just now, when passing by Zhou Liufeng's yard, Li Xiaonuan had already stuffed all those manuscripts into Zhou Liufeng's hands.

At that time, Li Xiaonuan only had time to tell Zhou Liufeng to take the manuscripts to Prince Jing as soon as possible.

These days, no matter how much those people try to make a fuss, they just can't find what they want.

But who is the person behind this, so openly asking her for something?

In this manor, besides Prince Jing, the only other person who knows that Li Xiaonuan knows some rather unusual things is probably the young princess.

However, the young princess only knew about telescopes and scented soap. She knew nothing else.

Despite the commotion in the front yard, the Su family didn't show up. Clearly, they had already fallen into the hands of the steward and his ilk.

Li Xiaonuan was extremely worried about the safety of the Su family. This is why Li Xiaonuan obediently complied.

Regardless of whether she can successfully escape the predicament, as long as she is with her family, Li Xiaonuan is not so panicked.

That's right, this time the Su family has been implicated again, and Li Xiaonuan feels very sad.

Sure enough, after Li Xiaonuan successfully reunited with the Su family, she learned that they had been locked up here the night before.

This is a small courtyard house located across a narrow alley, accessible through a side gate in the backyard of the Prince's Mansion.

This small courtyard, though somewhat simple, is fully equipped. It's clear that this was the living quarters of the servants of the Prince's mansion.

However, the small house outside the Prince's Mansion should belong to the steward, Uncle Qing, and his family.

The description of it as small and simple is only relative to the Prince Jing's Mansion. In fact, this courtyard is a well-organized three-courtyard mansion.

The courtyard was also tidied up quite well. It looked more respectable than the residences of those poor civil officials.

No wonder this steward had those kinds of thoughts.

Perhaps thinking that Li Xiaonuan couldn't possibly escape, Uncle Qing didn't have anyone blindfold her and simply brought her over.

Li Xiaonuan and her family were locked in a back room in the third courtyard. Next to that back room was the stable.

"Father, Mother, I've dragged you into this. Are you alright? Are you suffering?" As soon as she saw Madam Su and Father Li, Li Xiaonuan knelt down in front of them.

She truly regretted it. She regretted creating so much more than just nautical charts.

Putting aside the high-yield crop catalog that the emperor personally requested to be presented to her, she shouldn't have revealed the telescope and the bomb.

"Possessing a treasure is a crime," Li Xiaonuan had actually forgotten this age-old truth that has permeated people's hearts.

“Your parents are fine, they were just worried about you. Now that we’ve seen you, we’re relieved,” Madam Su said.

"Xiao Nuan, what does that steward want from you? I wonder whose side he's on. He's the steward of the Prince's mansion," Li's father sighed.

"Sister, those people are awful. We woke up last night in this hay hut," Xiao Gang said, his round face scrunched up.

Li Xiaonuan quickly went over and hugged Xiaogang. They were only wearing a thin undershirt while sleeping; they had no other warm clothing.

So, when Li Xiaonuan came in, she saw the three of them huddled together, trembling.

Fortunately, this was the horses' fodder area, with plenty of hay, which would provide some protection from the cold.

"Father, Mother, Xiaogang, I just sent someone to get some clothes. Please bear with me for a moment. I'm sorry for dragging you into this." Li Xiaonuan said regretfully, then silently took off her cloak and overcoat.

"Dad and Xiaogang can wear the cloaks, Mom, you wear this coat." Li Xiaonuan distributed the clothes in her hands.

"Xiao Nuan, you can wear this coat yourself. I'll take care of it. Anyway, the clothes will be delivered soon." Madam Su was unwilling to accept Li Xiao Nuan's coat.

Father Li didn't refuse. He put on a cloak, held Xiao Gang in his arms, and wrapped the cloak tightly around him. Xiao Gang nestled in Father Li's arms, only his head peeking out.

"Honey, this is what the child gave you, so please wear it. Otherwise you might get sick from sitting down and burden the child." Father Li's thinking was simple. Since he couldn't help Li Xiaonuan, he at least wanted to avoid holding her back.

Seeing that her father was urging her, Su quickly put on her overcoat.

They were used to living in the south. They were somewhat unaccustomed to the dry and cold north.

However, there is one thing that is easier to bear in the north than in the south. That is, the dry cold in the north is initially only on the surface and is not unbearable.

The South is different. The damp cold of the South is a bone-chilling cold.

In fact, when Li Xiaonuan was sorting through those manuscripts, she also took the tinderbox with her.

However, when those two old women searched her body earlier, they took all her belongings.

Among them was the jade pendant that Prince Jing had given her.

Li Xiaonuan knew the value of the jade pendant, but she was powerless to protect it and had no choice but to give it away.

Hopefully, those people were only attracted by the jade pendant's value and didn't know its purpose.

Looking at the hay piled up in most of the room, Li Xiaonuan took out two small flints from the lining of her boots and lit a small fire in a corner with a few quick clicks.

"Dad, Mom, bring Xiaogang over here to sit. Remember to grab some straw to put on your bottoms and feet, the ground is freezing cold." After the fire had warmed up, Li Xiaonuan invited her family to sit down.

Li Xiaonuan knew that her request to have clothes brought to her had probably been ignored.

After the whole family sat down around the fire, Xiao Gang said in his father's arms, "Finally, it's a little warm. Sister, you don't know, we were woken up by the cold in the middle of the night and ran and jumped around in this room until dawn, only stopping when we were starving."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaonuan felt a burning pain in her eyes from the smoke. She looked around the room, wondering where she could get some food.

Generally, good horse feed contains soybeans and wheat. So, Li Xiaonuan was looking for soybeans in the house.

Just as she expected, in a small corner of the room, there were several bags of beans and more than half a bag of barley.

Also, the large ladle used to hold the beans was made of sheet metal.

This shows just how extravagant the household of the prince's steward had become.