coobybook Chapter 138 Acquaintance
Chapter 138 Acquaintance
Li Xiaonuan was found, and she returned safely. This brought a sigh of relief to everyone who had been following the story. The old lady's eyes finally welled up with tears after Li Xiaonuan was carried into the room and settled in.
Previously, she had been keeping a stern face and angrily berating Li Xiaonuan, but it was only to distract herself. Now that Li Xiaonuan had returned safe and sound, the old lady felt comforted, but also a little saddened.
Fifth Uncle Li Dali had always been the most concerned about the old lady. Seeing that she was exhausted, he helped her back to her room to rest. The old lady held Li Dali's hand and asked him about the events that had led to Li Xiaonuan's rescue. She then fell into deep thought.
After persuading the old lady to lie down, Li Dali closed her door and left. Li's father rested for a while and, feeling less unwell, got up to ask Li Dagong and the others about Li Xiaonuan.
“Brother, Xiao Nuan is alright. She’s clever; she found a chance to escape. She just ran too fast and tripped and fell, losing her shoes. So, her feet are more seriously injured. But they’re all superficial wounds; nothing serious,” Li Dagong said.
“Those who kidnapped her have also been arrested. The county magistrate said they would be dealt with according to the law, so everyone has been handed over to the yamen. It’s just that our Xiaonuan will have to go to court to question them,” Li Dali added.
Upon hearing this, Father Li nodded with satisfaction and thanked them, saying, "Fourth brother, fifth brother, thank you for coming to help your eldest brother today. To be honest, I was very happy to see you today."
The Li brothers said awkwardly, "Brother, you're being too polite. We know we made mistakes before. Now, just as Xiaonuan said, we're a united family. Shouldn't we help each other out?"
With their misunderstandings resolved, the brothers, who had been estranged for several years, quickly regained their former intimacy. They chatted openly until late into the night, until Father Li was so tired that he slumped over the table before finally going to sleep.
The next day, Li Xiaonuan woke up hungry. Her last meal was breakfast from the previous day—plain porridge, just plain porridge. So, she really wanted to eat something while at the clinic. But she was too tired and fell asleep.
When Li Xiaonuan woke up, she felt sore all over. Her chest also burned, probably because she had injured her lungs from running. She was so glad that she hadn't run herself to death, otherwise it would have been a huge loss.
Madam Su had been staying in Li Xiaonuan's room the whole time. Therefore, she knew when Li Xiaonuan woke up. Seeing Li Xiaonuan lazily move her body, half-opening her eyes as if she didn't want to get out of bed, Madam Su couldn't help but smile and ask:
"Are you getting up? Do you need Mommy's help?"
Li Xiaonuan then opened her eyes wide and smiled as she said to Madam Su, "Mother, I'm hungry." Her words aggravated her lungs, causing her to cry out in pain.
Su asked her anxiously, "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"
Seeing Su Shi standing with her arms crossed, wanting to touch her but not daring to, Li Xiaonuan smiled with emotion. However, as she smiled, a tear slid down her cheek.
"Mom, I'm fine. I just ran around a bit too fast yesterday, and my chest hurts a little. But I'm okay now. I've been talking and moving around a bit, and it's all better now."
Only after seeing that Li Xiaonuan was truly alright did Madam Su feel relieved. At Li Xiaonuan's request, Madam Su helped her sit up against the headboard. After helping her wash up, Madam Su went out to fetch some porridge.
After being fed a large bowl of millet and chicken porridge by Madam Su, Li Xiaonuan stared blankly at her hands, which were wrapped up like a rice dumpling. Last night, when she went to the clinic, the crop catalog she carried was already completely ruined.
But given her current condition, it would probably be another half a month before she could draw a new booklet. By then, the royal ships would have already set sail, and there would be no point in having the booklet anymore. Prince Jing was quite disappointed at the time.
At that moment, Prince Jing was also looking through Li Xiaonuan's soaked picture album. Fortunately, apart from the outermost few pages being completely ruined, many of the pictures and words inside were still clearly legible. He quickly had someone copy down all the ones that hadn't been destroyed.
Fortunately, the royal collection contained information on the corn and sweet potatoes mentioned in the earlier pages. However, the rubber tree described in the last few pages by Li Xiaonuan was completely destroyed and could not be seen at all.
While waiting for the copying to be completed, Prince Jing personally went to see the detained suspects. His visit yielded some results, as he discovered that some of them were old acquaintances of his.
"General Qian, what brings you here?" Prince Jing asked in surprise.
The man known as General Qian sat on the ground, glanced at Prince Jing, and said calmly, "I have come on His Majesty's orders to welcome Consort Lu and the Second Prince back to the palace."
These words greatly surprised Prince Jing. After all, they had only recently found Wei Lu and her son and hadn't told anyone about it. Meanwhile, General Qian and his group seemed to have already been camped on the outskirts of the city for two days.
Therefore, there is only one explanation. There was an informant for the emperor among his entourage.
But Prince Jing didn't care. With the emperor's spies around him, he didn't need to worry too much about his actions. After all, there were quite a few royal family members who were suspected by the emperor. If he were to be careless and do something out of line, he might be regarded as a dissident by the emperor and eliminated as soon as possible.
Now, knowing that the emperor had spies right beside him, Prince Jing was extremely displeased, but he also understood. Those who ascend to high positions are inherently suspicious, especially since the matters he was now dealing with were of great importance to the country and its people.
"General Qian, does His Majesty know that Consort Lu's beauty has long been ruined and she is no longer beautiful?" Prince Jing asked with a hint of sarcasm.
General Qian paused for a moment upon hearing this, then replied uncertainly, "You should know, right? I heard that the Second Prince once went to sea and had a navigator with him. Is that true?"
Prince Jing helped General Qian up from the ground and led him to a quiet room nearby. After they were seated, Prince Jing spoke frankly: "General Qian, the Second Prince and his mother do not wish to return to the capital, much less return to the palace. Therefore, General Qian's trip has likely been in vain."
General Qian didn't mind and continued drinking his tea. He said, "His Majesty instructed that since we can't bring back the Second Prince and the Imperial Concubine, he has ordered me to lead troops to guard Xinzhou Village. He also ordered Vice Minister Qi of the Ministry of Works to be on standby and to return to his hometown at any time to build a prince's residence for His Highness the Second Prince."
Vice Minister Qi was Qi Ji's paternal uncle and the only member of the entire Qi family to abandon medicine for politics.
Upon hearing this, Prince Jing fell silent. He summoned his men and ordered them to release all of General Qian's men. As for General Qian, if he wished to remain in this small courtyard, Prince Jing would grant him the courtyard.
General Qian did not accept Prince Jing's offer. However, he made a request to Prince Jing: that he help introduce him to Zhao Wangchuan and his mother.