coobybook Chapter 474 Protecting the Best Sister 16
Chapter 474 Protecting the Best Sister 16
Li Mingzhu ignored the bodies lying on the ground, carried Ruan Ying's still unconscious sister Ruan Qi on her back, and took Ruan Ying, who was carrying her brother Ruan Jue on her back, and ran to the back of the house in the rain.
Amid the sound of the pouring rain, the sounds of light and heavy footsteps could be heard.
Zhang Rulan was extremely nervous and held the hairpin in her hand even tighter.
"elder sister!"
Suddenly, Zhang Rulan heard a familiar voice outside.
She hurriedly drew aside the curtain and met Li Mingzhu's smiling eyes.
"Little sister!"
Zhang Rulan was extremely surprised. Seeing Ruan Ying and others, she did not ask any questions and quickly helped them into the carriage.
Li Mingzhu was not short of money, so in order to have a comfortable ride, she rented a spacious carriage.
Now, it can barely fit six people.
Xiao Bing was an honest child. Seeing that there were either women or children inside the car, he quickly put on his raincoat and sat outside the car.
Since Li Mingzhu was safe and had brought back other people, it meant that the danger had been lifted. Xiao Bing felt greatly relieved.
Li Mingzhu covered herself with a bundle, took out an awning from the system space, and set it up outside the carriage, which also provided Xiao Bing with shelter from the rain.
Back in the carriage, Li Mingzhu told Zhang Rulan about the Ruan family.
"Little sister, Lord Ruan introduced himself, but the Green Forest Army still took action. They acted so rampantly. I'm afraid they have already set their sights on Fuzhou!" Zhang Rulan looked solemn.
Li Mingzhu nodded: "And it's too coincidental. Not long after the Ruan family set out, they encountered the Green Forest Army. It seems that Qing was waiting for them."
Zhang Rulan's mind raced as she carefully sorted out everything that had happened along the way.
The Great Xia Dynasty is not at peace now, with frequent uprisings in various places. Before setting off, Li Mingzhu and Zhang Rulan collected information from Fuzhou in advance to prepare for any eventuality.
There were the Yellow Eyebrow Army in Xiangzhou and the Green Forest Army in Dingzhou, but only in Fuzhou did there appear any rebels because Ruan Wenshan was a relatively honest official.
However, given the Green Forest Army's rampant behavior, if they want to expand their power, will they let Fuzhou go?
The Ruan family's convoy was taking the official road and had guards on the side, so ordinary scoundrels dared not approach.
It is obvious that the Green Forest Army is targeting the Ruan family.
There is another question. Not long after the Ruan family left Fuzhou, they were ambushed. Weren’t the Green Forest Army afraid that some members of the Ruan family would escape and return to Fuzhou for help?
Li Mingzhu asked Ruan Ying, "After the three of you escaped, did they catch up with you?"
Ruan Ying was startled when she heard this, then shook her head and said firmly, "No. When the horse ran away madly, I saw through the wind-blown curtains that those people stood still and didn't make any move to chase us."
She thought for a moment and continued, "Now that you mention it, I find it strange too. It seems like they aren't worried that we might run away."
If they had not encountered the Tiger Head Gang on the way, the three siblings would have had a great chance of returning to Fuzhou.
Li Mingzhu and Zhang Rulan looked at each other, and a guess emerged in their minds at the same time.
Zhang Rulan asked Ruan Ying, who was standing beside her, "Miss Ruan, did the newly appointed prefect know Lord Ruan before?"
Ruan Ying was stunned: "This... I don't know!"
"Did he come alone or with his family?" Zhang Rulan continued to ask.
Ruan Ying knew the answer to this question: "I heard from my mother that Mr. Zhou went to take up his post alone and did not bring his family with him."
Li Mingzhu sighed: "It seems that Mr. Zhou's identity may be questionable."
Zhang Rulan nodded: "That's right."
"What?" Ruan Ying was confused. "You mean, that Mr. Zhou is fake?"
She thought this guess was a bit far-fetched: "But if he is fake, how could Grandfather not have discovered it?"
"So," Li Mingzhu raised a finger, "or, this fake Lord Zhou kills the real Lord Zhou and uses him as a substitute. That way, the person is fake, but the documents and seals are real, making it difficult for Lord Ruan to discover."
Zhang Rulan held up two fingers. "Or maybe this Lord Zhou is real, but he's been bribed by the Green Forest Army and is colluding with them, planning to capture Fuzhou without a fight!"
In fact, there is a third possibility, that is, Lord Zhou is real and has nothing to do with the Green Forest Army. He is simply looked down upon by the Green Forest Army and is considered not to be a threat.
No matter which possibility it is, it points to one result.
Fuzhou is in danger.
"What should we do?" Ruan Ying was so anxious that she almost cried, "Will my grandfather and the others die?"
Li Mingzhu shook her head: "It should be fine for now."
But if Fuzhou becomes the territory of the Green Forest Army, that may not be the case.
Zhang Rulan hesitated for a moment, then spoke again, "Miss Ruan, is Zhang Cang still in Fuzhou?"
Ruan Ying nodded: "Aunt has been living outside the palace with my cousin, and she didn't come back to Beijing with us this time."
To be honest, Ruan Ying didn't know much about the Zhang family. She only knew that something happened in her aunt Ruan Wenyuan's husband's family, so she had to take her children back to her parents' home.
She once asked her mother why her aunt didn't live in the Ruan Mansion. Her mother only said that her aunt did it for their own good and didn't mention anything else.
This time, it was cousin Zhang Cang himself who said that his aunt who was far away in the capital would come to Fuzhou to see him.
but……
Ruan Ying looked at Li Mingzhu, then at Zhang Rulan, feeling confused.
Just now she heard the driver outside calling Zhang Rulan "Big Sister Zhang" and Li Mingzhu "Second Sister Li".
She didn't understand why her cousin's two aunts had different surnames?
Here, Li Mingzhu and Zhang Rulan discussed how to deal with the Green Forest Army, rescue the Ruan family, and resolve the crisis in Fuzhou.
"The bandits are numerous and powerful. It may be difficult for us to deal with them with just a few of us." Zhang Rulan adjusted her sitting position, and the sachet on her waist fell to the ground while she moved.
She bent down to pick it up, and her fingers suddenly pinched something hard.
Zhang Rulan paused, weighing the pros and cons in her mind, then turned to Li Mingzhu and asked, "Little sister, how much of that medicine do you have left?"
Li Mingzhu raised her eyebrows and said to Zhang Rulan with a smile, "There are many."
The two sisters looked at each other and smiled.
Ruan Ying tried hard to reduce her presence.
For some reason, she always felt that the aunts in Zhangcang seemed to be planning something "bad".
After finalizing the plan, several people sat in the carriage and closed their eyes to rest.
The sky was getting brighter, the sudden rain stopped, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of the mountains and forests after the rain.
There is no need to rush into things in Fuzhou, so Li Mingzhu and Zhang Rulan decided to take a detour to Ludangpo.
Ruan Qi and Ruan Jue also woke up. Ruan Ying told her sister the identities of Li Mingzhu and the others, as well as what had happened before.
Of course, she concealed the process of Li Mingzhu chopping off someone's head with an axe.
It was so brutal that it would give her nightmares. Ruan Ying decided not to scare her sister.
Before they left, Lao Wu was dragged to the front of the house by Li Mingzhu and his neck was broken with a pair of hands.
Zhang Rulan followed behind Li Mingzhu and took everything in.
She didn't ask any more questions, but just wiped Li Mingzhu's hands with a plain handkerchief when Li Mingzhu walked back.
Soon, a carriage loaded with rainwater from the previous night headed towards the reed marsh.