coobybook Chapter 193 Zhao'er's Plan, 1 Play
Chapter 193 Zhao'er's Plan, 1 Play
It is said that Cui Miao'er only realized what awaited her after she went to court, and she clung tightly to Yao Shanyun and Ji Dalang, crying and begging them to soften their hearts towards her.
Although Yao Shanyun went to court, she was still weak. Ji Dalang felt guilty for not explaining things clearly to Cui Miao'er and implicating his mother. He hardened his heart and became a witness. With both witnesses and physical evidence, Cui Miao'er was convicted and exiled.
The current exile is tantamount to living a few more days in torment.
Meanwhile, on this day, Hanhua Village welcomed another guest after Guo Lizheng and his two sons—an official from the prefectural city.
The person who came was there for epidemic prevention matters.
Zheng Yi had just acted as a witness at the county government office, intending to shift the blame to Meng Fuqing, but he couldn't find him anywhere.
Left with no other choice, he took his young apprentice and went to the prefectural city with the adults who came from there.
That evening, after helping Meng Fuqing prepare dinner, Zhao'er did not leave as usual.
Shan Qiyu invited her to eat together, but Zhao'er just shook her head and refused. She went straight to Meng Fuqing and knelt down.
"I can never repay your kindness to me, Miss, even if I were to work like a cow or a horse for the rest of my life. Today, I would like to ask you and Madam to accept me as your servant. I can do any kind of work." She bowed to the ground and kowtowed to the two of them.
Shan Qiyu had never experienced anything like this before. She wanted to call out to make someone wake up, but after thinking about it, she didn't speak and looked at her eldest daughter.
Meng Fuqing could roughly guess Zhao'er's thoughts. Cui Miao'er had turned the arranged marriage into an enmity, making the two sisters' situation delicate. At this point, it was understandable that they would seek other paths.
She wants to build a bigger house, and it would be nice to have someone help with housework.
She asked Zhao'er, "Your relatives' disappearances and arrests are all related to me. Don't you harbor any resentment towards me?"
Zhao'er looked up at her, her eyes sparkling. "Miss, Zhao'er doesn't understand any grand principles, but she knows that my sister and I were given our second lives by you."
I used to eavesdrop on my parents' conversations. They gave us food so we could find husbands to help our families and our younger brother. If it weren't for this girl saving me, and my brother were gone, my father wouldn't have let my sister and me go. As for my aunt, she tried to harm Grandma Yao; she did something wrong.”
Before Meng Fuqing could speak again, her tone became urgent, "Miss, you have many things to do every day, Ranran is going to learn medicine from Doctor Zheng, and Ali is still young. I can help you with chores, I can do anything! Please take me in!"
After hearing what she said, Meng Fuqing didn't ask any more questions. "You can stay, but you have to sign a contract."
Zhao'er was overjoyed and began to kowtow again, "Thank you, young lady, thank you, madam."
Being a slave was a miserable job, but she was willing to do it. If she were to sell herself, she didn't think she would be so lucky as to find such a master.
Given their circumstances, it was the perfect opportunity for them to both repay Miss Meng and help Grandma Yao's family.
Only then did Shan Qiyu step forward and help the person up. "Alright, since you don't want to stay, hurry back and eat. We'll discuss this matter again when your Grandma Yao is feeling better."
Zhao'er nodded emphatically and left the Meng family.
The following day, news spread throughout the streets and alleys of Jing'an Prefecture.
"Have you heard? Some Taoist priest from who-knows-where actually went to Qixia Temple and challenged Abbot Qingxu to a magical duel!"
"How to fight?"
"The old Taoist priest said that as long as he can solve the strange and evil things that Qixia Temple can't solve, he will naturally win!"
"Is it... about that Hanhua Village in Linan County?"
"That's right! That Taoist priest is on his way to Hanhua Village!"
When the news reached the prefectural city, Niu Er had already arrived at Guo Family Village in his carriage. Behind their carriage was another carriage, driven by a man dressed as a Taoist priest.
Behind the two carriages followed a group of people, mostly dressed as servants, and some riding tall horses. Judging from their clothes, one could tell they were wealthy idlers from somewhere.
"Brother Chu, are you really going to go into Hanhua Village? What if you get infected with something strange..." A man on horseback asked his companion hesitantly.
The man addressed as 'Brother Chu' lazily lifted his eyelids. 'Brother Wei, are you perhaps afraid?'
Provoked by him, Wei Yan immediately retorted, "What a joke! Didn't that guy from the Feng family come to this village before? He didn't die young as I wish, so what's there to be afraid of?"
"Since we have nothing better to do, why not watch the excitement?"
Just as Wei Yan was about to say something more, he suddenly saw someone blocking their horses' path.
Are you all heading to Cold Flower Village?
Wei Yan was quite startled by the sudden appearance of this person. He barely managed to pull on the reins, a flash of anger crossing his face. "You dare to block my path? You must be looking for death!"
Guo Zifan immediately apologized in a humble voice after being yelled at. These were all people he couldn't afford to offend.
"If you utter another word, don't blame my arrows for being blind," Chu Ci said calmly.
Guo Zifan felt a chill run down his spine, and he quickly explained, "I just wanted to remind you two young masters that the new villagers of Hanhua Village are really strange. They keep a white wolf in the village, so you'd better not get too close."
His elder brother was a son-in-law of the Qin family, and he knew all the young masters and nobles in the city without being told. He was familiar with these two notorious playboys on horseback.
To his surprise, the two men immediately became curious after he finished speaking.
Wei Yan asked, "Are you raising wolves in the village, and white wolves at that? Are you sure it's not dogs?"
Guo Zifan chuckled awkwardly, "I can still tell the difference between a wolf and a dog..."
"Let's go and see just how strange this village is."
After saying that, Chu Ci shouted "Giddy up!" and chased after the person in front of him, with Wei Yan following behind.
Guo Zifan, who thought he could take this opportunity to build a good relationship with the two, was almost hit by a horse. After narrowly avoiding it, he watched the two figures leave, hesitated for a moment, and then, seeing some villagers following to watch the excitement, he also chased after them.
In Hanhua Village, the two men guarding the village entrance immediately stopped Niu Er as if they didn't recognize him. They asked Niu Er why he had entered the village. When they learned that these people were there to help them exorcise evil spirits, the two men exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Our Hanhua Village is currently free of evil spirits!"
Their voices were firm and resounding, and those following behind the carriage could hear them.
"May I ask, benefactor, who was behind this?"
An old voice came from the carriage. Niu Er immediately got off the carriage, went around to the back of the carriage, and helped the person on the carriage down.
One of the village guardians said, "There is a female Taoist priest from our village, Miss Yan. She is very powerful. She has already exorcised the evil spirits. We have been staying here for several days and no one has felt unwell."
Miss Yan, who had transformed into Daoist Xuanyi, forced herself to keep a straight face and not laugh out loud. She coughed lightly and turned to look at the person in the other carriage. "Daoist Qingxu, did you hear that?"
A man stepped down from the carriage and remarked, "These young people today are truly not to be underestimated."
An elderly man with white hair and beard slowly walked up to Master Xuanyi. "Master Xuanyi, would you like to have a match with me?"
The group that followed were astonished when they saw the old man's appearance.
Wei Yan was also somewhat surprised, "I thought Qixia Temple had just sent someone randomly, I didn't expect it to be Master Qingxu who came in person?"
His gaze fell on another old man. "Just who is this person?"
“Master Xuanyi,” Chu Ci said softly, “was last seen in Jing’an Prefecture two years ago, and has not been seen since.”
"Brother Chu actually recognizes him?"
Chu Ci lowered her eyes, "We met once before."
On the other side, Master Xuan Yi flicked his whisk and said righteously, "I want to see if that female Daoist has real skills or is just some charlatan!"