PROOFREAD BY AFREANA

Chapter 24.2

An Ruoxi was about to say something else but was driven away by Mrs. Tan’s stern face. An Ruoxi went back to her courtyard. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she was. She flung herself onto the bed and cried.

In another part of the city, An Ruochen sat in the carriage. Swaying with the carriage, she thought about her fourth sister. If she had not told her to escape back then, what would have happened now? She wanted to find her. She promised her fourth sister that as long as she was alive, they would definitely see each other.

An Ruochen closed her eyes, thinking. Her mind watched the images from her memory like a dream, as if she had returned to the day she parted with her fourth sister. She saw her tearful eyes through the small hole in the window paper.

She was still talking to her sister when she suddenly felt a jolt. ‘Dong,’ An Ruochen came to her senses with a pain in her forehead.

She fell down.

An Ruochen blinked her eyes, bared her teeth in pain, and didn’t want to move. When she looked up, she saw the carriage door open and Big Long standing outside the door looking at her.

And she, in a kneeling position, was crouching in the carriage.

“I, I was careless just now and fell asleep.” The last three words were as thin as a mosquito’s whisper, and An Ruochen was so embarrassed that her face turned red. After explaining, her face became even redder.

”Your sleeping posture is quite painful.” Big Long said seriously.

“It is obvious that she fell.” Zong Zeqing squeezed out from nowhere, ”We have arrived. Let’s get you down.” While saying that, he reached out to help An Ruochen. He felt that of all people, he was most familiar with her, and if he didn’t take care of her, who would?

As expected, Big Long turned around and walked with his hands behind his back. Zong Zeqing smiled at An Ruochen reassuringly and helped her off the carriage.

The steward, Fang Yuan, had already received word from the guards and arranged a room for An Ruochen. He was waiting to take her there. Zong Zeqing followed behind and explained to him that An Ruochen’s injuries had been treated in the Yamen (county government office). Still, he asked to send for the doctor to take another look and to change her medicine, as well as to examine the prescriptions made by the doctor at the Yamen. He also asked to arrange for someone to go grab the medicine if the doctor finds nothing wrong with it. Then Zong Zeqing continued to explain that she hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. After breakfast, she could sleep for a while. She was tired on the carriage and fell asleep on her knees …

An Ruochen peeked around. Big Long walked far ahead, and Xie Gang disappeared. Why doesn’t someone come to let General Zong’s mouth rest? What do you mean she slept on her knees? An Ruochen couldn’t help but sigh.

Zong Zeqing heard her sigh and hurried to comfort her: ”Don’t be sad. Although you are away from home, no one here will beat or scold you. Working for the General may be hard, but it is better than being married to Qian Pei. Ah, are your legs hurting so much that you can’t walk?” 

He quickly held her up, “Look, men and women should not be too close to each other. I cannot carry you. The General is walking ahead and naturally cannot order people to carry you. We also do not have a soft sedan chair here ……”

Before the words finished, Fang Yuan and Big Long stopped at the same time.

Turning around, Fang Yuan silently handed An Ruochen a walking stick.

Zong Zeqing was stunned. Powerful, ah. As expected of steward Fang. Is it possible that a servant just ran over to deliver this? Also, Lord General, what do you mean by being serious with your hands behind your back? Miss An can’t walk fast, you really can’t blame her.

Big Long asked with a stern face: “Does your leg hurt?”

Zong Zeqing hurriedly gave An Ruochen a look to comfort her, do not be afraid. The General always speaks in this tone.

An Ruochen couldn’t help but straighten her back and replied with a serious face, ”Replying to the General. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Do your ears hurt?”

An Ruochen froze, her face flushed red, and she answered softly: “No.”

Big Long raised his eyebrows, seemingly unsatisfied with her answer.

Zong Zeqing helped educate An Ruochen: “You have to be honest with General Long. Your leg is injured like this. How can it not hurt? Do your ears hurt ……” Wait, he reacted. Was he saying he was noisy?

Big Long looked at him expressionlessly, then turned around and walked away.

Zong Zeqing’s face collapsed. General! Is it really appropriate for you to tease this powerful leader like this? Especially in front of Miss An! How can he establish his authority like this and teach Miss An in the future?

Zong Zeqing cleared his throat and explained as if nothing had happened: “General Long likes to joke around. He is actually quite lively in nature, but he hides it deeper.”

Fang Yuan at the front coughed as if he had choked. An Ruochen laughed. General Zong is really lively, ah.

An Ruochen’s residence was a small independent courtyard with only three rooms. Fang Yuan allocated two maids to take care of her living needs. An Ruochen entered the house and saw three large stacks of scrolls on the table.

Big Long instructed: “In the next few days, you should eat, sleep and recuperate, and finish reading these scrolls.”

The task was quite heavy.

“Here is all the information about the Xu Matchmaker, including what we found out about her marriage business.” Xie Gang said, “After you read through it, pick some people you think are suspicious.”

An Ruochen nodded her head in agreement.

“Xie Gang will teach you how to deal with various situations. How to distinguish the situation, read people’s faces, and siphon the information. After that, I will test you. If I think you can do it, then I will let you go out to work on the case.”

What will happen if you think I can’t do it? An Ruochen did not dare to ask.

Big Long’s instructions were concise and crisp. Xie Gang did his job and did not stay long after he gave a clear explanation. Zong Zeqing dragged for a bit, and said a few words of comfort. An Ruochen suddenly remembered the old nanny, so she asked him to help pass on a message.

“My old nanny’s surname is Song. She was my mother’s nanny, who came along with her as part of her dowry. She did not have a contract with the An House, did not receive monthly payments, and could leave at any time. She said she would return to her hometown to retire after I got married. If General Zong has a chance to go to the An House in the next two days, please tell her that I am fine and that she can return without worry. During this time my father will be focused on how to calm Qian Pei’s anger and will not be able to take care of his family’s affairs, so ask her to leave quickly and avoid getting hurt.”

Zong Zeqing promised.

Meanwhile, An Zhifu was really racking his brain on how to diffuse Qian Pei’s anger. He couldn’t even sleep properly at home. After getting up, he hurriedly summoned An Ping, Mrs. Tan, and An Ronggui to ask them for some ideas.

An Ping and Mrs. Tan told him one by one. The process of withdrawing from the marriage has been arranged. The gift list, the bride price, and the number of gifts to be returned have been agreed upon with the matchmaker. Today, they will send it all back to the Qian House. The apology gift for Qian Pei is also ready, but it remains unknown how Qian Pei would react to it.

An Ronggui said he calculated the numbers clearly. The jade store business is now stable, and the two crates of goods can last for a while. Anyway, the South Qin and the Great Xiao customs trade is closed for now, but there is no need to beg Qian Pei to step in and get involved. There is still time for the relationship between them to be rounded back.

An Zhifu thought about this matter and despised An Ruochen.

 “I wonder what that girl actually said in the county government office to make the Lord Governor and the General help her. If she dies, she should not drag us down. I don’t know what tactics Master Qian used to get the goods back, but I’m afraid that girl will talk nonsense and get involved in this.”