We were on tenterhooks all the way, and finally rushed into Pingyang County at the end of the day.
It wasn't too late, but it was a bit inappropriate to drop by. However, in extraordinary times, she didn't care whether it was suitable or not, and directly asked Master Gong to drive to Xiao's house on the main street.
She knew the whereabouts and safety of Li Hui and others as soon as possible, and the rest was just a cloud.
As the carriage creaked, her heart beat like thunder, and it beat faster and faster, making it useless to take a deep breath.
Finally, the car door opened and Master Gong asked:
"Tiedan Niang, are you going back tomorrow? If you go back tomorrow, we will go together."
Cheng Xue is not sure, but she is certain that he will not be able to leave today.
"If Master Gong is not in a hurry, just wait for me here and stay at my place tonight. You and Li Zhong will share a room. There are many rooms at home."
"That's not necessary. I'll just go to the big car shop. You should use the car. I'll wait for you here." Master Gong declined politely.
There is no reason to live in their house, it is against the rules.
Cheng Xue brought him the roasted dates, thought for a moment, and said:
"Then let's wait. I'll go and do some work first. There's a fire in the charcoal stove. You can drive your car to a place out of the way and warm up with Li Zhong."
"Okay, okay."
Cheng Xue and Bai Shao got out of the car one after another, and the housekeeper of the Xiao Mansion hurried over with two boys.
They bowed their hands and said in unison:
"I've met Mrs. Li."
Cheng Xue knows the housekeeper, she met him last time at the Villa.
"Be careful when moving the vegetables on the car. I took the liberty to visit you. I wonder if Lord Xiao and Lady are at the house."
"Our master is not here but my wife is here, please come this way." The housekeeper said as he led their master and servant into the courtyard.
Along the way, the housekeeper wanted to speak several times, but seeing that Cheng Xue was absent-minded, she simply stopped talking. It was not that Cheng Xue was cold, at the moment she was thinking about how to speak when she saw someone later.
Touching the hairpins and gold bars on her sleeves, these are the confidence she dares to come here. The atmosphere when she met Xiao Wang last time was very good, so it shouldn't be difficult for her this time.
If it is really difficult for her, she has to endure it. The overall situation is more important.
"Master Lu has seen Mrs. Li. Our master is waiting for you in the house. Please follow me this way."
A woman's voice interrupted her thoughts.
Only then did she realize that she had already arrived at the Moon Gate of the second courtyard, and the housekeeper was nowhere to be seen.
Well, if I sell her, she won’t even notice.
Say softly "Thank you" and follow behind with Bai Shao.
The house is so big. It takes a quarter of an hour to walk to the second courtyard. Looking at the bare flower ponds along the way, I imagine the scenery will be pleasant in summer.
She was a little moved.
If she can successfully get news that they are safe later, she will find someone to draw a picture when she goes back and build a second-level house in the spring.
"Squeak...ah..." The door of the room opened, Mrs. Lu bowed and made a "please" gesture, and Cheng Xue stepped into the room.
This time, she doesn't have to kneel down to salute, she just needs to bless herself.
"Li Menyu, a commoner woman, has met Shuren. I wish her a good old age and a happy new year. It's really shameful to come to the house so late to bother me, and I hope she will forgive you."
Wang stood up with a smile and pulled her to sit next to her.
"You are too outsider to say that. We, Qinglin, have troubled you a lot, and we are not outsiders. Is it cold on the road?"
"Fortunately, I have a lot of clothes to wear." Cheng Xue responded with a smile, "Brother Qinglin didn't bother us. On the contrary, we troubled him. I didn't know he..."
Before he finished speaking, the boy came in with a flower basket and opened the tarpaulin.
Emma, this move is unexpected.
Cheng Xue quickly explained:
"This is a joke to the lady. The country woman doesn't know what to give as a gift. This is a vegetable grown in a place at home. It just came down and is the first crop. I'll give it to you and Mr. Xiao to try."
"Because of you this year, the master and I have eaten a lot of vegetables, and I have to thank you. Let's drink tea. This is something Qinglin sent back a few days ago. It tastes pretty good."
Cheng Xueyuan was not in the mood to drink tea, but after hearing what she said, the huge stone in his heart suddenly dropped. Being able to send tea leaves home, I thought there was no danger to them and their group.
After drinking tea, Cheng Xue put the things she brought on the table and got straight to the point——
"The gentlemen are laughing at you, but it is true that rural women have little knowledge, and what they hear is rain. The little lady came here this time just to ask, is there still peace in Linzhou?"
Wang looked at the things in front of her, smiled and waved her hands.
"You should know your man's abilities, not to mention they have masters around them, and Qinglin also has guards around them, so they are safe and worry-free. If you have any questions, just ask, there is no need for anything."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xue put away the purse containing the gold bars and pushed the other one over.
"It's just the stupidity of a country woman, but I hope a lady will understand her."
Ms. Wang doesn’t know what’s inside, but being able to take one back obediently is considered progress.
He took the letter that he had prepared a long time ago from the maid's hand, pushed it over and said:
"I guessed that you would come, but I didn't expect that you would come so late. Let's read the letter first. Don't worry about everyone's safety. The only thing is... Mrs. Pang was injured and her condition is not very good."
Cheng Xue couldn't care less what she meant by "you're so late", so she picked up the envelope and read it carefully.
The letter was written by a guard of the Xiao family, with respectful words and concise and detailed content.
Linzhou was a bandit that caused trouble last fall, before Li Hui and his party set out. By the time they went south, the bandits had long been wiped out by the soldiers stationed in the government, but some of the fish that slipped through the net were still in the mountains.
Pang Lao's trip this time was to improve the topographic map of Liangyan. When they entered Lingfeng Mountain, the remnants of the bandits jumped over the wall in a hurry, but they only pushed over the wooden wheelchair that Mrs. Pang was sitting on.
As luck would have it, the old lady hit her head on a stone, and she was still awake when the letter was sent back.
Cheng Xue was furious when she saw it, and her back molars made a "creak... creak..." sound. Finally, she knocked on the table hard and said angrily:
"It's too much. If you have such strength, why don't you go into battle to kill the enemy? Defend your home and country? To attack a dying old man is simply worse than a beast. The same goes for the troops stationed in the government..."
"Madam, calm down and drink some water slowly."
Bai Shao spoke up in time, causing Cheng Xue's lost sanity to quickly return.
It was so dangerous that I almost cursed.
"I made the lady laugh again. The mountain village woman is really vulgar, I'm sorry."
Mrs. Wang shook her head slightly, "You keep calling yourself a 'mountain village woman'. If all 'mountain village women' can distinguish right from wrong like you do, that would be good news to me, Liang Yanchao."
"My dear lady, I am so ashamed of my praise. May I ask, madam, when did you receive this letter?"
"It's been a long time." Wang replied, "If you want to know the news, it's not enough to go to the inn alone. Big car shops, fleets, escort agencies, and connections are all sources of news. It seems that there is a dialect in Liaodong, which is called 'If you are thick-skinned, you will eat it.
That's enough, right."
The implication is that she often sends people to the county to inquire about news.
Cheng Xue smiled sheepishly, cleared her throat, and said:
"My lady is right. The little woman has learned a lesson. I wonder how Mrs. Pang is doing now. She received a letter from her husband years ago, but there was no mention of this matter in the letter."