Wen Qing and Ning Sichang exchanged a glance, nodding in tacit agreement.
“Ze’er, take Third Madam Lu and the little girl to the side room to hide,” Ning Sichang instructed his son.
Ning Ze was so anxious he was almost in tears. “Father…”
Ning Sichang’s voice softened a bit as he comforted him, “Don’t worry, your father will be fine. Be a good boy, hurry and take them inside.”
Suppressing the bitterness in his eyes, Ning Ze forced a cold face and barked at Yun Zhu and Yiyi, “Follow me!”
Yiyi held her mother’s hand tightly.
Sensing her nervousness, Yun Zhu comforted her softly, “Yiyi, don’t be afraid. Remember what Mother taught you last night. Mother will protect you!”
Walking ahead of them, Ning Ze heard Yun Zhu’s soft, tender words and couldn’t help but glance back at her, envy flashing through his eyes.
His mother had passed away when he was three years old, so he had little memory of her, but he vaguely recalled that his mother had coaxed him in such a gentle voice as well…
The side room in the rear yard was filled with clutter, lacking even a single stool. Spotting a wooden bed board, Yun Zhu dragged it over, rested it across two wooden boxes, and lifted her daughter to sit on it.
“Young Master Ning, would you like to sit?” Yun Zhu asked Ning Ze.
Ning Ze kept his small face tense. “No.”
Fighting was about to break out outside, and this woman was still in the mood to sit?
Was she not worried at all?
Perhaps because they were both children, Yiyi felt none of the restraint toward Ning Ze that she felt around adults. She smiled at him and called out, “Brother, come sit down! Mother wiped the board, it isn’t dirty.”
Brother?!
This woman really wanted to become his stepmother!
Ning Ze turned his head away. “I don’t want to!”
Looking at this stubborn, awkward little fellow, Yun Zhu felt her own daughter was still the cutest.
Suddenly, the sound of violent fighting echoed from outside.
Ning Ze subconsciously took two steps toward the door before coming to a sudden halt. His hands at his sides clenched into fists, his entire body tensing up.
*Father, you must stay safe!*
“Mother, Duchess and Magistrate Ning will be all right, won’t they?” Lu Yiyi was also worried.
“I don’t know,” Yun Zhu answered without lying to the child. “But we will definitely be safe!”
“I know!” Lu Yiyi grinned. “Because Mother will protect us!”
Ning Ze spun around, his eyes red as he glared at the mother and daughter who seemed to know no fear. “Do you even know who is out there?”
Over the past six months, those people had repeatedly sabotaged his father. Now that they dared to charge into the rear yard so brazenly, they clearly intended to kill.
This time, there was likely no escape!
“I know, they are bad guys!” Lu Yiyi jumped down from the bed board, trotted over to Ning Ze, pulled his hand, and coaxed him like a younger child. “Don’t be afraid, Brother, Mother will protect us.”
Ning Ze wanted to fling Lu Yiyi’s hand off, but meeting her bright eyes, he forced himself to endure it.
*Hmph~~*
*Who knows who will end up protecting whom in a moment!*
Just then, a flurry of rushed footsteps headed toward the side room.
Ning Ze snapped his head around, staring at the door with vigilance.
“Young Master Ning Ze, Third Madam Lu, Miss Yiyi,” Ling’er’s cheerful voice came from outside.
Overjoyed, Ning Ze quickly walked over and opened the door.
“Sister Ling’er, is my father all right?” Ning Ze asked anxiously.
“He’s fine!” Ling’er smiled. “Only two guards sustained minor injuries. Magistrate Ning and my mistress are completely unharmed. County Assistant Wang Liang and the others have all been brought to justice.”
“That’s good.” Ning Ze let out a deep breath of relief.
Ling’er led Yun Zhu and the others to return to the main hall. Having walked only a few paces, they were met by Chen Dedi, who approached them holding a saber with a ferocious glare on his face.
“Run!” Ling’er turned back and shouted at them.
“None of you are getting away!” Chen Dedi slashed his broad saber toward Ling’er.
Ning Ze’s eyes nearly burst with fury. “Sister Ling’er—”
“Let’s go!” Yun Zhu grabbed Ning Ze, who was trying to rush forward to save her.
Ning Ze tried to shake off her hand, but the quick-witted Yun Zhu seized him by the back of his collar.
“Going there only adds another life to the body count!” Yun Zhu roared in exasperation. “Back to the side room!”
Over there, Ling’er tried to block Chen Dedi’s saber with her bare hands and caught a blow to her arm. Turning back in agony, she yelled, “Go!”
Yiyi stepped forward to help pull the struggling Ning Ze. “Brother, listen to Mother!”
Mother said to protect oneself first when meeting bad people, and not to drag the adults down!
“She’s your mother, not mine!” Ning Ze struggled with red eyes. “I’m not going!”
He didn’t want Sister Ling’er to get hurt, nor did he want anything to happen to his father!
His father was all he had left!
Yun Zhu was furious enough to leave him behind, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to be so heartless.
“You two go inside the side room and hide, I will go save Miss Ling’er!” Yun Zhu pushed Ning Ze toward the side room and instructed her daughter, “Yiyi, bar the door tightly once you get inside, understand?”
“Mother, Yiyi understands!” The little girl Yiyi was actually terrified as well; her small hand trembled as she pulled Ning Ze. “Brother, Mother will save Sister Ling’er, let’s hide quickly!”
“I’ll help you save her, you protect my daughter!” Ning Ze wanted to refuse, but Yun Zhu stuffed a dagger into his hand.
Meanwhile, Ling’er took a saber slash to her back and collapsed to the ground, yet she wrapped her arms tightly around Chen Dedi’s leg, refusing to let go.
Enraged, Chen Dedi spat, “You court death, I’ll fulfill your wish!”
Chen Dedi brought his saber down toward the back of Ling’er’s neck.
“Sister Ling’er—” Ning Ze cried out loud.
In that split second, with a thought, a fist-sized rock appeared in Yun Zhu’s hand. She rushed forward and slammed it hard against the back of Chen Dedi’s head.
Pained, Chen Dedi staggered, his movement halting.
Ning Ze and Yiyi both breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.
“Brother, let’s get into the side room quickly!” Yiyi pulled the stunned Ning Ze into the side room and bolted the door.
After thinking for a moment, Yiyi said to Ning Ze, “Brother, let’s push those heavy boxes over to block the door.”
Ning Ze stared blankly at the little girl before him. “Are you… not scared?”
The little girl’s eyes turned red, and she nodded. “I am scared! But I am even more scared of burdening Mother! Mother said I am her weakness, so if I encounter danger, I must protect myself first.”
Mother had said she was protected by the gods and would be fine.
A weakness?
He suddenly recalled what his father had instructed him earlier, which was also to run away immediately if he encountered danger.
So he was his father’s weakness as well!
Seeing Ning Ze’s tears falling continuously, Yiyi hurriedly held his hand. “Don’t be scared, Brother. Mother will definitely be able to save Sister Ling’er.”
Ning Ze broke into a smile through his tears. “Mm, I believe your mother!”
He had always thought that besides his deceased mother, his father cared about nothing but official duties.
Only today did he realize that in his father’s eyes, he was also the most important person.
“Let’s move the boxes!” Ning Ze’s voice sounded much lighter.
The two little figures pushed all the heavy items in the storage room behind the door, bracing the wooden panels firmly.
“It should be safe now,” Ning Ze wiped the sweat from his forehead and said.
Just as he finished speaking, Yiyi suddenly pointed to the corner of the wall. “Brother, there seems to be a sound over there!”