The previously silent forest began rustling with movement.
“Lao San, we can’t wait any longer!”
The lead constable charged toward Zhao Nuan first.
Zhao Nuan pushed Yan’er forward: “Run!”
Yan’er dashed out, with Zhao Nuan closely following behind, knife in hand, fleeing desperately.
Fortunately, the dense forest offered many obstacles. Being small and slender, Zhao Nuan and Yan’er could evade them easily.
This maintained a distance of about ten zhang between the constables and them.
“Help!”
“Help!”
Zhao Nuan shouted while running, hoping that Zhang the escort had already entered the city and contacted Zhou Qingci’s people to search for her.
“Bitch!” the lead constable cursed viciously. “Shut your mouth!”
The more he said this, the more it indicated there was someone in Yunzhou City whom the authorities feared. Zhao Nuan certainly wouldn’t stay silent.
Her prediction was correct. Just as she started running, Zhou Ningyu stopped crying, so those in the forest had lost direction momentarily.
“Uncle Duan, there’s sound again!”
“This way!”
Four or five men leaped through the woods, as nimble as apes, getting closer to Zhao Nuan and her daughter.
But Yan’er finally couldn’t run anymore. Missing her footing, she fell to the ground.
“Ouch, Mother.”
Zhao Nuan had already run past but turned back to pull her daughter up: “Sweetie, hold on a little longer.”
However, Yan’er fell again after just a few steps: “Mother, take Younger Brother and go. I’ve sprained my ankle.”
Without another word, Zhao Nuan lifted Yan’er with her injured arm and continued running forward.
Though dizzy and vision blurred, she was driven purely by the will to survive.
Finally, Zhao Nuan fell too.
As she fell, she twisted sideways to avoid crushing Zhou Ningyu against her chest.
“Damn it, keep running!”
The uninjured lead constable quickly caught up to her and kicked her hard.
“Ugh,” Zhao Nuan groaned, her chest heaving like a broken bellows.
Looking up at the equally breathless constable, she refused to yield.
In her previous life, she had survived postpartum hemorrhage, receiving thousands of milliliters of blood, cheating death.
Later, as a volunteer in flood relief, she was swept into raging waters and transported here, cheating death again.
Then, dragging her postpartum body, she carried Yan’er hundreds of miles to the capital and into the Hou Estate, cheating death once more.
In the Hou Estate, she survived high fever and chills, even when physicians declared her beyond cure.
So she couldn’t die here!
With this thought, Zhao Nuan swung her knife at the constable: “You’re not worthy of taking my life!”
The constable, caught off guard by her last-ditch resistance, was cut on the arm.
Gasping for breath, Zhao Nuan raised her knife again: “He who unjustly hoards trouble meets his doom—how dare you lay hands on the Zhou family’s child?!”
“Damn bitch!”
The constable lifted his foot but, seeing the swaddling clothes on her chest, lowered it. Instead, he crouched and struck Zhao Nuan’s leg with his scabbard, causing her to fall backward.
“Mother, Mother…” Yan’er knelt beside her, crying.
Zhao Nuan held Yan’er close and whispered in her ear: “Run! Go… to Yunzhou.”
“No!” Yan’er widened her eyes, wiping tears with her small hands. “I’ll fight them with you!”
“Yan’er!”
Watching her daughter charge at the constable with a dagger, Zhao Nuan’s heart skipped a beat.
She regretted it—she shouldn’t have agreed to save Zhou Ningyu for the sake of some greater good for the people.
The constable’s blade descended toward Yan’er. Though it hadn’t yet made contact, Zhao Nuan saw the sky turn crimson.
Just like the day she hemorrhaged during childbirth, when she clearly heard her daughter’s cries, yet upon regaining consciousness found only a cold little corpse.
Clang!
A pebble struck the blade, sparking flecks of fire.
The constable’s sword veered from Yan’er’s head and landed beside her on the ground.
Before the constables could react, a dark figure rushed over, scooped up Yan’er, and rolled to place her beside Zhao Nuan.
“Yan’er…” Zhao Nuan trembled as she clutched her daughter to her chest. For a moment, she had nearly believed she’d lost her.
Just then, five figures emerged around them.
All wore Night Clothes, their faces concealed by black scarves.
The two constables stepped back, their voices sharp with authority: “Who are you people, daring to obstruct official business!”
One of the newcomers ignored the constables and asked Zhao Nuan, “From the Hou Estate in the capital?”
“Yes!” Zhao Nuan staggered to her feet, parting the swaddling clothes at her chest to reveal Zhou Ningyu, who looked like a grimy kitten. “I have fulfilled my duty.”
At the sight of Zhou Ningyu, the cold intensity in these people faded.
Zhao Nuan’s taut nerves relaxed, and her steps grew unsteady.
“Careful!” One of them steadied her. “Let me hold the child for you.”
“No need.”
The man felt her shoulders suddenly tense and, after a moment of surprise, his voice carried a hint of amusement: “No wonder you made it all the way here. Sister Zhao, you’re quite vigilant.”
Zhao Nuan gave him a puzzled look. Were they familiar?
Shen Mingqing rubbed his nose. Should he introduce himself? He wondered if his aunt had mentioned him to the Zhou family.
The constables, angered by being ignored, demanded again: “I ask once more, who are you people, daring to obstruct official business!”
“Official business? What crime has this woman committed?”
The constables dared not answer, only sternly ordered them to stand down.
Shen Mingqing scoffed. “If you can’t say, then you’re abusing your power. We’re saving this woman.As he spoke, three of the black-clad men closed in, while the remaining two—one supporting Zhao Nuan, the other holding Yan’er—prepared to retreat.
“Wait!”
Zhao Nuan asked the man supporting her in confusion, “We’re just leaving like this?”
“What else?”
“Not killing them? Letting them go back to report?”
Zhao Nuan retorted, feeling these people were somewhat unaware of the situation. Since they were already risking their heads, killing these two constables would buy more time.
Because Shen Mingqing was supporting her, he tilted his head to look into her eyes.
…This woman was ruthless. She wasn’t joking.
Seeing the newcomers remain silent, Zhao Nuan assumed they feared the authorities: “If you can’t do it, I will. But you’ll have to hold them down for me.”
“You’d dare?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I’ve already killed one.”
Only then did Shen Mingqing realize the black stains on Zhao Nuan weren’t mud but dried blood.
“Hurry up! Zhou Qingci must have told you everything. Though killing these two will eventually alert the court to my involvement, it’s better than letting them go back and talk nonsense.”
Shen Mingqing was surprised again. This wet nurse had extraordinary nerve, daring to address his Zhou cousin so directly.
Seeing him stand there dumbfounded, Zhao Nuan pressed, “Am I wrong?”
What are you doing spacing out at a time like this?
“Ah… right, right, right.” Shen Mingqing glanced at the retreating constables. “Then let’s kill them.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the three men ahead pounced forward.
“Wait for me, let’s make this quick.”
Shen Mingqing tossed out these words, drew the saber from his waist, and joined the fray.
Zhao Nuan let out a sigh of relief. It was good that he understood the need for a swift resolution—she had been worried he would just stand by and watch others fight.
Just then, the person holding Yan’er approached Zhao Nuan, and she noticed he had only one eye.
“Zhao…”
“My name is Zhao Nuan.”
“Mm, Zhao Nuan.” The man sounded to be in his forties, his tone low as he nodded. “My surname is Duan, given name Zheng. I was once the Marquis’s deputy—they all call me Uncle Duan. Qingci’s letter has already informed us of what happened in the capital.”