Because she spoke with increasing joy, Bai Wei listened from the side with a smile, neither expressing agreement nor opposition. She loved watching her Grandmother at moments like this; she seemed as if she were glowing. If it could be said that when they first left the Marquis's Estate, she was only holding on by a single breath and was actually quite anxious about what lay ahead, now she did not have the slightest bit of worry. From this new Grandmother, she saw a spirit and shrewdness that proved "a woman is no worse than a man." The experiences of these past few days also told her that Grandmother's Medical Skill was truly formidable. Even that pregnant woman from the Zhou Family, who had been at death's door, had been saved by her, with both mother and child safe and sound. In this world, what doctor could compare to Grandmother? That Director Sang only managed to sit in the position of Director of the Imperial Hospital after his own Master was executed. He was already inferior to the Master, and his daughter was naturally even more mediocre. That day, she had only seen a few drops of blood and was so frightened she ran out. By what right did she have to compete with Grandmother? The Master actually kept her by his side while turning a blind eye to a Divine Doctor Lady like Grandmother; he was truly blind.
So, the power of a role model is truly infinite. Originally, when Bai Wei and Bai Kou saw Lu Yunxiao, it was almost like a mouse seeing a cat. However, now she even dared to secretly criticize him in her heart for being blind, and she did not feel that there was anything rebellious about thinking this way at all. It was evident that Xia Qingyu's subtle, transformative influence on the two maidservants had been quite successful.
Perhaps because she was tired from talking, Xia Qingyu stopped and picked up the tea on the table to take a sip. It was at this moment that the room door was suddenly pushed open, and Bai Kou stumbled in. She turned back to close the door tightly and said nervously, "Grandmother, guess who I just saw on the street?"
"Who did you see? Look at how pale your face is; did you see a ghost?" Xia Qingyu shook her head. This maidservant Bai Kou was just prone to making a fuss over nothing... Wait. She suddenly became alert. Thinking of her inexplicable vigilance and premonitions over these past few days, she sat up straight and said in a low voice, "Who exactly did you see?"
"I saw Zhao Yun, sneaking around behind me, following me all the way to the outside of the Inn." Bai Kou patted her chest. "I wanted to go up and ask him what he was doing, but I was afraid that the Master had sent him to track Grandmother. If I went to ask him, what if I alerted the enemy?"
"You might as well just say you were scared." Bai Wei shook her head; how could she not hear that her sister was actually afraid? However, this matter was indeed worth pondering. These past few days, Grandmother had been saying that there seemed to be a tail following them. She had originally thought that Grandmother was being suspicious, but now it seemed, could it be that the Master had been sending Zhao Yun to follow them all along? But why would he do that? To protect Grandmother? That was a joke; he probably wished Grandmother would die sooner. To secretly harm Grandmother? He should have done that back at the Marquis's Estate; why even give a Letter of Divorce? The Master was not such a fickle and inconsistent man.
"No, Zhao Yun shouldn't be the person who has been following us these past few days."
Just as she was thinking this, she heard Xia Qingyu slowly shake her head. Bai Wei quickly asked, "Did Grandmother think of something? How can you be so sure?"
"Well, it's not that I'm certain, it's just an intuition." Xia Qingyu rested her chin on her hand. "Because Lu Yunxiao has absolutely no reason to do this. Think about it, I didn't steal any property from the Marquis's Estate, and even if I did, would that man care? Furthermore, I don't have any big secrets. The only thing I have now is this Medical Skill, and this skill hasn't reached the level of 'bringing the dead back to life and reconstructing flesh and bone.' Even if it had reached that level, with that man's temperament of hating me to the bone, he would probably wish to never have anything to do with me again. Why would he send someone to follow me and play this game of lingering attachment?"
Bai Kou and Bai Wei thought about it and had to admit that what Xia Qingyu said made sense. So, Bai Kou lowered her head and muttered, "But, I clearly saw that guy Zhao Yun sneaking around near the Inn. If it wasn't for Grandmother, then who else could it be for?"
Xia Qingyu stood up and patted Bai Kou's shoulder with a smile. "Bai Kou, the most important thing in life is to have self-awareness. Never be overly sensitive or self-important, because it's very easy to get slapped in the face, you know? As for Zhao Yun, I don't know who he is tracking or investigating. Now that we are in Jiangnan, Lu Yunxiao is the Disaster Relief Imperial Envoy; who knows how many corrupt officials he has to fight against? Besides, as a member of the imperial family, he might even be carrying out some secret mission. In short, it is impossible for Zhao Yun to have come here because of us. Perhaps it's just that this place is close to where he is working, or perhaps the flow of people here makes it easy for him to hide his tracks. So, it's a coincidence, it's all a coincidence, understand?"
"Understood, understood."
Bai Kou nodded like a pounding pestle. "So Grandmother, we don't need to worry about him, right?"
"That's right. As long as he doesn't appear in front of us, we don't need to worry. Well, even if he does appear in front of us, as long as he doesn't greet us first, we'll just pretend we don't know him." Xia Qingyu waved her hand and then looked at the bag in Bai Kou's hand. "Is that a Steamed Bun from the Xu Family Shop?"
"Yes, yes, I almost forgot the Important matters. According to Grandmother's instructions, I bought ten, enough for the three of us to eat." Bai Kou placed the Steamed Bun on the table, and Xia Qingyu waved her hand happily. "Alright, let's eat dinner first."
After finishing the Steamed Bun, the Master and Servant trio lay in the cramped room. This was a cheap little Inn. In this little Inn, Xia Qingyu's stinginess finally met its match. The Inn owner, with a level of miserliness not inferior to her own, won the unanimous indignation of the three. For example, the candle on the small candlestick now only had a little bit left, and after they finished their Dinner and washed their feet, it pitifully went out.
Having stayed for three days, Xia Qingyu knew that there was no point in going to ask the owner for a candle at this time. So, the three of them tacitly lay on the bed, preparing to sleep. There was nothing wrong with sleeping early; sleeping early meant they could wake up early. This was the reason they used to comfort themselves.
However, sleeping early did not mean they would definitely be able to fall asleep. In any case, Xia Qingyu was tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Zhao Yun is definitely not here for us, but who exactly is following us? For so many days, it has just been my intuition. Could my intuition be wrong? Is it no longer effective in ancient times? Well, that's not impossible; perhaps I am just being suspicious.
Thinking this, Xia Qingyu could not help but pat her chest, then closed her eyes and forced herself to stop thinking about these things. The next moment, she heard a sound near the door.
"What's going on? Bai Wei, didn't you lock the door?"
Xia Qingyu sat up. The room was pitch black. She cursed the miserly owner while getting out of bed, only to see Bai Wei sitting up, rubbing her eyes and saying, "What's wrong with the door? I bolted it earlier."
A sense of danger suddenly arose in Xia Qingyu's heart. However, before she could react, the door that Bai Wei had bolted suddenly opened silently. Then, a thin, small figure lunged in. This person was holding a gleaming dagger; even in the darkness, one could feel the cold light flashing on it.
"Don't make a sound, or you won't live."
The intruder said in a cold, deep voice, instantly suppressing the gasps of Bai Wei and Xia Qingyu in their throats. At this moment, Bai Kou, who was on the couch by the window, had just sat up and muttered confusedly, "What's wrong? Grandmother and Bai Wei, why aren't you sleeping yet?"
"I'm telling you, we... the three of us are just Pitiful, lonely women, we... we don't have any money."
Xia Qingyu called out with a lack of confidence. Although she knew that eight hundred taels of Silver were far less important than the lives of the three of them, and in the end, she would never do something as stupid as wanting money over her life, she had to struggle when she could. Perhaps this guy in front of her was inexperienced, and she could muddle through?
The intruder seemed not to have expected Xia Qingyu's first sentence to be like this and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. Then, he sneered, "Although I have taken many a Human Life, I have truly never been stained by the scent of Silver or Copper coin. If you can accomplish what we need you to do later, we can give you a generous reward."
Xia Qingyu heard this and thought: Alright, so it's not kidnapping for ransom. Well, since the last sentence used 'we,' it shouldn't be a lecherous thief either. Ancient lecherous thieves don't seem to have a hobby of group lechery.
Because it wasn't those two things, Xia Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling her heart drop from her throat back into her chest. She whispered, "That... since it's not for money, and the three of us are just Weak women, other than knowing how to practice medicine..." She stopped there, raised her hand, and tapped her forehead, secretly thinking: Xia Qingyu, are you a pig? Since it's not for money or lust, and they mentioned a reward, it must be for your Medical Skill.
"Very good, it seems the lady already knows what I want to do. Since that is the case, please cooperate. Otherwise, my hidden weapon does not recognize people." After the man in black finished speaking, he stepped aside and said indifferently, "Lady and the two young ladies, please. Remember, do not make a single sound."
Xia Qingyu had no choice but to put on her outer garments with Bai Kou and Bai Wei, and she reminded the two maidservants, "You must remember, do not make a sound. It should just be that they are inviting us to treat an illness, so don't throw away your lives for nothing. Besides, you know the rules of this Inn; at this hour, even the best rooms wouldn't have candles. People have long since gone to sleep, and shouting is useless."
Bai Kou and Bai Wei agreed in a low voice, their bodies soaked with sweat from nervousness. They never dreamed that they would experience something like this in their lifetime. So, the three of them filed out of the room. Following the instructions of the man in black, they arrived at the back door of the Inn. They saw that a Carriage was already waiting there. Then, a capable woman stepped forward and blindfolded the three of them. Thus, the three were stuffed into the Carriage and taken away without a sound.
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Ao wu! At such a critical juncture, not asking for a Recommendation Ticket and Collection would be a disservice to the shock Qingyu has received （ roll ）
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