General Zhou gave Shi Ning'an a surprised look, then glanced at Xiang Shuai behind her. After Xiang Shuai nodded, he also gave his consent.
A servant handed the long knife to Shi Ning'an.
Shi Ning'an's hands trembled slightly as she walked step by step towards Shi Qingmei.
Even though it was the dead of night, the place was as bright as day.
Shi Qingmei had long been forced to kneel on the ground by two soldiers. All her desperate struggles were in vain.
Shi Ning'an walked over and asked in a low voice, "Shi Qingmei, it's high time we settled our scores."
"Shi Qingmei, why were you so heartless? I once trusted you so much and regarded you as my own elder sister... Why? Why did you drug me?"
Shi Qingmei shook her head desperately.
Shi Ning'an said expressionlessly, "You and Wei Hongmiao are a perfect match of adulterers and whores. Why did you conspire with him to deceive me?"
"Shi Qingmei, I don't hate him because he's not worth it. But I hate you."
"Shi Qingmei, didn't you feel a shred of pity when you killed that baby in the swaddle?"
The head in the box was Zhi'er, her Zhi'er.
She could even still remember Zhi'er's tender voice.
"Mother, mother, play with me."
Shi Ning'an closed her eyes, and tears welled up. She forcefully raised the long knife in her hand. However, when the tip of the knife touched Shi Qingmei's neck, she just couldn't go on.
Her whole body was trembling. She bit her arm hard, harder and harder, but she couldn't stop trembling.
Xiang Shuai quickly walked up to her, reached out to caress her face, and said in a low voice, "Ning'an, don't force yourself."
Shi Ning'an cried uncontrollably, "I hate her... But why can't I even bring myself to take action? I should avenge myself."
Xiang Shuai held her hand and continued, "Ning'an, don't worry. I'll avenge you."
The knife fell, and his other hand covered Shi Ning'an's eyes.
Shi Ning'an didn't open her eyes, but the spurting blood splashed on her face, nose, and lips.
Her heart felt desolate. She didn't know whether she should be happy or sad.
Zhi'er, your mother has finally avenged you in this lifetime.
Shi Ning'an was in a daze. Xiang Shuai helped her into the room and let her sit down, but she still couldn't quite come to her senses.
Were Wei Hongmiao and Shi Qingmei really dead just like that?
Was it a dream or reality?
Shi Ning'an looked at her own hands. After days of busyness, there were thin calluses on her hands, itchy and painful, and there was also bloodstain. Her hands were still trembling involuntarily, but everything indicated that this was real.
There was no sense of pleasure, but she gradually calmed down.
In front of her were the concerned looks of Xiang Shuai and Zeng Haomiao. She forced a smile.
Seeing that her expression had improved a bit, Xiang Shuai walked out.
General Zhou was in the next room. They didn't know what they were discussing.
Zeng Haomiao asked, "Cousin, are you feeling better?"
Hesitating to speak, he had too many doubts.
Shi Ning'an nodded, her gaze fixed on the sky outside the door as she murmured blankly, "The capital... I wonder how the situation is there. Are they okay?"
The lady came over with a teapot, poured a cup of water for Shi Ning'an, and sat down beside her with a cold look on her face, still faintly angry.
Shi Ning'an seemed unaware and still murmured to herself, "I'm afraid it's time to set off."
The lady endured for a while and then asked, "Who on earth are you?"
Only then did Shi Ning'an come to her senses. She smiled at the lady and said, "Sister-in-law."
Early the next morning, a servant beside Xiang Shuai came and told Shi Ning'an and Zeng Haomiao to pack their luggage. They were going back to the capital.
Shi Ning'an asked, "Is it just Xiang Shuai, you, and me? Isn't General Zhou going?"
The servant silently shook his head without saying much.
When the lady came to pick them up, Shi Ning'an frowned and asked, "Sister-in-law, are you going too?"
The lady still said indifferently, "Wherever he goes, I'll naturally follow."
Zeng Haomiao quickly said, "But the lady is pregnant now. Her pregnancy is unstable, so it's not very suitable for her to travel."
The lady pursed her lips, looking sad.
This time, instead of crossing half a mountain to another village like the other night, they just took a detour and saw a small village. Some people were already waiting at the door for them.
Yingtao and A Wu were standing aside. When they saw them coming, they jumped up happily.
Yingtao immediately ran over and hugged Shi Ning'an tightly. "Miss, Miss, you've worried this servant so much."
Shi Ning'an held her hand and said, "I'm fine."
Today, all the scars on Xiang Shuai's face were gone. His handsome face seemed very familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
Zeng Haomiao pointed at him in surprise. "Rong... You... You're from the Rong family."
Xiang Shuai smiled and nodded at him, then bowed. "Yes, I'm from the Rong family. I'm Rong Zhuo."
"Second Young Master Rong." Zeng Haomiao widened his eyes.
Zeng Haomiao turned to look at Shi Ning'an. Seeing that there was no expression on her face, he asked in succession, "You already knew?"
Shi Ning'an nodded. "I guessed it. That day, I always felt that he was very familiar, so I had a vague feeling. The three cousins of the Rong family all look somewhat similar, and Xiang Shuai also has that similar feeling."
Rong Zhuo laughed heartily and reached out to touch Shi Ning'an's head. "Mother and elder brother often mentioned you in their letters. I never thought I would meet you here."
He turned around and waved to the lady. "A Xi, I had some concerns before, so I didn't tell you. This is my cousin Shi Ning'an. She's already engaged to my third younger brother A Sui. Ning'an, this is your second sister-in-law, A Xi."
Shi Ning'an playfully stuck out her tongue, then hooked A Xi's arm and laughed. "I said you were my sister-in-law."
A Xi looked stunned for a moment, then glared at Rong Zhuo angrily. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Rong Zhuo explained, "I wasn't sure before. After I investigated clearly, I was too busy with my affairs to tell you."
When A Xi looked at Shi Ning'an again, she thought this little girl was extremely cute and well-behaved.
Rong Zhuo's expression softened. He looked at Ning'an seriously and asked, "Ning'an, I've never had the chance to ask you. You've decided to return to the capital. No matter what happens in the future, you don't care, do you?"
Shi Ning'an nodded. "The Rong family is my home."
Rong Zhuo placed his hand on Shi Ning'an's shoulder and patted it. "Good. Don't worry. As long as I'm here, I'll definitely protect you safely."
Shi Ning'an lifted her smiling face and looked around at the people outside. "Are these the people you're taking with you?"
Rong Zhuo nodded. "I'm going there to scout the way and see how the situation in the capital has developed. Unless it's absolutely necessary, I definitely don't want to mobilize troops."
If things developed to the point where troops had to be mobilized, it would be a time of great chaos in the world. The struggle for power between the two sides was just a game, but it was the common people who would suffer.
Shi Ning'an stared into the distance and squinted her eyes. "There won't be an absolute necessity. There won't be."
In her previous life, by that time, the Crown Prince had lost many of his supporters in the struggle with the eldest prince. Even so, he still managed to hold on for three years before being completely wiped out by the third prince.
Now, the third prince had played all his cards. General Zhou, who was originally supposed to be the third prince's trump card, now seemed to be just a guise.
As for the Xia family.
Shi Ning'an frowned. The Xia family had an alliance with the Rong family and was one of the families the Rong family trusted the most. She didn't know whether it was true or false, nor how deep the matter was. But now it seemed that the Xia family might be the third prince's last card.
Rong Zhuo led a light cavalry of fifty men and prepared to return to the capital first.
Zeng Haomiao quickly pointed at A Xi and asked, "Second Young Master, is Second Young Mistress going with us too?"
A Xi's face changed slightly. She immediately stepped forward and said, "Doctor Zeng, I'm not a woman confined to the inner chambers. My martial arts skills are far superior to my husband's. You don't need to worry about me."
Rong Zhuo had never been fond of martial arts but was more into literature since childhood. Although he had a basic foundation in martial arts because his family had forced him to practice since he was young, he couldn't compare with his three brothers in the family. Even when he was away from home, he had taken the path of a staff officer, only offering strategies and acting as a military advisor, never leading troops into battle.
Over the years, as he had been wandering alone outside, there had been countless hidden dangers that others couldn't even imagine. Besides the servants who followed him, it was A Xi, whom he had met later, who had always been guarding and protecting him.
That was why the two of them had fallen in love and finally got together.
A Xi showed a pleading look on her face, asking Zeng Haomiao not to say any more.
Shi Ning'an was stunned. So Rong Zhuo didn't even know that A Xi was pregnant? It was understandable, though. A Xi's pregnancy symptoms didn't seem to be more than a month old. In this past month, Rong Zhuo and the others had been rushing back from the north and had been extremely busy all the way. Perhaps A Xi herself didn't even know that she was pregnant until they stopped here.
The matter of seizing the throne was extremely urgent. Rong Zhuo and General Zhou paid close attention to the situation in the capital every day. Although they were actually on the Crown Prince's side, they still had to pretend to be in the third prince's camp. They had to be extremely careful and not allow any mistakes. How could A Xi let Rong Zhuo be distracted at this time?
In Zeng Haomiao's mind, nothing was more important than one's health. Seeing A Xi's appearance, he clearly felt that she was over - tired and short of both qi and blood. If she continued to travel and get exhausted, it might be harmful to the fetus in her womb.
He said, "It's not that... It's just that Second Young Mistress..."
"Cousin." Shi Ning'an called out. "I had a severe headache last night. Didn't you give me acupuncture? Did you leave behind that set of acupuncture tools?"
Zeng Haomiao hesitated for a moment and shook his head. "No, I packed them up last night."
Shi Ning'an stroked her chest. "That's good. I remember you never left that set of acupuncture tools behind."
Rong Zhuo didn't understand what was going on. He turned to look at A Xi. "A Xi, are you not feeling well?"
Before A Xi could say anything, Shi Ning'an nodded. "Yes. I saw that Second Sister - in - law wasn't in good spirits yesterday. I think she's been too tired these days, not eating or sleeping well. How about going to the pharmacy later to grab some medicine and make some tonics for Second Sister - in - law to nourish her body?"
Zeng Haomiao was silent for a moment and then nodded. "Judging from Second Young Mistress's appearance, she has a deficiency of qi and blood. She needs to be nourished."
Rong Zhuo stepped forward to support A Xi and looked her up and down. He said somewhat remorsefully, "It's my fault. I've been too busy these days."
A Xi shook her head, indicating that she was fine, and then told him to go and count the people. They were just waiting to set off.