CHAPTER 16: CHAPTER 16: INJURED

The sound of Mrs. Zhang’s crying reached her thoughts.

"Song’er! Song’er!"

Ruan Mian instantly snapped back to reality, realizing something was wrong.

When she returned to the group, she discovered Ruan Qingsong had fainted due to excessive blood loss.

Seeing his entire arm soaked in blood, both Mrs. Zhang and the eldest sister were at a loss.

Ruan Mian immediately told them to move him to a flat grass patch and instructed them to pour all the water from the water bladder into a basin.

At this moment, the government officers had gone to find others, so the group had to pause and rest in their current location.

Ruan Mian dismissed the surrounding people, leaving only Cui Zhu to look after the situation. She first cut the sleeve to reveal the dirty wound, motioning for Cui Zhu to clean it with fresh water.

Using the excuse of finding medicinal herbs, she went into the deserted woods, touching the jade bracelet, and entered the space.

No time to think deeply, she grabbed the medicine bottle and some clean, fine cloth and headed back.

By now, Cui Zhu was crying uncontrollably. She looked at the ghastly pale Ruan Qingsong, her voice trembling.

"Young Master, he has lost so much blood. What do we do? We don’t have a doctor here..."

She feared Ruan Qingsong was beyond hope, crying until her eyes were swollen.

Ruan Mian patted her shoulder, "I brought medicine. Don’t panic."

She skillfully treated the wound, sprinkled the medicine powder, and then bandaged it with fine cloth.

Cui Zhu’s face lit up with joy when she saw the cloth wasn’t soaked with blood. She quickly wiped her tears, "It’s not bleeding? Really, it’s not bleeding anymore!"

Ruan Mian wiped the sweat from her forehead, smiling lightly, "No need to worry now."

Meanwhile, at an inn less than twenty miles away, several burly men were racing on horseback to arrive there.

The man leading them was none other than the one who had saved Ruan Mian and the others.

He strode in, entered the upscale suite in the inn, and respectfully clasped his fists in greeting behind the screen.

"Lord, Miss Ruan and the others have escaped danger. Those troublemaking beggars have all been captured. Under interrogation, they confessed honestly that someone bribed them to target the Ruan Family."

"Fortunately, the matter is settled. Although Young Master Ruan was seriously injured, Miss Ruan seems to have medical skills and saved Young Master Ruan."

Once his words fell, a distinctly jointed hand behind the screen gently put down a cup, the voice low, "Medical skills?"

"Indeed, Young Master Ruan was stabbed and lost a lot of blood. I was even considering whether to intervene and save him, but unexpectedly, Miss Ruan knows medical skills, handling the cleaning, bandaging, and medication proficiently. Plus, the medicine Miss Ruan brought works extremely well, rivaling our healing ointments."

In the silence, the burly man added another sentence, "Moreover... Lord, during my departure, Miss Ruan asked me to convey a message that she remembered your help today."

The Prime Minister chuckled softly, then continued sipping his tea.

It seems he underestimated her?

"No need to follow along next, "

Moreover, she doesn’t need any unnecessary actions from him.

On the other side, Ruan Qingsong slowly regained consciousness shortly after the bleeding was stopped.

During this period, Ruan Mian also cooked some soup.

Seeing him improving, the hearts of the other Ruan Family members finally settled down.

At this moment, the scattered people were gradually being retrieved by the government officers, but upon counting, they found Qi Mansion’s eldest daughter was missing.

The government officers immediately grew furious, grabbing the Liu Family for interrogation!

"Where’s your daughter?! Does she dare to run away?"

Liu Family’s face paled, tears streaming, terrified as she hurriedly kowtowed for help, "Lord, discern wisely! My daughter Linlin, a mere girl, wouldn’t have had the courage to flee! It was so chaotic just now, something... something must have happened!"

Thinking of this, Liu Family could no longer remain calm, anxiously pleading, "Lord, save my daughter! Help me find her, was she taken by those men? She must have been taken by them!"

The government officer angrily kicked her, "Those heroes clearly saved us; how could they take your daughter? Nonsense! Your daughter must have fled while she had the chance!"

Finishing, he called over several other officers, "Search around! She, being a woman, surely can’t have run far; once found, bring her back for a whipping!"

After giving orders, he also had Qi Mansion’s group all tied up; amidst Liu Family’s pleading voices, the officer firmly believed they knew about Qi Lin’s escape, raising a whip for harsh punishment, refusing to stop until they revealed her whereabouts.

In an instant, cries echoed everywhere...

However, due to Qi Lin’s disappearance, the group had no choice but to stay overnight. With darkness approaching, they each sought nearby places to lie down, preparing in advance.

Until Qi Mansion’s people were beaten into misery, without any clue on Qi Lin’s whereabouts, the officers finally paused.

"Seems they really don’t know where that wench ran off to. How about the search team? Any news?"

"Boss, nothing yet."

The officer tossed aside the whip, choosing to first finish dinner before discussing more.

Naturally, Qi Mansion’s group had no food.

Among them, Qi Nanfeng was the most unfortunate.

He’s already suffering leg injuries from beatings, now dealt another round, causing the wound to reopen followed by a fall and a fracture in the leg bone.

This made Liu Family even more distressed, holding him in a shabby state, "Son, you must hold on! You can’t die!"

Qi Nanfeng, enduring the pain, angrily grabbed Liu Family’s sleeve, "I won’t die! Stop crying!"

Liu Family quickly wiped her tears, "That’s good, not dying is good."

Qi Nanfeng persisted, "Since Ruan Mian could heal her brother’s injury, surely she can heal mine. Mother, go ask her to come treat me!"

Upon saying this, Liu Family froze, "Me? How do I ask? That whore wouldn’t sympathize with you. She probably even..."

Before finishing, Qi Nanfeng pulled out a wooden hairpin.

"Use this to trade."

Liu Family quickly dried her tears, inspecting the hairpin closely, suddenly recalling something, her face lighting up with joy.

"I’ll go bring her right away! Son, bear with it a bit longer."

Meanwhile, Ruan Qingsong noticed Mianmian’s thick coat was missing, she only wore a thin layer.

He quickly took off his cloak and handed it over, "Was the thick coat snatched by those beggars just now?"

Ruan Mian was stunned, for some reason, this moment made her nose feel sour.

She gathered her emotions, glancing around at people; because of those unruly beggars’ indiscriminate plundering, some people’s clothes and luggage were gone from the mansion.

As night descended and temperature dropped, Ruan Mian, although possessing bedding and warm items in the space, lacked a suitable reason to take them out.

She had to endure for now, patting her brother’s arm then immediately calling others to gather firewood nearby, while she started a fire in the middle to warm things up significantly.

Ruan Qingsong, injured, with a weakened body, couldn’t afford to be cold.

Thus, Ruan Mian returned the cloak decisively, "Brother, I’m not cold. You being injured is different."

Seeing this, his eyes darkened, he quickly held the cloak, preventing Ruan Mian from taking it off, "You’re a lady, I’m just a man, why would I fear some cold? Listen, your brother won’t die from missing this cloak."