CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: PLEASE THANK YOUR YOUNG LADY FOR ME

Liu Family clutched her stomach in agony, never expecting Mrs. Zhang to have such a temper.

The others were also surprised by Mrs. Zhang’s fierce demeanor, truly possessing the majesty of a noble woman.

Ruan Mian saw this, helped Mrs. Zhang into the carriage, and signaled the government officer to continue on the road.

However, in Liu Family’s eyes, a chill of deep resentment emerged.

She stared at Ruan Mian, trembling incredulously: "You’re toying with me??"

Not only did they not save her, but they allowed her to charge headlong into disaster!

After mocking her, they kicked her aside?

Her face turned ashen with fury, eyes rolling up in disdain.

Even Qi Nanfeng, who initially felt embarrassed by his mother’s actions, found Ruan Mian’s actions excessive, equivalent to slapping his face.

He immediately stepped forward, speaking sharply: "Mianmian, my mother has already admitted her mistake, what more do you want? I don’t ask for reconciliation, nor do I expect you to save my mother for my sake, but you cannot be so overbearing!"

Ruan Mian chuckled lightly, watching with interest as the Qi family’s faces turned sore.

She nonchalantly questioned, "Mr. Qi, have you forgotten that I mourned as a widow for you for three years, yet you abandoned me, your wife of humble origin, to become a Prince Consort."

"How do you have the audacity to think I would do it for your sake? Do you have any face?"

Qi Nanfeng stood there stupefied, under everyone’s scrutiny, both angry and shocked that she would completely disregard decorum, trampling the entire Qi family’s dignity beneath her feet.

His mind and body were in extreme torment.

He had dreamed of reconciliation, treating her better, and surviving exile together.

But now!

She didn’t even regard him.

The mocking look in her eyes pierced his heart like a needle.

He fumed, "So you truly do not intend to save my mother!?"

Ruan Mian sneered, "Do you see the words ’Big Fool’ written across my face?"

After saying this, she called the group back to order, instructed the government officer, and the procession moved on normally.

Liu Family fainted from sheer anger.

Qi Nanfeng felt as if he couldn’t catch his breath.

Back in the carriage, Ruan Mian saw Mrs. Zhang still with a taut expression and said with a smile, "Mother, are you still not satisfied? Perhaps I should simply poison her?"

Mrs. Zhang immediately shook her head, "You’re just a young lady, how can you take a life so easily!? If there’s killing to be done, I’ll do it."

Unexpectedly, the usually gentle mother was bold enough to consider killing for her family’s sake.

Ruan Mian restrained her expression, seriously saying, "How could mother’s hands be stained with blood?"

"Forget it, let’s not blow this up. If something truly happens to her, those government officers won’t spare us either."

She only wished for her family to safely reach Wuheng.

As she contemplated, Mrs. Zhang shifted the topic, "By the way, Mianmian, what’s the name of the girl you rescued? She doesn’t look well; why not invite her into the carriage to warm up."

Ruan Mian had the same thought, as the woman had provided clues.

So she lifted the curtain and called the girl inside.

She was slender, yet beautiful, even in simple attire, one could see she was a beauty.

No wonder that villain Du Fei targeted her.

Ruan Mian still didn’t know her name, so she asked, "May I ask how to address you, madam?"

The girl quickly curtsied and spoke truthfully.

"My lady, my surname is Shao, and my name is Xi."

Shaoxi.

Wasn’t she the assassin the Fifth Princess placed beside the Prime Minister in the original book?

According to the plot, the Prime Minister would have rescued her, and she would become a concubine in his mansion.

But now, by a stroke of fate, she was saved ahead of time by Ruan Mian, and the villain Du Fei was also killed by her.

It seems that her role as a minor supporting character has already started altering the original plot.

No matter the final outcome, as long as she punished the villains, it was enough to ensure her family’s survival.

At present, Shaoxi bore no signs of training, with her feeble appearance not seeming faked.

So Ruan Mian asked another question, "Miss Shao, how did you end up being taken up the mountain by those bandits?"

Shao Xi did not hide it, but at the mention of the reason, her eyes rimmed red, and she couldn’t stop trembling.

"I was originally chased into the mountains by the magistrate’s soldiers, and later... later I was taken by that villain."

She gritted her teeth, the wounds on her face looking ghastly.

Mrs. Zhang quickly helped her up, soothing her gently.

Meanwhile, Ruan Mian revisited the original plot in her mind,

Hui City’s magistrate was greedy, often abducting maidens, so Shaoxi was likely pursued for this reason.

The original book also detailed his corruption and embezzlement of disaster relief supplies, which led to the snow disaster turning Hui City into a frozen hell on earth, with countless frozen to death.

So, have they already entered the natural disaster scenario?

Ruan Mian opened the curtain, feeling the biting cold wind blowing, the sky a dark gray.

Mrs. Zhang commented, "It’s really getting colder, usually it only starts to snow at this time of year, but it’s already snowed several times, tonight it might not stop."

Ruan Mian squinted slightly, thinking that the snow disaster must be approaching.

Considering this, she needed to make some preparations.

So she alighted the carriage and asked the lead government officer, "Lord, approximately how far are we from Hui City?"

The officer thought for a moment, "If we continue our pace, we might reach by tomorrow night, but you all won’t stand for it. At the latest, the day after tomorrow afternoon."

Since it would take until tomorrow to reach, Ruan Mian took advantage of the night rest to touch the Jade Bracelet and enter the space.

She rummaged through the storage, finding several smaller pottery items, like salt pots and oil pots, the kind that fit in a hand.

Upon reaching Hui City, she could purchase a few foot warmers to carry, at least to prevent freezing on the road.

For tonight, she would use the pottery items for comfort.

She filled them with burning charcoal and gave them to her family to hold.

They were like "hand warmers" in the palm, much cozier!!

Cui Zhu lavishly praised her, "Our lady is truly resourceful, but... how come I didn’t know we had so much pottery?"

She casually replied, "Didn’t we scavenge these from the bandit’s lair? Perfect timing."

Just as she finished speaking, not far off, Mrs. Wang had removed her only jacket to cover her son Lin.

She herself was shivering in the cold, her face pallid.

Others weren’t much better off, but considering the young child and Mrs. Wang’s actions, Ruan Mian prepared an extra small pottery item with some charcoal for Cui Zhu to deliver.

Mrs. Wang saw this "hand warmer," gazed in Ruan Mian’s direction, and didn’t say a word.

Cui Zhu reminded her, "Madam, my lady said that children can’t endure the cold like adults can, this is just to help a little."

Mrs. Wang restrained her emotions, accepted it with both hands, and softly said, "Please thank your lady for me."