Zhulan and Zhou Shuren slept well and had a hearty breakfast in the morning. They carried the food prepared by the inn and got on the carriage. The carriage returned to the team. Zhulan lay by the window and finally saw Wang Ru. Calculating the time, it had been almost a year since they last saw each other. Wang Ru had grown a lot taller, her facial features had also developed a lot, and she had become more and more fragile. Even after a year of care, Wang Ru had not recovered. She was seriously injured last year, and Wang Ru was very weak.

Wang Ru didn’t see Zhulan, so Zhulan lowered the car curtain.

After waiting for a while, the convoy continued to move forward. The next day, their luck was not so good as it began to rain. The most feared thing when traveling was rain. The road was a dirt road and it would be difficult to walk on once it became muddy.

Zhulan curled up in the quilt and listened to the sound of rain. “It’s really hard to travel. No wonder you said it would take three months to go back and forth. The rain won’t get heavier. There’s no village in front and no shop behind. Just hope that we don’t get stuck here for a few days.”

Zhou Shuren was very calm, “It’s okay, the food we brought is enough to last for a few days, so there’s no need to worry if we get sleepy for a few days.”

Zhu Lan glared, “You have a really big heart.”

Zhou Shuren put down the book and said, “It’s not that I’m careless. I’ve been stuck on the road before and I’m used to it. You just got out. When you return, you’ll be as calm as I am.”

Zhulan doesn’t like rainy days because they are very humid. It has been raining all morning and her quilt is already a little damp. If it weren’t for the water bag filled with hot water placed in the quilt, she would have caught a cold.

The convoy continued to move forward, and Zhulan missed the plane very much!

The convoy did not stop at noon and tried to move forward as much as possible. Fortunately, the rain stopped in the afternoon. After the rain, the air was very good. Zhulan put on her shoes and got out of the car. This was nature. The scenery was particularly beautiful, unlike in modern times, where it was rarely seen except in protected forests.

Zhulan pulled Zhou Shuren and said, “Let’s go pick some shepherd’s purse. There’s still some porridge left. Let’s wash the shepherd’s purse and put it in!”

Zhou Shuren, “There are water droplets on the grass, your shoes must be wet, I’ll go, you wait here for me.”

“It’s okay, I brought six pairs of shoes each!”

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, “Then let’s look for it by the stream!”

Zhulan didn’t pick much, just a handful was enough. She washed the vegetables. The driver had already found dry firewood and started a fire. Zhulan heated up the porridge and looked at the beautiful scenery around her. Zhulan felt much better.

Zhou Shuren held the bowl and can and said, “I’m going to wash the dishes. It just rained and it’s very cold. You get in the car first!”
Zhulan: “Okay.”

Zhulan was also thinking about finding some paper to draw a picture before it got dark!

When Zhou Shuren got in the car, Zhulan had only finished half of the painting. Zhou Shuren did not interrupt her. He waited until Zhulan had finished and the ink had dried before picking up the painting and looking at it. “You have made a lot of progress again.”

Zhulan also thought so, “I really have a lot of talent!”

She had everything planned out. Once Zhou Shuren was settled, she would find a good master to learn painting from. It was rare that she liked the art and had a talent for it, so she had to learn it.

Zhou Shuren waited until the painting was dry, then carefully rolled it up and said, “I’ll find someone to frame it when we get to the capital.”

Zhulan: “Okay!”

Zhou Shuren got out of the carriage again to wash the brush and filled the water bag with hot water before coming up. Having the water bag in the quilt would keep him warmer at night.

There was no rain on the rest of the journey, and the convoy was moving much faster when it came to Huaizhou City.

After observing for a few days, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren discovered that every time they arrived at a town, some loaded carriages would fall behind. With fewer carriages transporting cargo and a smaller team, the speed was naturally much faster.

On the fifteenth day after leaving Pingzhou, nothing happened on the way to the capital. More than half of the journey had been completed and it seemed that they would reach the capital in a few days.

Zhulan was actually worried. Zhou Shuren no longer slept with Zhulan at night but would stay by her side all night.

There were still quite a few horse-drawn carriages transporting goods in the caravan. Even though there wasn’t much danger without Shi Qing around, it was still better to be careful.

They arrived at the resting place of the post station again. It was destined not to be a peaceful night. Zhou Shuren was waiting and heard a sound, so he called Zhulan softly.

Zhulan sat up and was alert. Her original body knew martial arts, so Zhulan practiced as well. Unfortunately, she was not her original body after all. Memories were just memories, and she still couldn’t fight. One or two was ok, but more than that wouldn’t work.

The two of them waited anxiously for the whole night. In the morning, they finally felt relieved. Fortunately, nothing had happened. After tonight, they didn’t have to worry about the rest of the journey.

Just as I relaxed and thought about taking a nap, someone shouted, “Murder, murder.”

The voice sounded familiar, it was Wang Xin’s voice, and it was not far from the room where they lived.

Neither Zhulan nor Zhou Shuren had any intention of leaving. It seemed that the people from yesterday were going for Wang Ru.

After a while, there was a commotion outside the door, with the voices of bodyguards and other people. Zhou Shuren and Zhulan then got up and went out to take a look.

Wang Ru’s room was at the innermost part. Wang Xin was so frightened that she was incoherent. Soon, several bodyguards who had gone in to check came out, followed by Zhang Sanni and Xiao Si, who had water splashed on their faces.

Only Wang Ru was missing.

Wang Xin finally calmed down when she saw that no one was dead. She stared with wide eyes, “Where’s my sister? Where’s my sister?”

Zhulan saw it clearly. Wang Xin was not anxious but happy. She was happy that Wang Ru was gone. It was obvious that Wang Ru had tortured Wang Xin a lot in the past year.

Zhang Sanni was very impatient. She was terrified. Now that Wang Ru was gone, how could she explain this to the young master? She pushed Wang Xin away and said, “You are asking me, who should I ask?”

The leader of the escort team frowned. After accepting the job, he realized that things were not simple. He couldn’t cancel the order. He knew that Master Shi was not on the team. He also knew that every time they arrived at a place to rest, there would be unknown people checking the goods. He didn’t let his brothers take care of it. This matter was not simple. Now the little girl was missing. She was probably kidnapped last night.

Forget about risking one’s life to protect her. The Shi family was originally planning to run the escort company, and they had children, so they wouldn’t risk their lives in vain. They thought that Shi Qing left behind a lot of people, and they should be able to protect her. Unexpectedly, Shi Qing’s people didn’t care, so they would be even less likely to care.

The escort shouted, “Okay, the person is missing, we will investigate, I will send a brother to report to the authorities first, the convoy will rest for a day today, and continue on the journey tomorrow.”

Zhang Sanni calmed down and looked at the young master’s personal servant beside her. The servant didn’t react at all. Her heart skipped a beat and she shuddered. She thought it might be the young master’s intention.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren looked at each other. They were both observant people and noticed the reactions of the servant and the escort. Then they returned to the house.

Zhulan asked playfully, “Do you think this is directed and acted by Shi Qing himself?”

Zhou Shuren narrowed his eyes, “Shi Qing developed too fast and many people noticed him. Yao Zheyu was able to find Wang Ru, not to mention others. It was only because the Shi family was the money bag of certain forces that no one acted rashly. But Shi Qing developed too fast this year and quickly accumulated a huge amount of money. Anyone willing could find Wang Ru. Shi Qing couldn’t protect Wang Ru. This time, he not only used Wang Ru to attract attention and cover-up, but he also intended to send Wang Ru away.”

Zhulan, “It seems that I didn’t think deeply enough. I just thought that I could use Wang Ru to attract attention as a cover. I didn’t expect that this person’s calculations were so deep.”

“No matter how deep the plot is, it has nothing to do with us. As for what happens to Wang Ru, it all depends on her own fate.”

“Knock, knock.”

There was a knock on the door, and Zhulan asked, “Who is it?”

(End of this chapter)

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