The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Seeing that the other party was bleeding, she felt relieved and immediately agreed, "Okay, then give me the money and we'll leave now. We won't dirty your place."

"Hurry up and pack, I'm going to get the money now."

The owner didn't forget to make arrangements before leaving. He had been in the area for many years, and now he had to compensate the customer three times the amount. If word got out, wouldn't he lose face?

Seeing that Madam Dong looked hesitant, Du Mingxian instructed, "Auntie, go back to your room to get your things. I'll take Chengbao downstairs. We need to meet downstairs. We need to be quick."

"Okay, I'll go right away." Madam Dong left quickly. There wasn't much in Du Mingxian's room, so she simply picked up the child and went downstairs.

She left early, and the employer had already given her the money, but his attitude was really not good: "Take the money and leave quickly."

"Okay," Du Mingxian said, but her legs didn't move.

"Why aren't you leaving yet?" The landlord was getting a little angry.

"Waiting for someone? Didn't you see there were two of us when we came, but now it's just me alone?"

The shopkeeper didn't say anything more, just rolled his eyes at Du Mingxian, turned around and went behind the counter, exuding resentment.

Du Mingxian ignored her. A business owner like that can't grow big. Seeing a guest get sick, she's afraid he'll die in the inn and rushes him out. That's not something a human being would do.

Soon, Dong Shi came down as well, but she had a lot of things and it was difficult for her to walk. After she came down, Du Mingxian told her to go.

After the two left the inn, Dong was a little confused. Du Mingxian looked at Chengbao in her arms and thought that it might take them several more days to get to the prefectural city, and it would be troublesome to keep renting a car like this.

She led Dong to a corner and handed the child to her, saying, "Auntie, wait for me here. I'm going to buy a carriage."

Upon hearing this, Madam Dong was startled. "No, a carriage costs so much money, it's too expensive. Let's just walk."

Du Mingxian looked at Dong's bundles with a troubled expression. "With all this stuff and a child, how long will it take us to get there? Besides, even if Chengbao wakes up, he definitely won't be able to walk properly and will need to rest for a few more days."

"But buying a horse-drawn carriage is too expensive."

"It's alright, we'll always find a use for it after we buy it." Du Mingxian left. There was no need to buy a carriage, as she had horses in her spatial storage. However, she didn't have a carriage. She would just buy an ordinary carriage and then release the horses from her spatial storage.

She found an empty alley, let the horse out, and led it to buy a second-hand carriage. It didn't cost much. When she returned to find Dong Shi, she discovered...

Mrs. Dong sat on the ground, disheveled and holding her child, silently weeping.

"What happened?" Du Mingxian was quite shocked. "Were you robbed?"

As soon as Dong saw Du Mingxian, she couldn't stop crying. "Two people came out as soon as you left and snatched all my belongings."

"Are you okay?"

"No, I was holding Chengbao the whole time. They didn't lay a hand on me, but the money bag I had hanging outside was gone."

Du Mingxian thought about it for a moment and realized that the innkeeper must be upset, asking, "Was a lot of money lost?"

Madam Dong shook her head. "We country folk don't have any money. The money bag I hung outside only contained a dozen or so copper coins. I hid the rest on my body. They just stole our food and clothes."

"That's good. It's good that everyone is alright. Let's get in the carriage and go buy some food to eat on the way."

"Okay." After Dong Shi carried Cheng Bao onto the carriage, Du Mingxian drove the carriage to buy some food. As for the person who snatched Dong Shi's things, she could only guess that it was the owner, but it could also be someone else.

Even a beggar on the street could be a suspect. With a sleeping child in her arms and so many bundles, even if they only took clothes, it would be enough for them to share.

Unsure of who it was, she had no intention of seeking revenge. The most important thing now was to get to the prefectural city and not waste any more time.

Du Mingxian bought some food, put some into her spatial storage, and then left the county town.

After leaving the county town, she felt that someone was following her, and there were six of them.

At first, she drove the carriage quite fast, but after a while, she slowed down and eventually stopped.

"Auntie, don't come out, and don't shout."

Upon hearing this, Madam Dong became somewhat anxious. She poked her head out and asked, "What's wrong?"

“We’re being watched.” Du Mingxian held a dagger in her hand, turned to look at Dong Shi, and then, fearing that Dong Shi might get hurt if she couldn’t keep up, she simply handed her the dagger. “Take this. If anyone comes, just kill them.”

"Ah? Okay." Madam Dong just agreed.

The six people behind them surrounded the carriage. Du Mingxian glanced at them and asked, "Did the innkeeper send you?"

"Yeah, not only did they not pay the innkeeper, but they also demanded so much money from the owner. They're really not afraid of death. Brothers, let's go!"

Without exchanging any pleasantries, the two sides quickly engaged in a fierce fight. The other side also wanted to capture her alive, so they didn't bring any knives. Du Mingxian had a knife on her person, but she didn't take it out.

These men were skilled, but that was all. She took down four of them in no time. The remaining two rushed onto the carriage, trying to grab Dong Shi. Dong Shi stabbed one of them with a dagger.

The last one was kicked off the carriage by Du Mingxian with a leap, and then her foot landed, breaking his ribs.

Dong's hands were trembling uncontrollably, but she still tried to remain calm. "What do we do now?"

"Search them and see if they have anything valuable on them. Take it all. This fight can't be for nothing."

Madam Dong was very pleased with the suggestion. "I'll do it. I'll keep an eye on Chengbao."

Du Mingxian: "..." Okay, since someone likes it, she won't go.

When Madam Dong went to search the body, Du Mingxian sat on the carriage shaft and watched.

Soon, Madam Dong brought over everything they had found to Du Mingxian. These people were probably confident that the six of them could take down two women, so they didn't leave their belongings behind.

They did find a considerable amount of silver, totaling 68 taels and 5 mace, 354 copper coins, a jade pendant of ordinary quality, and two daggers.

"Great, now we have the money to buy the carriage." Du Mingxian was quite happy.

A slight smile appeared on Madam Dong's face. "What about those people?"

Du Mingxian raised an eyebrow. "Auntie, do you think it would be okay if we stripped them naked and left them on the street?"

“Alright, just drive the carriage forward. This can be done by a widow. Don’t get your eyes dirty.”

"it is good."

Knowing that Madam Dong meant well, Du Mingxian did not refuse. She drove the carriage forward for about twenty meters. Without turning around, she saw the people behind her and heard Madam Dong working. After a while, Madam Dong came over carrying a large pile of clothes.

"If there were no fire, we could have just burned these clothes."

"Yes, I brought it." Du Mingxian touched her sleeve, took out a fire tong from her spatial storage, and handed it to Madam Dong.

Dong happily accepted the clothes, walked to an open space, and deliberately found a spot where it wouldn't easily cause a fire. She set the clothes on fire, and soon they were ablaze.

Dong didn't return immediately, but stayed by the side, occasionally pushing her clothes inside to make sure the fire wouldn't spread elsewhere. Only then did she return to Du Mingxian's side with a smile, saying, "Let's go."

"it is good."

Du Mingxian started helping Dong Shi because of Dong Shi's daughter, who worked as a servant in the prefectural city. After spending the last two days together and observing Dong Shi's way of handling things, she found her quite agreeable.

This time, Madam Dong did not get into the carriage. Instead, she sat on the carriage shaft with Du Mingxian, and the two chatted casually.

"The owner of this inn is really ruthless. Even though we've all come out, he hasn't given up. Luckily you're good at fighting, or we would both be in big trouble."

Du Mingxian nodded in agreement, "If I don't have any ability to protect myself, my husband won't feel at ease. I will take you to the prefectural city by myself."

Madam Dong smiled and said, "It's my good luck to have met you. With you coming to the prefectural city, I'm sure I'll be able to find my child safely."

What happens after the child is found?

"I just want to know how our Hongguo died. Who was so cruel as to not only kill her but also cut open her stomach, leaving her with incomplete organs? Did they want Hongguo to have a bad end in her next life?"

There's an old saying that goes, "If you don't have all your organs, you won't be born with any in your next life."

Du Mingxian didn't know this, but expressed her respect, saying, "Since Hongguo works at the Ming Prince's residence, this matter is probably not so easy to investigate."

“I know, but… I still want to try. My child went out to serve others at a young age for the sake of our family. We finally had hope for a better life, but it ended up like this. How can I accept it?”

Du Mingxian didn't say anything because she didn't know how to offer advice.

“The Ming Prince’s mansion is not so easy to enter. If there is no one inside, they definitely won’t be able to find out the cause of Hongguo’s death. You’d better be prepared.”

Madam Dong smiled and said, "It's not a big problem. Hongtao from our family is also from a wealthy household, so she can always think of a solution."

Du Mingxian wasn't so optimistic, but since it was a wealthy family, there must be a way to find out the truth. She decided to go and take a look first.

She didn't ask for too much detail, fearing that Dong would be displeased and that she would alert Dong too early.

Because Dong Chengbao was ill, the two did not walk very fast on the road. That night, they found a farmer's house to stay at and Du Mingxian gave him one tael of silver.

The farmer was overjoyed and brought him food and hot water.

The bed wasn't big, so Dong said to Du Mingxian, "You and Chengbao sleep on the bed, and I'll go get some straw to sleep on the floor in a bit."

"No need, you take the child to sleep, I'll sleep in the carriage."

“That won’t do. Although a carriage can be used for sleeping, it’s not as comfortable as a bed.”

"It's okay, it's settled then, listen to me."

Seeing that Du Mingxian's attitude was firm, Madam Dong said nothing more.

After dinner, Madam Dong checked on Chengbao and found nothing seriously wrong. She then washed up and went to bed, while Du Mingxian went straight to sleep in the carriage.

The farmer's house had a courtyard, but the gate was not wide. The carriage was at the gate, and after Du Mingxian got into the carriage, she went directly into the space.

After a good night's sleep, they ate a simple breakfast at a farmer's house the next day before setting off. Dong Chengbao finally woke up after walking for a short while.

Mrs. Dong was very happy. Du Mingxian handed her a steamed bun she had bought, saying, "Let the child eat some first. There's no village or shop in sight right now. When we get to the next place, we'll find a doctor to take Chengbao's pulse again."

"Okay, thank you." Madam Dong took it and gave it to Chengbao to eat.

Chengbao had been sleeping for so long and was already hungry. When he saw the steamed buns, he grabbed them and stuffed them into his mouth without hesitation, just like he hadn't eaten for days.

Du Mingxian drove slowly, trying to find a place to stay at night and traveling during the day.

Because of their slow pace, it took them five days to reach the city gate of the prefecture.

Upon seeing the city gate, Dong was filled with excitement, exclaiming, "We've finally arrived! We've finally arrived!"

"Yes, we might have to do a check when we enter the city later."

"We don't have anything to verify."

Dong's belongings were all lost. In the city ahead, Du Mingxian bought them two sets of clothes to change into.

Dong's clothes were still women's attire, while hers were ordinary men's clothing, still short and casual.

Although the checks upon entering the city were strict, Du Mingxian slipped some silver to the city gate soldiers, so she wasn't searched. They just glanced at her briefly and let her pass.

Once inside the city, Du Mingxian asked Madam Dong, "Should we go find someone now, or find a place to stay first?"

"How about we find a big courtyard to stay in? Staying in an inn is too expensive. We might be staying in the city for a while longer."

Du Mingxian agreed, "Okay, then let's go ask the broker where there are any vacant rooms."

“No need, I know. My daughter Hongguo told me before that the north of the city is where ordinary people live, and there are empty houses there. We can rent one and stay for a while. It’s very cheap.”

"Oh, then let's go take a look at the north of the city."

Du Mingxian knew they were still in a carriage and there were many people in the city, so she didn't dare to openly and honestly put it away. She could only grit her teeth and keep going.

Sure enough, when they arrived in the north of the city, they saw quite a few people. Some courtyards had empty rooms, and there were even signs hanging on the doors. Du Mingxian didn't have high requirements for this.

"Auntie, why don't you go take a look? Rent two rooms, preferably with someone to cook."

"Okay, I'll go."

After visiting several places, they finally found a suitable one. Du Mingxian went in to take a look. It was a two-courtyard house with two rooms for living and one room that could be used as a kitchen. It had a separate entrance. The residents of the second courtyard used the back door, so it didn't affect this one.

Du Mingxian felt this was a good idea and wanted to rent it right away, but Dong Shi mentioned, "This place is slightly more expensive than the others, but it's essentially a single unit and doesn't interact with other residents."

"That's fine, I'll take this one."

Du Mingxian gave Dong a sum of money, and Dong went in and made arrangements with the other party to rent the property for two months.

With everything agreed upon, Du Mingxian and the others put their things inside, but the carriage became the problem.

"My aunt is taking Chengbao to buy some mattresses and such. I'll go and store the carriage first."

"May I?"

"Of course, it's something that can be done with a little money."

"Alright, you go ahead, I'll take Chengbao to buy things."

"Ok."

Madam Dong took Chengbao shopping, while Du Mingxian simply stood in the courtyard and stored the carriage and its compartment into her spatial storage. After all, this alley...