Chapter 13: The Goal of Lord Zu

  "Madam, you can't let the yamen people take Rong'er away!" As soon as Madam heard this, she hastily spoke up: "A girl who has been taken away by an official due to a case will be difficult to marry off to a good husband in the future. The other sisters in the mansion might also be affected by this."

  "Madam, don't worry, the matter of Liu Rong following us back to the mansion will only be known by the people in this house. I will strictly control my subordinates and absolutely not let this matter leak out." Zuo Daren quickly said, directly cutting off the old lady's hesitation.

  Liu Dainai saw Zuo Daren call Zhongshi as Madam, her face turned black, and the previous schadenfreude was completely lost: "Zhong Yiniang, is this a place for you to intervene? The main lady has already made up her mind, can't the main lady be more reasonable than you?"

  "Haven't you gone home yet? Have you forgotten your previous punishment?"

  "All right, don't say another word!" The old lady frowned and shouted loudly. Liu Dà Niáng immediately stopped talking and stood obediently to one side.

  Liu Rong couldn't help but glance at Liu Dainai, in such a situation, the two madams didn't want to make more trouble for the sake of the Wen Dinghou Mansion's reputation. This woman was so agitated over someone else's mistaken address, she really couldn't understand the old madam's vision and thoughts. Could it be that she truly intended to let this woman bring disaster to their family after her own death?

  However, Liu Dainai's personality has one good point - at least the bad is on the surface. At least when Zuo came to arrest her, it should have nothing to do with the other party. Not to say that she didn't have the talent to unite with the people in the imperial court, but even if she did, it could be seen from her face.

  As she thought of this, Liu Rong couldn't help but glance at the others, wanting to see if this matter had anything to do with them. Just then, the voice of the madam sounded again.

  "Since Master Zuo has made a decision, let's end this quickly. Rong Jie, you go back with Master Zuo now to understand the situation."

  "Thank you, Madam!" Left Gentleman said to the madam, then quickly gave a signal with his eyes to the two people behind him, telling them to take Liu Rong away.

  Zhong tightly clenched his fists, wanting to stop it.

  Liu Rong reached out and grasped Zhong Shi's hand, raising a reassuring smile: "Mother, don't worry, I'm just cooperating with Lord Zuo for now. This matter clearly has nothing to do with me, I won't be in trouble."

  Zhong Shi gazed intently at Liu Rong, wanting to say something, but didn't utter a single word, his expression seemingly heavier than usual.

  "Mother, your eyebrows are so furrowed that you could pinch a fly to death. Just wait calmly for your daughter to return safe and sound." Yulian said, not waiting for the two officials to approach, she proactively walked towards the two officials standing behind Lord Zuo.

  Zuo Daren looked at Liu Rong's gaze with a flicker of light, and finally nodded apologetically to Tai Furen, Da Furen, and Zhong Shi before turning around and leaving.

  As soon as the group of people left the main house, Lord Left's speed suddenly quickened, and the footsteps of the officials behind him also accelerated. Liu Rong was unable to keep up with their pace for a while, and in the end, she was almost carried forward by two people.

  Normally it would take a stick of incense time to walk this distance, but this time they hadn't even used half a stick when the few people had already exited from the small back door of the Wending Marquis's estate.

  A simply decorated carriage was already waiting outside. A coachman sat beside the carriage, occasionally swinging his whip and listlessly waiting for several people.

  "Take Miss Liu onto the carriage."

  Zuo Daren spoke to the official and paused for a moment, as if thinking of something, then suddenly turned to Liu Rong and said: "I'm sorry, Miss Liu."

  Before Liu Rong could react, Official Zuo gave a signal to the older official, who nodded and covered Liu Rong's eyes with a black cloth. He was then lifted up and stuffed into a horse carriage.

  "I'll give you directions, hurry up and drive!"

  It is also unknown whether the car husband was surprised by this scene, and then heard Zuo Daren's rapid instructions again.

  The carriage began to move forward with a slight shake, the frequency of the horse's hooves also getting faster and faster, and Liu Rong felt a bit unsteady in her seat.

  The two officers initially held down Liu Rong with one hand each, but seeing that she was unexpectedly calm, they let go and stopped paying attention to her.

  Liu Rong felt that the two of them had relaxed their control over her and were doing nothing but sitting there quietly.

  If a few people really have problems with her, it's too late to do anything about it now, so it's better to quietly think about what's going on.

  Thinking so, Liu Rong's expression on her face became even more calm. In the end, both officials couldn't help but be amazed, after all, a young girl of just over ten years old, encountering such an event, was able to remain so composed.

  It was unknown how long it took for the carriage to stop, and Liu Rong was supported down from the vehicle, quietly following a few people along the way.

  As she guessed, they had entered a courtyard, for after just a few steps, they were reminded of a threshold. As the walking time lengthened, it was Liu Rong's turn to be surprised, the mansion this group brought her to was not small at all, and with their walking time, it could even rival the Wen Dinghou Mansion.

  As a result, she became even more puzzled about what this group of people wanted to do.

  "Just wait here." Suddenly, Mr. Zuo's voice rang out.

  Before she could continue to guess where she was being taken, she was handed over to another pair of hands. The thumbs and palms of those hands had calluses, which were even coarser than the official's hands before.

  Liu Rong couldn't help but be surprised.

  As soon as they entered the room, Mr. Zuo took over and led her forward. The temperature around them suddenly warmed up a bit, but Mr. Zuo walked for a long time without stopping.

  Just as she thought it would never stop, Mr. Zuo suddenly stopped and let go of her hand.

  Liu Rong seemed to hear something moving and was pulled forward again, this continued for about a minute before stopping once more.

  This time she didn't just stop, but also had the black cloth removed from her eyes.

  Liu Rong raised her eyes and looked around. This was a delicately decorated room. When her gaze swept to the center, Liu Rong couldn't help but pause in surprise.

  In the center of the room, a man was lying down, his shoulder heavily injured, with a large knife wound that had cut across half of his body. And on his right chest, an arrowhead was still stuck in place.

  It can be seen that the arrow has been processed, and the wooden body on the arrowhead has been removed, so as not to hurt this man accidentally.

  The wound on his body was sprinkled with hemostatic medicine, but the wound was too long and the effect was not very good.

  An older man was standing by the bed, his back to them, working hard to treat the man. The situation didn't seem very good, as evidenced by the beads of sweat on the old man's face, which she could see even from a distance, having just entered the room.

  Seeing this scene, Liu Rong calmed down and stopped worrying.

  When Zuo Daren removed the black cloth from Liu Rong's eyes, he thought he would see a pair of frightened and disheveled eyes. However, what he saw was actually a calm gaze, like a vast ocean.

  Zuo Daren couldn't help but pause for a moment: "Aren't you afraid?"

  Liu Rong furrowed her brow and raised her head, a hint of puzzlement in her eyes: "Afraid? Afraid of what?"

  "We brought you here with this method, don't you worry that we are bandits in disguise, and will take you away to plot against the Wen Ding Hou Fu?" The left official couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

  Liu Rong couldn't help but laugh at Zuo Daren's question: "There are actually people who claim to be bandits, but does Lord Zuo think that the Wendinghou Fu is so incompetent that they can't even tell the difference between a real Tianfu lord and a bandit?"

  The left adult surprisingly nodded like a well-behaved baby.

  "Pfft!" Liu Rong couldn't help but laugh out loud, however her smile gradually diminished. Although the Wending Hou Fu was indeed nothing special, in front of outsiders, she was after all a member of the Wending Hou Fu and had to maintain its reputation.

  Liu Rong's expression turned serious: "When Lord Zuo entered the main house, he didn't introduce himself at all, but Great Grandmother and Grandmother were able to address you as Lord Zuo in one breath. This shows that you've met before. Since you've met before, how could it be fake?"

  She said, "Moreover, if they really wanted to threaten the Hou Mansion, they wouldn't have caught me, a useless and neglected eldest daughter of the family." The last sentence was spoken with a hint of self-mockery.

  Zuo Daren fell silent for a moment before speaking again: "I didn't expect the men of Wending Houfu to be so unimpressive, but their daughter is taught to be so observant and insightful."

  "Then guess again, why I brought you here?"

  "Mr. Zuo, are you insulting your own intelligence or underestimating mine?" Liu Rong raised an eyebrow: "With such a serious injury in the house, bringing me here in a semi-coerced manner, is it not to save someone?"

  "But that's all well and good, you can explain why you knew I didn't harm Erniang but still chose to offend my great-grandmother by bringing me back to the yamen." Liu Rong looked at Zuo Daren.

  Zuo Daren raised an eyebrow "Oh?"

  "You're sure I'm persisting in bringing you here for this matter? You're not old, what makes you so confident. Although you saved the second grandma, it doesn't mean your medical skills are that good."

  Liu Rong smiled slightly: "I think Lord Zuo must have learned from the little servant who reported the case that I was the one who delivered the second lady, and not only did she not die, but both mother and child were safe."

  The left gentleman's expression was surprised, but his face showed satisfaction: "I now somewhat believe that you may be able to save my friend."

  Liu Rong frowned, this person's words were completely unceremonious, and his previous attitude towards the Liu Manor was also unabashedly bad.

  For her, there must be a better way to take her out of the Liu Mansion, but the other party didn't use it, and instead used this method that stirred up such a big commotion to bring her out, completely disregarding what impact this matter might have on her.

  This is a superior habit that has completely forgotten to consider others' situations, absolutely selfish and self-beneficial, disregarding others' emotions.

  Liu Rong dislikes people like this.

  Zuo Daren, however, didn't care whether Liu Rong liked it or hated it and continued to speak: "Then please, Miss Liu, save my friend!"

  "Is Lord Left being too naive? What makes you think I'll lend a hand? Not to mention whether or not I really have the ability to save this person in front of me, but with the way you brought me out here, are you certain I'll do my best?"

  Liu Rong raised an eyebrow, her eyes cold and detached. However, the corners of her eyes swept over the old doctor who was still treating the injured man, whose condition was stable for now, but if he didn't get his wounds stitched up soon, he would either die from his injuries or bleed to death.

  Zuo's expression finally changed: "I take back what I said earlier. Although the daughter of the Wendinghou Mansion is teachable, she can't escape the annoying family style of the Wendinghou Mansion."

  "Tell me, what do you want me to do in order to save this person?"

  Seeing the left gentleman not only failing to recognize his own mistakes, but also continuing this attitude, Liu Rong couldn't help but feel even more disgusted. Originally intending to refuse outright, she changed her mind upon seeing the disdain in his eyes: "I haven't thought of the conditions yet, but regardless of whether I can save this person or not, you must agree to my three conditions!"

  "If you promise me, I'll try my best; otherwise, I'll still save this person, but as for how to save him, I don't know," said Liu Rong calmly.

  Zuo's face turned ugly, and he didn't directly answer Liu Rong. Instead, he turned his head to look at the old doctor: "Doctor Chen, how is his condition? Can he be saved?"

  "I'm really unsure... I fear that before I can even pull out this arrowhead, perhaps..." The old doctor shook his head upon hearing Lord Zuo's question.

  But seeing Liu Rong's young face, he couldn't help but speak again with a look of urgency: "Even so, I'm more reliable than this little yellow-haired kid. The adult's injury is critical and absolutely cannot be treated like this."

  "Let this yellow-haired girl treat the illness, I'm afraid before she can even start treating it, the master will..."

  Zuo's eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't respond to the old man's words. Instead, he turned his head and gave Liu Rong a deep, piercing stare: "I want you to do your best to save him. If not, I won't mind being a villain and exposing the fact that you were brought to the yamen!"

  "If the patient keeps bleeding like this, maybe there's no need to save him!"

  Liu Rong spoke slowly and calmly, she didn't care whether she could marry a so-called good husband or not. She wasn't concerned about it even now that she was only eleven, and even when the girls here reached the age of marriage, she still wouldn't care.

  What kind of woman would expect to find a good husband in a world where men have three wives and four concubines, isn't that a joke?

  What she cared about was... Liu Rong's eyes glanced at the patient again... the meaning of her own existence!

  "Alright! I'll agree to it, hurry up and treat me!" Lord Zuo's face turned iron-green, this was the first time in his life he had been so thoroughly defeated, and at the hands of a young girl no less.

  "Hurry up and get me a needle and thread, or it will be too late." As soon as she got Lord Zu's response, Liu Rong's expression immediately turned serious, and she ordered him.

  Seeing Mr. Zuo nodding, Liu Rong hesitated for a moment before speaking again: "In addition to needles and threads, I also need you to find me an embroiderer who is brave and reliable."

  After finishing speaking, Liu Rong walked towards the man who was lying in the center and had been seriously injured.

  What does saving lives and embroidery have in common? This girl can't be a swindler, can she?!

  Zuo Daren and Lao Daifu couldn't help but look at each other in dismay, both seeing thick distrust and worry in the other's eyes.