Arc 3 – Chapter 176, The Vicious Princess Wants to Reverse Fate (70)

The old man, stroking his beard, took the jade pendant from the old woman's hand. "She's covered in knife wounds, sword wounds, hidden weapon injuries. Her organs have been internally damaged. It's clear she has been through a brutal fight. But it's unknown whether she was attacked alone or was part of a group that was ambushed," he said.

"As long as she doesn't pose a threat to our young master, we didn't save the wrong person!" The old woman took the jade pendant back, her eyes teary as she gazed at the familiar object. "This was our young lady's personal item and the Shangguan family heirloom. Before she died, the young lady instructed me to return the pendant to the manor. It was then passed to the young master by the old manor master. Seeing it again brings me joy. At least it proves our young master is still alive, right?" She looked expectantly at her husband.

"Yes, our young master must still be alive!" The old man firmly replied, "He won't let anything happen to himself before he avenges his mother and the old manor master. The people who have received favours from the old manor master will also help the young master!"

"It's all my fault. That hypocritical woman wouldn't have succeeded if I had been more vigilant back then. The young master wouldn't have lost his mother right after birth. And if we had been more careful, we wouldn't have let that woman exploit us. She sold or killed everyone around the lady, leaving only the young master, who was still a child, in that ruthless place!" As the old woman spoke, she started to cry. The old man stood up, walked over to her, and helplessly patted her shoulder. "It's not your fault. It's just that those people were too greedy and unpredictable. Even the old manor master was fooled. If that woman deceived you, it's only because we were too trusting. One day, they will..." He trailed off, his eyes filled with anger and regret.

"Alright, alright... let's not talk about it anymore. I believe that one day, the young master will avenge his mother and the old manor master!" The old woman wiped her tears and looked up at her husband.

The old man gave a helpless smile. Seeing the old woman wipe away her tears and reach for the bowl on the table, he quickly stood up, "The porridge has gotten cold. I'll heat it. We can warm it and have it when the girl wakes up."

"You are just projecting!" The old man teased.

"Off you go! What are you talking about? This girl is beautiful. She and our young master make a perfect pair. Moreover, the young master gave her the jade pendant. Maybe, in the future, our little young master will be born from this girl's womb, ensuring the continuation of the Shangguan family!" The old woman's exaggerations left the man, who was preparing to smoke by the table, stunned.

"Old woman, aren't you thinking too far ahead?"

"You're not allowed to smoke here. Go to the yard. The girl is weak. We can't let your choking smoke harm her..." The old woman saw the man preparing to smoke by the table, quickly picked up the porridge, walked over to the old man, and kicked his stool. Her protective demeanour made the old man smile warmly.

"Alright, alright! The girl's health is the most important thing now. I'll go out, I'll go out..." The old man knocked the pipe on the corner of the table before standing up to leave.

"But, old man, should we tell the girl about the young master when she wakes up?" The old woman returned the jade pendant with Zhou Min's pendant, picked up the porridge, and followed the old man out of the room.

The old man paused, looking back at Zhou Min with a slight frown. "We can't tell her now. Once she's recovered, we should let her leave immediately. Those secretly searching for us over the years have not stopped. I saw some familiar figures when I went to the market. It seems we have to move again!"

"They've found us already? They're like lingering spirits!" The old woman exclaimed, her eyebrows furrowing in a stern expression.

"That man has been guessing for years who has the object. After all, we old people have always been by the old manor master's side. They may guess that the old manor master gave the object to us for safekeeping on his deathbed, and then we went to find the young master. But they can't guess that the old manor master had already made arrangements..."

The old man sat on the grinding mill with his pipe. His laugh was filled with sarcasm and coldness. He didn't feel like a common peasant but exuded a recluse's aura.

"But the girl can't recover completely in a short time..." The old woman said with some difficulty.

"So, for a while, we must not show up. We'll delay as long as we can..."

"Can't we take the girl with us?" The old woman looked in the direction of the room, her eyes filled with expectation as she looked at her husband.

"Taking her with us is not in her best interest. On the contrary, it would bring her disaster. Only by staying away from us can she have a chance to escape from those people's trap!" The old man sighed.

The old woman knew this all too well. They had spent their lives hiding and living cautiously wherever they went, never daring to stay too long for fear of being found by those people.

It wasn't that they were afraid of death, but they had something that the old manor master had given them to pass on to the young master before he died. But the incident happened too fast. They had returned to that place, only to find out that the young master had left on his own. At that time, they almost went insane, especially since the young master was so young.

They didn't dare to think about whether the young master was still alive in this world. Until one day, a divine physician named Shangguan Qi appeared out of nowhere. They knew then that he was the young master because the surname Shangguan was a symbol!

It belonged to the Shangguan family. Only the people of the Shangguan family dared to use this name. After all, the surname Shangguan carried too much weight. Ordinary people couldn't handle it; more importantly, too many people were watching. This name was synonymous with trouble.