“She got separated,” Madam Wang said while wiping her tears. “We’d just turned around that mountain when suddenly many vagrants rushed out from both sides. They came up and just stole things. If they couldn’t steal, they killed people. The ox pulling your grandfather’s coffin got frightened and the cart crashed into the field ridge and overturned.”

“Your uncle has such a cruel heart—he actually turned a blind eye. I couldn’t abandon your grandfather, so I had people try to lift it. But the servants were also scared out of their wits. As soon as your uncle called from his side, they all ran over to protect the second household and fled. Our carriage also accidentally overturned when going down the ridge.”

Madam Wang said with hatred, “Qinggu ran to chase your uncle, blocking his carriage to beg him to save us. Your uncle said something about life and death being heaven’s will, then had people push her aside and fled. After that it was all chaos. The rebel troops charged over, and in the blink of an eye Qinggu disappeared. Sanniang, I won’t allow you to be close with the second household anymore. I’ll remember this grudge forever. If you’re still good to them, then you’re not my daughter.”

Zhao Hanzhang agreed repeatedly, anxiously looking around.

Fu Tinghan then called the retainers to search together. They turned over all the corpses and wounded people in this area but couldn’t find anyone.

Zhao Hanzhang felt both relieved and anxious. “Not finding her is also good news. Let’s go forward. Perhaps she was swept along forward.”

Zhao Ju also said, “Sanniang, another group of people is coming from over there. They seem to be vagrant army too. Let’s hurry and leave.”

Everyone turned the ox cart upright and made slight repairs before hitching up the ox and loading the coffin onto it.

The carriage’s entire wheel was broken beyond repair. Zhao Hanzhang helped Madam Wang onto the horse, having Fu Tinghan take Zhao Erlang on horseback.

The group set out, wanting to avoid the vagrant army still approaching. Seeing this, the commoners didn’t care about their grief—they wiped away their tears and pulled their relatives along to follow.

Following Zhao Hanzhang’s group, they still had a chance to live. Falling behind meant either joining the vagrant army or being killed.

The group had only walked a short distance when they saw one person staggering toward them in the opposite direction. Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes were sharp—she recognized her from afar and was overjoyed. “It’s Qinggu!”

Qinggu also spotted Zhao Hanzhang riding at the very front at a glance. Unable to help herself, she began crying and laughing at the same time, limping toward them.

Zhao Hanzhang kicked her horse’s belly to meet her. Just as she was about to jump down to receive her, Madam Wang had already slid down from the horse first and embraced Qinggu. The two held each other and cried loudly.

Qinggu saw Madam Wang covered in blood and couldn’t help touching her all over. “Madam, where are you injured?”

Madam Wang rolled up her sleeve to expose the bruises on her wrist. “Look, those rough men wanted to grab me and bruised me terribly.”

Qinggu felt heartbroken. “We have ointment in our luggage. When we rest later, this servant will fetch it to rub it away for you. Tomorrow it will be better.”

Madam Wang also looked at her worriedly. Seeing her covered in mud with torn clothes, she quickly asked, “How did you end up like this?”

Qinggu’s tears fell. “The Heir is useless. I went to beg the First Madam, wanting to ask her to come back and save you and Erlang. But their carriages and horses were too fast, and with rebel troops pursuing, I was pushed into a ditch and sprained my ankle. It took me a while to climb out.”

After climbing out and looking around, people had all run far away. Even the rebel troops had disappeared. Worried about Madam Wang, she limped back.

She’d already prepared herself mentally never to return. Seeing that Zhao Hanzhang had not only rescued Madam Wang but also brought back so many strong men, she was overjoyed. She said quietly to Zhao Hanzhang, “Sanniang, are we going to chase the Heir? Can these retainers still be ours?”

She hinted, “We might as well just turn and go to Runan instead.”

Zhao Hanzhang looked at her approvingly and said quietly, “That’s exactly what I’m planning.”

But she didn’t know what the current situation outside was like. If there were too many rebel troops, they couldn’t wander around outside. So they still needed information.

Zhao Hanzhang pondered—how could they obtain information while also managing to lead all these retainers to Runan?

As the sky gradually darkened, Zhao Hanzhang’s group caught up with people ahead. She scanned the area and pointed to a relatively empty space. “Stop and make camp. We’ll rest here tonight. Uncle Qianli, go forward and search to see if you can find Uncle and the others.”

Zhao Ju agreed and took two men to search along the road.

It was nearly dark. On both sides of the road, refugees sat or collapsed everywhere in the fields. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang’s group had horses and swords, they all rose and moved farther away.

Zhao Ju led his men searching far ahead but couldn’t find Zhao Ji. However, he did bring back Old Master Chen and one of his daughters. The father and daughter had only one servant following them. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang, he delightedly pulled his daughter forward and bowed repeatedly. “Worthy niece, you’ve finally returned. I knew you had heaven’s protection and nothing would happen to you. As expected, you’ve returned safely.”

Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow slightly and returned the courtesy. “I’m grateful for Uncle’s concern.”

She glanced at the young girl beside him, looking hesitant. “How did Uncle and younger sister end up falling behind? Where are elder cousin and aunt? Have you seen my uncle?”

She looked worried. “I wonder if they’re still safe.”

“Worthy niece, rest assured. They’re running ahead, safer than us. If they’re fast, they should have caught up with the main army by now.”

Zhao Hanzhang breathed a great sigh of relief. “That’s good, that’s good.”

Old Master Chen’s gaze swept over the strong retainers around her, his eyes full of envy. “I won’t hide it from you, worthy niece—my daughter and I got separated from our family, which is why we fell behind. Now that it’s dark, we can only wait until tomorrow to set out again. Though it’s awkward to ask, I must presume upon our relationship—I wonder if tomorrow, worthy niece, you might give us passage?”

Fearing Zhao Hanzhang would refuse, he quickly added, “Worthy niece, rest assured—my daughter and I are in good health and our walking speed isn’t slow. We can keep up with your pace.”

“Uncle, what are you saying? Our two families have been neighbors for many years with excellent relations. How could I take a lifesaving matter lightly? Rest assured, I’ll definitely have people escort you to the main army.”

Old Master Chen was stunned and asked, “What? Worthy niece, you’re not going?”

Zhao Hanzhang sighed and looked back at the coffin stopped not far away. “Uncle knows my grandfather left a dying wish to have his soul return to his homeland. Having already suffered misfortune on his seventh day is extremely unlucky. How could I then disregard his dying wish? So I’ve decided to escort his coffin home and let Grandfather rest in peace.”

After one day of interaction, Old Master Chen already knew she was an extremely courageous young lady. Yet he still hadn’t expected her to have such boldness while also being extremely filial. After thinking it over, he still offered a reminder. “Then you must be careful and try to avoid Yingchuan. I heard from people that last year Yingchuan had a snow disaster, and after spring arrived this year it hasn’t rained since. So refugees are everywhere. Many have become bandits, following the vagrant army to survive. If you’re going to Runan, turn off ahead and circle around from above Yingchuan.”

This was something Zhao Hanzhang didn’t know. She quickly asked, “Besides the vagrant army, I wonder if the Xiongnu will pursue southward?”

The vagrant army could be circumvented, and they could even abandon wealth to preserve life. But encountering a Xiongnu army would be complete disaster.