newbobooks Chapter 160 Another Way to Live!
Chapter 160 Another Way to Live!
Yun Mo'er sighed beside Ning He.
"Miss, you don't know, this woman is extremely clever. She has only been awake for half a day, but she is already able to take care of patients, and she is more skilled than those who have been doing it for more than ten days."
"Not only that, she can remember what herbs and their effects after hearing them only once."
"And there's that book on basic acupuncture points left by Aunt Zhou. After she looked through it, she dared to put needles on herself!"
As Yun Mo'er spoke, she grinned and showed her teeth.
Although the acupuncture needles were thin, Yun Mo'er was still afraid.
Every time she watched Zhou Wei administer acupuncture to someone, she felt numb all over and would hide to the side.
Seeing that Jiang Zao actually dared to put needles into her, Yun Mo'er was terrified.
The more Ning He listened, the more interested she became in Jiang Zao.
She walked over, and everyone dispersed to do their own thing.
When Jiang Zao saw Ning He coming over, he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Ning He.
"Jiang Zao thanks Miss Ning for saving my life!"
Ning He helped her up: "You know me?"
When I rescued Jiang Zao last night, she said she wanted to find me.
“Miss Huining, Aunt Zhou sent me to find you.”
Jiang Zao told Ning He how she met Zhou Wei and how Zhou Wei told her that she could seek help from the Princess's Mansion if she needed anything.
"Aunt Zhou said that if there is no time to go to the Princess's Mansion, she would have me come to the porridge stall in the west of the city to find Miss Ning."
Ning He nodded and pulled Jiang Zao to sit down.
"There was a curfew yesterday, what happened to you?"
Jiang trembled as she recalled what had happened the night before.
It turned out that after she agreed to Eunuch Liu's request, she knelt in the corridor for half a day.
When I got up at sunset, my knees were so swollen and red that I couldn't walk.
Having not eaten all day, Jiang Zao dared not delay. If she did not leave the palace before the gates closed, she would never be able to finish the task that Eunuch Liu had given her.
Braving the wind and snow, and starving, she walked to the east of the city and finally found the soup kitchen warehouse that Eunuch Liu had mentioned.
The warehouse was completely dark, and there wasn't a soul in sight.
After Jiang Zao pushed the door open and went in, the door behind her was locked instantly, and Eunuch Liu slowly walked out from behind, holding a candle.
Ning He frowned more and more as she listened.
“This eunuch clearly had ill intentions. You knelt all afternoon and were hungry all day. You had no strength left. How did you escape?”
Jiang Zao's voice trembled slightly: "I had a premonition that something was wrong when I came, so I carried a dagger with me."
As Jiang Zao spoke, her voice grew lower and lower. Finally, she steeled herself and knelt on the ground again.
“Miss Ning, I stabbed that eunuch Liu twice; he probably won’t survive.”
“Last night I was so frightened that after I stabbed him to death, I ran to the back door and saw a horse in the stable. My survival instinct kicked in, and fearing that he and his men would catch up with me, I stabbed the horse in the rump.”
"If it weren't for Miss Ning saving me, I would have died from the fall last night."
"But now that I've come to my senses, I realize that I stabbed Eunuch Liu to death. If I don't turn myself in, it will definitely implicate Miss Ning and Aunt Zhou."
As Jiang Zao spoke, she respectfully kowtowed three times to Ning He.
"Thank you for saving my life, Miss Ning. I will now go to the Prefect of the Capital to turn myself in."
"Please also tell Aunt Zhou that I thank her for always thinking of me; it's my fault for being so disappointing."
As Jiang Zao spoke, tears streamed down her face.
Yun Mo'er felt a little disgusted. No wonder Jiang Zao was covered in blood last night.
She initially thought it was horse blood that had gotten on Jiang Zao, but she never expected it was because Jiang Zao had stabbed Eunuch Liu.
Eunuch Liu was, after all, the head eunuch of the Imperial Kitchen, and held a certain rank.
He was stabbed to death like that; the palace will surely investigate!
It's good that Jiang is willing to turn herself in, but the problem is that she might stay at the porridge stall and refuse to leave, which would be troublesome.
It might even bring trouble to the General's Mansion!
"Miss……"
Yun Mo'er was about to advise Ning He not to meddle in other people's business, but Ning He stopped her with a look.
Ning He had heard Zhou Wei mention the name Jiang Zao before.
Zhou Wei seems to care about her a lot!
Since Zhou Wei has said several times that Jiang Zao should go to the princess's residence to find her if she needs anything, it means that Zhou Wei is willing to help Jiang Zao.
Regardless of Zhou Wei's motives, Ning He will stand by Zhou Wei's side.
What is a mere eunuch to Princess Jiang Yueli?
Moreover, this eunuch clearly harbored malicious intentions, using his position as the head eunuch to force palace maids to have sexual relations with him.
Perhaps, he has already harmed some palace maids!
Ning He asked Yun Mo'er to help Jiang Zao up: "You don't need to be so nervous, that eunuch Liu should not be dead."
"If he were dead, the streets wouldn't be so quiet today."
"This man must have been guilty of something he did wrong. He didn't dare to make a sound even though he was injured, and he slunk back to the palace."
"Now that you have left the palace, you can stay here in peace and not go back to the palace."
Is it possible to avoid returning to the palace?
The overwhelming surprise left Jiang Zao stunned, unable to recover for a long time.
From the moment she entered the palace, she knew she would never be free again. Unless she reached a certain age and was released, she would be confined within the red walls and green tiles forever.
She was desperate to improve herself, hoping to have a better life in the palace.
Once you've endured enough to leave the palace, you'll have finally made it through!
She thought she was going to die, but unexpectedly, her life took a turn for the better.
"But Miss Ning, if I don't go back, won't I become a runaway slave?"
"How could that be?" Ning He laughed. "Aunt Zhou will step in. If Aunt Zhou steps in, then the Princess's residence will step in. Does the Princess really need to go to such lengths to get a palace maid?"
"Besides, even if the Eldest Princess doesn't show up, does it mean that my General's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion have no influence in the palace?"
Jiang Zao looked at Ning He with bright, sparkling eyes.
She always knew that there was a world of difference between her and people like Xiao Yuanzhe, who were from the lower class, and those who were powerful.
But when she actually witnessed the actions of a noblewoman like Ning He, she realized that her thinking was still too conservative.
Jiang Zao felt no jealousy whatsoever; all she felt was gratitude towards Ning He.
Ning He's heroic posture last night, when he reined in his horse, deeply impressed her.
Jiang Zao had never seen such a free-spirited woman, living so unrestrainedly and flamboyantly!
Especially after waking up in the morning and seeing the situation in the porridge stall, Jiang Zao admired Ning He even more!
At this point, Ning He could have stayed out of it.
Given her status, even a snowstorm in the capital wouldn't affect her life of luxury.
But Ning He chose to do everything in her power to help the people!
Jiang Zao saw another way of life for women in Ning He.
This way of life is something Jiang Zao longs for and yearns for!
Seeing Jiang Zao in a daze, Ning He smiled gently.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to stay at the soup kitchen and help me? There's a lot going on at the soup kitchen, the work is heavy, and I also have to take care of patients. It's very hard work..."
Before Ning He could finish speaking, Jiang Zao said urgently, "I'm willing! Miss Ning, I'm very willing."
“This place is excellent, a million times better than the palace. I’m willing to stay here and help Miss Ning with her work, but I’m afraid of causing her any trouble.”
Ning He nodded, looking at Jiang Zao with a sigh in her heart.
Although she came from a noble family, she understood Jiang Zao.
Because of her time helping women and children, Ning He witnessed the suffering of humanity.
Jiang Zao is a microcosm of the countless women in the Great Zhou Dynasty!
Even though Zhou Wei had told Jiang Zao several times that he couldn't bear it any longer and went to the princess's residence to find her.
But Jiang Zao still didn't go, because she felt she could endure it.
It was just being mistreated in the palace and having to do more work; for a woman of Jiang Zao's background, this was something she could endure.
As long as you are alive, there is still hope!
Besides, she has no relation to Zhou Wei, so what right does she have to ask Zhou Wei for help?
Jiang Zao would rather save more money to give to others than trouble Zhou Wei.
Some say this is the useless pride of the poor, but Ning He thinks it is the cautiousness of the lower class.
They were afraid of causing trouble for others!
If Jiang Zao hadn't faced this life-or-death crisis, she wouldn't have come to Ning He for help.
Ning He also noticed from Jiang Zao's newspaper that she was publishing it for a specific audience.
“How could you be a nuisance? You are literate and intelligent. I will need many female tea masters in the future to read newspapers to illiterate women. You can teach these people to read.”
"Not only that, you can also easily learn to identify the principles of acupuncture and the properties of herbs. Zhou Weiruo will be overjoyed if she knew you had this ability. She's just worried that no one can learn her acupuncture technique!"