Jiang Sheng turned her head in confusion, only to see a young man who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old. He was dressed in a light gray robe and had a gentle temperament like jade, yet also seemed rather silly and honest.
His features were quite handsome, and should have given him a graceful and elegant beauty, but because of the honest simplicity in his eyes, he looked unrefined instead.
Especially paired with his current bewildered and gentle voice, he looked just like a muddleheaded, earnest nice guy.
In Jiang Sheng's experience, she could always get meals from this kind of person who looked silly and kindhearted, and she especially liked these seemingly foolish and benevolent uncles and elders. She felt sincere gratitude towards them from the bottom of her heart.
But this was Fengjing!
As an overly bright and colorful city, the criteria for survival here, apart from being rich, also required shrewdness and sharpness.
Ordinary honest people would have long been swallowed up or fled back awkwardly to their hometowns.
Moreover, while the youth before her looked simple, his clothes were clearly valuable, and he had two steady servants behind him, seeming to have some family background.
Jiang Sheng had been in Fengjing for several years and had seen the silliest young masters from prominent families, namely the two Jiang Family brothers, but even they were much more composed and keen than the young man before her now.
Anything out of the ordinary definitely hid sinister intentions, and adding the car crash from earlier, who wouldn't be a bit more vigilant.
Jiang Sheng looked at Jiang San.
Jiang San immediately stepped forward and politely said, "Thank you for your kindness, my lord, but we will not trouble you further."
The young man looked somewhat disappointed but did not persist, simply cupping his hands and leaving.
He really did seem to be just a passerby who drew his sword in the name of justice.
Jiang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could speak, the man who had been lying on the ground this whole time stirred.
Because of this sudden interruption, everyone had ignored the culprit who had crashed into them. They had subconsciously assumed he wouldn't be able to move after crashing to the ground.
But in reality, not only could he move, he even nimbly drew out his sword and charged straight at Jiang Sheng.
Jiang San and Jiang Si turned pale with fright, while He Rui was so scared he used both his hands and feet.
They rushed over, trying to block the blade and push back the attacker, shouting hoarsely, "Miss, hurry and take cover!"
But they were still no match for the sinister dagger.
The pitch-black long blade moved at a speed beyond normal humans, chopping down ferociously at Jiang Sheng's face. Even having gone through all sorts of things big and small, Jiang Sheng was still so frightened that her pupils contracted sharply, while her limbs turned numb.
An intense feeling of fear welled up in her heart. She suddenly felt a little afraid.
Not afraid of encountering danger when going out, but worried that if something happened to her, her eldest brother would blame himself, her grandmother would grieve, her father would be devastated, and her brothers would also become depressed.
Yet going out was her own choice. She didn't want anyone to feel guilty or sad because of this.
It was just regretful that her second brother had brought lamb but she didn't get to eat any yet.
These thoughts seemed lengthy but actually only took a fleeting instant. An enormous will to survive made Jiang Sheng curl up her body and use an almost tumbling motion to try dodging.
But as if having eyes of its own, the sharp blade stabbed right at her chest and abdomen.
Jiang Sheng completely despaired, trembling as she awaited the pain.
Until the world turned silent, the expected feeling still didn't arrive. She cautiously opened her eyes to see the gray-robed young man from earlier standing in front of her. The blade had pierced through his chest, soaking his clothes in blood.
In the distance, Jiang San, Jiang Si, and the two servants had jointly stopped the assailant, while He Rui knelt to the side, his sweat-drenched face still filled with lingering fear and relief.
"Don't be scared ..." The young man said with difficulty, then looked towards the man on the ground, "Spare his life for interrogation."
Jiang San was most vigilant and immediately dragged the assailant over, not letting anyone else make contact.
The two servants seemed to have just reacted. They rushed over to the young man and knelt down on one knee, "Young master, we have failed in protecting you."
The young man waved his hand and they immediately helped support him as he walked away, leaving just like that...
At this moment, Jiang Sheng thought of many things.
She thought of the sudden crash, the silly young man who was too honest for his own good, the sudden assassination attempt, and the blood blossoming from his chest.
This young man in gray was very suspicious indeed, but he had undoubtedly saved Jiang Sheng without killing anyone or asking for anything in return.
In any case, his injuries were real.
Seeing his faltering steps, then looking around at only one carriage left, Jiang Sheng opened her mouth, on the verge of saying something out of ethical concern, when the bleating unique to lambs sounded by her ear.
Her eyes instantly lit up with delight.
Her second brother had returned!
Jiang Sheng happily rushed forward.
"Second brother! Second brother! Second brother!"
"Little sister! Little sister! Little sister!" Zheng Ruqian's expression was as if he had seen a ghost.
Behind him, Wang Xiaosong sighed emotionally, "They really have a deep sibling bond. Young Master and the young lady's relationship is wonderful indeed."
The workers behind all nodded in agreement while Jiang San and Jiang Si wiped tears from their eyes. Even He Rui had a moved expression.
Only Zheng Ruqian bared his teeth, yelling, "Go away! These are donkey carts. Donkeys don't listen to orders like horses. Go away..."
Jiang Sheng glared at him before dodging to the side. The donkey cart lumbered forward a few more steps before finally coming to a stop.
Zheng Ruqian heaved a long sigh of relief and limply slid to the ground.
"Second brother—" The little girl sticky came over again.
He glared at her, just about to rebuke her, when Jiang Sheng aggrievedly said, "Someone wanted to harm me."
"What?" Zheng Ruqian became anxious, his previous irritation thrown to the back of his mind, "Which bastard dared harm my little sister? I'll stuff sheep dung down his throat and use his face to wipe the lambs' butts. I'll stuff the smelliest lamb wool in his mouth!"
It was clear these would count as human torture.
Jiang Sheng almost laughed out loud from imagining snot bubbles. "That person has already been captured. But a young nobleman saved me and was injured. I was just worrying what to do when you came back, Second Brother."
"What's there to worry about? Just send him to a medicine hall," Zheng Ruqian had always been politically insensitive.
Jiang Sheng said solemnly, "It seems he doesn't have a carriage and one of ours broke, so there's only one carriage left. I'm imposing on Second Brother to help send him to a medicine hall for treatment and to get him the best medicine and supplements."
The Dayu Dynasty was hardly harsh between men and women, but it was still inappropriate for non-relatives to share a carriage.
Zheng Ruqian finally understood the issue. He thumped his chest and guaranteed, "Leave it to me!"
Having said so, he drove the sole remaining carriage to catch up, calling out, "My lord, please get on. I will take you to a medicine hall."
Under the blazing sun and refreshing breeze, the plain gray-robed youth could not compare to the wealthy and noble, but he was still clean and tidy. Now facing the filthy and grimy Zheng Ruqian who reeked from head to toe of lamb, he almost couldn't help fainting.
