Mo Jiuye was in a hurry on the road. Seeing them come back, he prepared to set off again.
After leaving the city gate, He Zhiran saw the five tall figures standing by the roadside from afar.
Liang Hao and the others had already changed into ordinary people's outfits. Seeing Mo Jiuye, they nodded to him.
Then they pretended to be passersby and followed the exile team from afar.
The team kept walking along the official road. When they passed a village, suddenly a person rushed out from the roadside, stumbling towards the team.
The person was an old woman, holding a package in her arms. Seeing people coming, she shouted loudly: "Help...robbery!"
Peng Wang saw this and waved to signal the team to stop, then looked towards the old woman.
The old woman had white hair. Her silk clothes could no longer be seen the original color, and her eyes were full of panic.
At the same time, several burly men chased her from behind.
Seeing the people chasing her getting closer and closer, Fe Mama was so scared that she hurried to hide behind Peng Wang.
"I can give you silver, please save me."
Peng Wang didn't intend to meddle at first. Hearing that he could get silver by saving people, he was moved.
So, when those burly men were about to get close to the old woman, he stopped them with his men.
"Broad daylight, are you tired of living? How dare you commit robbery!"
Those burly men looked sly. It was obvious they were not good people.
If they met ordinary passersby, they could easily scare people off and no one would dare to meddle.
But the people in front of them were different. They were all dressed as officers, which made the burly men instinctively deterred.
However, thinking of the package held by the old woman, they were still reluctant to leave just like that.
The leader of the burly men grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"My Lord, this old woman is a servant of my family who took away the family property and wanted to escape. We are here to retrieve what belongs to our family."
Before his voice fell, the old woman retorted: "My Lord, don't listen to his nonsense. I don't know him at all. How could I have taken away their family property?
Besides, look at his outfit. Does he look like someone from a rich family? His family couldn't even afford servants."
While the old woman was talking, the gossipy He Zhiran also pulled Mo Jiuye over to watch the excitement.
Unexpectedly, Mo Jiuye recognized the old woman at first glance.
Considering there were many onlookers here, he did not call out her name.
Having met an acquaintance, he would certainly not stand idly by, especially since this person had a special identity.
Therefore, before Peng Wang could speak, Mo Jiuye went to the burly men and said, "I advise you to give up your wicked ideas. Go back where you came from, lest you suffer."
Hearing the familiar voice, Fe Mama grabbed the package tighter, intending to slip away.
He Zhiran also noticed Mo Jiuye's abnormal behavior. He was not the kind of person who liked to meddle. There must be hidden reasons why he stood up for the old woman.
Therefore, after Mo Jiuye left, she kept an eye on the old woman.
Seeing her attempt to sneak away, He Zhiran stepped forward to stop her and whispered:
"You can't leave yet."
Through the previous voice, Fe Mama confirmed that the one who helped her was Mo Jiuye. She suddenly felt guilty and wanted to take the chance to escape from here.
Unexpectedly, she was stopped by a beautiful woman she didn't know.
In this situation, she couldn’t get away anyway.
Fe Mama had to stand in her original position.
He Zhiran's eyes were still staring at her to prevent her from escaping.
On Mo Jiuye's side, as soon as his words fell, Peng Wang and several officers cooperated to reveal their whips.
Seeing this, the burly men turned around and fled.
Mo Jiuye saw the men run away. He turned around and said to Peng Wang: "Brother Peng, this old lady is an acquaintance of mine. I want to have a private chat with her."
Peng Wang did not doubt him. Judging by Mo Jiuye's meddling attitude just now, he guessed what's going on.
"Okay, chat while walking."
Mo Jiuye thanked Peng Wang and took Fe Mama with He Zhiran to one side of the team.
Fe Mama had evasive eyes and dared not look Mo Jiuye straight in the eye.
Not until they were some distance away from the exile team did Mo Jiuye ask, "Why did Fe Mama appear here?"
Fe Mama tried her best to control her emotions and lowered her head: "The gentleman must have recognized the wrong person. I am not Fe Mama."
How could Mo Jiuye possibly mistaken her? He often saw this Fe Mama when he was a child.
"Does Fe Mama have any difficulties to tell?"
Fe Mama was still pretending: "The old woman thanks the gentleman for saving her life. You really have recognized the wrong person."
As she spoke, she opened the package in her arms and took out some women's jewelry to offer up.
"The old woman appreciates the gentleman's lifesaving grace. Take these as thanks. I still have urgent matters and will not disturb you."
After speaking, Fe Mama turned to leave.
Still, it was He Zhiran who blocked her way first.
Fe Mama knew clearly that she probably couldn't gloss over it today. She had to turn around and face Mo Jiuye, no longer disguising herself.
"My Lord, this old slave escaped from the palace. It’s shameful for you to see me like this."
Mo Jiuye had always had a good impression on Concubine Yuan's palace servants, especially Concubine Yuan's two personal maidservants, who treated him no differently than Nan Qi.
What he thought now was that since Fe Mama said she escaped from the palace, it meant something must have happened to Concubine Yuan.
And this matter must be related to Nan Qi.
Therefore, no matter what today, he had to get to the bottom of it.
In order not to stray too far from the main group, Mo Jiuye took Fe Mama to walk while asking questions.
"Fe Mama, did the Concubine run into difficulties?"
On her way out of the palace, Fe Mama encountered countless difficulties and dangers, almost losing her life.
She even thought several times that the secrets she knew might be buried with her in the soil after her death.
Meeting Mo Jiuye now, Fe Mama seemed to see a glimmer of hope to survive. She gritted her teeth and decided to tell Mo Jiuye what she knew.
That way, even if she entered the ground, she would have no regrets.
Before revealing the secret in her heart, Fe Mama glanced at He Zhiran unconsciously.
Mo Jiuye explained: "Don't worry Fe Mama, my wife is one of us."
Fe Mama looked He Zhiran up and down and then said,
"The old slave did something wrong back then, and now I'm suffering the consequences."
Hearing this, the first thing Mo Jiuye thought of was Nan Qi being switched at childbirth.
"Does what Fe Mama said have to do with Prince Qi?"
Fe Mama was shocked.
"Does My Lord know about this?"
Mo Jiuye didn't intend to hide it either.
"Nan Qi once sent someone to assassinate me. Later, when I was in Pingyuan County, he took the initiative to ask me to meet at a restaurant and poisoned the wine..."
