No one from the Zhu family stepped forward to stop her, until Zhu Changle felt she had hit enough and stopped on her own.
Lady Zhang intentionally wanted to humble Madam Xu, not allowing her to get up during this time. She could sympathize with her daughter-in-law's difficulties and her recent childbirth, but if this sympathy only led to more unreasonable behavior, why should she play the role of a compassionate Buddha? If being strict was necessary to keep the family in harmony, she didn't mind being a harsh mother-in-law from now on.
Walking up to her daughter and taking away the cane, Lady Zhang said gently, "Rest if you're tired from hitting. Whenever you feel you haven't hit enough, come back. It's not like the person can run away."
Zhu Changle thought about it and agreed, "Mother is right. Why worry about the monk running away when I can just live in the temple?"
Lady Zhang very smoothly gave her a smack, wondering what she meant by living in the temple. "What nonsense are you talking about? If you live in the temple, what about us?"
Of course we'd all live in the temple together, what else? Changle grumbled inwardly, but outwardly she placated her mother very tactfully, "I just wanted to express that he can't escape even if he runs away, like the saying 'the monk may run, but the temple remains.' I just modified it a bit, you know what I mean."
Lady Zhang glared at her, then felt sorry for the undeserved grievances her daughter had suffered. In the end, she sighed and stroked her head, "Don't be too sensible. The sensible one always loses out a bit."
Zhu Changle felt a twinge in her heart. All these years at home, she didn't have to worry about being sensible or not, because no one at home would let her lose out. She just hadn't expected that gaining a sister-in-law meant losing a brother.
Thinking of this, she turned and glared fiercely at Zhu Changning. The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Putting her hands on her hips, she shouted, "Zhu Changning, if you dare bully me again, I'll beat you up! I'll beat you until your face is so swollen even Mother won't recognize you!"
Zhu Changning felt like he was about to cough up blood. Who was bullying whom here? Didn't she just say he couldn't beat her, outrun her, or out-argue her?
But seeing Changle's aggrieved look, with her nose sniffling, he couldn't say anything. He even felt a bit of heartache. She had always been mischievous, but she had also always been smiling. Even when she was injured during the chase, she was smiling, as if the wounds weren't on her body and the blood flowing wasn't hers.
His body ached terribly, hurting all over. Zhu Changning thought to himself, he hadn't even bled yet and it hurt this much. He wondered how much pain Changle must have been in when she was injured.
He opened his mouth and finally said softly, "Second brother was wrong."
Zhu Changle pouted and snorted, "If I had known beating you would be so effective, I should have done it earlier."
Without waiting for their reaction, she leapt away, jumping over several trees to land in Lan Ping's outstretched arms. She buried her head in Lan Ping's embrace, letting her tears soak into her clothes.
Lan Ping gently patted her back without offering verbal comfort. Dingding vigorously swung his dog-beating stick, hitting it against tree branches.
The trees shook, and Qiuli sat up. His gaze fell on Zhu Changle, whose expression he couldn't see. In just a few days of interaction, it was enough for him to understand Zhu Changle's weakness - her family's distrust had hurt her.
After a moment, Zhu Changle raised her head, smiling mischievously, "That felt so good to hit him!"
Lan Ping pretended not to notice the damp patch on her chest, pinching Changle's cheek without exposing her.
Zhu Changle leapt down from the tree, took out a map and spread it on the ground. The others quickly followed.
"Once we reach Yunbei, my father will be the local official. Killing a local official would certainly anger the imperial court, and no gang can afford such consequences. So, the last few days will definitely see the fiercest pursuit. As long as my father dies on the road, they can come up with countless excuses."
Everyone nodded, agreeing with her assessment.
"I only know of one gang on this stretch of road," Zhu Changle thought for a moment, unable to recall the gang's name.
Lan Ping reminded her, "The West City Gang."
"Right, the West City Gang. They have a good reputation locally. The gang leader is said to be very righteous. They have several escort agencies under them, making a living by escorting goods. I'm not sure if they would take this job."
As she finished speaking, Zhu Changle instinctively looked towards Qiuli, who seemed to know everything. Qiuli didn't disappoint her, meeting her gaze and shaking his head.
"They didn't take it?"
Qiuli picked up a dry twig and wrote on the ground: "Those who accepted the job should have caught up by now."
"That's right. Prime Minister Zhu certainly wouldn't have made only one preparation. They must have calculated the possibility that we couldn't be stopped in Wanzhong. Speaking of which," Zhu Changle turned to Ban Lian, "Has Falling Flower Valley been bought off?"
"No, the Fairy Maiden wouldn't put herself in that position," Ban Lian said decisively. "If it weren't for Female hero Zhu's unexpected actions of directly going to Falling Flower Valley to pay respects and dragging her into this, she might have done something secretly, but officially it would certainly have nothing to do with her."
"Of course, how could I let her have her way?" Zhu Changle raised her chin, once again displaying that smug little expression.
Qiuli twirled his fan between his fingers, his lips unconsciously curving upwards.
"I'll have to trouble everyone from now on," Zhu Changle bowed formally with clasped hands. "Although I'm quite thick-skinned to impose on you all, when it concerns the safety of my family, I really can't care about much else. I, Zhu Changle, will remember this great favor in my heart."
"Make sure you remember it well. Let me think about how to make you repay it," Dingding chuckled, not anticipating Lan Ping's heavy sword smacking his back, causing him to stumble.
This familiar feeling didn't even require him to look back. Dingding steadied himself and complained, "Even people raising daughters don't spoil them like you do. Look at her now, where's the sixteen-year-old? She's regressed to three! Lan Ping, you need to reflect on this."
Lan Ping raised her sword, and Dingding very sensibly clamped his mouth shut immediately.
Ban Lian finally found an opportunity to speak, "With the life-saving grace preceding this, if we're really repaying favors, it should be me repaying Female hero Zhu. Female hero Zhu need not keep it in mind."
"Then let's just cancel each other out," Zhu Changle was extremely agreeable at this moment. She looked towards Qiuli with hope, "Do we have anything to cancel out between us? I'm sure I haven't saved your life, has my father?"
Qiuli looked at her, nodded and then shook his head.
This response left Zhu Changle confused. A nod means yes, a shake means no, so which is it?
Qiuli didn't offer further explanation, using his fan to point in that direction. The Zhu family members were all looking this way.
Zhu Changle saw those two people and felt a bit unhappy. She sighed and reflected very maturely: "An unvirtuous wife leads to disharmony in the household. I suddenly understand this saying now."
"I suddenly remembered something," Ban Lian withdrew her gaze. "I'm afraid Female hero Zhu's identity can't be kept secret anymore."
"My master insists on taking me as his disciple. I'm very troubled too. They should go find trouble with my master!" Zhu Changle blinked. "It's been a long time since I've seen my master beat anyone other than me. I'm looking forward to it!"
"..." Can the problem be solved this way? Ban Lian thought along these lines and found it quite reasonable. If this matter were to be pursued, it could only lead to the person who accepted the disciple. But to confront Zhong Ningmei...
Carelessly stuffing the map into her clothes, Zhu Changle, with her chest puffed out, ran towards her grandmother. "Grandmother, we're about to set off!"
