strictlysupreme Chapter 242: Substitute Village Girl 1
Chapter 242: Substitute Village Girl 1
Murong Zhaohua's escape was like a roller coaster, with ups and downs and thrills all the way.
Not long after leaving the village, the grain cart made a "click" sound, the wheels fell off, and the cart almost turned over.
Murong Zhaohua held on to the bag of grain tightly to avoid being thrown out.
The driver checked it and said it would take some time to repair. They had to spend the night on the roadside. Zhaohua was very nervous, afraid that he would be discovered.
The next night, they encountered a group of robbers on the road.
These people were ferocious and surrounded the car to rob things. Murong Zhaohua hid behind the food bag, his heart almost jumping out of his chest.
The driver was dealing with the bandits when a patrol of soldiers happened to pass by and the bandits scattered.
On the third day, Murong Zhaohua found that the dry food and water in the carriage were almost gone, and the driver had no time to stop to restock in order to hurry.
Murong Zhaohua was so hungry that his stomach was growling. He didn't have any hot meals or hot water until he checked into the inn at night.
On the fourth day, it suddenly started to rain heavily, and the car had difficulty moving forward on the muddy road. Zhaohua was soaked by the rain and shivered with cold.
The driver found a cave to shelter from the rain, but the cave was dark and damp. Zhaohua was worried that she would catch a cold. Fortunately, she had been working all year round and was in good health, so she survived.
On the fifth day, the car was stopped by soldiers in a small town for inspection. Zhaohua was extremely nervous and hid behind the grain bag, listening to the conversation between the soldiers and the driver.
Fortunately, the driver was smart and the officers and soldiers didn't notice anything, so they let them go.
After finally arriving at the provincial capital, Murong Zhaohua used all the money that she and Liu Menghan gave her to board a convoy and finally reached safety.
A month later, the convoy finally reached the capital, but the city was heavily guarded and difficult to enter.
Murong Zhaohua decided to hide in a village outside the city first and then find an opportunity to enter the city.
In the village, Murong Zhaohua met a kind old lady who gave her a lot of help.
Finally, with the help of the old woman, Murong Zhaohua finally sneaked into the capital.
She dodged the guards and came to the gate of Duke Dingguo's Mansion. She looked at the majestic Mansion and couldn't help crying.
"Where did you come from, beggar? Get out of here!"
Murong Zhaohua suppressed his anger and said to the guard, "Young man, please help pass the message and say... just say I am Ah Zhao."
The guard looked at Murong Zhaohua and then laughed.
"Get away, this is not a place for you to come. I'm here for Ah Zhao and Ah Hua."
Murong Zhaohua was pushed far away. She got up from the ground with mixed feelings.
She didn't expect that after going through so much hardship to return to the capital, she would be treated like this.
Murong Zhaohua looked at his worn-out clothes and decided to take a gamble.
"Brother, I'm Murong Zhaohua, please help pass the message."
The guard laughed immediately. "If you continue to make trouble, I will send you to the police. Our cousin has already returned. Where did you come from? You still want to pretend to be our cousin? If you don't get out of here, I will kill you."
The guard's words made her heart sink. Liu Mengxi had already returned? Could it be that her identity had been stolen by Liu Mengxi?
She took a deep breath, suppressed the anger and confusion in her heart, and tried to make her voice sound calm.
"Brother, I really didn't lie to you. I am indeed Murong Zhaohua. There may be some misunderstandings. Can you please inform my grandmother or family members to confirm it?"
The guard obviously didn't believe it and remained tough: "Why don't you listen to my advice? Our cousin has returned. If you continue to make trouble here, I will be rude to you."
Just then, a familiar voice came from the door: "Who is making noise outside?"
The guard immediately changed his expression to respectful: "Madam, it's a beggar who came from nowhere and insisted that he is our cousin."
"Oh~"
A graceful lady walked out of the door. She looked at Murong Zhaohua and then showed a look of surprise.
She did see the shadow of her sister-in-law in Murong Zhaohua, but who was the one in the palace?
"Zhao Hua? Are you really Zhao Hua?"
Murong Zhaohua's tears welled up again, and she choked up and said, "Aunt, it's me, I'm Zhaohua."
Mrs. Shen quickly had Murong Zhaohua brought into the house, closed the door, and asked the guards to wait outside.
She took Murong Zhaohua's hand, looked at her carefully, and even opened her collar to check the red mole on her back.
Finally she was sure that the person in front of her was indeed Murong Zhaohua.
"Child, you have suffered, how could it become like this?"
Murong Zhaohua briefly recounted his experiences over the years. Mrs. Shen felt distressed and shook her head repeatedly: "This is really a sin. Our baby has suffered so much."
Mrs. Shen immediately arranged for someone to prepare hot water for Murong Zhaohua to take a bath, and found clean clothes for her to change into. At the same time, she asked someone to notify the old lady, who was Murong Zhaohua's grandmother.
Murong Zhaohua washed off the dust from the journey, changed into clean clothes, and felt a lot more relaxed.
She sat in her aunt's room, drinking hot tea, but she felt a little uneasy. Liu Mengxi was back, so what should she do?
Soon, the elders of the Duke Dingguo's Mansion gathered together, and Murong Zhaohua was surrounded in the middle to be stared at by everyone.
Duke Dingguo asked first, "Zhaohua, where have you been all these years? Why did you only come back now?"
Murong Zhaohua calmed himself and recounted his experiences after exile as concisely as possible.
He avoided the details of exchanging identities with Liu Mengxi, and only said that he and Liu Mengxi exchanged identities by chance. He has been living in the Liu family for all these years, and was fortunately able to return after his family was vindicated.
Everyone exchanged glances. This was not going to be easy. "What evidence do you have to prove your identity and that you are not an imposter?"
Murong Zhaohua shook his head. The jade pendant he always wore should have been with Alie, but he was gone and its whereabouts were unknown.
The old lady hugged Murong Zhaohua and kept crying. The Duke Dingguo's Mansion had not had an easy time in recent years and had been suppressed, so they had no time to take care of Murong Zhaohua.
The Tai'an Marquisate was finally rehabilitated, but Zhaohua lost his identity. What should he do?
"No wonder the woman in the palace refused to come to Duke Dingguo's mansion. It turns out she is a fake."
The second uncle was very angry. When everyone from the border returned, the Duke Dingguo's Mansion sent people to pick up Murong Zhaohua, but she refused.
Now that I think about it, she must have felt guilty.
Duke Dingguo thought a lot, "Zhaohua, please be patient, I will report this matter to the emperor and then make plans."
It was a fact that the identities were changed at the beginning, and it was even more true that Liu Mengxi went to the border for five years instead of Murong Zhaohua. They were just afraid that the emperor would blame them.
Liu Mengxi entered the palace directly after returning from the frontier and was highly favored by the emperor.
The Duke Dingguo's Mansion has kept a low profile over the years and had no idea that Nan Xi was a miracle doctor.
If he knew, he would definitely not choose to make it public.