Abandoning Wife and Selling Daughter? Turning Around to Marry a Powerful Minister and Wiping Out Your Entire Clan! - Chapter 32

Zhang Xiaolan turned around and looked behind her—Yan Yuyang was still there?

Yan Yuyang looked embarrassed. “My mother used to mention it often at home, so I remember it well.”

Zhang Xiaolan felt happy in her heart but didn’t mind. She simply crouched down and saluted. “This humble girl takes her leave here. General Yan, there’s no need to see me off further.”

Only then did Yan Yuyang realize they had reached the back gate of Xiu Meng Pavilion.

Watching Zhang Xiaolan walk away, he clenched his fists, took his horse, and rode back home.

The next morning, Zhang Xiaolan went to the restaurant early to ask Steward Zhang for leave. Steward Zhang was very surprised and curiously asked why.

Zhang Xiaolan couldn’t say that her daughter had been kidnapped earlier and that there was now news of her—it would ruin her daughter’s reputation. She gave a vague excuse, received approval, and left in a hurry.

Back home, the Han brothers had already prepared the incense offerings and even hired a carriage.

But why was Yan Yuyang here too?

Zhang Xiaolan glanced at Han Boguang, who shook his head at her.

So, Han Boguang didn’t know either.

“General Yan, I am heading out of the city to offer incense. Please stay behind,” Zhang Xiaolan saluted Yan Yuyang and walked toward the carriage.

“I may be unworthy, but after hearing yesterday that Madam Zhang was going to the temple, I thought I should come and see if you need any assistance,” Yan Yuyang said, dismounting and cupping his hands. “There may be bandits outside the city. Though your two servants have some skills, it would be safer if I accompanied you.”

“General Yan, there’s really no need. The world is at peace now; such precautions are unnecessary,” Zhang Xiaolan didn’t want anyone following her. “You just returned to the city—why not take some time to rest?”

After speaking, she got into the carriage without looking back at Yan Yuyang. She urged the Han brothers to set off quickly to avoid missing the auspicious time.

After traveling for a while, she realized Yan Yuyang was still following behind. Han Changshu couldn’t sit still and came inside to ask for instructions.

“Ignore him. He is a general’s son—can we force him to stay away? Even the royal family couldn’t do that. Just leave it be.”

Zhang Xiaolan closed her eyes to rest inside the carriage. She had been excited all night and had to request leave early in the morning—she was truly exhausted now.

Han Changshu acknowledged her words, returned to the front, and quietly informed his brother. The two of them pretended not to notice and leisurely made their way toward the city gates.

At the gate, the guards checked their travel pass, and Zhang Xiaolan passed through quickly.

She was secretly delighted—so it seemed Zhou Quan had stopped ordering the guards to block her. Did that mean she could now leave the city freely?

Then again, perhaps the guards allowed it because of General Yan’s presence.

Lost in thought inside the carriage, she soon arrived at Heqingli.

“Madam, we’ve reached Zhaoque Temple,” Han Boguang softly announced from outside.

Zhang Xiaolan responded, woke herself up a little inside the carriage, and got out.

She had Han Boguang carry the incense offerings and walked into the temple.

Han Changshu stayed behind to watch over the carriage.

Yan Yuyang, being thick-skinned, tied his horse alongside Zhang Xiaolan’s carriage and hurried after her.

Inside the temple, people bustled about, incense smoke filled the air, and a long line of worshippers waited by the bell tower to make wishes and strike the bell.

Feeling joyous, Zhang Xiaolan thought that since so many people had come, Zhaoque Temple must be truly effective.

She knelt on a prayer mat in front of the Mahavira Hall, pressed her hands together, and whispered, “May the Buddha bless my daughter with safety and health. Let this humble woman find her soon, bring her back to the capital, and see her grow up smoothly, with everything in life going well.”

With deep sincerity, she bowed and offered incense.

Then, she visited each hall one by one to pay her respects.

She also donated twenty taels of silver for incense offerings, making the little novice monk beside her beam with joy.

By noon, she bought a vegetarian meal from the temple monks, ate quickly, and prepared to return.

But the heavens had other plans.

Just after finishing her meal, a thunderclap boomed across the sky, followed by a torrential downpour.

Watching the heavy rain outside, Zhang Xiaolan turned to look at the crowd of worshippers behind her, all squeezed together, trapped by the storm.

“Did we bring an umbrella?” she asked Han Boguang.

Han Boguang, standing alongside Yan Yuyang, lightly shook his head, looking a little embarrassed.

He should have planned ahead and been prepared.

“Then let’s ask the monks if there’s a place to stay.”

Han Boguang turned to inquire, while Yan Yuyang remained standing upright beside Zhang Xiaolan—more thoughtful than even the Han brothers.

Before long, the noise around them seemed to quiet down a little, and Han Boguang returned.

“The monks said there is a master in the temple who is skilled at reading the weather. He predicts the rain will be heavy but should stop within half an hour, so there’s no need to worry.”

Zhang Xiaolan nodded and stood under the temple corridor, watching the rain curtain outside.

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, the rain lessened significantly.

As the skies cleared, the temple returned to its usual bustle.

Feeling anxious, Zhang Xiaolan quickly led Han Boguang out of Zhaoque Temple.

Seeing Han Changshu safe and sound, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She got into the carriage, and the Han brothers drove back toward the city.

Yan Yuyang followed on horseback.

“Madam, there’s someone collapsed by the roadside ahead,” Han Boguang reported softly from outside.

Someone collapsed?

“Go check it out. If they need help, bring them back to the city. It’s no trouble.”

She didn’t say the last part out loud—it was her secret, and no one else needed to know.

Han Boguang obeyed and went to check. Before long, he returned.

“The man appears injured and unconscious. There’s also a small wooden box beside him—it looks finely made, so he may be of noble status.”

Noble or not, she was just helping an unconscious wounded man.

If she saved someone today, perhaps the Buddha would help her find Xiang Ning.

“Boguang, ask General Yan for assistance. His family has served in the military for generations—he should have experience handling such injuries.”

“Understood.” Han Boguang went to find Yan Yuyang.

Yan Yuyang, being naturally warm-hearted, immediately agreed.

The two of them approached the injured man, whose face was covered by disheveled hair. After a brief examination, Yan Yuyang found that the man’s lower leg was broken, and there was a knife wound on his shoulder.

These were not easy injuries to treat.

Yan Yuyang fetched a wooden stick to stabilize the injured man’s leg, then, together with Han Boguang, lifted him onto the carriage.

After some thought, Yan Yuyang handed his reins to Han Changshu and climbed into the carriage himself.

A man and a woman alone in a carriage could cause rumors, but with him there, others wouldn’t speculate.

Zhang Xiaolan, worried about dirt worsening the wounds, asked Han Changshu to fetch clean water and a fresh cloth.

“There are differences between men and women, so I cannot wipe him down. General Yan, could you help clean his wounds to prevent infection?”

Yan Yuyang nodded and carefully wiped the knife wound on the man’s shoulder.

Noticing bl00d on the man’s forehead, he reached out to push aside the messy hair and clean it.

As the white cloth turned black with dirt, the man’s handsome face was revealed.

“Uncle Tang Er!”

Yan Yuyang exclaimed in shock.