Chapter 003: It's You, Madam!

"Stop right there!"

The man still threatened from behind.

Yet, how could he hold back Liang Ning?

"Zhen Er!"

At this moment, a worried voice with a hint of panting came from behind, tinged with a sense of familiarity.

"Zhen Er, where are you going?"

Liang Ning was certain that this voice was one she had heard somewhere before her accident.

Before she could turn around, a flurry of footsteps had already reached her.

The person was a woman in her thirties, dressed finely, with delicate features that easily made one imagine how striking she must have been in her youth. Yet her face was haggard, and her figure was quite slender, not like a lady from a wealthy family who would be well cared for.

Liang Ning unconsciously had the thought that this face should be rounder, fuller, and her eyes should be warmer and calmer, filled with a kind of profound and gentle strength.

She looked at her closely, then suddenly held the other's arm: "It's you!"

The woman, who was tensely watching the pursuing man and the girl, hadn't noticed her expression.

Upon hearing this, she looked back in surprise: "It's me, Zhen Er, what's wrong?"

Whether it was the woman's original poor complexion or Liang Ning's illusion, she felt that under this exchange, the woman's face was gradually paling.

However, Liang Ning was immersed in surprise, so much so that the "Zhen Er" coming from the woman's mouth was ignored by her automatically.

"Madam! We met that night, don't you remember me?"

Her emotions surged, partly because that night was unforgettable, and partly because in this state of confusion, there appeared a living person she had had interactions with!

She had met this lady on the night she found that dagger.

For convenience, she had chosen a house for Xu Yin that was separated from the Liang Family by just one alley, in Qingquan Square.

Because it was nearby, even if she had to help her two widowed sisters-in-law and niece-in-law Su Xinger deal with the constant upheavals at the General's Mansion during the day, she could still find time to see him in the evenings.

But that night, as she had just entered Gardenia Alley between the two families, she could smell a scent of blood.

Years of living in the northwest had trained her instinct for caution; she quietly followed the trail of blood, only to find the alley unusually quiet, while blood was flowing everywhere in the side alley, and two people lay motionless on the ground, with fresh blood trickling from their bodies.

It was the sixteenth year since the founding of the state. While the borders were unstable, and much work remained within the country, the founding emperor had established the new dynasty dissatisfied with the tyranny of the previous reign. Thus, after consolidating power, the emperor and officials were united, and the country was very stable. An incident like this night-time murder would certainly stir the entire capital city.

The dead were a middle-aged man and an eight or nine-year-old child. The child had dropped a skewered candy that was mostly uneaten in front of him. The man's face retained a look of fear, with one arm still around half of the child's body, and his palm was rather tender, indicating he was not a martial artist.

They were dressed in high-quality clothing, with Mutton Fat Jade Pendants hanging from their waists and a golden collar around the child's neck, indicating the killer was not after money.

The man also had a travel log of the Great Zhou in his arms. Although it was mostly smeared with blood and the names were illegible, the ability to obtain a travel log and publicly buy skewered candies in the capital suggested he was unlikely a person with an obscure identity.

Having seen many soldiers die tragic deaths in the northwest, Liang Ning had a deep reverence for life and often felt compassionate. She closed the man's eyes and placed the skewered candy back into the child's hand.

Then, she unexpectedly found the intricately carved short dagger beneath them. Even in the dim moonlight after the rain, the dagger gleamed brightly, clearly not an ordinary item.

Just as she picked it up, footsteps suddenly came from both ends of the alley, light and hurried!

At such a moment of crisis, one must certainly not be exposed.

Her only way out was to leap up to the high attic window of the residential buildings on both sides. However, her sudden intrusion would likely cause panic, which would also expose her.

At this urgent moment, a window near her suddenly opened, and someone leaned out anxiously waving her over. In the dim light, the round, tense face appeared just as it did now, suddenly coming into view!

There was no other choice. Holding the dagger, Liang Ning leaped up without hesitation.

The moment she landed, the window closed behind her, and the footsteps stopped in the side alley below!

The person inside led her to a screen before collapsing weakly into a chair. Under the lamp light, Liang Ning clearly saw her face, and they naturally also had a conversation afterward. Thus, even though the woman before her was no longer robust and her demeanor was not as composed as it was then, she still recognized that they were indeed the same person!

Afterward, there were no rumors about the murder on the street, and as Xu Yin repeatedly insisted on seeing that dagger, it became evident that the incident involved unusual individuals.

And under such circumstances, it was indeed a rare act of kindness for this woman, as a weak female, to risk everything to let the stranger Liang Ning inside to avoid danger.

To say she was Liang Ning's savior might be an exaggeration, but without her timely help, Liang Ning would certainly have been embroiled in the murder case, of that there was no doubt. Therefore, she was indeed her benefactor!

At this moment, the resentment in Liang Ning's heart unknowingly eased by more than half, and she even smiled.

"That day, for fear of implicating you, I left in a hurry, so I forgot to ask your honorable name. I didn't expect that fate would bring us together again at this moment."

They hadn't inquired about each other's identity at that time due to mutual concerns. But Liang Ning, grateful, remembered her deeply.

However, upon hearing this, the woman's face became increasingly astonished, turning as white as paper!

"Zhen Er, I'm your mother! You, do you not recognize me?!"

Mrs. Fu clutched her hand tightly, waves of dizziness washing over her!

Two quarter-hours before, she had just come out of Cheng Kong bearing bad news, despite making three pledges in the Buddha hall, she was told that Fu Zhen would not survive past three days!

"Her destiny is thus ordained, benefactress, please restrain your grief."

Cheng Kong's words almost caused her to faint!

As for what Cheng Kong said later with a sigh: "Madam, you are kind-hearted; though this path is blocked, perhaps fate has other arrangements, which is yet unknown." It could only be said that, as a monk, he possessed a merciful heart, and offered comforting words out of compassion!

—Another arrangement?!

He, a high monk capable of predicting the nation's future, said the path was already blocked and that her daughter had no chance to survive! What other arrangement could fate possibly have?!

She stumbled out of the Buddha hall, little expecting that Fu Zhen, whom she had instructed to wait outside, would transform into this state after such a brief absence!

Not only did she coldly and disdainfully regard everything, but her whole body was also filled with hostility, like a god of death descending upon the world!

Although she still showed affection and joy toward her as a mother, she no longer recognized her!

She didn't even recognize her own mother!

She had long heard that before someone dies, there might be some unusual phenomena; was it possible that the calamity had already struck, and Fu Zhen was indeed at her life's end?

"This is the good daughter you raised!"

As Mrs. Fu was overwhelmed with boundless grief, Fu Yun, who had caught up, suddenly slapped her across the face, and roared in fury: "It's your indulgence, your protection, that made her so disrespectful toward her elders!

"It's your spoiling that made her dare to blatantly murder her own younger sister in broad daylight because she relied on being weak and physically disabled! She even dares to ignore my words as her father and pretends I'm invisible!

"Teaching such an ungrateful daughter, Ning Family, how can you qualify as the rightful mother?!"