Chapter 289: Chapter 289: The Grace of Saving a Life
[289 Debt of a Life Saved
Those who had been eagerly eyeing Zhao Dong’s marriage prospects were bound to be disappointed.
News of the eldest son of the Zhao Family having his marriage arranged spread quickly, dashing many people’s hopes.
But after the initial disappointment, families with multiple daughters regained their spirits and shifted their focus to the Zhao Family’s second son. He was also a fine prospect, a promising young man.
What’s more, some families with sons of a similar age to Zhao Zhitong even considered the idea of sending their sons to marry into the Zhao Family.
Fortunately, Zhao Dong was unaware of these intentions.
If he knew that his precious flower was being coveted by other families’ "pigs", he’d probably lose his temper.
Soon, the couple’s eight characters were determined, and the divination indicated auspiciousness.
Both families were happy, and the good news naturally progressed smoothly without any delay.
Both families set the date for the wedding. They even decided that the day after New Year’s Day of the coming year would be an auspicious day, and fixed the wedding for that day.
With the eldest brother’s lifelong matter settled, the house was filled with jubilation.
It was a pity that Xiao Ge Zhao Yu, who was away, knew nothing of this.
However, Zhao Zhitong had sent a letter to Xiao Ge’s sect. Presumably, he would know soon.
「The first day of the first lunar month; auspicious for weddings.」
Accompanied by the sound of firecrackers and joyous music, the Zhao Family welcomed their new daughter-in-law.
For a time, distinguished guests filled the house, making it extraordinarily lively.
The wedding of the eldest son of the Zhao Family was conducted in an absolutely grand style.
Relatives, friends, and neighbors came to congratulate the family. Many were regretful for not being able to arrange this marriage for their own.
But this grand wedding made it known to the entire village that the Zhao Family truly regarded their eldest son as their own, treating him as if he were their biological son.
The voices that often slandered the Zhao Family behind their backs eventually faded away.
The Ding Family siblings also attended the Zhao Family’s wedding. After the wedding, Ding Chenguang set off for the capital.
In March, after the beginning of spring, it would be time for the Great Zhou Dynasty’s triennial spring imperial examinations.
Ding Chenguang was naturally going to take the imperial examination.
After bidding farewell to the Sun Family and Zhao Family, Ding Chenguang prepared to set off on his journey.
"Young Master Ding!"
At this time, Han Feifei, who had hastily arrived, stepped down from her horse carriage. She quickly walked up to Ding Chenguang and gently said, "Young Master Ding, I’ve acquired a safety amulet for you. Keep it on your journey. I wish you a safe trip and great success."
With that, she handed him the safety amulet she was holding.
Ding Chenguang accepted the safety amulet, bowed politely, and said, "Thank you, Miss Han."
Afterwards, he said his final goodbyes to everyone and departed.
Meanwhile, Ding Chenguang’s sister, Ding Xiang, decided to stay behind to continue assisting at the Sun Family Medical Hall, waiting for the day her brother would return triumphant from his exams to find her.
Watching her brother’s retreating figure, Ding Xiang had tears in her eyes, filled with reluctance to part.
Zhao Zhitong patted her hand, comforting her, "Miss Ding, don’t be upset. The exams will be over before you know it, and your brother will surely pass them and return to find you."
Han Feifei also gently comforted Ding Xiang.
Ding Xiang bit her lip, forced back her tears of reluctance, and nodded. "Thank you both, I’m fine."
"There’s no need to be so formal. Don’t overthink it; just consider our home as your own," Zhao Zhitong said with a laugh. "Let’s go, we should head back."
After speaking, the group returned to the county town, but Han Feifei stood at the city gate for a long time before boarding her horse carriage.
Since Ding Chenguang’s departure, Ding Xiang had been melancholy. It took Sun Xiaoyu and Sun Xiaoxue a long time to cheer her up and bring a smile back to her face.
"Mhm, I’m fine, thank you both. I will wait for my brother to come back," Ding Xiang said, her eyes filled with hope for the future.
However, she was to be disappointed. She waited, but the brother she longed for never returned...
Since that parting, Ding Chenguang had vanished and never returned.
Han Feifei asked her connections to make inquiries, but there was still no news of Ding Chenguang. Even among the current year’s exam candidates, no one had heard the name Ding Chenguang. It was as if he had completely disappeared.
When she received this news, Ding Xiang’s eyes filled with despair. Crying, she rushed out of the house.
"Miss Ding!" Sun Daqing and the others shouted, quickly trying to chase after her, but when they reached the street, it was teeming with people, and Ding Xiang was nowhere to be seen.
Zhao Zhitong sighed, "Miss Ding is very upset right now, and she ran out alone. We don’t know if she’s in any danger. Let’s split up and look for her."
With that, they split up and began searching for her on the streets.
Sobbing, Ding Xiang dashed blindly through the streets, not caring which direction she took. By the time she came to her senses, she found herself in an unfamiliar alleyway.
Only then did she stop. She crouched on the ground and cried for a while. After wiping her tears, she turned around, ready to go back.
However, just then, her way was suddenly blocked by two burly men.
"Well, well, what little beauty is this, crying so sadly here? Who bullied you? Tell your big brothers; we’ll take good care of you."
One of the burly men licked his lips, his eyes roaming over Ding Xiang with a lecherous gaze. This instantly made Ding Xiang forget her tears; all she wanted was to leave immediately.
"No, nothing... I have to go," Ding Xiang stuttered, wanting to run away, but the two men directly blocked her path.
"Where do you think you’re going? Your tears are melting our hearts, and you want to run off already? We haven’t even had a chance to properly comfort you yet."
With that, they started to get handsy with Ding Xiang.
Ding Xiang was so scared her lips turned pale, and she deeply regretted her impulsive decision to run out. Tears welled in her eyes again. "You... you stay away from me! I... I’ll scream!"
"HAHAHA!" The two ruffians weren’t threatened at all, acting as if they’d heard a hilarious joke. "Scream? Go ahead and scream! Scream your lungs out; no one will come to save you!"
With that, the two of them pounced towards Ding Xiang.
"AH! Help! Help me! Sob... I beg you, please let me go!"
Ding Xiang stumbled back in fear, crying out loudly.
Just as she saw the two ruffians pouncing on her, Ding Xiang closed her eyes in despair.
However, just then, she faintly heard two muffled grunts, followed by the thud of two heavy objects hitting the ground.
She quickly opened her eyes, only to see a refined gentleman standing before her, while the two ruffians lay on the ground.
Ding Xiang’s eyes instantly reddened, tears welling up as she exclaimed in joyful surprise, "Young Master Qiao!"
She then bowed gracefully. "Thank you, Young Master Qiao, for saving my life."
Qiao Muchen responded with a stoic expression, "You’re welcome. Besides, it wasn’t I who saved you; it was Tongtong."
Meanwhile, Zhao Zhitong, who was shouldering a large wooden club with one foot on a ruffian, found herself completely ignored by Ding Xiang. ...
"Miss Ding, are you alright?" Zhao Zhitong asked again.
Ding Xiang finally shifted her gaze from Qiao Muchen to Zhao Zhitong and said gratefully, "I’m alright now. Thank you both."
Zhao Zhitong tossed the wooden club to the ground and dusted off her hands. "It’s good that you’re alright. But don’t go running off recklessly like that in the future. Any problem can be solved. We arrived just in time today, so nothing serious happened. If you run off like that again, you might not be so fortunate."