Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 877 - 875_1

Xiao’er had never imagined that one day she would be nabbed like a chick by an eagle.

An Yi put Xiao’er back into the cabin while Yang Liu and Yang Mei hastily gripped her firmly again.

"An Yi!" Xiao’er rebuked sharply.

"My apologies, Princess! But, look!" An Yi pointed towards the river not far away.

Xiao’er glanced over, only to see Shangguan Xuanyi and Jingrui both surfacing from the water.

Jingrui also held a little boy in his hand.

Both men struggled upstream with the child, battling against the fast-flowing river.

Amid a whirlpool, the little boy in Jingrui’s grip was almost swept away by the flood.

Whirlpools were indeed difficult to swim through.

Everyone’s hearts were raised!

"Huzi..." A woman shrieked miserably.

Shangguan Xuanyi quickly reached out and caught the boy.

Each man held one of the boy’s arms as they strived to swim out of the whirlpool.

People on the shore began to flock over. The boy’s mother kept yelling, "Huzi, Huzi..."

"Oh my, they rescued him!"

"Really, they did! So remarkable!"

"They are truly miraculous! They rescued him from such a rapid current! I had thought they were done for!"

"Exactly, I remember when Zhuzi fell into the river before, his body was swept so far away, his corpse was found in the neighboring county!"

"It’s truly a blessing from the heavens! Huzi encountered a noble savior!"

"Those who survive a big disaster are bound to have good fortune."

...

The locals on the bank exclaimed one after the other.

"Quickly, steer the boat over there!" Zhao Yong urgently commanded the helmsman.

The helmsman had already started doing so even before the command.

The soldiers on the boat also hastily threw down two ropes.

Finally, the two men swam to the side of the boat, each grabbing a rope, and were then pulled up by the soldiers.

By this point, Xiao’er, Yang Mei, and Yang Liu had already rushed out holding three blankets.

Zhao Yong was assisting the young boy. This typical first-aid method had already been taught to the soldiers, so they understood it.

Xiao’er promptly draped a blanket over Shangguan Xuanyi, then said to Shangguan Xuanyi and Jingrui, "You two, go take a hot bath immediately, and come out and drink ginger soup when you’re done!"

"It’s fine, the weather’s hot now, so even if we jumped into the river, we don’t feel cold." Jingrui accepted the blanket handed over by Yang Liu, draping it over his shoulders.

He wanted to see if the boy was okay before taking a bath.

"Brother, the river current is too rapid! Don’t be so impulsive next time!" Xiao’er couldn’t help but speak up.

Rescuing people is a good thing, but one must exert effort according to one’s capacity and assess the situation! If someone risks their own life to save someone else, it would be more harm than good!

"We can’t just stand by and do nothing when we see someone in danger, and I was confident I could save him. The current wasn’t as rapid today as it was the day before! Moreover, the boy was behind me, I figured that if I jumped in I could intercept him. I know if you were in my shoes, you would have jumped in to rescue him too." Jingrui saw Xiao’er’s face filled with reproach, knew that she cared for him, and seriously explained his thoughts.

"Don’t do such dangerous things next time! You scared me to death!" Xiao’er really would rather jumped into the water to save the boy herself instead of feeling anxious at the riverbank.

"I’ll be more cautious in future and not let you worry." Jingrui didn’t reply directly.

Xiao’er knew that it would be futile to say more, so she said nothing further, merely resolving to ensure Jingrui’s servants would keep a close eye on him, not allowing him to take risks lightly.

By this time, the boy had coughed up the water he had swallowed, and slowly regained consciousness.

Then he wailed loudly, "Mom, sniffle, mom, I want my mom!"

"Huzi! Huzi!..." On the bank, that woman was still trailing behind, running along the dyke behind the large boat.

"Tell that woman that we will dock the boat at the pier ahead, and then return the child to her!" Shangguan Xuanyi directed one of the soldiers.

Hearing this, the soldier immediately yelled at the bank, "Ma’am, your son is fine, we will wait for you at the dock!"

Probably due to the shock, Huzi kept crying.

Xiao’er said to Shangguan Xuanyi and Jingrui, "The boy is fine now, you two should go and change your clothes! Yang Mei, take the young master to the cabin!"

Jingrui didn’t refuse this time and followed Yang Mei into the cabin.

Shangguan Xuanyi also went to change his clothes.

Xiao’er crouched down and said to the incessantly crying boy, "Little friend, stop crying. Once the boat docks, you’ll see your mother. Does anyone have a spare outfit? Give it to him to change into first!"

A shorter soldier said, "I’ll go get a suit of clothes for him to change into! Huzi, right? Come with me! I’ll bring you to change your clothes."

Huzi glanced at the man and didn’t dare to go with him.

Seeing this, Xiao’er took out a few beautifully packaged candies from her sleeve and said, "Huzi, first go change into some clean clothes, then elder sister will give you these candies, okay?"

Huzi looked at the candy in Xiao’er’s hand, his eyes filled with desire. He’d never seen such beautiful candies in all his years, let alone tasted them!

Xiao’er saw that he was interested and took out a few more from her sleeve, "If you don’t change your clothes, your soaked clothes will eventually make you catch cold, and if you catch cold and cough, you won’t be able to eat candy. These candies are delicious. If you don’t want them, I’ll give them to these big brothers and sisters instead."

Having said that, Xiao’er unwrapped one herself and tossed it into her mouth.

She then gave one to Yang Liu and the other soldiers.

They started eating after unwrapping the candies.

Suddenly, the sweet aroma of the candies filled the air.

Being a child, Huzi got anxious seeing half of the candies disappear all at once. "Aunt, I’ll change my clothes. Are the candies really for me?"

"Of course they are!" Xiao’er nodded.

Wait a second! Aunt?!!!

Xiao’er looked down at her clothes and then felt her face, she clearly looked like a youthful, unbeatable beauty. Had Huzi been blinded by the flood?!

Why was she being called aunt?!

She had clearly said ’sister’ earlier!

This Huzi not only had problems with his eyes but his ears too!

Upon hearing this, Huzi looked up at that soldier, "Big brother, take me to change my clothes."

Seeing that he was finally willing to change his clothes, Yang Mei said, "I’ll help you change. Big brother may not know how to help you get dressed."

Upon hearing this, Huzi politely nodded, "Thank you, sister."

Xiao’er: "..."

Did she look old? Why did Huzi call them brothers and sisters and call her aunt?!

Yang Mei had taken Huzi to change clothes.

Xiao’er was left dazed on the deck by the wind.

Once Shangguan Xuanyi had washed up and changed his clothes, he saw Xiao’er’s depressed expression.

He grabbed her hand, "What’s wrong? Are you scared? Let’s go back to the cabin."

"Brother Shangguan, do I look old?"

"Not at all."

"Then why does Huzi call me aunt and calls Yang Mei sister?"