Yan Ling was startled and didn't care about the hierarchy between master and servant for a moment. He just reached out and grabbed Ning'er's arm from behind, barely preventing her from falling to the mud.

Only then did he become angry and looked back at the situation around him. It turned out that while everyone was arguing, a yellow-haired girl of about eleven or twelve years old suddenly ran out from somewhere. When she saw someone pushing Madam Qian, she rushed up and wanted to hit her without caring about anything.

But how could a thin girl like her withstand the strength of an adult man? She was blocked and thrown away by the man's arm, and she flew out and hit Ning'er directly.

Yan Ling was afraid of hurting Ning'er, so he quickly gave up his strength, supported the girl while still in shock, and walked diagonally forward while protecting her.

As soon as Yan Ling moved her legs, someone suddenly grabbed her knees tightly. When she looked down, she saw that it was the girl who fell over.

Yan Ling was anxious to leave this dangerous place, and said coldly, "Let go!"

Who would have thought that during the tug, Ning'er's veil would inevitably be shaken, leaving a gap. It might have been okay for others, but the girl who fell to the ground saw it clearly!

This sight made her terrified, and she couldn't believe it for a moment. When she found that the two were about to leave, she didn't care about anything else and hurriedly hugged Yan Ling's trouser legs, whispering: "Ning, Sister Ning..."

Yan Ling knew it was not good when he heard it, but there were so many people around and he could not tell when he would attract other people's attention. He was afraid that Ning'er would be harassed and wanted to get away quickly, but he could not do anything to bully the weak.

Just when he was in a dilemma, Ning'er grabbed his sleeve and whispered quickly, "Yan Ling, take her forward."

Yan Ling's actions reacted faster than his brain. When he heard this, he lifted the girl's collar with one hand, protected Ning'er with the other hand, and quickly passed behind the crowd.

He walked forward for twenty or thirty steps, gradually turning the alley and reaching a deserted place. Only then did Yan Ling let out a sigh of relief.

He hurried to check on Ning'er's condition: "How is the girl? Is she hurt?" He felt extremely remorseful because the situation was urgent just now and he had no time to think. He lost control of his strength when pulling the person and must have hurt the girl.

Ning'er stopped at this time. Her heart was beating like a drum for a while. She couldn't speak for a while. She had to hold on to the wall to support her body. She also used the method of adjusting her breathing that Liu Ying had taught her before. Finally, she caught her breath.

She shook her head: "It's an emergency, so I can't take care of so many things. Fortunately, I'm much better now, so Brother Yan Ling doesn't have to worry."

As she said this, she lowered her head to look at the girl who was lifted and dragged over by Yan Ling, and she couldn't help but feel dazed.

It's only been two months since we last met, but when I see you again, it feels like several years have passed.

I don't know if the little girl was frightened or something, but when she was brought here by two people, she lowered her head and didn't say a word.

Ning Er looked at the narrow path and said to Yan Ling, "This is not the place to talk. Come with me."

As he spoke, he led them deeper into the narrow alley.

Even though Yan Ling had long known that Ning'er came from a very humble background, it was only when he actually walked in this shabby alley that he understood what these few words meant to Ning'er.

The deeper you go into the alley, the more dilapidated the houses on both sides of the alley become. The walls that have not seen sunlight for many years are covered with moss, and finger-wide cracks run from bottom to top, climbing up the walls made of a mixture of stones and soil.

From somewhere, the scattered stones underfoot disappeared, and half of the walls of several houses collapsed, revealing the even more dilapidated tile houses inside.

Yan Ling looked at Ning'er walking slowly in front of him, and his heart was shocked beyond words.

Although he was born as a servant, he had been a member of the Marquis's family for three generations. Born in the Xinyuan Marquis's Mansion, he had never worried about his livelihood.

Not to mention that he had been chosen since he was young, raised by the Marquis, and was provided with food, clothing and education, which made him better off than the young masters of ordinary small families.

Yan Ling had been on duty in the past, so he naturally knew that the twelve districts in the north of the city were home to many poor and scoundrels from the suburbs of Beijing.

But when passing by this place, people usually just rode by on horseback, or if they had occasional dealings with it, it was only with the wealthy families of officials.

Earlier, when he saw the crowd gathering in front of Mrs. Qian's door, he was already lamenting the declining livelihood of the people here, but when he walked all the way deep into the alley, he realized that the people he had seen before were already considered a rare wealthy family here.

After passing an old tree with half of its side dead, Ning'er felt a little tired. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, untied the purse tied around her waist, and took out a key from it.

She turned to him and smiled, "I'm sorry to have to call you Brother Yan Ling." Then she stepped into a damaged courtyard wall and carefully opened the collapsed wooden door.

With a "creaking" sound, a foul air mixed with the smell of mold and ash blew towards me.

Yan Ling hurriedly protected Ning'er behind him and whispered, "Young lady, don't rush in. No one has been in for so long, let them cool down first."

Ning'er nodded, then she untied the straps and took off the veil.

"Sister Ning! It's really you!"

Although the little girl had followed them all the way here and had already confirmed her identity, she didn't dare to recognize her until Ning'er revealed her true face.

Sister Ning is like a completely different person.

Her skin was as white as fresh snow. She was wearing silk and satin that she had never seen before. Her hair was tied up like a fairy in heaven. In this gray house, the jewels on her hair were sparkling.

There was an indescribably pleasant fragrance surrounding her, and the young man, who looked handsome and noble, was guarding her like a servant.

Qian Si Nu simply couldn't accept it.

During the first month of the lunar year, Ning'er went out in the heavy snow and did not come back until the next night.

The neighbors were all talking about it. With such heavy snow, the little girl might have fallen into some snow pit and frozen to death.

By the time spring arrived in February, everyone seemed to think Ning'er was dead beyond deadness.

If it weren't for the accident that happened to their family later, this shabby house would probably have been rented out by his father long ago.

And sister Ning, who had been as dull as a gourd since childhood and only knew how to work in the dark, and had no parents, suddenly appeared from the sky like a fairy.

She couldn't describe the feeling in her heart, she just felt a strong sense of inferiority surging to her face, making her unable to raise her head.

Ning'er smiled at her: "Si'er." Her face, which had been so thin that it looked unrecognizable, now had a radiant and delicate luster like jade.

She turned to Yan Ling and said, "She is the daughter of Qian's family. When I was a child, I worked for them for a few years."

Yan Ling suddenly realized why Ning'er asked him to bring this girl here before.

He was feeling heartbroken for the girl. Although he had no good feelings towards that family, he had some connection with Ning'er after all, so he calmed down and softened his expression.

Seeing Qian Sinu looking speechless, Ning'er thought for a moment and took out a silver hairpin from her temples. Although it was very plain, the style was very exquisite and it was obviously made by a master.

She handed the silver hairpin to Si'er and said, "It is fate that we meet today. I don't have anything else with me, so I give this to you."

Qian Si Nv looked at the extremely beautiful pearl hairpin in her hand, then looked at Ning Er. Suddenly, she gritted her teeth, knelt on the ground, and begged, "My dear sister, now that you are rich, please save my mother and brother!"

Yan Ling's smiling face suddenly turned cold.

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