Chapter 94: Silencing the Witness

Hu Juan didn't care about the pain of her hands being rubbed by the branches, and hurriedly got up and ran towards the ruined temple in the dark.

But a woman's physical strength is no match for a man, and she was soon caught up by Fang Bailin based on the sound of dead branches he stepped on.

Fang Bolin grabbed Hu Juan.

"It's you? The third brother's concubine, huh, you ungrateful person. Tell me, what did you hear just now? Are you going to look for Su Hanchu?"

Hu Juan spoke while struggling hard.

"No, I didn't hear anything. I was just passing by here collecting firewood. Please let me go."

Thinking of what he had just said, Fang Bailin felt guilty. Originally, he just didn't want to see Chen Wenlin's decadent look and wanted to give him some hope, but he didn't expect to expose the secret of the Fang family.

"As a concubine of the Fang family, you are so close to the Jun family. I didn't notice you at first. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for showing up where you shouldn't be."

Hu Juan was extremely frightened.

“Help…ah…”

Fang Bolin hit her on the back of the neck.

Hu Juan slowly fell to the ground.

Chen Wenlin, who had followed, showed a hint of panic on his face when he saw this.

"What should we do? She didn't hear everything, did she? If Jun Moye and Su Hanchu find out, I'm afraid not only will we have no chance of revenge, but they might even strike first."

Upon hearing this, Fang Bailin took the torch and checked the injuries on Hu Juan's body.

"Why are you panicking? She's just a woman. There are so many ways to deal with her."

He looked at a stone on the ground.

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Fang Bolin's eyes.

"The dead are definitely the best at keeping secrets in this world."

Then he handed the torch to Chen Wenlin.

He grabbed Hu Juan and smashed her head hard against a rock.

Hu Juan's head was bleeding, and strands of blood kept flowing out, staining the stone red...

Chen Wenlin was shocked when he saw this.

“Uncle, you…”

Fang Bolin hurriedly spoke up to stop him from speaking.

"Why are you making such a fuss? When we were in the imperial city, every family would execute a few servants and disobedient concubines."

Then he reached out to check Hu Juan's breath, and when he saw that she was dead, he stood up with relief.

"Let's go back. We are here to bury He'er tonight. We haven't seen anything and haven't met anyone."

At this time, under the big tree, Chuntao and Qiukui were waiting anxiously with a bundle of firewood.

Chuntao spoke as she picked up a small branch from the ground.

"Hu Juan, what's going on? Does it take so long to collect a bundle of firewood? We've been waiting for a while. We agreed to meet here."

Qiu Kui spoke softly.

"She's always been quick in her inspections in the past, always arriving at the meeting place before us. I don't know what happened today. Could she be lost?"

Chuntao spoke worriedly after hearing this.

"That's possible. I don't know if the torch in my hand has gone out. How about we shout?"

Qiu Kui picked up the firewood and spoke.

"We'll keep shouting as we go. If there's no response, we'll have to ask Madam Jun for help."

Upon hearing this, Chuntao picked up the firewood and shouted.

"Hu Juan, Hu Juan, gather together. We have been waiting for you for a long time."

Qiu Kui also started shouting.

"Hu Juan, it's time to go back. If you don't go back now, the children will be waiting anxiously."

"Hu Juan......"

"Hu Juan......"

But the two of them shouted for a long time and did not hear Hu Juan respond.

The visitor returned to the dilapidated temple worriedly.

Chuntao threw the firewood away and ran towards Su Hanchu anxiously.

"Madam, Madam, we can't find Hu Juan. We agreed to gather at a place with a bundle of firewood. We've been waiting for a long time, but there's no sign of her. We've been calling her name all the way, but she hasn't responded. I'm afraid she's lost. What should we do? It's so cold, if she gets lost in the woods, she'll freeze to death."

Upon hearing this, Su Hanchu looked at the people from the Jun and Su families. Jiang Like and others had also returned early with firewood. Now Chuntao and Qiukui had arrived, and only Hu Juan was missing.

Before Su Hanchu could speak.

Wan'er, who was sitting by the fire with Chuntao's child Tao Yong and Qiukui's child Fang Zhiling, suddenly burst into tears.

"Mother, my mother..."

Then ran outside.

“Mother, mother…”

Hearing Wan'er's cry, Su Hanchu spoke hurriedly.

"Leave some of you to look after the luggage and children, and the rest of you go help look for people."

Then chase after him first.

"Wan'er, don't run around. We will all help find it."

Seeing this, Jun Moye hurried to follow. Hu Juan and the others had been with the Jun family for some time. During these days, the Jun family shared a portion of everything they ate with them. They were quite diligent. They would always leave the children behind to warm themselves by the fire, and then go to collect a lot of firewood. They never complained of coming back too late.

Chen Wenlin became even more flustered when he saw that most of the people from the Jun and Su families had gone to find Hu Juan.

"Brother..."

Fang Bolin gave him a warning look.

"Rest early and recharge your energy so you can travel quickly tomorrow."

He looked towards the door again.

I was sure that I was dead, and I had hit my head and was bleeding so much, there was no chance of me being alive.

Su Hanchu caught up with Wan'er and reached out to hold her hand, only to find that the child's face was covered with tears.

Wan'er looked at Su Hanchu and choked with sobs.

"Young Madam, I can't live without my mother. Can you help me find my mother? Wan'er, Wan'er can work, Young Madam..."

Su Hanchu hurriedly squatted down and wiped her tears.

"Wan'er, don't cry. With so many of us out looking for your mother, we're sure we can find her. Don't worry, don't be afraid. She might have lost her way because it was too dark. Look, there are so many of us holding torches. She should be able to see us soon. Come on, I'll take you with me."

Suddenly, loud shouts were heard from the woods where people were collecting firewood.

"Hu Juan......"

"Hu Juan......"

Su Hanchu held Wan'er's hand and called Hu Juan's name.

Wan'er kept shouting.

"Mother, mother... Wan'er is looking for you, mother, did you hear me..."

The small voice became more urgent.

Everyone shouted for a long time, but there was no response. Su Hanchu's heart sank. He was afraid that Hu Juan really had an accident. He didn't know if she fell somewhere.

I searched for a long time again.

Suddenly Chuntao's voice was heard.

"Someone, come quickly, we found it, it's here..."

Everyone hurried towards Chuntao.

Soon Chuntao's sharp cry was heard.

"ah…………"