Chapter 58. Upon learning of this, Yan Xu from Shenjianglou sent men to protect her. ...

The moonlight was faint, the river surface was vast and hazy, and the faint sounds of flowing water and the strange cries of low-flying night birds could be heard.

The icy river water gradually seeped in, and the box sank deeper. The deeper it went, the colder the water became, soaking through shoes, socks, and clothes, chilling it to the bone.

Lou Yan used the jade bracelet given to her by Yun Bing to cut the rope, but dared not make any big movements. She could only carefully tap the surface of the box one by one, barely suppressing the fear in her heart, and secretly hoping that someone could save her from the bleak night.

Perhaps it was a stroke of luck, for after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Lou Yanxu was half-submerged in the river and could barely hold on when she suddenly heard faint human voices not far away.

What was that sound?

A sharp-eyed person shouted, "There's a big box floating on the river!"

Lou Yanxu heard this clearly and urgently pounded the box several times, wishing she could smash it to pieces.

There's a sound coming from inside!

“Drag it up and let us take a look.”

She listened intently, a surge of joy welling up inside her. Then she felt the box move, hover in the air, and land.

The box was opened, and a high-pitched young male voice rang out, "Hey, it's a bride!"

The sudden light made Lou Yanxu half-shield her eyes with her hand, and her ears were ringing. When she moved her hand again, she saw a group of burly men in front of her, all staring at her with wide eyes.

Her mind went blank for a moment, then she heard someone ask, "Should we save her or not?"

"A bride being drowned in the river is probably not a good thing. Let's not get involved in this bad luck!" A woman in a wedding dress floating on the river is indeed very strange, and those who travel the world would naturally avoid her if possible. However, a middle-aged man with a big black beard had a flash of inspiration and said, "Doesn't Master Liu want a bride? This one looks good. Let's raise her and send her over in a few days!"

Lou Yanxu felt a chill run down her spine; it seemed she had encountered some bad people. She secretly glanced around; it was pitch black all around, and if she were abandoned now, there would probably be no chance of survival. Just as she was thinking about how to persuade them to take her away, she heard a jumble of voices around her again.

"Judging from her appearance and attire, she's no ordinary young lady."

"What are you afraid of? We'll take them to the Liu residence. If they want revenge, they can go to the Liu residence. It has nothing to do with us."

Both sides stuck to their own versions of events, and finally, a stern-faced person emerged from behind the layers of bodies and made the decision: "Take them with you."

Lou Yanxu's hands were tied behind her back and she was led into the cabin. She vaguely heard a burst of laughter behind her, saying that they had just sent away a batch of good goods, and now heaven had sent another one. Her heart sank to the bottom. She had run into a smuggler. If she didn't find a way to escape halfway, she was afraid she would be sent somewhere else.

It was pitch black all around, and the ship was rocking so hard that she felt nauseous. She had to hold onto the sides with both hands and look through the tiny window, barely big enough for one person, at the only light on the horizon before she felt a little better.

In her dazed state, she recalled that on the way to the wedding, the procession encountered a group of people blocking the long street and a conflict broke out. They had to stop to mediate and disperse the crowd. At this time, someone took advantage of the chaos to break into the bridal sedan chair. Before she could see clearly, she was drugged and knocked unconscious. When she woke up, she was already tied up in the trunk.

As the saying goes, snakes have their paths and rats have theirs; even the most powerful spies have their own secret routes. Dark clouds obscured the moon, plunging the surroundings into complete darkness. Not a single person could be seen along the way. Even if she managed to escape, she would likely be disoriented, and if she waited until dawn, her chances would be slim.

She was suddenly at a loss.

The sound of rushing water grew clearer, and the boat suddenly stopped. She heard someone outside greeting her, "I heard you brought back some good stuff this time?"

"Boss Cao has spoken. Brothers, don't have any crooked thoughts. Just take good care of yourselves. Once Shangzhou is sent to Master Liu's mansion, we won't have to work until spring."

Alright!

As they were talking, about ten people boarded the ship. Lou Yanxu was on guard, touched the jade bracelet on her wrist, and slowly cut the bindings on her hands with a short blade. At that moment, heavy footsteps came from outside the cabin.

"how?"

The guard replied nonchalantly, "Very quiet, they must be scared!"

The man warned in a deep voice, "Keep a close eye on things, don't let anything go wrong."

"Don't worry, Boss Cao!"

After their conversation ended, she realized that "Boss Cao" was about to leave, so she hurriedly moved over and kicked the hatch, which provoked the guard to shout angrily, "I advise you to behave yourself..."

"Open the door!"

"Open the door!"

She called out twice, finally getting a glimmer of light. The cabin door opened, and by the dim ship's lamplight, she saw a long scar on the left temple of the person in front of her, extending to his chin. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to suppress the fear in her heart, and spoke sharply.

Do you know who I am?

“Anyone who holds a government official hostage will be executed. If I disappear at that time, the Emperor will order a search and charge me with the crime of illegally buying and selling people. How many heads do you have?”

The newcomer was half a head taller than her, yet despite her inferior position, she regarded him as an ant, her voice ringing out loudly.

"Are you trying to say that you are a female official personally appointed by the emperor?" Boss Cao squinted and walked up to him, scoffing, "You're quite good at making up stories."

Lou Yanxu met her gaze. "You are welcome to investigate."

The two sides locked in a tense standoff, neither willing to back down. Boss Cao was very wary, and after a long while, his face darkened, his expression turning icy cold. "Even if what you're saying is true, if we let you go, there's no guarantee you won't report it. At that point, we won't escape the same fate either. Since things have come to this, just give up on that idea!"

This person is rational and cautious, and does not easily trust anyone, making him difficult to deal with. Without saying any more words, she broke free of the ropes on her hands at that moment. Ignoring the proper separation between men and women, she simply leaped up and, as Cao Laoda turned around, recklessly climbed onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist, with the short blade on her bracelet pressed against her throat.

Since the enemy outnumbered and outgunned, the only option was to capture their leader first.

Her men were startled, but they quickly noticed the unexpected situation and rushed over in a large group. Lou Yanxu's heart pounded wildly, and she shouted forward.

"Don't move!"

"Tell them to turn their boats around and head towards Chang'an!"

We must not let the ship sail to Shangzhou, where she is unfamiliar with the place and people, and she will be even more isolated and helpless then.

But these men were no pushovers. After the boat had sailed about five miles, they all exchanged knowing glances and winks. Lou Yanxu, keeping a watchful eye on them, took Cao Laoda hostage and left the cabin. In the distance, she spotted a dim, yellowish light – a government checkpoint. She immediately ordered the men to head in that direction; they would be safe once they found the government officials.

Seeing her lost in thought, Boss Cao tentatively moved, but she seemed to sense his presence. The short blade pierced her skin without mercy, drawing blood. "At worst, I'll trade my life for hers," she thought. Now, she was determined to be even more reckless than these men.

Sure enough, they dared not come forward again.

But these people were all shady characters, how could they dare to get close to the government? Her chokehold was impossible to shake off, the knife was stuck in the neck, and blood would splatter on the spot if one was not careful. But as the ship got closer and closer, some of the men couldn't hold back anymore and were considering whether to sacrifice Boss Cao to save the rest of the ship.

At this moment, everyone had the same idea. They understood each other with just a glance and in the blink of an eye, they were already approaching with their knives drawn. Cao Laoda saw what they meant, his face darkened instantly, his rat-like eyes darted around, and he pushed Lou Yanxu's arm forward with great force. The tip of his knife lightly sliced ​​half a circle across Lou Yanxu's neck, and then Lou Yanxu was thrown to the ground.

His speed was so fast that it was clear he was a trained fighter.

Cao Laoda tore off a piece of his clothing and tightly wrapped it around the wound on his neck. His eyes were cold and menacing. He kicked Lou Yanxu, who was lying on the ground, as if he wanted to kick her to death.

She quickly rolled half a circle, barely dodging the attack, but the next wave of attacks followed immediately, leaving her no time to react.

Yun Lu descended from the sky and flashed to Lou Yanxu's side to protect her. Then, a group of people boarded the ship and surrounded them, causing the private gang to surrender.

"Keep a close eye on them!" Yun Lu ordered sharply, then turned and softened, asking softly, "Madam Lou, are you injured?"

The sudden turn of events startled Lou Yanxu. She only came to her senses when the boat stopped at the checkpoint. Realizing her hands were still trembling, she mechanically shook her head and asked him, "How did you run into them?"

"My lord ordered me to take good care of you." At this point, Yun Lu lowered his head, looking somewhat troubled. His lord had ordered him to take good care of Lady Lou, but he had still inadvertently put her in a dangerous situation. Fortunately, she was not seriously injured in the end, but he would still have to be punished.

Lou Yanxu stood frozen in place, meaning that he had been ordered by Xu Congjing to track her down here specifically to rescue her. She had never known that Xu Congjing had done all this for her in secret, and now that she knew, she felt a mix of emotions.

After hesitating for a long time, she asked, "Where is he?"

Yunlu was overjoyed; he had finally gotten around to Lou Niangzi asking about it!

He looked up, his face filled with bitterness and deep sorrow.

"My lord has been poisoned."

"His life is in danger."

Then, he saw that Lady Lou was stunned for a moment, opening her mouth but unable to make a sound.

...

Night in Chang'an.

After the banquet, Lu Hengzhi returned to the bridal chamber, but he couldn't stay there for even a short while before heading straight for Madam Du's courtyard. Madam Du had just turned off the lamp and was seemingly taking a break when he burst in. The mother and son stared at each other, extremely embarrassed.

But Lu Hengzhi couldn't care less about any of that. His face was dark and terrifying, and his eyes were filled with a chilling glint. "Mother, aren't you going to explain? What happened to Ning Jingran?" It was supposed to be a joyous wedding night, but who knew that the bride would be replaced by someone else after the fan? How could he accept this?

“You should go and question that Lady Lou now!” Madam Du retorted without backing down, concealing the guilt in her eyes as she turned the tables, “If she hadn’t run away halfway, why would I have had to go through all this trouble to make further arrangements?”

She had anticipated this and had prepared her explanation, but Lu Hengzhi didn't believe Lou Yanxu would run away. He was more inclined to believe that something had happened to her and that her current disappearance must be the result of someone's deliberate plot. As for who that person was...

He looked at his mother with a questioning look in his eyes, "I know whether she ran away or was kidnapped. But you, instead of looking for her when she disappeared, you made such a fool of yourself. What were you thinking?"

"Whether she runs away or not is her own choice, what does it have to do with me? You ran out like this in a daze, do you know how wronged Jingran is?" Madam Du really liked Ning Jingran. She came from a clean family and was kind. She was sure that she would be able to live a peaceful life as a wife and mother in the future. On the other hand, she was dissatisfied with Lou Yanxu in every way. So even if her son was angry, she was going to change the bride!

Lu Hengzhi could roughly guess most of her ulterior motives. He respected his mother all his life and never expected her to do such a thing. He smiled bitterly and said, "She's wronged, but am I not wronged too?"

Doesn't he feel wronged? Doesn't Wanwan feel wronged? The person disappeared right under his nose; he wished he could slap himself to death!

After a moment, he said in a deep voice, "Mother, it's best if this has nothing to do with you."

"What do you mean? Are you implying that I did something to her?" Madam Du was somewhat flustered.

"If she hadn't been prepared in advance, where would Ning Jingran have gotten her wedding dress?" Not only that, he personally witnessed Lou Yanxu getting into the sedan chair. On the way, they had to stop and drive away a group of people who were blocking their way. It must have been at that moment that she was kidnapped.

"Originally, I had the final say on your marriage. I had already reached an agreement with the Ning family. If you hadn't suddenly changed your mind, the marriage would have been a done deal, and I would have prepared my wedding attire long ago."

Du tried to argue, but suddenly realized that her words wouldn't fool her son. However, being mother and son, she figured a little fuss would pass; there was no such thing as a grudge that would last overnight. Thinking this, she naturally became more assertive, puffed out her chest, and blurted everything out: "Yes, I orchestrated this whole thing! I locked her in a box and threw her into the river. She's probably dead by now. Going there won't do you any good! Just obediently go to the bridal chamber!"

"You're killing someone!"

Lu Hengzhi gave her a deep look, chuckled self-deprecatingly, and without arguing with her any further, turned and left the mansion.

The most important thing right now is to save the people.

Unable to stop Lu Hengzhi, Madam Du collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Murder? So what if she murdered? Her hands were already dirty. She pondered for a moment, brushed the dust off her clothes, gritted her teeth, and stood up, once again adopting the demeanor of a noblewoman.

The next day, however, she felt inexplicably uneasy and had to go to Huiju Temple to find peace of mind.

As she passed by the lake, a mysterious hand suddenly pushed her from behind, causing her to fall into the water without warning.

She screamed and struggled, then saw Lou Yanxu standing on the shore, who should have been dead.