Xiaoyue lowered her head and tugged at Liang Qi's sleeve, saying shyly, "Really."

Liang Qi lifted Xiaoyue's chin with his hand and gently stroked her nose, then asked thoughtfully, "How did you escape?"

Xiaoyue then told Liang Qiyi about the situation.

Liang Qi frowned again. "Have you offended someone? Or does someone have a grudge against you?"

Xiaoyue tugged at Liang Qi's sleeve and shook it, saying, "No, I don't know who sent them. I only remember that one of them was called Sihu, and another one had a scar on his upper lip."

Liang Qi looked down and suddenly saw that Xiaoyue's ankles were swollen like steamed buns, so he picked her up and put her on the oxcart.

The two drove home.

...

Before long, Xiaoyue's cabbages in the field were ready to be harvested. With three acres of cabbages, Xiaoyue hired Liang Qi's car, and every day before dawn, Xiaoyue and Liang Qi would go to the county to sell the cabbages. After returning in the afternoon, Xiaoyue and Lu Xiaomei would harvest the cabbages.

Just as the cabbage was being prepared, the tenth day of the tenth lunar month arrived, marking Xu Fanyuan's wedding.

That day, Xiaoyue changed into the eight-panel ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) that Lu Xiaomei had specially made for her. Lu Xiaomei helped Xiaoyue comb her hair into a bun and wrapped her head with a cloth of the same color as the dress, tucking a strand of bangs behind her ear.

With a pale, clear face and slightly dark skin, her eyes were bright and clear, and there were faint scars on her face. After tidying herself up, Xiaoyue left early to help out at the Xu family's house.

When people in the countryside have a wedding, most of the women in the village will be there to chop vegetables, wash dishes, distribute wedding candy and cigarettes, and set up the lunch table.

Xiaoyue was assigned to wash dishes. There was a well in the backyard of the Xu family, and it was right next to the hand pump. She could wash the dishes while pumping water, which was quite convenient. Xiaoyue wasn't good at socializing, so this job was good for her.

Xiaoyue heard the sound of firecrackers in the front yard, so she quickly put down the bowl in her hand and ran to the front yard. The yard was full of people. The children had been chased out of the yard by the adults. Most of the people standing inside were women and men who were helping out.

Xiaoyue squeezed through the crowded throng to the corridor to see the bride. The bride arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. The village children crowded onto the walls and climbed trees to see her. It was the first time Niukou Village had ever seen a bride arrive in a horse-drawn carriage.

The groom lifted the curtain of the bride's carriage, and the bride, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, stepped down from the carriage with the groom's help. This was because in rural areas, it's not customary to cover the bride's head with a veil.

So when Xiaoyue saw the bride, she was beaming with joy. She was extremely slender, with a well-defined figure, and her gait was very feminine, swaying gracefully with every step.

Her hair was jet black like satin, she had an oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, and always had a smile on her face.

Somehow, her dark, big eyes met Xiaoyue's gaze. Xiaoyue, who was initially happy about the occasion, smiled at the bride, but the bride immediately put on a stern face and looked away.

Xiaoyue didn't know where she had offended the bride, and she awkwardly tried to leave the crowd. In a daze, she seemed to see the people who had arrested her that day.

Xiaoyue walked through the crowd and headed out of the courtyard, going against the flow of people. She kept apologizing to those entering the courtyard, attracting many disgusted looks along the way, but she ignored them.

It wasn't until a hand grabbed Xiaoyue's hand as she ran out that Xiaoyue reacted, looked up and saw it was Liang Qi. She hurriedly said to Liang Qi, "I saw the person who arrested me that day."

Liang Qi immediately panicked and hurriedly pulled Xiaoyue outside. Liang Qi was strong; he stretched out one arm, clearing a path for Xiaoyue without hurting her. The two quickly reached the main road.

Xiaoyue looked around, searching for those few figures she had glimpsed in a fleeting moment.

Xiaoyue and Liangqi stood by the carriage, looking around at the crowds, but still couldn't see anyone. Disappointed, Xiaoyue came to Liangqi's side, sighed, and said, "Let's go. Maybe I made a mistake. I still have work to do."

Liang Qi was there to give a gift, and since he had nothing else to do, he followed Xiaoyue into the backyard and went to the dishwashing area.

Seeing that Xiaoyue had accumulated a stack of bowls, he reached out and helped her wash them.

After washing up, Xiaoyue stood up, stretched her aching back from squatting, and just as she stretched her arms over her head, she pulled Liang Qi up and pointed to the roof.

Liang Qi also saw the four people lining up to run down from the roof. Xiao Yue's eyes widened, and then she said, "That's them."

Liang Qi leaped up and kicked each of the four men who had just landed, leaving them numb and unable to get up for a while.

Xiaoyue used a knife to cut the clothesline behind them and tied the four of them together with Liang Qi.

They found Village Chief Xu and told Old Man Xu about what happened that day. It just so happened that Old Man Xu had invited officials from the yamen to his son's wedding, and they had even prepared a table in the main room to drink with them.

Village Chief Xu went inside and told the officials. The four constables went to the backyard and burst into laughter. It turned out that the four men were the very people wanted by the county for robbing a wealthy family; not one of them was missing.

One of them patted Village Chief Xu on the shoulder: "Old Man Xu, you're amazing, you're really amazing! You even gave us four brothers a gift after drinking your wine." Haha, the four of them laughed non-stop.

Xiaoyue repeated what had happened that day to the constable, who understood and considered the matter closed.

The next day, a letter came from the county government office, asking Xiaoyue to go there. Xiaoyue found Liang Qi and they rode together to the county government office. When Xiaoyue knelt down in front of the office, she was surprised to find that the bride was also kneeling in front of the hall.

The magistrate slammed his gavel. "Liu Chunse, those four confessed that you ordered them to do it. Is that true or not? You still insist on stealing from your employer and colluding with thieves to rob the landlord's property. Do you admit it or not?"

Xiaoyue was completely bewildered by the magistrate's two sentences. It was the first time Xiaoyue had ever heard of the bride's name, Liu Chunse, and she couldn't recall having any connection with her.

As Xiaoyue was pondering this, Liu Chunse spoke up leisurely: "I was originally a maid in Young Master Qi's household. Over time, we developed feelings for each other, but the mistress wouldn't let me in. She said that if I became a concubine, it would disgrace her family's reputation."

And so, they gave me two taels of silver and sent me home. Just then, Si Hu and his three companions came to my father that day asking for more money, so I told them about the master's affairs and the distribution of servants in the mansion.

It just so happened that Young Master Qi and his mistress had gone up the mountain to attend to Buddhist rituals. Who knew that the four of them actually went?

Liu Chunse frowned, as if she loathed the four people.

The magistrate slammed his gavel again: "Liu Chunse, stop making excuses. Tell me why you hired someone to kidnap Xiaoyue?"

Liu Chunse glared at Xiaoyue: "He seduced my fiancé."

Xiaoyue was speechless. She angrily questioned Liu Chunse, "Produce the evidence. I've only met Xu Fanyuan three times. Aren't you just trying to pin this on me?"