The madwoman had become completely unscrupulous, disregarding all laws and regulations, and immediately tried to attack people.
"You, a concubine sold into slavery, have given birth to only lowly children! How dare you live in the General's Mansion? Qin, your retribution has come! I will make your son pay with his life for my daughter!"
Seeing that she had gone mad, Zhang Xiue picked up a wooden stick and knocked her unconscious to the ground.
Encountering such a thing so soon after entering the city would inevitably alarm the soldiers guarding it.
The middle-aged man who had let them in earlier saw that someone had almost died and immediately led his men over to inquire.
"It's you guys again? Aren't you here to do business? What, do you have acquaintances in this city?"
Song He'er quickly shook her head, "No, this woman is insane. We don't know her at all. She tried to kill my brother, so we knocked her unconscious!"
The middle-aged man clearly didn't believe it. "Why would she come to kill you for no reason? I think there must be a hidden story behind this!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Song Chanxing appeared out of nowhere, pointing at Song He'er's nose and shouting, "Don't let them go! They are wanted criminals! They are to be exiled to Xinzhou! They escaped here because they killed the escorting officials from the Central Plains on the way. Officials, please arrest them quickly, especially this woman, who is cunning and will harm others and herself! Don't fall into their trap!"
Song He'er never imagined that this mother and daughter would actually make it here alive and even sneak into the city. If she had known this would happen, they would have been better off taking a detour with Wang San and not getting involved in this mess.
The city gate guard sized up Song He'er and her group, then turned to Song Chanxing and asked, "How did you know? Do you know them?"
Song Chanxing had already prepared herself for mutual destruction. Hearing the soldiers ask her this, she simply looked up and replied, "I...this person and I are half-sisters. My father was imprisoned half a year ago and exiled to Xinzhou two months ago. We were originally together. It was all because of her—she had ulterior motives and was two-faced, that my mother and I almost lost our lives. Everything I have said is true. If I have lied, may I be struck by lightning!"
Song He'er was so angry when she saw Song Chanxing that her palms itched. How could she have such a shameless sister!
It was too lenient of her not to kill her at the General's Mansion last time; a woman like that is a menace to the world.
The city gate guards, upon hearing her swear a solemn oath, began to slowly believe her words.
Song He'er sneered, "Struck by lightning? Who can predict matters of life and death? What would Heaven want with your life? Who knows if you're framing me? We can't cut open your stomach to find out the truth, so no one will believe these words."
"You! Song He'er! You're still so eloquent! So silver-tongued! I will never let you go! I will never... because of you... my sister jumped off that hillside because she couldn't bear the humiliation. She was the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion, and you killed her so badly that her body was never recovered!"
He was about to attack again when he was stopped by the soldiers.
"Stop right there! This is Xizhou, and you are from the Central Plains. If you want to argue about right and wrong, please leave the city. Don't disturb our lives here. Guards! Drag them all out!"
As they spoke, the officers and soldiers rushed over to pull the person away.
"Don't touch me! Don't touch our child!" Li Qiang's wife and Su Yu's wife struggled beside them, not letting the child out of their sight for a moment.
Song Chanxing, standing nearby, was looking over here with a smug expression.
"Stop it, all of you!"
A cold, sharp, and magnetic voice came from not far away.
Song He'er looked up and saw a tall man standing not far away, dressed in exotic clothing, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, his features so sculpted they looked like they had been carved.
His cloud-patterned red brocade riding boots and the exquisite jade disc from Hetian worn at his waist highlighted his special status.
Sure enough, as soon as the soldiers guarding the city gate saw him, they immediately stood obediently to the side, saying, "Your Highness."
"What's going on? Why are you making such a racket here?"
"Your Highness, a group of convicts from the Central Plains have come here, attempting to infiltrate our Xizhou. However, they are currently arguing, and I am about to drive them all out!"
"A convict? If he's a convict, why didn't you have any escorting officials?" The person addressed as His Highness was clearly not incompetent and knew to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Just as the officers were about to speak, Song Chanxing, who had gone mad, rushed in front of the man and continued with the same line of reasoning.
"They killed the escort officer from the Central Plains, that little bitch! It was her! Arrest her, don't let her into the city!"
The man frowned slightly, clearly disgusted by the woman's erratic behavior.
Then, following the direction Song Chanxing pointed, they saw a girl who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old standing among the crowd. She was wearing a plain beige long robe with no patterns on it, and had bright eyes and white teeth. Her long, jet-black hair was draped over her shoulders.
"Come here."
Song He'er walked step by step to the man's side, not daring to look up.
Is what she said true?
After a long period of building up her emotions, Song He'er looked up again, her eyes brimming with tears, so watery and pitiful.
"Sir, what she said isn't true. She and her mother are both insane. How can you believe the words of a madman? We are honest businessmen. If they were prisoners, look at us, how come we have carts, camels, and all these fruits and vegetables? Could it be that the imperial court is rationing us?"
"How dare you! This is our young prince! Not some adult!" The soldiers beside her said sharply, wishing they could throw Song He'er out right now.
The person addressed as Your Highness waved his hand, signaling him to step aside.
"Since both sides have a valid point, there's no way to resolve this. So, come with me!"
The man was indeed handsome, with eyes as bright as stars fallen from the Milky Way. Even when he put on a cold face, he couldn't hide his sunny disposition.
"Go? Your Highness, where are you taking us?"
"The prison cell." With that, he left without looking back.
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoniang immediately took the two children into her arms.
Zhang Xiue tried to struggle, but no matter how strong she was, she couldn't overcome the pulling and tugging of the people around her.
Soon, the donkey cart and camel were taken away by the soldiers, and all of them, along with Song Chanxing and Li Shi, were taken to a place called "Yousi".
Su Yu's wife was terrified again. She hadn't spoken for several days and seemed to have suffered a mental breakdown. She held her child and cried in the corner.
"Madam Zhou, don't cry, we will definitely find a way to get out!"
"Get away from me! Get away from me! It's all your fault! It's all the General's Mansion's fault!"
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