Chapter 1 Jumping into the River to Save Him
On the ninth day of the fifth month in the second year of Hongde, in Xiejia Village.
As the sun rose, an unusually intense but brief argument broke out in the usually quiet Xie family ancestral home.
Sixteen-year-old Xie Wanniang stared intently at the elegant woman sitting in front of her, drinking tea gracefully. She was dressed in a Taoist robe, well-maintained, and looked to be only in her early twenties.
Her clear, melodious voice, tinged with barely suppressed despair and anger, cried out, "I've said it so many times, I don't want to be recognized as a member of the same family! I don't want to be recognized as a member of the same family!"
"I've said it many times, you must acknowledge your ancestors and return to your clan." The woman's voice, calm yet tinged with a hint of coldness, stated the unwavering determination of its owner, Xie Wan's mother, Xie Jing Shu.
"You really want to send me to my death, don't you?" Xie Wanniang's tears flowed uncontrollably, her voice trembling with sobs. "You're upset that I'm living a peaceful life, aren't you?"
"How dare you!" The teacup was smashed to the ground, the sound of shattering porcelain echoing through the courtyard. Immediately following was a deep, angry female voice, "Is this how you speak to your elders? Have you forgotten all the manners you learned?"
"Heh...heh heh heh...heh heh heh..." Xie Wanniang's laughter, which sounded like both laughter and tears, followed from the courtyard. Her voice carried a sense of despair and madness after she had lost all hope.
Haitang, the round-faced maid who had been sent by Xie Jingshu to guard the gate outside Fenghe Garden, looked worried. After thinking for a moment, she tiptoed towards the main courtyard.
Oh no, her daughter's reaction is really too strange. She has to go and get the master to come to her rescue.
"Stop pretending to be crazy." After Haitang left, Xie Jingshu's angry voice rang out again, "You are my child. I said you have to acknowledge your ancestors, so you must acknowledge your ancestors! Whether you cry or make a scene, in the end, you're the only one who will lose face."
As she spoke, Xie Jingshu softened her tone and adopted the posture of a wise elder, "If you don't want to leave a bad impression on your father and grandmother, and make them dislike you for no reason as soon as you meet them, you should stop being so pretentious as soon as possible."
After speaking, she gracefully stood up and moved lightly out of the courtyard.
Not seeing Haitang at the door, Xie Jingshu frowned slightly, thinking to herself that the Xie family had really declined, as even their servants had no manners whatsoever.
She turned and followed Haitang to the main courtyard.
Packing things doesn't necessarily have to be done by the owner herself; she could have her brother and sister-in-law send a few maids or servants to help.
Xie Jingshu, who was determined to force the ox to drink water even if it didn't want to, didn't know that no sooner had she left than Xie Wanniang, with red eyes and tears streaming down her face, stumbled out of the house.
Her residence, Fenghe Garden, was located in the northeast corner of the Xie family's old house. After leaving the courtyard and walking along the corridor for about half a cup of tea's time, Xie Wanniang could open the side gate of the house and sneak into the village full of Xie clan members to play.
She had done this many times in the past ten years of her life, but her condition today was so bad that she didn't want the Xie clan members in the village to see her like this.
Taking advantage of the fact that most households were eating and the village roads were almost deserted, Xie Wanniang discreetly left the village.
Xiejia Village is located more than 20 miles from Qingxu Mountain, nestled against hills and facing a plain. After leaving the village, it takes about 35 minutes to walk along the field ridges to reach the vicinity of Tanghe River.
In the past, Xie Wanniang often went here with the girls from the village. They would cut reeds, collect duck eggs, and encourage the brothers from the clan who came with them to catch wild ducks.
That was one of their precious and rare happy memories during the war years.
Memories flooded back uncontrollably, and Xie Wanniang's tears flowed even more fiercely.
With tears streaming down her face, Xie Wanniang ran and walked to the riverbank. She was about to find a dry rock to sit on and calm herself down so she could think of a solution when two figures, who had been quietly following her, suddenly pounced on her.
At the same time, strange noises came from her left and right rear. Xie Wanniang subconsciously turned her head and found two burly men with fierce faces, holding daggers, rapidly approaching her. She immediately realized that they were up to no good.
Her right hand instinctively reached for her left sleeve pocket, only to find nothing. Xie Wanniang then realized that she hadn't planned to go out to play today; she had impulsively run away.
The self-defense powder she used is still lying in her vanity case!
Xie Wanniang, who only knew a little self-defense, did not think she could deal with two strong men wielding daggers without the help of the medicine powder. So she made a quick decision, lifted her skirt and ran straight to the river.
Although she was born into the Xie family, Xie Wanniang was not like other Xie family women, a delicate and pampered young lady.
Xie Wanniang, who has always regarded survival as her top priority, has paid great attention to physical exercise and mastering essential survival skills in both her past and present lives.
She ran swiftly, alternating her feet, to the riverbank with a speed that surprised the two burly men, without even blinking. Then, she leaped into the river in a flash.
Although the two men didn't think that she, the legitimate daughter of the Xie family, could have any outstanding swimming skills, they still made a quick decision after receiving the order to "not let her live to see tomorrow's sun."
One of them ran along the riverbank, keeping a close eye on Xie Wanniang as she drifted downstream, while the other ran to find the two horses they had hidden in the thicket.
The sound of horses' hooves soon rang out. Hearing this noise, Xie Wanniang, who was drifting downstream, had a bad feeling. She glanced sideways out of the corner of her eye and sure enough, she saw the two unscrupulous guys riding horses one after the other, chasing her along the riverbank.
She sighed inwardly, thinking that she should conserve her energy as much as possible.
Putting everything else aside, she at least has to hold out until the terrain becomes relatively complex enough to help her escape the downstream section of the river from the two men; otherwise, she will still face certain death.
As she carefully drifted downstream, Xie Wanniang cursed her biological father's family in her heart.
Oh, and her own mother, who insisted on making her acknowledge her ancestors against her will, also received many kind greetings from her without using any vulgar language.
The clattering of hooves along the riverbank was indistinct due to the distance and the sound of flowing water, but Xie Wanniang dared not relax for a moment.
Having finally found a place by the riverbank covered with reeds, and surrounded by a sizable patch of willows and poplars, Xie Wanniang managed to shake off the two people who would have to abandon their horses or take a detour. She quickly plucked a reed stalk to use as her underwater breathing aid.
Keep one end of a reed stalk above the water and the other end in your mouth, keeping the reed stalk perpendicular to the water and stable in your mouth. Then submerge yourself completely underwater and swim quickly downstream.
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