Chapter 7 The Sixth Prince
Jiang Yu and her companions traveled without incident for five days before arriving outside the capital. Upon reaching a pavilion, the steward, Li Zhong, stopped the carriage and approached Jiang Yu's carriage, saying, "Miss, we'll be in the capital in a little over an hour. Let's rest here for a bit."
"good."
Jiang Yu lifted the car curtain and saw the pavilion on the side. She and her parents got out of the car and were about to walk towards the pavilion when suddenly a man in black jumped out from the woods by the roadside and went straight for Jiang Yu.
Cheng Yunxiu and Jiang Mingchang both gasped in surprise, and Jiang Yu instinctively kicked the man in the groin. At the same time, with a thud, an arrow pierced the black-clad man's shoulder, blood spurting out and splashing onto Jiang Yu's face, and the black-clad man fell to the ground.
Jiang Yu looked in the direction the arrow had come from and saw a group of people riding horses galloping towards them. The leader held a bow and arrow, wore a black robe with gold patterns, and had cold, indifferent features, exuding a murderous aura. In a few breaths, he arrived, sitting on a brown-red steed, looking down at Jiang Yu and his group.
The young and beautiful woman had porcelain-white skin that was almost flawless, making the bright red blood on her cheeks stand out starkly. Yet, the woman remained remarkably calm, as if she hadn't just been in danger.
Qin Jingwei's gaze deepened as he looked at Jiang Yu. He had never seen a woman so composed in the face of danger. Glancing at the insignia on the carriage, he asked, "From the Duke of Chu's mansion?"
Li Zhong quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "This humble one greets the Sixth Prince."
The Sixth Prince, Qin Jingwei, glanced at him. "I've seen you before; you're the steward of the Duke of Chu's mansion."
Li Zhong bowed again, "Yes."
Knowing that this was the Sixth Prince, Jiang Yu had no choice but to step forward and bow, "This humble woman greets the Sixth Prince."
Qin Jingwei glanced at the bloodstains on her cheek again and asked, "Who are you?"
“This is our eldest daughter,” Li Zhong said immediately.
Qin Jingwei glanced down at the bow and arrow in his hand and said casually, "Wasn't your young lady lost when she was a child?"
“Found it, just found it,” Li Zhong replied.
"Oh, that's wonderful news! I'll ask the Duke of Chu for a celebratory drink later." Qin Jingwei glanced at Jiang Yu again and said, "It's dangerous here, let's leave quickly."
Jiang Yu and the others bowed to him again, then boarded the carriage. The carriage began to move with a rumble. Jiang Yu lifted the curtain and looked back, and saw that the Sixth Prince Qin Jingwei's men had tied the black-clad man's hands and feet and thrown him onto the horse.
Jiang Yu wondered what kind of job the Sixth Prince was doing. When she turned her head, her eyes met his. She was taken aback for a moment, and then nodded slightly.
The Sixth Prince looked at her with deep eyes, filled with inquiry and amusement, while Jiang Yu indifferently lowered the carriage curtain.
"That was terrifying!" Cheng Yunxiu patted her chest and said, "Thank goodness you reacted quickly, Yu'er... no, Yu'er, how did you react so fast?"
Jiang Yu wiped the blood from her face with a handkerchief and said, "It was just a subconscious reaction."
Actually, she had practiced martial arts in her past life. Because of her job at the time, there was a certain chance of being retaliated against, and her parents were worried about her safety, so they found a retired special forces soldier to train her for a period of time.
“However, the sixth prince’s arrows are also very fast,” Jiang Mingchang said.
Jiang Yu nodded and told them what was going to happen next: "You will come with me to the Duke's mansion in a while. Don't be too reserved. If anyone says anything to you, just talk back. We can't let ourselves be wronged."
Cheng Yunxiu took Jiang Yu's hand and said, "I've heard that those grand mansions have strict rules. Yu'er, if you feel uncomfortable in the Duke's mansion, or if anyone makes you suffer, just come back with your parents and we'll live our own little life."
Jiang Yu rested her head on her shoulder, "I know my parents are my support."
Cheng Yunxiu sighed, "When your father and I bought you to raise you as our own child, many people said we were foolish. They said we should have raised a boy, who could take care of us in our old age."
But I just felt a connection with you. You were standing among a row of children, not crying or making a fuss, just looking at me with those big eyes. My heart melted completely. I've been a shrew for years, but I've never been so soft-hearted before.
Jiang Yu chuckled. She didn't know if she had lost her memories after being abducted and hitting her head, or if the eldest daughter of the Duke's mansion had died after being abducted and she had taken over the other's body. In any case, she was in the hands of human traffickers when she opened her eyes. She made herself look ugly and dull so that she wouldn't be sold to a brothel or dragged to a slave trader to be sold as a maid.
At that time, Cheng Yunxiu was only about twenty years old, but her fierce demeanor was no less than it is now, making her stand out among the group of people who planned to buy people. Jiang Yu observed her carefully and noticed that although she didn't speak gently, she touched the children very lightly and didn't make them open their mouths to check their teeth.
She immediately realized that Cheng Yunxiu was kind at heart, so she used all her acting skills to attract her and get her to take her home.
“Now everyone says I’m lucky,” Cheng Yunxiu said again. “Our family business grew from a small grocery store to a grain store, from one shop to dozens. The business expanded from Yunshui Town to Yingzhou Prefecture. If it weren’t for you, Yu’er, your father and I wouldn’t have the good life we have now. I often say that I must have been a good person for ten lifetimes to be able to be my Yu’er’s mother.”
Jiang Mingchang chuckled beside him, "Me too."
Jiang Yu felt that in her past life she had investigated and punished many corrupt officials and dismantled one criminal gang after another, and later died in the line of duty. She believed that she had accumulated good karma, which was why she had such good adoptive parents in this life. Otherwise, a child who was abducted at the age of three, no matter how mature she was, would not have had a good life.
As they spoke, the carriage stopped, and the steward Li Zhong's voice rang out from outside, "Miss, Master Jiang and Madam Jiang, we have arrived at the Duke of Chu's mansion."
Jiang Yu lifted the carriage curtain and saw a man and two women standing at the door. The man looked to be in his early twenties, dressed in a silver robe, with a handsome face and charming eyes; he was undeniably dashing. The young woman standing next to him was dressed in bright red and had a beautiful face; the two of them looked quite well-matched.
Behind the glamorous woman stood a young woman in a blue dress with a pale complexion, who appeared much less striking than the two women in front of her.
"Young Miss, let this old servant help you out of the carriage." The old woman behind the beautiful woman came over and extended her hand.
Jiang Yu placed her hand on Cheng Yunxiu's palm, stepped off the vehicle using the bench, then helped Cheng Yunxiu down, and finally Jiang Mingchang got off by himself.
"This must be your younger sister," the beautiful woman said with a smile as she walked over, took Jiang Yu's hand, and said to the man, "She looks just like her mother."
Jiang Yu didn't know who she was, so he smiled at her. The beautiful woman said, "I am your own sister-in-law."
She pointed at the man and said, "This is your eldest brother."
"This is your second sister-in-law," she introduced, pointing to the simply dressed woman.
Jiang Yu greeted them and bowed, then the beautiful woman walked up to Cheng Yunxiu and said with a smile, "This must be Aunt Jiang?"
She bowed to Cheng Yunxiu and said, "Thank you so much, Auntie, for taking care of my younger sister all these years. If it weren't for you, my younger sister would have suffered so much."
“You’re welcome,” Cheng Yunxiu said cheerfully and proudly. “Yu’er is smart and filial. Everyone says I’ve raised a good daughter.”
The beautiful woman's smile remained unchanged, but Jiang Yu caught a fleeting glimpse of disdain and contempt in her eyes. What a shrewd woman!
The man, who was probably her older brother, wasn't as "shrewd." When he spoke to Jiang Mingchang, his perfunctory attitude and disdain were clearly written on his face. Jiang Mingchang was honest and simple-minded, but not stupid at all. He understood the man's attitude towards him perfectly well.
But he was used to being gentle, so even if he was uncomfortable inside, he would still smile on the outside. When Cheng Yunxiu saw this, the smile on her face froze for a moment. Jiang Yu thought that, given her personality, she would immediately take action, but she said nothing and did nothing.
“Big brother is a man of strong emotions,” Jiang Yu said with a smile.
Her smile was radiant and her eyes genuine, and the eldest grandson of the Duke of Chu's family naturally didn't notice her displeasure. Cheng Yunxiu had raised her for fifteen years and knew her temperament well; she knew her daughter was unhappy because her father had been neglected.
She felt comforted, thinking that she hadn't raised this daughter in vain.
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