Chapter 57 The Strange Things: She was kidnapped by bandits!
The long night stretched endlessly, with dark clouds pressing down on Qingheng Mountain like a heavy weight. The long, incessant night wind rushed down, wildly shaking the dense branches. Amidst the sharp clamor, there was a sense of impending storm.
The woman's voice suddenly rang out, shrill and painful, mixed with the surging wind, completely jolting Xue Rongyue back to her senses from her daze.
Even though the woman's voice was trembling and hoarse, Xue Rongyue still immediately recognized the familiarity of the voice. Her brows furrowed instantly, and she quickly lifted the curtain and stepped down.
"Guanhe, what happened? How did you end up here, looking so disheveled? Where's your wife?!"
The wind is picking up.
Jingnu, worried about the chill of the night wind, quickly took a cloak from the carriage and draped it over Xue Rongyue. Upon hearing this, she was also surprised: "Is that Guanhe, the maidservant of Madam Zheng?"
The night was dark. The woman was wearing a cloak and had her head down. Jingnu hadn't gotten a good look at the figure that Luo Zhen had stopped. But now that she got closer, she saw that pale and disheveled face. It was none other than Guanhe.
Guanhe's eyes were filled with tears. Her once fair and smooth face was now covered in dust and grime. Several bloodstains appeared under her eyebrows and eyes. Her left leg seemed to have been slashed, making it difficult to support her body. If she hadn't been holding onto the cypress tree beside her, she would have already collapsed to the ground.
Xue Rongyue's heart sank lower and lower.
Together with Jingnu, they helped Guanhe into the carriage, where the bright candlelight inside dispelled some of the chill.
Guanhe looked at Xue Rongyue, and her fear and wariness finally subsided. Tears streamed down her face as she knelt down with a thud: "Madam Xue, please, please save my wife! She...she's been kidnapped by bandits!"
Jingnu was startled and quickly helped the person up. Xue Rongyue's face was solemn and her eyes were cold. She urged, "Bandits? Which bandits? What happened? Tell me in detail."
Guanhe choked up, “My wife and I were heading back to Chang’an a few days ago when we passed through Lin County in Cenzhou. Suddenly, a group of bandits blocked our way. They not only robbed us of our money, but also killed all our servants and relentlessly pursued my wife and me.”
"My wife and I were no match for their horses. On the way, I accidentally fell off a cliff. When I woke up, I was in a farmer's house. My wife, my wife... After I woke up, I asked around and finally bribed a bandit so that I could communicate with my wife."
Holding the hot tea handed to him by Jingnu, Guanhe trembled, his pain unbearable: "My wife was kidnapped and imprisoned by them. I originally wanted to go back to my wife's maternal grandparents' home for help, but before I left, my wife broke ties with her maternal grandparents' home. This time, they summoned my wife back to visit her relatives, but it was to force her to marry the governor of Shangzhou, who is over forty years old, as his second wife!"
"My wife was unwilling and ran away with me, but I never expected to encounter something like this..."
"My wife sent a message saying that if we ask our maternal grandparents for help, they will definitely use this matter to coerce us. I would rather die than do that. But in Chang'an, Madam Xue knows that the second wife is in charge of the household. How could she possibly care about my wife's life or death?"
Guanhe looked at Xue Rongyue pleadingly: "My wife ordered me to find Lady Xue. Please, Lady Xue, think of a way to help and save my wife's life!"
Jingnu was speechless with anger: "This, this is absurd... How can such a life-or-death matter be entrusted to my wife alone? How can my wife possibly rescue Zheng Niangzi from the bandit's den?"
Guanhe knelt down again, his eyes brimming with tears: "I know this is asking the impossible, but if we report this to the authorities, my wife will be kidnapped by bandits. Her reputation will be crushed like a mountain, and she will have no choice but to hang herself."
If the Xue family is a den of tigers and wolves, then the Zheng family is a den of snakes.
Zheng Shuman's birth mother died early, and his second wife was a concubine who had fought with Zheng's mother for many years. After she was made the wife, Zheng Shuman's situation in the mansion was predictable. If it weren't for the influence of her maternal grandparents' family, she would probably have been tortured to death.
Zheng Shuman's father, Minister Zheng, was even more indescribable. He valued his reputation extremely much, and in his early years, he even beat and killed a maid in his household who had lost her reputation because of it. However, he was also a man who favored his concubine over his wife, and he always turned a blind eye to the situation of his other children.
Even though social customs have improved, gossip still holds power. A woman kidnapped by bandits would still be labeled as having lost her reputation. Minister Zheng was not one to cherish his daughter; he would not protect Zheng Shuman from the stigma of "losing her reputation." Instead, he would stand on the opposite side and harshly rebuke her.
Guanhe's claim of hanging himself is not an exaggeration.
Even though she understood Zheng Shuman's situation, Jingnu still felt it was absurd. She frowned, pondering where the strangeness came from.
This is no small matter. Sending out two or three guards or servants could easily resolve it, but a slight misstep could lead to irreparable consequences.
Even though the lady and Zheng Niangzi are closer than sisters and are among the few people in the world they can trust and rely on, the lady was born in Chang'an and is too weak and powerless to deal with the bandits in Cenzhou.
Xue Rongyue clearly noticed the strangeness in Guanhe's words and stared at her intently: "Guanhe, tell me honestly, did your wife discover something among those bandits?"
Guan He's expression froze, and his eyelashes trembled involuntarily.
This reaction itself speaks volumes. Xue Rongyue frowned and said urgently, "If you don't explain clearly, I won't understand the situation. What if something goes wrong and it harms your wife? Do you still want to save your wife?"
Guanhe trembled, biting his lower lip and hesitating for a moment before finally making up his mind and kowtowing, saying, "That group...that group of bandits seems to have some connection with my wife's maternal grandparents' family..."
Xue Rongyue's eyelids twitched, and she looked at her in astonishment.
Jingnu was also taken aback, and after a long while, she stammered, "...No wonder your wife didn't let you go to your maternal grandfather's house for help. If you went, you would definitely be like a lamb entering a tiger's den."
After saying that, she was even more incredulous: "The Yu family is an official family, how could they be associated with mountain bandits?"
Guanhe shook his head with tears in his eyes: "Chang'an and Cenzhou are still quite far apart. It's not easy for my wife to go back to visit her family. She can only do so once every three or four years. What exactly happened to the Yu family? My wife may not know the secret behind it."
“Madam Xue, although the bandits are currently acting on the orders of the Yu family and have not harmed you, it is still a dangerous place. If you insist on not marrying the governor of Shangzhou, who knows what they might do? Please, Madam Xue, save my wife.”
"My wife..."
Jingnu looked at Xue Rongyue with concern.
Although she had a good relationship with Guanhe because of Xue Rongyue's friendship with Zheng Niangzi, she couldn't bear to see her pleading so desperately. But after all, there was a difference between close and distant relatives. In her heart, there was no one or anything more important than Xue Rongyue's safety.
Although those bandits are far away in Cenzhou, since they were able to make contact with the Yu family, no one knows what kind of conspiracy they are plotting behind the scenes. Sending people there will inevitably reveal their whereabouts, and once her wife is implicated, who will clean up the mess for her?
Most importantly, she knew Xue Rongyue too well.
Seeing Xue Rongyue's anxious expression, Jingnu sighed softly.
The wife may seem cold and indifferent, seemingly uncaring about everything, but in reality, she is always sincere and devoted to those she has chosen, sharing both joy and sorrow.
Now that Madam Zheng is in danger, she will definitely not stand idly by; not only that, she will probably...
Jingnu couldn't say anything to stop him, so she could only advise, "It's getting late, and Guanhe is still injured. Why don't we go into Chang'an first? Even if we want to discuss a solution, this isn't a good place to talk."
Xue Rongyue responded.
With Guanhe now inside the carriage, Jingnu was uneasy. She beckoned Luo Zhen and ordered him to tie his horse to the front of the carriage and temporarily act as the driver.
Xue Rongyue then realized what was happening, looked around a few times, and asked Jingnu, "Where is Prince Qin? Where is he?"
Jingnu replied, "Prince Qin had already ridden away on horseback a stick ago. Before leaving, he called out to his wife twice, but seeing that she did not respond, he assumed she was asleep, so he did not call out again."
At that time, she must have been engrossed in reading the original book and didn't hear the noise outside the carriage.
Thinking of the original book, Xue Rongyue looked at Jingnu and recalled her death in the original book. The stabbing pain in her heart that she had finally managed to suppress surged up again, making it hard for her to breathe.
Jingnu noticed Xue Rongyue's gaze and thought she had something to tell her. But when she looked up, she saw that Xue Rongyue's lips were pale and her face was bloodless. She panicked and asked, "Madam, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale? Did you catch a cold?"
Xue Rongyue shook her head, and was about to lower the curtain when an unintentional glance made her stop abruptly, her brows furrowing slightly as she peeked out.
Seeing that her expression was strange, Jingnu couldn't help but follow her gaze and ask, "My lady, what's wrong?"
Night had fallen, and the gathering clouds obscured the stars and moon. Only the two lanterns hanging in front of the carriage emitted a faint glow, which, in this dense forest and wilderness, was like a fish diving into the deep sea, as insignificant as dust, unable to stir up the slightest ripple.
Jingnu looked for a long time but couldn't find anything wrong. She shivered and said, "Madam, what are you looking at? This is deep in the mountains. Don't startle us like that. It's scary."
Xue Rongyue stared intently at a tree in front of her, her fingers gripping the curtain so tightly they turned white.
She had clearly seen the bird in the tree take flight, then suddenly freeze five or six inches above the branches, motionless, as if it had been frozen in place by a spell.
But now when I look over there, the area above the branches and leaves is completely empty. There isn't even a single insect, let alone a bird, as if the bird had vanished into thin air.
Could it be that she's seeing things?
As Xue Rongyue thought this, she slowly loosened the curtain with her fingertips, but her brows furrowed more and more tightly.
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Author's Note: The title of the last chapter seems to have scared everyone (scratching head) [doge emoji]
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