Ling Shuang and I were tied together and thrown into the woodshed.
She was sobbing quietly out of fear; when had this princess, who had always been so well protected, ever experienced anything like this?
"What should we do?"
Although I was terrified, I pretended to be calm in order to boost morale.
He said with a smile, "Don't be afraid, Ye Lisheng will definitely come to save us!"
With a creak, the door opened, and an old woman carried in food.
"Dinner's ready!" she said gently.
Ling Shuang said defiantly, "This princess will not eat your food!"
The old woman smiled and said, "Princess, you mustn't go against your health. It's not good to starve yourself!"
To my surprise, the way she looked at Ling Shuang was full of kindness and doting, just like the way she would look at her own child.
She was dressed simply, her face veiled except for her gentle eyes, but every gesture she made exuded elegance, unlike that of an ordinary peasant woman.
"Why is the old lady here?" I asked, somewhat puzzled.
"My hometown suffered a disaster, so I fled here. Brother De took me in, so I stayed here to help out!"
She introduced herself, "You can just call me Mo Niang!"
Where is this place?
"Worry-Free Valley!"
Upon hearing this, Ling Shuang suddenly realized: "The Ma family gang of bandits!"
"Ever since the bandits emerged, the ministers at the morning court have been discussing how to eliminate them!"
Then, Mo Niang comforted us, saying, "Although they are mountain bandits, they have never done anything immoral or heinous like robbing and looting. They only kidnapped you and brought you up the mountain on a whim!"
"Hmph!" Ling Shuang said coldly, "You acted on a whim, so don't bother explaining yourself for those despicable bandits!"
Mo Niang wasn't angry; instead, she smiled and said, "When people talk about bandits, they might think of them as villains who do all sorts of evil and harm the common people, but they have absolutely no intention of harming anyone!"
"The people here are all people forced into banditry, and they've taken in many homeless people!"
Based on Mo Niang's evaluation of them, I don't think these people are as bad as I imagined.
"What will they do to us?"
Mo Niang shook her head: "I don't know either, but I can guarantee that your lives are not in danger!"
"Thank you, Mo Niang!"
The Mingyu Pavilion was completely silent. Xiangye gently placed a pot of freshly brewed tea in front of Ye Lisheng.
"Your Highness, please have some tea!"
As soon as you open the lid, a faint, refreshing lemon scent wafts out.
There was half a lemon slice soaking inside.
He asked, puzzled, "Doesn't Mingyu Pavilion have tea?"
"Your Highness...please forgive me."
Xiangye was so frightened that she could hardly speak and stammered, "Miss said that it's too hot, and midday is the perfect time to make a cup of lemon juice to cool down and quench your thirst!"
This is an incredibly strange occurrence; I actually saw the corners of the prince's mouth curve upwards, like a piece of ice slowly melting.
Led by Xiangye, he arrived at an unused room in Mingyu Pavilion.
The room was tidy and clean, and on the sandalwood table were all sorts of pens I had never seen before.
A wooden board stands in the center, on which Xuan paper is placed.
"Sometimes the young lady likes to stay in this room, sometimes for most of the day!"
"You can go out now!"
"This servant takes her leave!"
Ye Lisheng's slender fingers stroked back and forth on the rice paper, on which was drawn Qiu Kui herself.
However, his clothing and hairstyle were strange and very different from Lingqi's attire.
"Who are you? Where did you come from?"
Sunlight streamed in through the latticed window, and in a daze, I seemed to see okra standing there, smiling and waving at me.
He smiled and slowly approached her.
"Greetings, Your Highness!"
A sudden sound from outside the door shattered this peaceful moment.
"What is it?"
His tone was laced with anger, and Ling Ran was somewhat puzzled as to what was wrong with her lord, feeling a slight sense of apprehension.
"Someone just came by with a clue, saying they saw two girls heading west of the city around midnight that night!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Ye Lisheng strode out like the wind.
Ye Xuanling led a large group of people past the tavern where they were drinking, each one exuding an aggressive aura.
The waiters inside all looked flustered, afraid that they would come in and search the place.
They breathed a sigh of relief after they had walked away, and whispered to each other...
The waiter, with his pointed face and monkey-like features, looked terrified: "What should we do?"
With a "smack!", he received a sharp rap on the head from another person.
"What are you afraid of? You're a real man!"
"It would be terrible if they found us?"
"Don't worry! The master will be back tonight to marry his two young ladies."
"Our master is handsome and refined, why would he be afraid of those two young ladies not obeying him?"
"That's true!"
The western part of the city is located in a barren mountain area, overgrown with weeds and extremely desolate.
After searching for a long time, I still couldn't find anything.
"Da da da..."
A rapid hoofbeat approached; it was Ye Lisheng.
"Did you find it?" S asked, her eyes filled with expectation.
Ye Xuanling shook his head.
His eyes immediately dimmed, and he became disappointed.
"Find him even if you have to search every inch of this mountain!"
The night sky was ablaze with stars, and the Valley of No Worries was ablaze with red, filled with the deafening sounds of gongs and drums.
"The two brides, hurry up and change into your wedding dresses!"
Looking at the two wedding dresses laid out before us, Ling Shuang couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Waaaaah..."
"Why hasn't Brother Ye come to save us yet!"
I peeked through the windows and cracks in the door and saw that they were filled with guards; a direct assault was out of the question.
With a wicked smile, he said to Ling Shuang, "Since you're here, you might as well make the best of it. Just obediently put on your wedding dress!"
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