In the mountains.
Chen Tingfeng parried a bandit's attack with a slash of his sword and covered Chen Xuan as they made their way down the mountain.
Chen Xuan's body was half - stained with blood. He frowned while clutching his arm, and his breath reeked of blood.
"Ruogu has lured away half of the bandits, but the situation is still far from optimistic. Father, I must go and help him," Chen Tingfeng said in a low voice as he dashed through the forest, then sheltered Chen Xuan in a waist - high thicket.
Chen Xuan's eyebrows twitched slightly. "Don't worry about me. Go find the Second Prince instead."
Chen Tingfeng tore a piece of cloth from his robe and quickly bandaged Chen Xuan's deep, bone - visible sword wound. After observing the surroundings, he saw that the bandits were still hot on their heels, so he spoke in a rapid voice, "There are still people waiting at the foot of the mountain. Father, go straight back to the capital after you get down. If anyone asks about Ruogu and me, just say you don't know."
He gave Chen Xuan a long, deep look. "Take care, Father."
With that, he darted out like a cheetah. The bandits only felt a blur before their eyes. When they looked again, they saw a figure dashing quickly up the mountain. Immediately, they changed their direction and chased after him, shouting, "There he is! Chase him!"
Chen Xuan waited for a while at the same spot. When he was sure there was no movement around, he instantly got up. Suppressing his dizzy head, he tried hard to steady his figure and ran quickly down the mountain.
His eyebrows were tightly knitted, but his eyes were firm.
There was a mole in this bandit lair, presumably a Xiongnu man, who was also in cahoots with the powerful and influential in the capital. He must rush this news back to the capital!
In the Buddhist temple.
After Madam Bai finished getting her fortune - telling stick, she noticed that Fu Zhen was nowhere to be seen. Assuming that she had gone to explore other parts of the temple, Madam Bai waited outside the hall.
However, after waiting for more than half an hour, there was still no sign of her. Fu Zhen had never behaved like this before. She always knew her boundaries and would let others know where she was going.
Something must have happened!
Madam Bai's heart skipped a beat. "Nanny Li, hurry! Go look for the Second Miss!"
Nanny Li also sensed something was wrong. She immediately reacted and quickly sent a few maids and servants to search the temple.
The commotion they made attracted a lot of attention. A monk hesitated for a moment but still stepped forward and said, "Amitabha. Is madam looking for someone?"
Madam Bai's gaze instantly fixed on him. Her face looked ugly, but she managed to suppress her panic and asked, "Yes. Have you seen a woman in a light - blue cloud - patterned dress? She is about my height, slender, and looks rather frail. Do you have any impression of her?"
The monk immediately nodded. "About half an hour ago, this benefactor asked the poor monk where she could get a peace talisman. I led her to the Lotus Hall. Madam can send someone to look for her there."
Madam Bai quickly put her hands together and bowed to him, saying gratefully, "Thank you, Master, for your guidance! Thank you!"
After getting the specific location, Madam Bai led a group of people quickly to the Lotus Hall. But when they got there, there were only a few people left, and there was no sign of Fu Zhen at all.
Madam Bai's face immediately darkened. The monks in the Buddhist temple were all hand - picked by the Great Master Mingjing. They were all kind and compassionate people and would never lie.
Then something must have happened to Zhenzhen!
The Lotus Hall used to be bustling with pilgrims. Now, with few people around, it seemed rather desolate and secluded.
Thinking about the fact that they hardly met anyone on the way here, this would be the perfect place to carry out a scheme!
Madam Bai walked out of the Lotus Hall and scanned the area with her eyes. Her gaze instantly stopped under a big tree.
There were a few footprints there.
She walked over and stared intently at the patterns.
These footprints were all from the same person. Judging from the size of the shoes, they were a few inches larger than the ones Fu Zhen was wearing. It was a woman's footprint.
Madam Bai's heart skipped a beat. She carefully aligned her own footprint with the one on the ground, and her gaze instantly fixed on a step three inches away.
She stared at that spot, and a lot of pictures flashed through her mind. But the next moment, her train of thought was interrupted by a shout.
A servant rushed over in a hurry. "Madam! Madam! The Marquis is back at the mansion seriously injured!"
Madam Bai's vision went black.
*
Fu Zhen felt that her eyelids were extremely heavy. When her consciousness returned, a wave of soreness hit her whole body.
She was being carried on someone's shoulder and running at full speed. The person beneath her was gasping for breath. Her eyes moved, but she pretended not to be awake.
After running for a while, the person carrying her was too tired to go on. He threw her on the ground and leaned against a tree to catch his breath, complaining, "This woman looks so light, but carrying her for such a long way is really tiring."
The man beside him seemed to observe the surroundings for a moment and then said in a low voice, "We'll be there in another cup of tea's time. Catch your breath. I'll carry this woman. We mustn't be late, or we'll all be dead!"
"Why did we have to kidnap this woman instead of just killing those people with the sleeping pills?" the young man complained. "I don't see anything special about her. She's just good - looking."
The older man cursed, "What can you see with your dog eyes? Chen Xuan and his son Chen Tingfeng are like reincarnated gods of war. If we don't have something to threaten them with, we'll be the ones who die! I've inquired. This woman is very beloved in their family. She will surely hold them back for a while. That little bit of time is enough for Big Brother and us to retreat."
Fu Zhen's eyelashes trembled, and her heart pounded like a drum.
Sleeping pills? Threat? They were the bandits from Taiyue Mountain!
Her heart was racing so fast that she could almost hear the blood surging in her ears.
How did the bandits get involved with Liu Peipei?
No, this wasn't the time to think about that... According to what these bandits said, Uncle and Cousin must have attacked their lair, forcing them to use her as a bargaining chip to survive.
With her in their hands, Uncle would surely be restricted during the confrontation. No, she had to find a way to escape!
With this thought in mind, she lifted her eyelids slightly and glanced at them. Seeing that they were talking to each other and not paying attention to her for the moment, she made an imperceptible move. Pretending to slip on the ground, she instantly rolled down the slope!
"Damn it! That bitch is awake!" the young man cursed. Ignoring the pain in his feet, he quickly ran down the slope.
Fu Zhen rolled down the slope and slammed into a tree. She gritted her teeth and swallowed the groan. Looking at the two men chasing after her, she instantly got up and ran down the mountain as fast as she could, ignoring the excruciating pain in her waist.
The young man chased after her relentlessly, shouting and cursing, "Bitch! Wait until I catch you. I'll teach you a good lesson!"
Fu Zhen rushed forward blindly. But the next second, a figure flashed by and blocked her way!
It was the middle - aged man!
Fu Zhen stopped instantly. Just as she was about to change direction and run, the young man jumped down from above in a few steps and blocked her way from behind.
Fu Zhen clenched the skirt of her dress tightly. Being forced back step by step by their approaching movements, she was caught between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to hide.
The young man grinned wickedly and approached her. "Run! Why don't you run anymore? Aren't you good at running?"
He grabbed Fu Zhen's hair. She let out a cry of pain. The next second, a cold - glinting dagger was placed against her throat!
"Bitch! I've gone to so much trouble to catch you. Do you think I'll let you escape?" The young man patted her face with the dagger. "I know you noble ladies cherish your faces the most. What do you think your reaction will be if I slash your face right now?"
Fu Zhen bit her lip and stared at him defiantly, not uttering a single word of plea.
After staying in the Marquis's Mansion for half a year, her backbone had become much stronger. If it were in the past, she might have groveled and begged him to spare her for a glimmer of hope of survival. But now...
Her attempt to escape had obviously angered him. It was too late to plead for mercy now. If he was determined to do something, how could he let her go just because of a few nice words?
Seeing that she remained silent and only looked at him with a mocking look, the man's already not - very - good - looking face instantly distorted. He twirled the dagger in his hand, and the tip of the knife immediately pointed at her face. "What a tough - as - nails girl. I'd like to see if you'll still dare to look at me like that after I disfigure your face!"