Wei Dongling followed the little maid. Sure enough, there was a kite swaying in the wind on an ancient tree in the back mountain. Relying on her excellent lightness kung fu, Wei Dongling leaped onto the tree branch and barely hooked the kite down with a stick.
She climbed back down hugging the tree trunk. Just as she was about to land, suddenly a pair of hands emerged from behind and gently pushed her.
Caught off guard, Wei Dongling rolled down.
She didn't know how long she had been lying there before finally being discovered.
After the doctor was called to treat her, she had a high fever for five whole days and nights.
When she woke up again, Ji Yunchu had already time - traveled here. What the original Wei Dongling thought was an accident turned out to be a murder?
And the murderer was Qi Jinlan, the biological daughter of Second Master Qi, who was not even eleven years old at that time!
In the darkness, Wei Dongling opened her eyes in horror, filled with deep regret. More than three years had passed, and it was only now that she remembered it was a murder.
No! Wei Dongling died from a murder. She must make this public!
Enduring the sharp pain, Wei Dongling forced herself to stand up and looked up at the window. It was late at night and the rain had stopped. Judging from the angle of the moonlight, it was already the third quarter of the Yin hour.
The jailers should be sleeping soundly. With great difficulty, Wei Dongling raised her hand and fished out a specially - made iron hairpin from her hair. By the dim light, she groped for the iron chain on her feet and fumbled to unlock it with a rustling sound.
There was a sudden commotion outside the window, which scared Wei Dongling into stopping her action. She secretly hid the hairpin and closed her eyes, listening intently to every move outside.
Outside the side door of the horse - training ground, Shangguan Yun was hiding under a tree, his face as solemn as water. When he saw the old beggar leap over and land beside him, he quickly stepped forward, clasped his fists and asked, "Senior, how's the situation inside?"
The old beggar sneered repeatedly, "That damned Zhao is really powerful. There are two or three hundred mansion soldiers here alone."
Shangguan Yun's heart sank. Privately raising two or three hundred mansion soldiers, how daring that State Uncle Zhao was!
The old beggar continued, "There's a strong smell of blood under the stable. The girl is most likely locked up in there."
Had she been tortured?
Shangguan Yun's face changed slightly and he said in a deep voice, "Let's wait until the servants from the prince's mansion come, and then rush in together to rescue her."
The old beggar waved his hand, "We can't wait. The girl mustn't be in danger."
Shangguan Yun glanced at the old beggar sideways, looking a bit embarrassed. If they two rushed in bare - handed against those two or three hundred mansion soldiers, it would be like hitting a stone with an egg and seeking their own death.
The old beggar ignored Shangguan Yun's reaction and ordered, "I'll attack from the front to hold those guys back. You sneak into the stable quietly to rescue the girl." After saying that, without waiting for Shangguan Yun's reply, he turned around and headed straight for the main gate.
This strategy of making a feint to the east while attacking in the west gave Shangguan Yun a huge headache. He could easily imagine how tragic the outcome would be for the senior to fight against two or three hundred people alone. But he couldn't waste this opportunity either.
Gritting his teeth, Shangguan Yun quietly climbed over the wall and lurked, waiting for the right moment.
Wei Dongling listened intently for a while. When she heard no more sound, she took out the hairpin again and tried to unlock the chain on her feet.
Once. And then again.
Wei Dongling carefully poked at the keyhole. Every tiny movement made her break out in cold sweat from the pain, and her hands couldn't stop trembling.
After a long time, with a click, the iron lock on her feet was opened.
At this moment, there came the deafening sounds of footsteps and roars of many people outside the window. Wei Dongling quickly hid the hairpin and held her breath, carefully listening to the commotion.
There came screams from afar, and then she heard someone nearby shouting, "There's trouble at the main gate. Hurry out!"
Wei Dongling was overjoyed. Then she heard a series of hasty footsteps. It took a long time for these sounds to fade away.
Wei Dongling looked up at the narrow window on the high wall, picked up the iron chain on the ground, and gently leaped onto the window ledge. But as soon as her feet stepped on it, she lost her balance and fell straight down. She let out a muffled groan on the ground and gasped in pain.
After taking a long time to recover, Wei Dongling leaped forcefully, reached out and grabbed the railing of the narrow window, and stepped steadily on the window ledge. She hunched over, wrapped the iron chain around two railings, twisted the two ends of the chain together, and gradually widened the distance between the railings.
Wei Dongling was sweating profusely from the pain, but she still gritted her teeth and twisted the chain hard. Seeing the gap between the railings getting bigger and bigger, she tried even harder to tear them apart.
Suddenly, a weak voice came from the darkness.
"Miss Wei."
Wei Dongling was startled and thought she had misheard.
"Miss Wei." It came again.
Wei Dongling looked down and found that the voice was coming from the mouth of a man who was whipped all over and covered in blood in the dark cell.
In the darkness, the man was curled up on the ground, his face covered in blood, only two narrow eyes showing. He craned his neck hard to look at her.
Seeing his miserable state, Wei Dongling sighed softly and said with difficulty, "Brother, I'm sorry. I'm in great trouble myself and really have no ability to rescue you."
"Please, Miss Wei, pass a message for me," the man said weakly and with difficulty, "Go to the Qian Zhuang at the East Gate and find a Master Xu. Tell him that Jingzhe is now locked up here."
Wei Dongling fell silent. She wasn't even sure if she could escape alive, so how could she promise him? Thinking like this, she still kept exerting force with her hands. She would move a bit and then stop to gasp for breath. Seeing that the iron railing on the window was being deformed by her and the gap was getting bigger and bigger, Wei Dongling measured it with her hand and thought it should be just big enough for her body to pass through.
Seeing that Wei Dongling didn't answer, the man quickly said again, "Once I get out, I'll definitely tell you the cause of Wei Jiang's death."
Wei Dongling felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her heart. She felt that her blood was about to freeze. She stared fixedly at the black - and - white eyes of the blood - covered man and froze on the spot.
Seeing that she didn't react at all, the man looked up and whispered, "I'm telling the truth! I witnessed Wei Jiang's tragic death with my own eyes."
Wei Dongling's pupils shrank sharply and her whole body turned cold. She desperately forced the railing open with the hand that was holding it. The railing let out a harsh sound and finally became completely deformed.
Then, she crawled out like a madwoman and disappeared into the boundless night. The man lying on the ground let out a long breath and then closed his eyes forever.
Was Father really dead?
In the prison, the man's eyes didn't seem to be lying.
Wei Dongling was in a complete mess. She ran desperately, regardless of the pain in her body.
Passing by the stable, she found several fine horses. Wei Dongling picked a horse with shiny fur, untied the reins, flipped onto its back, and tightly held the hairpin in her hand. She stabbed the horse hard on its buttocks. The horse let out a crazy neigh in pain and galloped away like a bolt of lightning.
Wei Dongling clung tightly to the horse's neck and didn't dare to let go.
But soon, some mansion soldiers noticed the commotion here. "Stop!" Several burly men shouted loudly and ran after her, trying to block her way.
Wei Dongling tugged at the reins. Fortunately, the horse was obedient and turned to run in another direction. But not far ahead, there were more than twenty mansion soldiers in armor. Wei Dongling tightened the hairpin in her hand and was just about to jump forward when a figure suddenly appeared in her sight.
"Miss Wei." The voice was as cold and gentle as jade as always, but she clearly heard the urgency in it.