The struggling man suddenly froze, then began thrashing even more wildly.
“Scared?” Meng Xizhou moved closer. “Those who harm others will inevitably be harmed in return. As for those who sell people… naturally they’ll be sold in turn.”
She crouched down, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear: “I’ll deliver a message to the Meng Family for you. I’ll keep this big business opportunity safe for you.”
She actually knew about his dealings with the Hou Manor?!
Zhang Cheng beneath the black cloth sack felt as if struck by lightning! His body trembled violently, shrinking back desperately as if he’d seen a ghost!
Meng Xizhou stood up and motioned for Song Xubai to leave with her: “Enjoy yourself, big brother! May you become the most famous ‘duck’ in this town~”
Before leaving the manor, Meng Xizhou accepted the money pouch respectfully presented by the steward and instructed him: “Keep a close watch on that new arrival. He’s quite wild at heart.”
The steward patted his chest: “Rest assured, I’ve worked in this business before. I understand their type very well.”
Meng Xizhou’s smile turned somewhat strange, and she quickly left the manor with Song Xubai.
Song Xubai, having narrowly escaped disaster, was extremely excited: “By the way, I haven’t asked why Sister Meng is here too?”
Meng Xizhou mounted her horse and said succinctly: “Same situation as you.”
Song Xubai exclaimed in surprise: “Was Sister Meng’s mother also harmed?”
Meng Xizhou: “You’ve got it backwards.”
Song Xubai: ?
“Wait!” Meng Xizhou suddenly realized something. “What happened to the Princess?”
Song Xubai’s small face instantly fell: “Mother was captured by enemy troops on the battlefield! Brother Crown Prince has been tracking them and confirmed they sold mother somewhere nearby. I came to find her, but who would have thought I’d get sold too…”
“Captured? Sold?” Meng Xizhou frowned deeply, feeling that this matter was thoroughly bizarre.
The Princess had grown up in military camps since childhood and was the empire’s only female general—highly skilled in martial arts and brilliant in military strategy! The possibility of her being captured alive by enemy troops amidst thousands of soldiers was extremely slim! Even if she were truly captured, she would be an invaluable hostage. The enemy would inevitably use her to threaten the court, demanding exorbitant ransoms or territorial concessions! How could they possibly turn around and sell her?
This seemed more like… someone intentionally harmed the Princess, wanting to disrupt the war situation, then pin the blame on the enemy forces!
Meng Xizhou rubbed the rough reins, her voice low and cold: “I’m afraid.”.. this isn’t an external threat, but internal trouble.”
“Sister Meng! You sound exactly like Brother Crown Prince!” Song Xubai exclaimed in a low voice.
Meng Xizhou looked at Song Xubai. The Crown Prince should have arranged multiple layers of protection for the Princess’s only son. The fact that he could be kidnapped and sold showed that the perpetrators were highly capable—even able to bribe the Crown Prince’s personal guards. She wondered if they were the same group that harmed the Princess?
The mastermind behind this remained questionable for now. The most urgent matter was finding the Princess!
She calmed her mind, rapidly recalling whether any families in Xiaohe Village or surrounding villages had recently bought new brides.
In the mountains, buying a wife was a major event that would inevitably involve holding a wedding celebration. If the Princess had been sold nearby, she couldn’t possibly have not heard about it.
Suddenly! A terrifying thought struck her mind like lightning!
In her previous life, around this very time, the village chief’s son in neighboring Tu Po Village had died unexpectedly! That old village chief had worked tirelessly and spent a fortune to find an excellent ghost marriage bride for his son—extraordinarily beautiful with a strong physique, who could both become his son’s wife in the afterlife and protect him!
These conditions… perfectly match the Princess!
A woman subjected to a ghost marriage would be buried alive with her deceased “husband”! Trapped in a narrow, dark coffin, she would suffocate to death to ensure the corpse remained intact!
Meng Xizhou’s heart instantly sank to the depths! She desperately tried to recall when the Village Chief’s son from the neighboring village had been buried…
It seemed… it was just this morning!
An icy chill instantly swept through her entire body!
The Princess had given her maternal warmth since childhood, teaching her medicine and resilience. She was the only one who supported Meng Xizhou when her own mother rejected her… Now, she might be trapped in a coffin, heading toward suffocation and death!
“Where is your Crown Prince brother right now?!” Meng Xizhou’s voice carried a tension and urgency she hadn’t even noticed herself.
“I’m not entirely sure…” Song Xubai was frightened by her expression. “But we can definitely wait for him at the Shanmen Inn in town! Sister Meng, come with me…”
“There’s no time!” Meng Xizhou decisively cut him off, shoving the bag of silver given by the village official into Song Xubai’s hand. “We’ll split up! You go to the Shanmen Inn immediately to find the Crown Prince! The town gate is just one li to the east—use this money to bribe the guards. Tell them it’s a family emergency! Be smart about it, and don’t get tricked again!”
“Is… is my mother’s situation critical?” Song Xubai’s face turned pale.
Meng Xizhou nodded heavily, sharply pulling the reins to turn the horse around. “When you see the Crown Prince, tell him—the Princess has been forced into a ghost marriage by the Village Chief of Tu Po Village! Tell him to bring men quickly to rescue her! Any delay will be too late!”
Before the words faded, she spurred the horse fiercely. The steed neighed and shot off like an arrow toward Tu Po Village, kicking up a trail of dust!
Watching Meng Xizhou’s resolute retreating figure, Song Xubai gritted his teeth and sprinted desperately toward the town gate.
Meng Xizhou galloped at full speed, arriving at Tu Po Village as quickly as possible. Without a moment to spare, she grabbed a hoe from outside a courtyard wall at the village entrance and followed the trail of scattered paper money from the funeral procession, rushing toward the hills behind the village.
As the paper money trail neared its end, Meng Xizhou heard faint voices. She immediately ducked behind a large tree.
By the graveside, two people were indeed standing guard! A man and a woman, dressed in mourning attire—they were the Village Chief of Tu Po Village and his wife! The two seemed to be arguing about something.
Meng Xizhou’s heart burned with anxiety! Every moment the Princess spent in the coffin diminished her chances of survival!
But there were two of them, and she stood little chance fighting them alone.
She had no choice but to put on another act!
Meng Xizhou’s mind raced. She immediately threw down the hoe, messed up her hair and clothes, and then, as if possessed, rushed toward the grave wailing and lamenting!
“My husband—! My dear husband—! How could you leave me all alone—!”
The Village Chief and his wife, who had been arguing heatedly, jumped in fright at the sudden outburst.
The Village Chief’s wife, still shaken, scolded, “Where did this madwoman come from? Get away!”
Meng Xizhou paid no heed, throwing herself onto the freshly piled grave and weeping as if her heart would break. “That year we met by the river, you swore you would marry no one but me! Those vows still echo in my ears! And now… you’re lying in the same coffin with another woman! You heartless scoundrel! You bastard—!”
She wept and cursed, then began frantically clawing at the fresh soil on the grave with her hands: “I won’t allow it! I won’t allow you to have another woman! In life, you were mine! In death, you are my ghost! Dig her out for me—!”
“Stop! Madwoman! Stop at once!” The Village Chief and his wife were stunned by the commotion. Only when Meng Xizhou started digging at the grave did they snap out of it and rush forward to stop her.
Meng Xizhou grabbed a handful of cold, damp soil and hurled it directly at their faces: “Get away! Who are you? What right do you have to keep me from being with my husband? Get out—!”
The two dodged the mud in disarray. Just as they were about to lose their temper and resort to force, Meng Xizhou happened to lift her face, streaked with dirt.