Terrifying, so terrifying…
Yuan Yingti was trembling violently, her whole body curled up in Mama Fang's embrace, her fingers tightly clutching the sleeve opening.
Outside, everything was in chaos. Soldiers had stormed into the courtyard, and the household servants were putting up a desperate resistance. She could hear the clash of blades and the dull thuds of servants' bodies hitting the ground.
Yuan Yingti didn't understand. She had only taken an afternoon nap—how had the Marquis Manor turned into this by the time she woke?
Those soldiers held the Prince of Qi's Imperial Edict, declaring Confiscation and Extermination upon the Yong'an Marquis Manor. Without even stating a reason, they had raised their blades and charged in.
The maids scattered and fled—some dead, some wounded. Mama Fang hastily bolted the door and huddled with her in the corner. She was shaking; Mama Fang was shaking even harder than she was.
Outside, the sounds of the servants' resistance grew weaker and weaker. The thin door was as fragile as a sheet of paper—it could not protect them at all. She could even hear the soldiers' heavy breathing, already so close.
"Mama, we have to leave here." Yuan Yingti's voice trembled as she grabbed Mama Fang's hand.
"Yes, yes, the young miss is right…" Mama Fang snapped back to her senses, her voice shaking beyond recognition.
She wiped the cold sweat from her palms haphazardly on her collar, turned to look at the back window, forced her weak legs to move, and tiptoed to push the window open with all her strength.
Outside the window was a long covered corridor. For now, there were no soldiers here.
Mama Fang brought over a stool, helped Yuan Yingti step onto it, and steadied her as she climbed onto the windowsill. Yuan Yingti's heart pounded as she struggled to hoist herself up. The back window was not low; when she jumped down, she stumbled and nearly fell.
Yuan Yingti hurriedly steadied herself and turned back. "Mama, hurry and come down too."
Mama Fang also clambered onto the windowsill with hands and feet, then tremblingly jumped down after her.
But when she landed, she couldn't keep her footing and fell hard.
With a suppressed cry of pain, Mama Fang collapsed to the ground, clutching her right leg and gasping through the pain.
"Mama!" Yuan Yingti threw herself to her knees, her hands frantically reaching for her.
Mama Fang tried hard to climb up from the ground, but her leg seemed broken—she couldn't move it at all.
"Young miss, don't mind this old servant. This old servant can't walk anymore…"
"No, no!" Yuan Yingti urgently tried to pull her up, but how could she possibly move Mama Fang's heavy body?
Mama Fang gripped her hand tightly. "Young miss, this old servant is merely a servant. They won't do anything to me. But you are different—you are the young miss of the Marquis Manor, a master! They are coming for you. Don't mind this old servant, hurry and go!"
Mama was right. Yuan Yingti's eyes were red.
"Alright, then… let me hide Mama first."
Beneath the covered corridor was an empty space, concealed by bushes—a hidden spot. Yuan Yingti gritted her teeth, half-dragging and half-pulling, and stuffed Mama Fang inside.
"Young miss, go find A-Nu. He can take you away." Mama Fang, still worried about her, spoke in a faint voice from under the corridor.
Yuan Yingti choked out a response, hesitated no more, and turned to run along the empty covered corridor.
Everything before her eyes was pitch black. Only the sound of her own footsteps echoed urgently in her ears.
There was no one by her side. Yuan Yingti was terrified.
Fortunately, she had lived in this courtyard for sixteen years. Even without being able to see, she could walk as usual by memory.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, as if it would burst out.
The sounds of the household guards resisting had already died out. She heard her door being kicked open, and someone shouted loudly: "She's run off! Search quickly!"
Yuan Yingti jolted and ran even faster.
Behind her came the harsh sounds of trunks overturning and porcelain shattering, mixed with the terrified screams of the servants.
Yuan Yingti's hair stood on end. She smelled blood.
Terrifying, so terrifying.
Tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes. Just then, a shout came from behind: "Found her! She's over here!"
Found!
Yuan Yingti was on the verge of collapse.
She heard dense, heavy footsteps sounding behind her, growing closer and closer! Heading straight for her!
So terrifying, so terrifying!
Tears blurred her vision—fortunately, her eyes were useless to her anyway.
Yuan Yingti's mind went blank with fear, but her steps did not falter in the slightest. Instead, she ran even faster.
Like a gust of wind.
Tears flew backward along her cheeks as she ran with all her might.
Finally, she burst through the covered corridor.
Beyond the corridor was a Moon Gate. Once through it, she would no longer be in her own courtyard.
Yuan Yingti was overwhelmed with panic. She no longer knew this path…
Before her was boundless darkness. Sure enough, the moment she passed through the Moon Gate, she fell hard.
There were steps here—she hadn't known, and she couldn't see them. Yuan Yingti ignored the pain, scrambled up on her hands and knees, and staggered onward.
She remembered that the stables weren't far beyond the Moon Gate. There was still hope, still hope…
Yuan Yingti gritted her teeth and ran, falling who knows how many times, but the footsteps behind her only grew closer.
She heard a group of men shouting excitedly behind her, their blades deliberately scraping against walls and the ground, producing harsh, terrifying screeches.
Someone laughed: "Does it hurt, little beauty? Stop running! Let me blow on it for you!"
Yuan Yingti's face turned deathly pale. She felt that at any moment, her hair would be roughly seized by the men behind her.
How could she dare to stop?
Wind rushed past her ears, and she caught the scent of fodder and livestock. She relied on that faint smell to discern her direction.
But her feet tripped on something again! She squeezed her eyes shut, resigned to falling once more—yet the anticipated pain never came.
She crashed into someone's arms—hard, warm.
A hand gripped her arm, practically lifting her, and only then did she avoid falling.
Who is this?
Yuan Yingti's hands groped blindly, clinging to a faint hope, and asked in a tearful voice: "You… are you A-Nu?"
＊
Xie Zhi let those hands roam over his chest.
He lowered his gaze, studying the beauty's face so close before him.
It was palm-sized, white as snow, with delicate slender brows and a pair of watery eyes, crystal-clear teardrops tumbling down in a stream.
Like falling pearls.
There was no focus in those eyes, and he easily identified her.
This was the famed number-one beauty of the capital.
He looked at her carefully, and so did not answer for a long while. The beauty's soft, gentle voice trembled as she asked again: "Are you A-Nu?"
A-Nu?
Only then did Xie Zhi lower his head and pick up his own waist token to look at it. Beside "Stables" were written the two characters "A-Nu."
Oh, so the groom he had just knocked unconscious and stripped of his clothes was named A-Nu.
He then answered, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible amusement.
"I am."
He saw the beauty's tears flowing even more freely, as if she were crying from overwhelming joy. She clutched his sleeve tightly and said, "Your mother… Mama Fang said to have you take me away. A-Nu… can you do it?"
From her words, Xie Zhi learned that he still had a "mother." His gaze shifted from her face, following the slender line of her neck, and swept downward without restraint.
She was indeed extraordinarily beautiful—graceful and delicate, with a narrow waist. Even covered in dust, her hair bun disheveled, her striking beauty could not be concealed.
Xie Zhi's pupils were pitch-black as he looked behind her.
In truth, he had seen her the moment she emerged from the Moon Gate.
The marquis's estate was in chaos. He had intended to leave, but the first glance at her changed his mind.
The beauty in flight stumbled and staggered, helpless and lost, like a pure white lamb pursued by a pack of wolves.
The instant he saw her, he wanted to join the pack.
What was fought over by the crowd must be something good. And something good—since it had landed in his arms, how could he not claim it for himself?
"Very well, I'll take you away, young lady."
Xie Zhi extended his arm, wrapped it around her waist, and with a slight exertion of strength, easily scooped her entire body up and slung her carelessly over his shoulder.
He had expected the beauty to scream in fright. Unexpectedly, she made not a sound.
Xie Zhi raised an eyebrow. Fainted?
He turned his head to look, but the pert fullness of her figure on his shoulder blocked his line of sight.
Xie Zhi glanced over and withdrew his gaze.
Yuan Yingti was feeling dizzy and disoriented. By the time she came to her senses, she was already airborne, her soft abdomen pressing against the hard bone of his shoulder.
She had been hoisted up…
Wonderful. At last she didn't have to run on her own.
Yuan Yingti wiped her tears and obediently settled into place.
Behind them, the soldiers with drawn sabers were about to catch up. The opposing side was numerous and murderous in spirit. Xie Zhi, carrying someone on his shoulder, had no intention of engaging them head-on.
He quickly scanned his surroundings, and his gaze landed on a green-canopied carriage. The carriage body was narrow and small, just able to pass through the side gate he had come through.
Xie Zhi strode over, deftly lifted the carriage curtain, and bent down to stuff Yuan Yingti into the carriage.
Yuan Yingti fell onto the soft cushion without warning. Her back hit the hard carriage board, and only then did she realize she was in a carriage. She hastily groped around, found the lower edge of the carriage window, and gripped it tightly to steady herself.
Xie Zhi vaulted onto the horse. The corner of his eye rested on her face for a fleeting moment.
She hadn't fainted.
"Insolent servant, how dare you defy the command of His Highness the Prince of Qi!" Several of the fastest soldiers raised their sabers and slashed toward him.
Xie Zhi lifted his long leg and kicked the man away sideways, then yanked the reins and drove the carriage charging straight ahead.
"Stop them quickly!" The soldiers swarmed forward.
The carriage careened wildly through the narrow courtyard, jolting violently. Yuan Yingti was tossed about inside the carriage, yet her hands gripped the window edge tightly, her knuckles turning white, not daring to let go for fear she would tumble off. Suddenly she remembered something and urgently shouted from the carriage window, "A-Nu, your mother is still in the estate—save her…"
What mother? They were fleeing for their lives—it wasn't his mother.
Xie Zhi said, "She'll be fine!"
Yuan Yingti bit her lip. She was truly worried about Mama Fang, but she also understood that if they turned back now to save her, neither of them would survive.
So she swallowed the words she had not finished speaking and only struggled desperately to steady herself, trying not to cause trouble.
There was a guard stationed at the side gate. Seeing them charging over, the guard moved to stop the carriage, viciously raising his saber high.
Xie Zhi's eyes darkened. A silver folding knife slid from his sleeve. With a flick of his wrist, the blade shot straight forward—
A flash of snowy light, and the folding knife buried itself precisely in the guard's throat, blood spraying everywhere.
At the same time, the carriage roared like the wind, leaping out through the side gate.