The carriage stopped at the mass burial ground. Mo Qinghuan heard a voice say, "Pull her out for me." Then the curtain of the carriage was lifted.
A gust of cold wind rushed in. Then she felt someone grab her ankle and pull her out.
She was carried off the carriage. She closed her eyes and pretended to be unconscious.
"Awaken her for me!"
Mo Qinghuan opened her eyes and saw several people in front of her. They were all strangers she didn't recognize. Only the woman in red tight - fitting clothes seemed to be a servant in the Lan family's courtyard.
"No need. I'm already awake."
The mute servant hit Mo Qinghuan hard in the stomach with the hilt of her sword. Mo Qinghuan winced in pain, a thin layer of sweat breaking out on her forehead.
"Miss Mute, what should we do?"
A young servant beside her asked the woman in red tight - fitting clothes.
Mo Qinghuan sneered at this. "Mute? Oh, you can talk. Why do they call you mute?"
"Shut up. Tell me, where's the key?" The mute servant glared at Mo Qinghuan. With a flick of her thumb on the hilt, the sword was unsheathed a bit. "Otherwise, this mass burial ground will be your burial place. Look around. So many people who died a violent death have their bodies thrown here, eaten bit by bit by stray dogs, wolves, and crows passing by."
She described it vividly, trying her best to portray the horror of the mass burial ground.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the smile in Mo Qinghuan's eyes deepened. "You... Since you have such skills, why don't you come and follow me? However much monthly pay the Lan family gives you, I'll double it. How about that?"
Hearing this, the mute servant said, "My lord has been kind to me. How could I betray my lord for your petty gain? Don't even dream about it!"
"My lord? Which lord?"
She looked at Mo Qinghuan coldly. "Stop talking nonsense! I'll give you one last chance. If you still refuse to come to your senses, I'll take action."
"Fine. Do it quickly. I don't want to waste time with you. Shuang'er is probably waiting for me to go back for lunch."
She thought that the person the mute servant called "my lord" must not be Ning Yao. So, the most likely one should be the Lan family's father, the left prime minister. And the mute servant should be sent by the left prime minister to help the Lan family deal with her.
It's a pity she's a fool.
"Fine. You prefer the punishment to the toast, don't you?" The mute servant got angry when she couldn't persuade Mo Qinghuan.
She stepped forward and wanted to slap Mo Qinghuan hard.
"Let me teach you a lesson!" Just as her hand was raised halfway, Mo Qinghuan took the initiative and sprinkled some sleeping powder. The mute servant seemed to be frozen in place.
Mo Qinghuan had already snatched the sword from her hand. She drew it out, looked at it, and clicked her tongue twice. "Well, it's really a good sword."
"Miss Mute, what's wrong with you?" Seeing this, several young servants hesitated in place and didn't dare to get closer.
They looked at each other and then all looked at Mo Qinghuan. "What did you do to Miss Mute?"
"Does it matter what I did to her?"
One of the young servants stepped forward. "What on earth do you want?"
Mo Qinghuan put the sword back into its scabbard. "I haven't even asked you guys what you're trying to do by kidnapping me here."
"I advise you to be sensible and release Miss Mute quickly. We might still consider sparing your life!"
Mo Qinghuan smiled coldly and proudly. She gently touched the mute servant with her fingertip, and the mute servant fell to the ground with a thud.
She walked towards those young servants. "Oh, does your mistress only know how to kidnap people? I've been kidnapped several times. Do you think I'm so stupid that I won't take precautions?"
As she took a step forward, the young servants all took a step back in unison.
Suddenly, one of them bumped into a tree with a thud, scaring away the crows on the tree. The crows flapped their wings and cawed as they landed on a tomb.
The coffin under the tomb had been exposed to the wind and rain for years. A section of the coffin was already rotten. The valuable burial objects inside should have been taken away by passers - by long ago. All that was left were some worthless colorful clothes.
The crow stood on that section of the coffin and pecked at it twice. No one knew what it was eating.
"Fine. I'm leaving."
Mo Qinghuan walked up to the carriage. Just as she was about to jump onto it, a voice came from behind. "Stop! Don't go."
Then several people rushed towards her. Mo Qinghuan calmly leaned against the carriage and waved her hand. The white powder flew into the air and was blown onto the faces of those young servants by the wind.
The servants were first stunned. Then the leader shouted, "Don't be afraid. She's just bluffing."
But when he tried to step forward again, he found he couldn't move his feet.
Mo Qinghuan smiled. "Do you feel your tongue going numb and your hands and feet unable to move?"
The servants rolled their eyes wildly but couldn't say a word.
"Don't be afraid. The medicine will wear off by tomorrow morning at the latest. Then you can leave."
She picked up the whip and whipped the horse hard. The horse galloped away.
The young servants behind were so anxious that their eyes turned red and they shed tears. They thought, Don't go! "I heard there are wolves in the mass burial ground at night. They like to eat corpses. Now that there are living people, especially a helpless one, won't they have a good meal?"
Mo Qinghuan didn't know how to get back to the capital from the mass burial ground. Fortunately, it had just rained recently. She could follow the wheel tracks left by the carriage on its way here to find the way forward.
Suddenly, she heard a rush of horses' hooves.
For some reason, she inexplicably felt that this sound of horses' hooves might be someone coming to look for her. So she stopped the carriage and pulled over to the side of the road.
Sure enough, she saw Mu Yanming leading a group of people riding towards this direction. Bai Ke, Lu Zixiu, and Shuang'er sitting in Bai Ke's arms were also there.
Seeing Mo Qinghuan, Mu Yanming tightened the reins, jumped off his horse, and walked quickly towards her. There was still a trace of gloom on his face. "Are you okay?"
He held Mo Qinghuan's body with both hands and turned her around to check.
Mo Qinghuan was amused by his childish behavior. "I'm fine."
Lu Zixiu jumped off his horse and walked over. "You're still laughing. Do you know how worried... His Highness the Regent is about his future princess?"
"How did you know I was in this direction?"
Lu Zixiu smiled. "You forgot. I said don't underestimate the Regent's ability. It's not difficult to find you in such a big place as the capital."
Mo Qinghuan looked at Mu Yanming. He had returned to his usual cold self. It seemed that smiling was a skill he hadn't yet mastered.
"Fine. Let's go back." He led his horse over and helped Mo Qinghuan onto it.
The two rode on the same horse and led the way.
"Come and stay in the Regent's Mansion. The General's Mansion is too unsafe!"
Mu Yanming voiced his concern, but Mo Qinghuan shook her head.
"It doesn't seem proper. According to etiquette, the bride and groom shouldn't meet before the wedding."
Mo Qinghuan declined politely. She was already on guard. Coming out with them this time was just to see what else they were capable of.