"Isn't there anyone who can persuade your manor lord?"
With great difficulty, she managed to drag the man onto the bed. By now, she was sweating from all the exertion. She took off her cloak and sat down at the table.
After the servant covered the red - clothed man with the quilt, he walked up to Mo Qinghuan.
"The manor lord has very few friends. There used to be two close friends, but they've rarely interacted since our manor lord got married."
The servant sighed. "We've been eager to persuade our manor lord, but anyone who mentioned in front of the manor lord that the lady had left... well, in the end, we all dared not say anything anymore."
Mo Qinghuan looked back at the red - clothed man lying on the bed. "Didn't you try to find his friends and ask them to persuade him to get out of his grief earlier? Otherwise, if this goes on, he might develop a mental demon."
The servant fell silent. These were matters beyond his control, and he didn't have the authority to interfere.
"Miss, let me escort you down the mountain. Otherwise, if the manor lord wakes up, you might not be able to leave."
Mo Qinghuan nodded and followed the servant down the mountain.
After coming down from the mountaintop and returning to a normal - temperature area, she no longer felt cold.
She stretched lazily. The servant said to her, "Miss, please forgive me for only accompanying you this far. You'll have to continue the rest of the journey on your own."
...
— They just kidnap people but don't bother to send them back. How annoying!
Relying on her memory, she walked forward along the main road. Passing by a tea - house, she stepped forward and inquired, "Waiter, could you please tell me how to get to the capital?"
The waiter glanced at Mo Qinghuan and remembered the portrait the government had sent that morning. She seemed to look a bit like the person in the portrait.
He quickly smiled and said, "Miss, are you thirsty? Sit down and have a cup of tea."
Hearing this, Mo Qinghuan actually felt a bit thirsty. So she took the tea the waiter offered. Just as she was about to drink it, she suddenly sensed something was wrong.
Dressed like this, it was obvious she didn't have any silver to pay for the tea. Why was the waiter being so overly attentive!
She knew something was amiss. So she smiled at the waiter, then splashed the whole bowl of tea in his face and took off running.
The waiter cursed and chased after her, but he couldn't catch up in the end.
After running a long way, she met an old man driving a donkey - cart.
"Uncle, are you going to the capital to sell firewood?"
A girl suddenly appearing in the desolate countryside scared the old man.
Stammering, he replied, "Y - yes. Why?"
When Mo Qinghuan heard this, she immediately jumped onto the cart. "I'll buy all the firewood in your cart. I'll pay you double the price. Please take me back to the capital."
The old man was delighted at this good deal and agreed.
The donkey - cart wobbled forward. Mo Qinghuan sat on it, looking at the scenery along the way. After about an hour or so, she finally saw a familiar place.
That big pit, where the buried bodies had been discovered before.
After confirming that the old man was really taking her in the direction of the capital, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
When they reached the city gate, the guards on duty recognized Mo Qinghuan at a glance.
"Princess Consort, we've finally found you. Let this subordinate escort you back to the Regent's Mansion."
She looked down at herself. "Find me a set of men's clothes quickly."
Then she hid by the side gate, afraid of being noticed by others.
She knew that as a princess consort, being kidnapped for a night and then showing up disheveled would cause quite a stir.
But unfortunately, the more she didn't want to be discovered, the more she was seen. And the person who saw her was her sworn enemy.
Gu Qinglan walked towards her haughtily. "Oh, who is this?" she exclaimed in feigned surprise.
"I'm not mistaken. It really is the Regent's Princess Consort. I thought I was seeing things just now." Her shouting immediately attracted a crowd of onlookers.
She was quite satisfied with her masterpiece and looked at Mo Qinghuan with disdain in her eyes.
"I just heard that the Regent's Princess Consort was missing for a night. You're showing up like this. I'm afraid something unpleasant happened last night, right?"
"You're really concerned about me. But I'd like to advise you to worry about yourself instead. Provoking me won't end well for you."
Gu Qinglan remembered the time Mo Qinghuan had poisoned her. She took two steps back in fear.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of horses' hooves. She turned around curiously.
She saw Mu Yanming galloping towards them from afar. Dressed in black with a cape behind him, he sat high on his horse and was coming in this direction.
The wind blew his long hair, and the black ribbons fluttered in the wind.
Then he reined in his horse. The horse reared up its front hooves and then stopped steadily in front of Mo Qinghuan. He leaned over and scooped her up into his arms with his long arm.
Then he turned his horse around and rode away.
From beginning to end, he didn't even spare a glance.
Gu Qinglan couldn't help but sneer. So what if Mo Qinghuan came back disheveled!
She was still the only one in his eyes. No matter what, no matter how she was...
It seemed that he didn't mind at all.
— Why! Why couldn't he just turn around and take a look at her? Was she really that inferior to Mo Qinghuan?
— In terms of talent, she was no worse than her. She was proficient in all the four arts of the Chinese scholar. The only thing she might be inferior in was probably her unimpressive medical skills...
— But it was inappropriate for a woman to practice medicine anyway. She disdained to compete in this regard.
Just as she was seething with anger, Gu Qing grabbed her hand and walked towards the Gu Mansion.
Realizing they were still on the street, she suddenly shook off Gu Qing's hand and hissed, "What are you doing! Don't you know the propriety between men and women?!"
Then she ran away.
Gu Qing looked at her back and couldn't help but smile bitterly. "You always say he can't see you. But when have you ever seen me?"
...
Mu Yanming took her directly back to the mansion. Then he dismounted and carried Mo Qinghuan towards the Yangyang Hall.
On the way, when she tried to get down, he hugged her tightly and warned her not to move around.
So she really behaved herself and let him carry her all the way back to the room.
He placed her on the bed and covered her with the quilt. Only then did he ask, "Do you know who took you away yesterday?"
She shook her head. Mu Yanming reached out his hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. His voice was gentle, as if he was afraid of scaring her. "Did the person do anything improper?"
After asking, Mu Yanming regretted it. He lowered his head, remembering that he hadn't fared well under her in the General's Mansion last time. That person probably didn't have a chance either...
Mo Qinghuan knew what he was worried about and told him what had happened.
"Although I don't know that person's name, I heard from the servant in the manor that the place is called the Cold Moon Manor. It's extremely cold there. I almost froze to death in there."
She said the last sentence rather plaintively. Mu Yanming held her small hand to warm it.
He murmured softly, "The Cold Moon Manor. Could it be him?"
Thinking of that old friend, Mu Yanming realized that it had been about four years since they last met. He wondered how he was doing lately...