She was timid and hesitant.
The dark shape remained motionless, seemingly not alive.
Wushuang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it might just be a newly built giant bird's nest.
She used both her hands and feet to climb up the tree branch, hugged the bird's nest, and went around it. That should be feasible, right?
The moon suddenly leaped out from behind the clouds, its clear light illuminating the dark shadow.
That's a person!
A strange man with a full beard!
Almost as soon as Wushuang saw these things clearly, a handful of powder mixed with a faint fragrance was thrown at her face. She immediately felt dizzy and her eyelids heavy. Before she could even struggle or resist, she was plunged into boundless darkness.
Wushuang suddenly opened her eyes, and what appeared before her was a clear blue sky.
Dawn broke—that was the first thought that popped into her head.
The ground beneath her was swaying rhythmically. No, this wasn't the ground; she felt like she was in a car.
The clatter of hooves and the rumble of wheels reached my ears at a leisurely pace.
Wushuang became increasingly certain; she was in a carriage, a carriage without a roof.
Is it Chu Yao?
She was a little hesitant to get up and see what was going on, afraid of being disappointed.
The wheels hit the gravel, and the carriage lurched violently.
Wushuang was thrown up and then fell heavily back down.
Memories from before I fell into a deep sleep surged back into my mind like a tidal wave…
She sat up abruptly and turned to look. The driver was a man, and because he was sitting, only his upper body could be seen. He was tall and strong, and it was not Chu Yao. He looked more like the person who was squatting in the tree.
"Awake?" the man spoke at the opportune moment, as if he had eyes in the back of his head and had seen Wushuang's actions. "There is food and water behind you. If you are thirsty or hungry, eat something. Don't be shy."
Wushuang's gaze shifted, and sure enough, she saw a large iron kettle and a plate of steamed buns placed at her feet.
But the steamed buns weren't even covered with a strainer, and they were walking on a dirt road, which was covered in dust.
Wushuang pouted and asked the man, "Who...who are you? Where are you taking me?"
“I’m a farmer, living in the mountains,” he said, his tone becoming more rustic. “Now I’m taking you up the mountain to be my brother’s wife and have babies.”
Wushuang was stunned and took a few steps back. The carriage jolted again, and she fell to the ground.
"Don't move around, this car isn't sturdy, you might fall off," the man said again.
Yes, she wants to go down.
"Stop the car!" Wushuang shouted. "I'm not going with you!"
The man completely ignored her, not even turning his head, and instead whipped his horse to speed up.
She must be crazy. How could a human trafficker release someone just because she shouts a few times?
Wushuang stood up quietly, picked up the iron kettle, and said, "Hey, do you have a cup? I want some water."
She used her voice to cover up the sound of her footsteps.
“We mountain folk are so generous, we don’t use cups to drink water, we just pour it directly from the pot…” Before he could finish speaking, he felt a chill run down his spine.
He whirled around, and the iron kettle swung by Wushuang was already in front of his face. He quickly leaned back, stretched out his arm, and grabbed the spout with his large hand. In the blink of an eye, the kettle was snatched away. The force caused Wushuang to stagger forward a few steps, and he heard him shouting, "Good heavens, you actually hit me! If you beat me to death, do you know how to get home? Aren't you supposed to be a princess? You're rude and stupid!"
Having finished cursing, he tossed aside the iron kettle, raised his right palm, and struck at Wushuang.
Poor Wushuang could see it, but couldn't dodge it. He was struck on the back of the neck, his body swayed, and he fainted again.
Wushuang sat up abruptly and looked around.
She is now in a simply furnished room.
While unconscious, he slept on an ordinary four-poster bed. A few steps away from the bed, an oil lamp was lit on a square table, and a few steps further on was a double window with a bamboo chair and a side table in front of it.
Was she really taken to the mountains?
Let's escape while no one's around!
Wushuang jumped off the bamboo bed and wandered around the room, but couldn't find her bundle.
She put half of her fortune in her bundle—all her banknotes and valuable but understated jewelry.
I had originally planned that if anything went wrong, I could use it as travel expenses or even for my future living expenses.
If we can't find it, how can we get back to the capital?
Wushuang touched her hair, intending to pull out a hairpin or hair ornament, but halfway through the action she suddenly remembered that when she was preparing to escape, she had dressed herself up as a nun who practiced Buddhism with her hair still intact... No, she wasn't wearing a dark gray-blue nun's robe now!
Wushuang looked at the light green cotton dress embroidered with orchid patterns on her body. Who changed her clothes? Was it a man or a woman?
Could it be... could it be...?
Just as she was about to burst into tears, she heard light footsteps, the curtain was lifted, and a woman walked in. She was about twenty years old, with a bright and beautiful appearance. She wore a woman's hairstyle and her clothes were the same color and style as Wushuang's, except that they were embroidered with bamboo patterns.
"Sister-in-law," Wushuang rushed forward and knelt before her without thinking, "Please, let me go. I can't marry here. I have family and a fiancé in the capital, I..."