"It's blind."
Blind?
Su Qing was a smart girl, and upon hearing this, she sat up straight.
Ju Mu'er didn't speak again, only pursed her lips. Su Qing opened her mouth wide in surprise, and after a long while, asked, "The bird was caught in a net on its way to the cage, right?"
Ju Mu'er nodded: "It also caused its good friend to be kidnapped by the net."
Su Qing was completely stunned. She stood up abruptly, thought for a moment, then went to listen behind the door again. After that, she turned back and asked softly, "Is it the Mr. Shi that my sister used to talk about all the time? Was the one that died Brother Hua?"
She was too close to Ju Mu'er; she knew most of her friends. Connecting all the dots, if the singing bird referred to the zither player, then the person who died after singing must have been Ju Mu'er's senior uncle, whom she had lamented incessantly after returning from the execution zither gathering. Su Qing had heard plenty of rumors circulating in the city.
Ju Mu'er nodded. Su Qing's eyes welled up with tears: "Sister, were your eyes harmed?"
"I can't be sure, Qing'er, it's just that the doctors haven't been able to cure me. I'm blind, that's a fact." Ju Mu'er gritted her teeth: "Ever since I went blind, I've become more paranoid. Maybe I really am blind from an illness, maybe..."
She couldn't continue after saying that, but Su Qing couldn't hold back any longer and buried her face in Ju Mu'er's lap, crying.
Ju Mu'er held her shoulders and pushed her up, saying, "Qing'er, don't cry. I'm not telling you this to make you cry."
Su Qing was stunned for a moment, wiped her eyes, and called out, "Sister."
Ju Mu'er hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, "Listen to me, you must not tell anyone about this little bird story, because you don't know who is the bird catcher. If I can't escape this time, you can take all my sheet music and my zither. If one day someone can clear Mr. Shi and Brother Hua's name, you can give all my things to him. I, I don't want to die in vain."
"You'll be alright." Su Qing's tears welled up again: "Sister, you'll be alright, I don't want your things, I don't want them."
Ju Mu'er also teared up sadly: "Qing'er, I didn't want it to be like this either. My worst mistake is that I've dragged you down. I..." Ju Mu'er choked up and almost couldn't finish her sentence: "I, I'm sorry to Second Master."
"Yes, yes, there's still Second Master. Second Master will come to save us, Sister, don't lose heart..."
Before Su Qing could finish speaking, heavy footsteps and the sound of a woman struggling suddenly came from outside the door. Su Qing and Ju Mu'er quickly fell silent and wiped away their tears.
Immediately afterwards, the door to their little house was pushed open forcefully, and a girl dressed in gorgeous clothes but in a terrible state was thrown in.
The robber shouted, "Behave yourself, or I'll slap your mouth shut!"
Ju Mu'er didn't know what had happened. She nervously gripped Su Qing's hand. She heard the heavy footsteps of the robbers leaving, the sound of the door slamming shut and locking, and then she heard Su Qing exclaim in surprise, "Miss Ding?"
37 countermeasures, girls united
"Miss Ding?" Ju Mu'er was startled when she heard Su Qing call out to her.
"Is that the young lady from the Minister's mansion, the fierce one?" Su Qing stared at Ding Yanshan. She still held a grudge against this bad girl for hitting Sister Mu'er back then.
Ding Yanshan got up from the ground, looked up and saw Ju Mu'er and the other woman, and felt embarrassed. She tried to be brave and opened her mouth to curse, but then she thought about her current situation and realized that she was no better off than them. She looked around the room and felt frightened and desolate, so she bit her lip and stood silently by the broken wooden table.
"Is she injured?" Ju Mu'er asked Su Qing when she couldn't hear Ding Yanshan's movements.
Su Qing glanced at Ding Yanshan a few times with a pout, and replied, "She looks pretty good."
She thought for a moment, then raised her voice and asked, "Hey, are you hurt?"
"Mind your own business!" Ding Yanshan glared at them.
"Who cares about you!" Su Qing was even fiercer than her.
Hearing Ding Yanshan's spirited reply, Ju Mu'er assumed she was alright, so she remained silent and lowered her head to ponder. Meanwhile, Su Qing and Ding Yanshan, both full of energy, glared at each other, growing increasingly annoyed with each other.
After a while, Ju Mu'er suddenly asked, "Miss Ding, do you know who kidnapped us?"
Ding Yanshan was already upset from being suspected by Long Er, and now Ju Mu'er's question made it seem like she was the one who did it. Her anger flared instantly, and she jumped up, shouting, "How would I know? You all think I did it? Who do you think you are? What makes you so great? So what if you're going to marry Second Master? I wouldn't even look at you. No matter what, I wouldn't have someone kidnap you. You can't slander me for something I didn't do. Look, I've been kidnapped too, and I have no idea who they are!"
"I asked you one question, and you answered so many questions." Su Qing glared at her: "I didn't even realize it until you said it. It turns out you were a big suspect. You pretended to come in, making us think you were kidnapped. Who knows if you really were? You're just jealous that Sister Mu'er is going to marry the Second Master. You're so wicked. You even hit my sister. It's not surprising that you'd do something like kidnapping and robbing people now."
"If you dare to frame me, I'll tear your mouth off!" Ding Yanshan was furious and lunged at Su Qing.
It was one thing for Long Er to talk about her, but now these commoners dared to speak to her like that. How could she not be angry?
Su Qing was not afraid of her at all and replied, "Want to fight? I'm not afraid." She turned around to get Ju Mu'er's bamboo cane and said, "Sister, lend me your bamboo cane, I'll beat her up."
"You dare to pick up a weapon?" Ding Yanshan looked around, disregarding her appearance, grabbed the chair, and prepared to teach this brat a lesson.
Before Ju Mu'er could even speak to mediate, heavy footsteps were heard outside the door, and then the door was flung open. Two robbers, seemingly drunk and reeking of alcohol, stood in the doorway shouting, "What's all the noise about?"
Ding Yanshan and Su Qing were so frightened that they both hid behind Ju Mu'er. Ju Mu'er heard the faint sounds of drinking and gambling coming from outside, as if these scoundrels were having a feast.
One of the robbers at the door said, "Hey, the girl in this room is really energetic. She looks more attractive than those two."
Another said, "What's the rush? Big Brother said to move those two first, and wait for the ones in this room." Just as they were speaking, shouts and screams came from the next room.
The robber was very unhappy: "So, you wanted to keep one for yourself, huh? Damn it, did you have to make such a fuss? Leave one for me too." After he finished speaking, he turned and left.
Soon, Ju Mu'er and the others heard screams and struggles coming from the other room. The sounds terrified them, turning their faces pale, and they huddled together in a ball.
The remaining robber stared at Ju Mu'er and the other two and sneered, "Save your strength. There are several of us brothers here. We'll have our turn to yell and scream. If we weren't short of rooms, we wouldn't have put you all together. Don't think we're here to chat and fight. Behave yourselves, understand? Otherwise, if you spoil our fun, you'll be in for a world of trouble."
The three girls were too frightened to speak, and could only nod. The robber was satisfied, slammed the door shut, and left.
As soon as he left, Ding Yanshan burst into tears. The terrifying noises she had just heard from next door had completely shattered her spirits. The profound fear was so real, right beside her; she was terrified. She didn't want to end up like them.
“You must escape,” Ju Mu’er said.
"Escape?" Ding Yanshan was startled.
"What do you mean?" Su Qing was even more startled.
Ju Mu'er didn't answer, but instead asked, "Miss Ding, how were you captured?"
Ding Yanshan couldn't care less about her grudge against Ju Mu'er at this moment, and quickly replied, "I went out to the Yun residence to talk to my sister, but after walking for a while, I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I found myself swaying on a horse. Before I could react, I was dragged off the horse and brought here." She paused and then said, "I'm not lying to you. I didn't pretend to be arrested. I definitely didn't do this."
"You're feeling guilty." Su Qing glared at her with disdain.
"What did you say? You dare to slander me!" Ding Yanshan stepped past Ju Mu'er and was about to slap Su Qing. Su Qing swung her bamboo cane horizontally and jabbed it into Ding Yanshan's chest. Ding Yanshan felt a sharp pain in her chest and became even angrier. Just as she was about to retaliate, she heard Ju Mu'er whisper and shout, "Both of you, shut up."
Su Qing pointed the tip of her bamboo cane at Ding Yanshan, her mouth firmly shut. Ding Yanshan gritted her teeth and didn't say anything more.
Ju Mu'er said, "Miss Ding, there are three possibilities regarding your abduction. First, the kidnappers saw you by chance and abducted you on a whim. Second, this matter is related to your family or acquaintances, and by abducting you, they can distance your family or acquaintances from this matter. Third, the kidnappers want to use you as a hostage. They may want to do something evil, and having you in their hands would restrain your family. If your father and brother-in-law have any reservations, the officials will naturally be restrained as well, and then they will have a chance to succeed, delay, or escape."
Ding Yanshan remained silent, but her heart sank. Both the second and third possibilities indicated that the matter was connected to her family. If there truly was a connection, then why was Ju Mu'er kidnapped as well—was it to deal with Long Er?
Upon realizing this, Ding Yanshan immediately felt ashamed. What she least wanted was to lose face in front of Long Er and Ju Mu'er. She couldn't swallow her anger, but she still had to save face. If the kidnapping was indeed done by her family, how could she ever hold her head high in front of Long Er again?
"Miss Ding, you are in danger no matter which one it is."
"What danger?" Ding Yanshan was still immersed in the shame of her family possibly being involved and didn't immediately understand what Ju Mu'er was saying.
“If it’s the first scenario, then anything that happened next door could happen.” Ju Mu’er bit her lip, suppressing the fear and nausea in her heart, and said quickly, “If it’s the second scenario, the person who ordered your abduction can sacrifice you to cover up the truth, and they can make you sacrifice even more. You don’t know who they are, so you can’t possibly know what will happen after you stay here.”
These words stabbed Ding Yanshan like a knife. She couldn't imagine anyone around her doing such a thing. That person was right beside her, that person would sacrifice her...
Ding Yanshan was speechless, but Ju Mu'er ignored her and continued quickly, "If it's the third scenario, you'll be in even more danger. If the robbers want to intimidate you and force your family to comply, who knows what they might do to you. If the intimidation fails, you'll be useless here."
The girls all knew what would happen if they were useless.
Ju Mu'er added, "While they're off guard now, you need to find a way to leave this place quickly. If you wait any longer, something might happen or separate us, and then you won't have another chance."
"But what can we do?" Ding Yanshan became more and more frightened as she listened to Ju Mu'er. She wanted to leave, but she had no idea what to do.
"Why are you saying 'you'?" Su Qing was bothered by this question: "It should be 'us,' sister, let's go together."
“I can’t go with you. I can’t walk fast and I’ll be a burden. You two go on your own. If you can get out, then call for reinforcements. If you take me with you, none of the three of us will be able to leave.”
"No, I won't leave without my sister." Su Qing pushed aside the bamboo cane and hugged Ju Mu'er's arm.
"Do you even know what's important? It's not time to discuss who goes and who doesn't. The key is how to get there." Ding Yanshan got annoyed by Su Qing's dawdling. She gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "We have nowhere to go. Not to mention we're being held captive, there are still a lot of bandits guarding outside. Even if we manage to escape from this house and get lost in the deep mountains and forests, we'll still end up as wolf food."
Su Qing glared at her: "Then you can just wait for those villains to chop off your fingers and cut off your ears and send them to your family, or come over and abuse you after they've eaten and drunk their fill."
"You..." Ding Yanshan was so angry that she was about to curse back, but Ju Mu'er held her down.
Ju Mu'er asked Su Qing, "Qing'er, have you memorized the route?"
"I've got it." She often went up the mountain to pick flowers and walked around the main streets, so she was very good at finding her way around.
"Alright, from this moment on, we must work together and you two must stop arguing."
Su Qing and Ding Yanshan exchanged a glare, but still nodded. Then, remembering that Ju Mu'er couldn't see them, they both replied, "Okay."
Ju Mu'er was satisfied and said, "Miss Ding, please go to the door and listen to the sounds outside. Qing'er, the window is too high. Move the chair over there and I'll hold it for you. See what's going on outside."
The three of them sprang into action. Ding Yanshan pressed her ear to the door and waved to indicate that everything was alright. Su Qing moved the chair over and placed it in its position. Ju Mu'er held it steady, as the broken-legged chair required considerable effort to support. Then Su Qing stood on it, which allowed her to lean out to the window.
She peered through the crack in the window and saw a dense forest. This house was at the very back of the entire estate, very close to the woods behind it. But the view through the crack was limited. Su Qing looked around and, not seeing anyone outside, tried to open the window, but it wouldn't budge. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the bottom of the window was bolted shut.
Su Qing explained the situation, and Ju Mu'er asked, "Is there anything in this house that can be used to pry it open?"
Su Qing and Ding Yanshan quickly scanned the room but found nothing. Then Ju Mu'er said, "Hairpins or something similar will do."
Ding Yanshan touched her head and said, "I have it, I have it."
She pulled the hairpin off and ran over to hand it to Su Qing. Su Qing took it and used the pointed end of the hairpin to carefully pry open the wooden latch. Ding Yanshan, watching anxiously from below, said, "Are you sure you can do it? If not, I'll do it."
"Stop talking nonsense and go listen." Su Qing was already nervous about the latch, and she was very unhappy when Su Qing was told this.
Ding Yanshan thought for a moment, bit her lip, and ran back behind the door.
After a while, Su Qing finally managed to pry open the wooden latch. Just as she was about to cheer, Ding Yanshan lowered her voice and said urgently, "It seems like someone is coming."
As she spoke, she ran back. Su Qing jumped off the chair and, together with Ding Yanshan, dragged Ju Mu'er to the bedside.
But they had all forgotten that the chair had a broken leg. As soon as Ju Mu'er let go, the chair started to wobble and looked like it was about to fall over. But at that moment, the footsteps outside the door became heavier, and the person who came was clearly standing right outside their door.
The three girls disregarded everything else and quickly returned to the edge of the bed. They huddled together, heads bowed, not daring to speak.
The sound of a lock being opened came from outside the door, and the broken chair stood under the window, still swaying.
38 people panicked and fled, hoping for a glimmer of hope.
With a creak, the door opened.
The rickety chair, swaying precariously, suddenly stopped at that moment.
Su Qing glanced furtively out of the corner of her eye, her heart pounding with nervousness. She dared not look any longer, afraid of attracting the robbers' attention. Seeing them move the chairs to the window, she was also afraid the robbers would become suspicious and discover they had pried open the window. In short, she didn't dare breathe.
The robber who opened the door was short in stature. He looked around the room, saw the three girls obediently staying on the bed, and then closed and locked the door again.
The three girls stood frozen for a while before daring to move. Su Qing quietly ran behind the door to listen, then ran back and whispered, "Okay, let's continue. Let's open the window and see what's going on outside."
Ding Yanshan nodded and, just like before, took on the task of eavesdropping at the door. Su Qing led Ju Mu'er to the chair, helped her hold it steady, and then stood up herself.
She cautiously peeked through the crack in the window to make sure no one was outside, then gently pushed the window open. The window wouldn't open. Su Qing was taken aback. She looked closely; the wooden latch was indeed loosened, so why couldn't the window be opened?
She steadied herself and pushed again with a little more force. Still, she couldn't move it. Startled, she pushed even harder.
But the window just wouldn't move.
Ding Yanshan, who was watching anxiously from behind the door, ran over and asked, "What happened?"