Chapter 34: Abducted

It turned out that Chu Jisheng was Zhang Xiu’s child.

Jiang Wu was utterly stunned.

She clearly remembered how unpleasantly things had ended between those two back then. How, then, had they eventually come to have a child together?

Only belatedly did she remember something else.

Did Chu Ling know as well? And what, exactly, was the state of his relationship with Chu Yan now?

Jiang Wu stood there, gazing at the cold, cheerless courtyard.

Bit by bit, she recalled everything Chu Ling had done these past days. It could not be called affection, of course, yet he did seem to care for her, at least a little.

Even when facing Chu Yan, he had insisted on preserving Jiang Wu’s position as his lawful wife.

Could it be that after all these years, his feelings for Chu Yan had faded? Could it be that he had begun to care about Jiang Wu instead?

“You still have the nerve to say you’re dissatisfied? If I were you, I’d be dying of happiness.”

Chu Chan had said those words to her before, and at the time Jiang Wu had dismissed them with utter contempt.

But now, remembering the Empress Dowager’s words as well, she hesitated for the first time.

Would it truly be better to accept her fate?

For one fleeting moment, the thought crossed her mind, and she could not even find the words to refute it. Yet somewhere deep inside, a voice kept insisting that it was not so, that things should not be this way.

“Mother.”

The girl’s voice pulled her back from her daze.

Jiang Wu turned around. Her daughter stood there in a water-blue long-sleeved dress. It was as though she were slowly returning to herself, gradually recovering the sense that she truly stood in the world of the living.

“Nianyin, are you going out?” she asked with a smile.

Nianyin was clearly dressed for an outing, and, unusually, several maids accompanied her.

Indeed, Nianyin was preparing to leave.

“Grandmother asked me to go to the temple with her to offer incense,” she replied simply, though her attention remained fixed on her mother. “Are you feeling unwell, Mother?”

The vacant, absent look in her mother’s eyes moments earlier had truly frightened her.

Knowing that she had alarmed her daughter, Jiang Wu hurriedly waved her hand with a smile. “No. I was only thinking about something.”

“Then I’ll stay home and keep you company today.” Nianyin was still uneasy.

Jiang Wu naturally refused. “You already made an appointment with your grandmother. How could you break your word?”

Only after much coaxing did she persuade Nianyin to leave.

For one thing, she did not want her daughter to worry. For another, Nianyin’s grandmother was willing to dote on her granddaughter, and Jiang Wu had no intention of interfering with the affection between grandmother and granddaughter.

Had she known what would happen afterward, she would have died before letting Nianyin leave.

After Nianyin departed, Jiang Wu could not calm herself. She had the persistent feeling that something was about to happen, and her eyelids kept twitching.

She even considered sending someone to bring her daughter back. But then she thought that doing so would make it seem as though she were competing for her husband’s favor with her own mother-in-law. After some hesitation, she restrained herself.

It was only a visit to the temple to offer incense. What could possibly happen?

That was what she told herself, yet she remained restless the entire day. At last, as dusk approached, she could bear it no longer and urged someone to inquire.

“Go and see whether Miss has returned.”

The servant obeyed, but only after some time did he come back to report, “Miss sent word a while ago. The Old Madam asked her to stay at the Duke’s residence for a few days. She’ll return in two days.”

Had Jiang Wu heard this on any other day, she would have thought nothing of it.

But today, her heart had been floating uneasily all day. When she heard the servant’s report, she clenched her hands in agitation.

Jiang Wu barely managed to steady herself before giving the order, “Make preparations. I’m going to the Duke’s residence.”

At those words, a trace of panic flashed across the servant’s face.

“Madam, it’s already getting late. Perhaps—”

Jiang Wu had been forcing herself to remain patient. Seeing the servant evade her repeatedly, however, only drove her deeper into wild speculation. In her anxiety, she could no longer control her temper.

“I said, go at once—”

“What happened?”

At that very moment, Chu Ling’s voice sounded.

The man tilted his head slightly and entered through the beaded curtain.

Seeing him, the maid, who had not known what to say, discreetly let out a breath of relief and immediately bowed. “My lord.”

Jiang Wu was furious, but she had no time to complain about the maid.

Strangely enough, no matter how much she disliked Chu Ling, whenever she saw him at a moment like this, a faint sense of security would still rise within her.

“My lord, I don’t know what’s wrong, but my heart is pounding terribly.” She struggled to steady her racing pulse. “I have to go see Nianyin.”

Her voice was firm, as though no one could persuade her otherwise. At a glance, Chu Ling knew there was no concealing the truth from her. Perhaps this was truly the bond between mother and daughter.

Jiang Wu was still trying to reassure herself not to overthink things. If something had really happened, how could Chu Ling still be standing here?

Then Chu Ling took her hand.

“Do not panic. Let me tell you what I know first.” Hesitation and consolation—rare emotions for him—appeared on the man’s face.

Jiang Wu’s heart tightened at once.

“On the way back, Nianyin and Mother encountered bandits.” It was the first time Chu Ling had ever spoken with such difficulty. His eyes remained fixed on Jiang Wu’s face, missing none of her expressions. “Their whereabouts are currently unknown.”

The moment Jiang Wu heard the word “bandits,” her heart was seized in an iron grip. When she heard that Nianyin’s whereabouts were unknown, dizziness swept over her. Her vision went black, and she nearly collapsed.

Her limp body was immediately caught by a pair of arms.

Chu Ling wrapped one arm around her shoulders while keeping hold of her hand with the other.

Jiang Wu gripped that hand with all her strength. “Who were they?” She was nearly frantic. She had to breathe hard to keep her chest from locking completely and her mind from going numb. “Who took her? Are they your enemies? What do they want?”

The harshness of her breathing sounded like the prelude to a complete breakdown.

Chu Ling’s gaze shifted slightly aside, his eyes filled with uncontrollable bloodlust and ferocity.

“We have received no demands from them yet. All we know is that people from the martial world were responsible.”

Chu Nianyin and the Duchess’s Lady Mother had been attacked by bandits, and naturally, Chu Ling had been the first to receive the news.

Because the incident had taken place within his own territory, they had not brought many guards. No one could have expected such a mishap.

It was rare for him to feel genuine rage over anything unrelated to Jiang Wu.

Chu Ling had offended too many people, so identifying the culprits would take time. But with this clue, he began his investigation from there.

Since an unmarried girl had been abducted, the matter could not be made public. Chu Ling therefore sealed off the news and used an old case—in which an imperial official had been murdered amid a feud with a martial organization—as a pretext. Martial artists were arrested on a massive scale throughout the capital and its surrounding areas. As for the various sects and organizations, he swept through them indiscriminately, uprooting one stronghold after another. Anyone captured was taken back for interrogation, and no lead was overlooked.

The two factions that had once coexisted peacefully were thrown into utter chaos. No matter how extraordinary the martial artists’ skills were, how could they stand against the imperial court?

For a time, every martial artist in the capital lived in fear.

Jiang Wu was consumed by regret and grief. Nianyin had clearly said she would stay with her. She herself had already sensed that something was wrong. How could she still have let her daughter leave?

Yet now she had no choice but to push aside the remorse and anguish that were driving her toward madness. She abruptly shoved away the man who still held her.

“What are you still doing here?” Her normally gentle voice had sharpened with anxiety. “Our daughter has disappeared! Go and find her! Chu Ling, you must bring her back safely! You cannot let anything happen to Nianyin!”

No matter what kind of harm befell her, Jiang Wu would go mad.

Chu Ling’s hand tightened slightly inside his sleeve. In a low but powerful voice, he said, “All right.”

***

Chu Ling’s sweeping actions were so forceful that several hideouts of the Shadowless Pavilion were destroyed. Many people within the pavilion were dragged into prison and subjected to brutal interrogation through the night. It was only a matter of time before their other strongholds were exposed as well.

Mo Mingzhu stumbled upon several hideouts in succession and had to take care not to be discovered by the soldiers. At last, she finally located one that remained intact.

She had only been worried about the others in the pavilion and intended to discuss their next course of action with them.

But the moment she entered, she heard the people inside speaking.

“That bastard official Chu Ling is vicious as hell. Several of our men have already been interrogated to death in prison.”

The words immediately stoked Mingzhu’s fury, but then she heard them continue.

“Abducting this girl has cost us plenty. We should discuss what to do with her now.”

“The bastard official’s daughter is quite a pretty little thing.”

“Isn’t she? If I hadn’t been busy moving from one hideout to another all night, I wouldn’t have left her untouched until now.”

“This place is well hidden. No one will come here for a while. In my opinion…”

Mo Mingzhu could listen to no more of their obscene remarks. She raised her foot and kicked the door open with a thunderous crash.

The enormous noise drew everyone’s attention. Three men were inside, all dusty and disheveled, as though they had only just escaped from somewhere.

In the corner of the room, Mingzhu saw Chu Nianyin bound tightly.

The girl’s mouth had been gagged with a strip of cloth, allowing only muffled whimpers to escape. She must have been terrified; tears streamed down her face. Her frightened, tear-drenched eyes met Mingzhu’s.

Mingzhu swept her gaze over the girl. Seeing that she was merely covered in dust and bore no other injuries, she secretly breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Thank goodness nothing else had happened.

She could more or less understand why that mad dog had gone berserk again. Even she now felt an inexplicable surge of anger.

There was no need to think about it. That woman must be frantic with worry as well.

“Why are you here, Mingzhu?”

The others in the room wore strange expressions, carrying a hint of flattery as well as displeasure.

Mingzhu’s identity was somewhat special. She was the Pavilion Master’s personal disciple, so even without any official position, these people were still obliged to show her a measure of respect.

There were women in the Shadowless Pavilion, but few possessed skills as formidable as hers or dared to disregard everyone around them.

The others were always forced to yield to her, and resentment naturally festered in their hearts.

Mingzhu paid no attention to their complicated looks. She merely frowned and gave a cold laugh. “Why am I here? If I hadn’t come, what exactly did you intend to do?”

The mockery in her voice made them frown. The man who had spoken earlier was about to find an excuse, but someone else, unable to tolerate her attitude, snapped, “What does it matter if I do something to her? She is that bastard official’s daughter. Anything we do to her is what she deserves.”

The words enraged Mo Mingzhu completely, and her reply grew even sharper. “She is only fourteen years old. You disregard all human decency and every moral law. How are you any different from that bastard official?”

“Mo Mingzhu!” The man flew into a rage as well. “Don’t spout nonsense just because the Pavilion Master protects you! She may be innocent, but were our relatives who died so tragically not innocent too?”

The words clearly struck a chord with the others. Mo Mingzhu stared at him for a while before suddenly throwing down the sword in her hand.

“Then kill her.”

“What?”

The man was so taken aback that he was momentarily speechless.

“Didn’t you say your relatives who died tragically were innocent? If you want revenge, then kill her. What sort of ability is there in violating a defenseless girl? Don’t use revenge as an excuse for your filthy desires.”