Chapter 690: Who Are You? (2)
At the halfway mark up the mountain, Muxiang noticed a signal hidden in the bushes and made a discreet hand gesture.
A group of masked men on horses abruptly charged out from either side of the silent mountain road. They immediately got into a skirmish with the guards of the Anyuan Estate.
One of the strong masked men, wearing a short tunic with bunched up sleeves, charged straight towards Countess Jing’an with his sword drawn.
Wenqing had been about to rush to Chu Lian’s side, but she had no choice but to draw her own sword and block the man’s attack for the countess instead.
The clashing of swords resounded in the forest.
Muxiang was shouting for the guards to protect Chu Lian, but Laiyue and their stronger guards were all blocked by the masked men.
The palanquin that Chu Lian was seated in was stolen away by the two grey-clad porters carrying her. Another man stuffed a rag in Muxiang’s mouth and carried her away with them.
The masked men seemed to lose all desire to fight once they had completed the kidnapping. One of their leaders made a hand signal, and the group of masked men dispersed just as quickly as they had arrived.
In just a short fifteen minutes, there was only a group of injured guards and the shell-shocked Countess Jing’an left at the halfway mark of the mountain.
When Countess Jing’an realised that Chu Lian had been kidnapped, she collapsed to the ground in fright and roared angrily, “Chase them down! No matter what, you have to bring Sanlang’s wife back safely in one piece!”
Her voice was trembling as she gave orders to Laiyue, “Hurry, send some men to pass the news to Third Young Master, Master and Prince Wei’s Estate! Quickly!”
Their family soldier, Huang Zhijian, had already led a party of guards after the kidnappers. Laiyue quickly instructed some men to send the report. He didn’t dare to lead the pursuit himself at the moment since Countess Jing’an was still here. They had already lost one of their madams, they couldn’t let anything happen to the other.
So her two porters had been part of the setup.
She looked around her surroundings constantly, but since this was the forested area of Mount Lanxiang, other than bushes and trees, there was nothing she could use as landmarks.
She pressed her lips and accidentally brushed against the pouch at her waist, causing some tiny fragments to fall out.
Under these pressing circumstances, no one noticed the light-coloured powder falling from Chu Lian’s ouch.
Chu Lian turned her gaze to Muxiang, who had been tied up and was being carried on someone’s shoulder. The maidservant’s head had been covered by a cloth bag, so she couldn’t see the servant’s expression at the moment.
However, what seemed strange to Chu Lian was how Muxiang had reacted at first. She had struggled with all her might at the start, but after they had left the line of sight of Laiyue and the others, Muxiang had suddenly stopped moving as if she had fainted.
The two porters carrying the palanquin were sprinting madly. Chu Lian didn’t dare to do anything but hold on to the palanquin for dear life.
Finally, once the kidnappers had lost the guards in pursuit and made a long detour around the forest to throw them off, they stopped by a thatched hut.
Chu Lian and Muxiang were pushed into the single room of the hut.
There was an old, scarred set of desk and chairs in the room. Other than a pile of hay in the corner, there was nothing else. This crude hut consisted of a single narrow door without any windows, making the entire room seem especially dim and damp.
Chu Lian used the mud wall to help herself up and stood facing the pile of hay.
The kidnappers had all retreated out of the room after tossing Chu Lian and Muxiang inside, and they were guarding the hut from twenty metres or so away.
Chu Lian frowned. Her eyes quickly landed upon Muxiang, whose head was still covered.
The supposedly unconscious Muxiang suddenly started moving. She untied the ropes restraining her hands in a few quick movements and pulled off the bag covering her head.
In an instant, her friendly-looking face was revealed.
However, her expression was completely different from the usual kind and submissive Muxiang.
What showed on her face was a sinister light. The corners of her mouth were twisted into a smirk, and there was a darkness in her eyes now. She seemed like a completely different person, without the slightest shadow of the previous Muxiang.
The furrow between Chu Lian’s brows deepened. Her red lips were slightly parted. It was clear that she was still recovering from her shock.
She gulped subconsciously, “Who… Who are you?”
The gears in Chu Lian’s head turned. This group of masked men had kidnapped her and left her alone with Muxiang in this thatched hut. Could all this have been set up by Muxiang?
Otherwise, why had the kidnappers only taken away the two of them?
Muxiang stood up and walked a few steps towards Chu Lian.
There was no longer any remnants of the obedient maidservant in the Muxiang before her. She swayed confidently with every step, her chin raised high and arrogance radiating from her every pore.
She smirked deeper as she stared down Chu Lian, who was standing up against the wall. She even bent down a little to get closer.
Muxiang was originally tall and slender. At this moment, standing in front of the shorter and smaller Chu Lian, she was at least half a head taller. After reincarnating into this body, Muxiang experienced the sweet feeling of looking down on someone else for the first time.
She let out an uncanny laugh. Her tone carried hatred even as she spoke mockingly, “Hah? Who am I? That’s what I should be asking you instead, Marchioness Anyuan! Who are you? Don’t you feel the slightest bit of shame having stolen this body? Aren’t you even a little guilty after stealing someone else’s husband and hiding the truth? You monster! I’d like to see how long you’re going to keep up this pretense!”
Chu Lian: …
A chill ran up Chu Lian’s spine as she stared up at Muxiang with wide eyes. Muxiang stared right back at her with an expression warped with anger.
