Chapter 48

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Chapter 48: Title

Gu Hengbo dismounted from her horse. As she asked around, she learned that Jiulong Mountain was still quite far. Feeling a bit discouraged, it was even hard to find someone to rely on. Since coming here, she felt utterly defeated. She thought, no matter what, as long as she got through this, she could learn from others and start a farm, raising some cows and a few pigs. She couldn’t always depend on others; one day, she might be sold without realizing it.

Taking a breath, Gu Hengbo was about to mount her horse when she heard rustling noises in the surrounding woods. Her body froze, and her leg on the horse shook a little. Shaking with fear, she got on the horse, but before she could strike her whip, over twenty men surged from the trees, each armed and looking like bandits. Gu Hengbo thought to herself how unfortunate her luck was.

The leader, upon seeing Gu Hengbo, had a fierce expression that could only be described as menacing, placing a large knife against her neck. “Hurry up, don’t waste my time; empty your pockets of everything valuable!”

Gu Hengbo’s hand holding the reins trembled. She smiled slightly. “I didn’t bring anything valuable; I left in a hurry.” She truly had nothing on her; if she had something, she would pull it out immediately.

The bandit snorted. “You think I’m a fool? Don’t make us use force; hurry up!”

Gu Hengbo cried inwardly, wondering if she should just ride away, but the chances of that seemed slim. She frowned, “I really don’t have anything.”

“This pretty face is clearly someone who doesn’t have any guts. You two, pull her down and search her,” the leader impatiently waved his hand.

Before Gu Hengbo could react, one of them yanked her down from the horse, nearly making her fall awkwardly. She hadn’t eaten much yesterday, and after riding that morning, she was already weak. Slumping to the ground, she said, “Just kill me; I don’t have any money,” and her stomach conveniently echoed her words with two growls.

The leader didn’t wait for the others to say anything and stepped forward to tap her face with the handle of his knife. “Something’s off about you,” he said, getting closer and lifting her chin, staring at her neck for a moment. “Damn it, you’re a woman!”

The other bandits’ eyes lit up. A woman?

Gu Hengbo thought to herself, oh no. As she braced herself to get up, someone grabbed her collar from behind. “Trying to run? If you meet us, it doesn’t matter if you have no money; just serve us well, and we’ll spare your life.”

Gu Hengbo pouted, “I’m so ugly; why would you be interested in me?”

“Ugly? Haha!” The bandit laughed while yanking off Gu Hengbo’s hairpin, letting her long hair fall freely, making her already small face look even smaller.

Gu Hengbo wasn’t in the mood to argue; for some reason, she didn’t feel scared at all. She was indeed spineless, yet she felt an urge to compromise. This was illogical!

“Well, where are we going?” Gu Hengbo looked around.

The bandits stared at Gu Hengbo, drooling. It wasn’t that Gu Hengbo was exceptionally beautiful; even if a stunning woman appeared, they would still pounce on her. What a stroke of bad luck! Why was she always caught up in such troubles?

They bound Gu Hengbo’s hands and feet and lifted her up. She felt like a pig being carried.

The bandits turned this way and that, and if it was Gu Hengbo, she would have already gotten lost in the woods. While she was looking around, one of the bandits slapped her on the head. “Stop looking around!”

Gu Hengbo pouted but didn’t say anything.

The place they lived was really strange, Gu Hengbo thought with a bitter smile. She had truly run into bandits, and she couldn’t even become the leader’s wife.

The big men tossed Gu Hengbo into a place that looked like a woodshed and left, saying they were going to celebrate. Celebrate what? She was still hungry!

Gu Hengbo had her hands and feet tied and felt too defeated to struggle. She felt a bit hopeless; if there were only one or two of them, she might be able to handle it, but there were dozens, all as strong as oxen. She might as well just die.

While Gu Hengbo was feeling down, she heard someone moving outside the door. Then, the door was pushed open, and a man with a pointy face sneaked in, closing the door behind him. The moment he saw Gu Hengbo tied to the pile of wood, his small eyes sparkled with excitement as he rubbed his hands and walked toward her.

Gu Hengbo thought to herself that an opportunity had arrived. She bit her lower lip and gave the man a seductive glance. "Are you here to take me away?"

The man paused for a moment and then smiled, his gaze spinning around Gu Hengbo. "Of course."

Gu Hengbo pretended to be joyful. "Really? That’s wonderful! Those rough and rude men know nothing about taking care of a lady. Please untie me! I have nowhere to go anyway, so I might as well go with you." Gu Hengbo tried to lure him in.

The man was indeed fooled; without saying a word, he ran to Gu Hengbo and began to untie her ropes, staring at her intently, his hands wandering as he touched her tied hands.

Gu Hengbo looked at him with gratitude. The moment the ropes were undone, she beckoned him closer. He rushed over, and Gu Hengbo smiled at him, moving quickly. With all her strength, she swung a nearby round wooden stick toward his neck as he leaned down. "You fool, take this!"

After the man fell, Gu Hengbo’s legs went weak, and she almost collapsed. Her stomach growled loudly; she was starving. Forget about everything else, she needed to run.

Gu Hengbo dropped the stick and tiptoed toward the door. Just as she reached it, the door was kicked open from the outside, nearly hitting her nose.

The big man saw Gu Hengbo standing by the door and froze for a moment. Then he noticed the man lying on the woodpile and glared fiercely at Gu Hengbo, grabbing her arm. "Come with me to see the boss."

As Gu Hengbo was pulled along, the big man suddenly stopped. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, she watched him fall straight down. When she saw the red liquid pouring from his neck, she almost fainted.

A few other big men rushed out and saw the scene. Gu Hengbo waved her hands in panic, her face pale. "It wasn’t me! It really wasn’t me! He was just fine a moment ago, and then he suddenly…" Dead. Dead right next to her.

The other big men’s expressions changed. "If it’s not you, then who else is it? You filthy woman, you killed my brother!"

As they charged toward her, Gu Hengbo stepped back, still confused about what was happening, when several sharp weapons flew from behind towards the men. In a moment, all the men who were once alive lay dead, their blood staining the ground. The sight shocked Gu Hengbo, and she shook, unable to utter a word.

Footsteps sounded behind her. "Why aren’t you running?"

Gu Hengbo turned around, the glint of a silver mask reflected light that blinded her. "You… you killed them!"

"What do you think?" Lian Rong grabbed her chin, her eyes dark as a deep well.

Gu Hengbo stared at her blankly. "I just came out to find you. What’s wrong?"

"Do you believe I could strangle you?" As she spoke, the hand that had held Gu Hengbo’s chin suddenly tightened around her neck.

Gu Hengbo widened her eyes. "Longyang, you…"

Lian Rong inched closer, her teeth clenched. "I hate people who go back on their words the most."

Gu Hengbo didn’t struggle. She slowly closed her eyes. "I don’t know how I offended you. Since you want to kill me, then why waste words? Go ahead." Why was she so hated?

Seeing her resigned expression, Lian Rong’s gaze grew colder. "You’d rather die than stay by my side, huh?"

After a long pause without a response from Gu Hengbo, Lian Rong tried to ease her grip. But Gu Hengbo’s body slumped down, and instinctively, she caught her falling figure.

"Master!"

"…Go back to the manor."

Gu Hengbo woke up the next morning, weakly opening her eyes. She was still alive?

"The crown princess is awake?"

Gu Hengbo squinted, and Wuyang’s face appeared before her. She managed a slight smile. "I’m back again, huh?"

Wuyang helped her sit up while holding a bowl of medicine, gently blowing on the dark soup. "Crown princess, please drink the medicine first."

Gu Hengbo glanced at the medicine, realizing she could get sick too. She instinctively touched her neck and asked, "Who brought me back?"

Wuyang paused and said, "Actually…"

"I brought you back. Do you have a problem with that?" Lian Rong teased while twirling a silver mask in her hand, looking down at Gu Hengbo on the bed.

"You…"

"Surprised?" Lian Rong approached the bed, looking down at her from above, the hard mask lifting Gu Hengbo’s chin. "Not planning to run away?"

Seeing the situation turning tense, Wuyang set the medicine bowl down and quietly left the room.

Gu Hengbo’s chin hurt from the mask, and she looked at Lian Rong with a blank expression. "I’m not running away."

Lian Rong sneered, "You still have such a sharp tongue."

Gu Hengbo suppressed her shock. A woman? Lian Rong is a woman? Ha! "How foolish of me, almost got played and didn’t even know."

Lian Rong smirked. "You are foolish, foolish enough to provoke me without thinking of the consequences."

Gu Hengbo felt tired. "That night, I didn’t mean to intrude. Someone led me there; believe it or not."

Lian Rong tossed the mask aside. "I know. The queen sent someone to find you."

Gu Hengbo looked at her in disbelief. "You know?"

Lian Rong replied, "The queen doesn’t like you, but she just wanted you to talk to her last night. I acted first, and then you saw what happened."

Gu Hengbo thought for a moment. "Does everyone know you’re a woman?"

"You’re not Gu Meisheng," Lian Rong asserted.

Gu Hengbo lowered her head and laughed. "Any evidence? But I’m curious, did we really have a relationship that night at the courtyard house?" Given Lian Rong’s personality, she might assume Gu Hengbo had found a man to deal with her.

Lian Rong didn’t expect the sudden question. She leaned closer. "Do you doubt it’s not me?"

Gu Hengbo turned her face away. She was straight; accepting a woman so quickly was nearly impossible for her. Fortunately, she hadn’t reached that point with Lian Rong yet.

Lian Rong turned her face back. "Are you disappointed that I’m a woman?"

Gu Hengbo was forced to meet her gaze. "Lian Rong, do you like me?"

Lian Rong stared at her, silent.

Gu Hengbo nodded. Women are good, women are good! Gu Hengbo couldn’t believe she had married a woman!

Gu Hengbo understood, "So, my way of repaying you is to control you every day, right? As a woman, does it give you a sense of achievement that you’ve had me?"

"……"

Gu Hengbo gritted her teeth and leaned closer to Lian Rong. "Listen, you must give me an explanation for this matter. Compensation, I want compensation; you must pay me money, or I will accuse you of marital rape."