Chapter 604: You Are His Daughter?
Chapter 604: Chapter 604: You Are His Daughter?
After traveling for another two hours, it was almost midnight. The mountain path was pitch-black, with only the vast moonlight illuminating the rolling mountains ahead, which seemed to stretch on endlessly.
Fortunately, Mo Lingwei had sent the Hidden Guards ahead to clear the path, and they had found a post station where they could rest. He planned to hurry there with Shen Ningning, wanting her to at least get a good night’s sleep.
However, just as the carriage was halfway up the mountain road, Shen Ningning, who had been dozing on Mo Lingwei’s shoulder, suddenly heard faint screams from outside, accompanied by cries for help.
She quickly opened her eyes and saw that Mo Lingwei had already lifted the curtain to look outside. He had clearly heard it too.
The escorting guards grew vigilant, their gazes fixed on the mountainside where the sounds originated. The carriage didn’t stop, as they feared it could be a trap set by bandits.
Then, Shen Ningning saw a young woman covered in blood stumble out of the dark woods. She lost her footing, tumbled all the way down the mountainside, and landed on the road directly in front of them.
The driver hastily yanked the reins.
Shen Ningning pointed up the mountain. "Someone with a knife is coming!"
Mo Lingwei’s sharp gaze swept over. Sure enough, a man dressed like a servant and brandishing a blade was chasing the young woman down the slope.
"Wu Fang, stop them." At Mo Lingwei’s command, two guards at his side immediately used their Qinggong to leap forward.
The young woman saw the carriage and scrambled toward it. The guards were already fighting the servant, who was no match for them and was subdued in just two or three moves.
The injured young woman reached the carriage and pleaded, "Please, save my husband! He... he’s still up on the mountain."
Mo Lingwei glanced at Shen Ningning and saw her already bending over, preparing to exit the carriage to help. He sighed to himself.
"Fine," he said. "Wu Fang, go up the mountain and take a look."
"Yes."
’Normally, I’d never get involved. There are all kinds of traps when you’re on the road.’
But Shen Ningning had a kind heart, and Mo Lingwei was willing to indulge her.
Shen Ningning helped the battered young woman up, her own hands becoming covered in blood.
"Did you run into enemies?" she asked, surprised.
The young woman seemed to be in deep shock, sobbing so hard she couldn’t catch her breath, unable to form a complete sentence.
"No... my... my father’s men... My husband is dying..." she wailed, her legs so weak she nearly collapsed.
Shen Ningning had no choice but to ask the driver to help her get the woman seated on the shaft of the carriage.
Then, she took out a waterskin and dampened a handkerchief to wipe the woman’s face and hands, intending to clean the scrapes from her fall.
The moonlight revealed the young woman’s face. She had delicate, elegant features, was about the same age as Shen Ningning, and wore her hair in the style of a married woman.
After cleaning her for some time, Shen Ningning realized the woman only had scrapes from her fall. All the blood on her clothes belonged to someone else.
’It seems her husband must be gravely injured.’
Sure enough, a moment later, the sounds of fighting from the woods ceased. Wu Fang emerged, carrying a man drenched in blood.
"Husband!" the young woman cried out wretchedly, stumbling as she rushed forward.
Wu Fang laid the man on the ground. His face was as pale as paper, and he was unconscious.
Mo Lingwei pursed his lips and summoned Wu Fang to inquire about the situation.
Wu Fang cupped his fists and reported, "There were four more servants in the woods, along with an old woman and a maidservant. They’ve all been subdued. I gave the man a quick examination. He has at least ten knife wounds and his breathing is faint. If we don’t find a doctor, he’s sure to die."
But they were deep in a remote mountain forest. Where could they possibly find a doctor?
The young woman collapsed onto her husband’s body, her cries heart-wrenching. "It’s all my fault," she sobbed. "Husband, if you die, I refuse to live on alone."
Shen Ningning couldn’t bear it. She turned to Mo Lingwei and said, "Shouldn’t we help them a little more?"
The bound servant, looking fierce and showing no sign of fear, shouted, "Who do you think you are? How dare you meddle in Mr. Ren’s business!"
Mo Lingwei raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked coolly. "And which Mr. Ren is that?"
"Hah! You’ve never heard of Lord Ren, the governor of Ling Mountain City? Let me go right now, and then get lost! Don’t say I didn’t warn you."
Shen Ningning crossed her arms. "Well, now that you’ve said that, I’m determined to see this through."
’Governor Ren again,’ she thought. ’How is everything on this trip connected to him?’
Mo Lingwei nodded and had Wu Fang help move the blood-soaked man onto the carriage.
Shen Ningning took out high-quality golden sore medicine, styptic herbs, and two waterskins filled with Spiritual Spring Water to help with the injuries.
Just as she was about to climb into the carriage, Mo Lingwei grabbed her wrist.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
"To save him, of course!" Shen Ningning said, holding up the herbs.
Mo Lingwei pursed his lips. "He’s a man, and his wounds are on his torso. His clothes will have to come off. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to go in. Just let Wu Fang and the man’s wife apply the medicine."
Shen Ningning heard him and realized he had a point. She placed the herbs and other supplies she had prepared on the carriage’s shaft.
After some time, Wu Fang climbed down and reported to Shen Ningning and Mo Lingwei, "The bleeding has stopped, but he’s still unconscious."
Shen Ningning frowned. "We need to find a place to brew the medicine and let him rest properly. But the post station is still far from here."
A Hidden Guard who was tying up the servants overheard and approached. "When I was scouting ahead, I found a deserted farmhouse nearby that we can use."
After getting Mo Lingwei’s permission, the group headed for the farmhouse deeper in the mountains.
When they arrived, they found it was indeed a dilapidated, dust-covered house.
Fortunately, the Hidden Guards worked quickly. After a brief cleaning, they lit a lamp inside.
The young woman watched Wu Fang lay her husband on the bed, her delicate brows permanently furrowed with worry.
A Hidden Guard entered and asked Mo Lingwei, "My lord, what should be done with those servants?"
Mo Lingwei turned to the young woman. "Are those your family’s servants?"
The young woman’s face paled. She looked up and said, "My father sent them to escort me home, but they are actually my stepmother’s people. They were trying to kill me."
As she finished speaking, she gathered her skirts and knelt before Shen Ningning and Mo Lingwei.
"If not for you two noble benefactors today, my husband and I would surely be dead. I implore you to kill them for me. Otherwise, if they return, they will tell my stepmother that I survived, and I fear even greater disasters will befall me."
Shen Ningning was puzzled. "You don’t plan on returning to your family?"
The young woman gave a bitter smile. "To be honest with you, my benefactors, I have never even met my father. I was sickly as a child, so I was sent to live with my maternal grandparents from birth. After my mother died, my father quickly remarried. He, his new wife, and their children are one big happy family, which gives them even more reason to forget I exist."
"He didn’t even consider bringing me home after my grandparents died. I’ve been married for over a year, and suddenly he writes, demanding I return and sending men to ensure I couldn’t refuse. But as far as I’m concerned, my father is already dead to me. My stepmother is likely afraid I’ll come back and compete with her own sons and daughters for something, which is why she wants me dead."
"To me, that place is not a home—it’s Purgatory. After this experience, I will never go back."
Shen Ningning was furious. "How outrageous! Your father surely doesn’t know what your stepmother is doing. You are his own flesh and blood! If he knew there was an attempt on your life, would he truly do nothing?"
"He’s the governor of Ling Mountain City now. He has more than enough people trying to curry favor with him. Besides, he has plenty of children. Why would he care if he had one less?" The young woman sighed, her tears trailing off.
Mo Lingwei’s eyes suddenly narrowed. "You’re the daughter of Ren Pengyi, the governor of Ling Mountain City?"
’Just a moment ago, I heard the servant mention Governor Ren,’ Shen Ningning thought. ’I never would have guessed it was a plot to murder his own daughter!’