Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 072

Chapter 72: Was This Luck?

Several black-clad men carried Jiang Mi silently into the woods.

Behind the woods lay a ravine. Crossing the ravine, a leper colony stood half a mile away, dark and menacing in the moonlight. Even from this distance, the occasional screams and cries emanating from within could be heard—it was like a ghostly abyss.

Looking at the colony, the black-clad men shuddered and hesitated, unsure of what to do next. After all, that place was like a ghost town; people had only ever gone in, never come out! Even though they knew it was far away, the black-clad men felt that just standing there, the wind blowing in carried the leprosy plague, making them instinctively want to flee!

After hesitating for a moment, one of the black-clad men looked down at the soundly sleeping Jiang Mi and whispered, “I feel that Lord Fu went too far this time!”

Another black-clad man added, “Yes, if His Majesty didn’t value this Princess, why would he have gone to such lengths to bring her back from Chu State and bestow upon her the title of princess? He’s gone to so much trouble, and Princess Yihua hasn’t even been of any use yet, and Li Fu is already planning to ruin her like this… It just doesn’t feel right!”

“Yes, it does feel a bit wrong!”

Just as the men were whispering, a middle-aged black-clad man, who had been silent all along, coldly said from the side, “Even if it’s wrong, what are you going to do? Do you think we dare disobey Li Fu and Her Imperial Highness the Empress’s decree and save this young lady?”

With just one sentence, the middle-aged black-clad man silenced the other three. After a while, one of them whispered, “Stop talking; let’s do as they say.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the black-clad men carried Jiang Mi and continued on their way.

It was already late at night since the Qin Dynasty established the plague migration. This place was avoided by most people, so few travelers ventured there. The mountain path the black clad men followed was overgrown with bushes and piled high with fallen leaves; the sounds of insects and snakes crawling could be heard almost constantly.

The black-clad men became increasingly cautious, focusing most of their attention on their footing.

After walking for a quarter of an hour, they reached a mountain stream. Beyond this stream would be the leper colony. The black-clad men quickened their pace.

Just then, one of the black-clad men, walking at the back, suddenly cried out in a trembling voice, “A ghost… a ghost fire…”

Upon hearing this, the other three black-clad men turned around in unison. Instantly, they too turned deathly pale. From the woods to their right, several points of light were faintly visible. And that light was none other than the infamous ghost fire!

As the ghost fire drew ever closer, directly chasing after the four men, the four black-clad men cried out in alarm and simultaneously sped up!

Their speed was one thing, but in their panic and weakness, it was unclear who let go first. Jiang Mi, whom they were carrying, slid down to the side with a thud and tumbled towards the ravine!

The four black-clad men were terrified. One shouted urgently, “Quick! Chase after her!” Another yelled, “Light the torches, quick!”

Just then, a third black-clad man exclaimed in surprise, “Where’s the ghost fire?” Upon hearing this, the other three turned around in unison. All around them, the moonlight was dim, and the vegetation was dense and lush. There was no ghost fire anywhere! The thing that had terrified them had suddenly vanished!

For some reason, this sight made the four black-clad men even more frightened. They looked at each other for a moment, then one of them said, “Let… let’s leave.”

Another black-clad man said in a trembling voice, “We shouldn’t have done this today. If we had, we would have offended His Majesty, King Zhao, Her Highness, and Cui Zi Xuan—all powerful figures. We might have ended up dead anyway. Maybe this is fate… let’s escape.”

“Yes, let’s escape. Anyway, the world is vast. At worst, we can hide somewhere or even go to Southern Tang.”

The black-clad men, one after another, gradually made up their minds, and then they stumbled and fled!

…

Jiang Mi was awakened by choking on water.

As soon as she woke up, she sat up abruptly.

In the sky, the moon was gradually setting in the west, and a ray of light appeared on the eastern horizon; it must be almost dawn.

Jiang Mi suddenly looked down and found herself sitting in a stream. The water wasn’t deep, and it was covered with pebbles… Strangely, apart from some minor scratches on her hands and clothes, Jiang Mi felt perfectly fine.

Jiang Mi looked around for a while. She had been drugged and knocked unconscious in the carriage and didn’t know what had happened afterward. So, Jiang Mi couldn’t figure it out for a long time. She only knew that she had been abducted to the carriage in the middle of the night, with several black clad men guarding her. When she woke up, she was in the stream, all alone.

As dawn broke, Jiang Mi stood up. She picked up a branch to use as a walking stick and began to scare away the enemy as she walked downstream.

As she walked, Jiang Mi suddenly heard the sound of a carriage moving and whispers coming from the left side of the stream. “Someone’s here! Someone’s here!”

Jiang Mi was overjoyed. She jumped to her feet, ready to shout. But then, she remembered the black-clad man who had kidnapped her, and her excited rush froze. After a moment’s thought, Jiang Mi crouched down and cautiously approached, following the sound.

Soon, the tiptoeing Jiang Mi reached behind a thicket of bushes. Beyond this was the direction from which the sound came. Jiang Mi stopped and quietly parted the bushes to look ahead.

Before her was a road wide enough for a carriage to pass through. Now, a carriage was approaching. And the carriage was heading towards a row of wooden houses only three or four hundred meters away on Jiang Mi’s right.

The approaching carriage was large, with two men dressed in black sitting in the coachman’s seat. As it passed Jiang Mi, the wind blew open the curtain, and she looked up to find seven or eight children crammed inside. Their hands and feet were bound with rope, and their mouths were gagged with strips of cloth.

With just one glance, Jiang Mi turned pale. She quickly lowered her head.

Only when the carriage reached the wooden house, and several women and strong men emerged, carrying the children in from the carriage, and then when the surrounding area returned to silence, did Jiang Mi cautiously retreat.

Dawn was when people were most drowsy, and Jiang Mi moved with extreme caution. So, as she kept backing away, running for about four or five hundred meters before finally breaking into a frantic sprint, no one in the wooden house noticed her! In her panic, Jiang Mi circled back to the vicinity of the leper colony. Having read many history books, she immediately recognized the sign and fled in the opposite direction, using both hands and feet!

By daylight, Jiang Mi had been running for almost half an hour. She was running blindly, taking whichever road was widest, and somehow, she ended up on the Official Road.

What Jiang Mi didn’t know was that at that moment, a young guard was frantically chasing after her from another side road and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing her on the Official Road. He plopped down on the ground, panting, and said, “Finally found it… At least I’m on the Official Road. I can go back and tell Young Master to come pick me up.”

Jiang Mi, unaware that someone had appeared behind her and then disappeared, stumbled along the Official Road. After a while, Jiang Mi looked around, feeling lost. She wondered, “Which way is Shu Capital?”

Unsure of her direction, she stopped thinking about it and just kept walking. After all, this was the Official Road. If she encountered someone, she could always ask for directions.

As she walked, a three-way intersection appeared before Jiang Mi. These intersections were all wide, with houses standing not far away, and if she listened carefully, she could hear the sounds of music.

It seemed she had reached a bustling area!

Jiang Mi was overjoyed.

Just as Jiang Mi was walking towards the fork in the road, a caravan approached.

The caravan was spacious and luxurious, the horses were magnificent and tall, and the soldiers were impeccably armored—clearly a powerful and wealthy entourage.

Powerful and wealthy! If the other party was powerful and wealthy, perhaps they could send someone to escort her back to Shu Capital!

Jiang Mi was even more delighted.

At this moment, Jiang Mi was unaware that she was actually standing at the very back of Mingyu Manor! That is to say, she was only fifty or sixty li from Shu Capital and only one or two li from Mingyu Manor!

Just as Jiang Mi stood happily to one side, head held high, eagerly waiting for the caravan to pass, someone in the caravan also saw her.

A short, stout man immediately spotted Jiang Mi, dressed in rumpled, soaked-then-dried clothes, looking utterly disheveled. Quickly, his eyes narrowed, and he spurred his horse to a carriage.

Approaching the carriage, the stout man whispered, “Elder Aunt, that’s Princess Yihua! What a coincidence! She just escaped from your nephew last night, and today she’s run into us again!”

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing the face of a noblewoman.

This noblewoman bore a slight resemblance to the Empress.

Hearing the words of the short, stout Li Fu, the wealthy woman looked up and down at Jiang Mi standing by the roadside for a moment. After a short while, she said softly, “It’s just a small matter of sending a helpless young lady to the leprosy camp, and you’ve managed to mess it up! Fu, Elder Aunt is very disappointed in you!”

It turned out that this wealthy woman, Li Wu, was the one who suggested to Li Fu that Jiang Mi be sent to the leprosy camp! That day, when the Empress ordered Li Fu to test Jiang Mi, she only thought Li Fu was ruthless and that Jiang Mi would definitely learn a lesson from the test. As for sending Jiang Mi to the leprosy camp, the Empress hadn’t considered it at all. After all, that place was too dirty and terrifying. Jiang Mi was still very useful to her; she only wanted to teach her a lesson, not to completely cripple her.

The one who truly wanted to ruin Jiang Mi was this Lady Li Wu. Lady Li Wu’s temperament was similar to Li Fu’s; both were ruthless and vicious, fond of doing shady things. To be honest, there wasn’t any deep-seated hatred between her and Jiang Mi. If there was, it was only because the Empress’s niece, Wu Jingxiu, was someone Lady Li Wu had strongly recommended and brought back to Shu Capital. And yet, Wu Jingxiu was ruined by Jiang Mi as soon as she arrived at Shu Capital—that was the grudge she held.

Li Fu had always respected this Elder Aunt, and upon hearing this, he lowered his head in shame.

At this moment, Lady Li Wu instructed those around her, “Drive the carriage up there.”

“Yes.”

In the blink of an eye, Lady Li Wu’s carriage arrived before Jiang Mi. Peeking out, the beautiful noblewoman looked at Jiang Mi with an air of elegance and said with pity, “Poor child, where have you come from? Why are you in such a sorry state?”

Lady Li Wu’s voice was so gentle, and her demeanor so kind, that Jiang Mi, who had been living in fear all night, burst into tears. She held back her tears, bowed to Lady Li Wu, and hastily recounted her ordeal. Of course, she only said that she had been kidnapped, escaped in the chaos, and now wanted to return to Shu Capital.

Lady Li Wu listened with pity, sighing softly, “What a pitiful child.” Saying this, she looked up and instructed her maid. “Get Princess Yihua a set of clothes to change into.”

“Yes.”

“Good child, wash yourself with cold water first, then take a bath to calm your nerves when you get to Mingyu Manor.”

Upon hearing that she was going back to Mingyu Manor, Jiang Mi was overjoyed. She looked up gratefully at this kind and loving lady, who seemed like a mother to her, and quickly replied, “Yes, alright, thank you, Madam.”

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Mi left with the maid. Watching her disappearing figure, Lady Li Wu turned to Li Fu and said, “You’ve ruined such a simple-minded and innocent young lady? Li Fu, you’ve really disappointed me!”

Li Fu lowered his head. He was ashamed; his face flushed red!

In the carriage, Jiang Mi hastily washed her hair and body with the two basins of cold water that were brought to her, then changed into the clean clothes handed to her by the maid. Only then did she feel a sense of relief, as if she had been reborn.

At this moment, with a command from Lady Li Wu, the caravan turned and headed towards Mingyu Manor.

Seeing that Lady Li Wu had specially changed the caravan’s direction for her sake, Jiang Mi was even more grateful. Sipping her warm ginger soup, she couldn’t help but whisper to her maid, “Your Madam is truly a good person.”

Mingyu Manor was very close, and the caravan soon arrived outside the manor.

Outside Mingyu Manor, a lively scene unfolded. Prince Kang and Princess Qingyue’s carriages were preparing to turn back, drawing a crowd. Noble ladies and their young masters stood in small groups, chatting and laughing quietly. Maids in palace attire moved about carrying tea and pastries, creating an atmosphere of relaxed ease.

Then, everyone noticed Li Wu’s carriage and turned to look.

Under the crowd’s gaze, Li Wu alighted first. Supported by her maids, she walked to the front of the group, turned back, waved at a carriage, and called out, “Princess Yihua, get out.”

Princess Yihua?

Princess Qingyue and Prince Kang all turned to look. This morning, they searched for Jiang Mi for a while after discovering she was missing, so they were all surprised to hear that she was with Lady Li Wu.

Under everyone’s gaze, Jiang Mi got off the carriage.

Almost as soon as Jiang Mi stepped off the carriage, her maid’s attire caused a stir among the crowd. Wang Yu quickly rode over, exclaiming, “Ah’Mi, what happened?”

Before Jiang Mi could answer, Li Wu sighed and said gently, “It seems you don’t know what happened last night! It’s like this: the notorious bandit Zhao Yingzi, who has been rampant in the southwest for some time, somehow took a liking to Princess Yihua and kidnapped her in the middle of the night…”

Hearing this, everyone except Jiang Mi, who was still looking back at her in confusion, gasped in unison!

Zhao Yingzi, the notorious bandit who had been rampant in the southwest, was the most infamous womanizer of the past two years!

Even Prince Kang, who was walking towards Jiang Mi, stopped abruptly. Footsteps!

The young ladies and young masters changed their expressions drastically, whispering amongst themselves. Jiang Mi, the most confused, only managed to understand who the thief Zhao Yingzi was after overhearing a few sentences!

With a whoosh, Jiang Mi turned her head and looked at Lady Li Wu in disbelief!

In an instant, she understood. No wonder she had felt Lady Li Wu looked familiar; she was so similar to Her Imperial Highness the Empress!

Yes, yes, no wonder the short, stout man beside Lady Li Wu had given her such strange looks, and his voice sounded familiar. Wasn’t that the black-clad robber who had spoken to her in a low voice last night—someone with a similar build and voice? Although Jiang Mi, who grew up in the countryside, was inherently naive, she was also incredibly intelligent and observant. Previously, she hadn’t dared to think in that direction, but now, everything became clear to her!

…This Lady Li Wu wanted to ruin her!

…The short, fat man who deliberately abducted her last night was in cahoots with Lady Li Wu; they all wanted to ruin her!

The surrounding noble ladies whispered amongst themselves. Jiang Mi’s disheveled state after a sleepless night was evident to everyone, leading to a flood of speculation.

Therefore, naturally, they believed Lady Li Wu’s words!

…Jiang Mi was still staring intently at Lady Li Wu, her gaze unwavering. Lady Li Wu didn’t care about Jiang Mi’s naive behavior throughout the journey. She and Li Fu both wore smug smiles!

Meeting the pitying gazes of the crowd, Jiang Mi suddenly said crisply, “But who is Zhao Yingzi? Madam Big Sister, last night I fell asleep, but when I woke up I found myself in the carriage. The group that kidnapped me were all masked! Madam Big Sister, you’re so clever, you even knew those masked men were Zhao Yingzi! I didn’t even know myself!”

The crowd: …

Seeing the clearly puzzled crowd, Lady Li Wu didn’t even bother to turn her head. A cold smile played on her lips as she thought with pity, “Poor little country bumpkin, thinking she can easily salvage such a reputation with a few words.”

Because of her disdain, Lady Li Wu didn’t even bother to refute Jiang Mi.

Jiang Mi continued, “Later, those people took me to a grove of trees. I heard a short, fat man say something about arriving.” She turned, stared at Li Fu, and pointed at him, saying, “That man looks just like this young master! The build is exactly the same. Even the voice is exactly the same!”

Everyone present turned to look at Li Fu.

Everyone present was shrewd. Seeing Li Fu and then Lady Li Wu, and recalling the conflict between Jiang Mi and the Empress, how could they not have their own thoughts?

Lady Li Wu was still smiling. She thought with pity, “But what’s the use? Poor little Young Lady, she doesn’t understand. For those who truly have power and influence, speculation without concrete evidence is meaningless! Even if everyone suspects Li Fu of doing something… But what good was it? Princess Yihua’s reputation was still ruined…”

Just then, as even Li Fu sneered, unwilling to offer an explanation immediately, Jiang Mi suddenly cried out in alarm. She shouted, “Later, those people carried me into the woods. I didn’t know what they wanted, so I struggled. While crossing a ravine, their hands slipped, and I fell into the ravine…”

After recounting her adventure, Jiang Mi turned sharply, staring at Lady Li Wu and Li Fu, pointing at them and shouting, “Then, I saw many children in a wooden house on a plain beside the ravine! There were many children locked in that wooden house! They ranged in age from three or four to fifteen or sixteen…” They were all handcuffed and gagged…

Almost as soon as Jiang Mi finished speaking, everyone present paled!

Recently, Shu Capital had lost many children!

Moreover, the vast majority of these missing children were children of powerful and wealthy families!

…In other words, if what Jiang Mi said was true, her discovery would save countless children’s lives and bring immense gratitude from their families! And those who thank her were all very important figures!

…In an instant, Prince Kang and the others paled, while the Young Masters busied themselves.

Just as everyone stared in shock at Jiang Mi, and many eagerly surrounded her with grateful expressions, no one noticed the drastic change in Li Wu’s expression!

But Jiang Mi hadn’t finished speaking. She sang fluently, “When I saw the situation was bad, I quietly escaped. After running for a while, I discovered that the leper colony was across the street!”

This caused all the families with missing children to know the location of the wooden house Jiang Mi had mentioned, and so, at her words, countless soldiers rushed out…

Amidst the grateful gazes of the dozen or so Young Masters, Jiang Mi turned and glared at Li Fu, shouting, “Lord Li, why were you in that wooden house? Those children were so small; why were they so afraid of you? And those black-clad men guarding the children, why did they call you ‘Young Master’?”

In the blink of an eye, she then fixed his gaze on Lady Li Wu and questioned her in a clear voice, “Madam, are you the Third Madam those black-clad men were talking about? They said they were acting on the Third Madam’s orders to capture so many children. The ‘Third Madam’ in that statement isn’t you, is it?”

Boom!!!

Jiang Mi’s last two questions exploded like thunder, causing an uproar and panic all around!

“Nonsense!” Lady Li Wu, having weathered many storms, strode towards Jiang Mi with a dark face. As she passed a guard, she drew his sword with a whoosh.

Holding a sharp sword pointing its sharp tip at Jiang Mi, Lady Li Wu laughed sternly, “How ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! You, a mere young lady, only went out for one night, and yet you’ve revealed so many secrets about me? You, surnamed Jiang, I merely informed everyone that you were kidnapped by a notorious womanizer, and you dare to spout such baseless lies about the Li and Wu families! You truly have no sense of proportion!”

In fact, even without Lady Li Wu’s reminder, everyone felt that Jiang Mi had revealed far too much information. In their eyes, while perhaps in that wooden house the fact that the missing children were imprisoned was true, her later revelation that Lady Li Wu and Li Fu were also involved was likely revenge motivated by resentment. After all, neither Lady Li Wu nor Li Fu had any motive!

Seeing Lady Li Wu approaching her step by step, seeing the cold sword in her hand, and seeing the murderous intent in her eyes, Jiang Mi’s face turned pale. She knew Lady Li Wu truly wanted to kill her! Moreover, given her status, Lady Li Wu could kill her and remain unharmed!

In utter panic, Jiang Mi, in her extreme tension, blurted out incoherent things. Her temper flared up again. She pointed behind Lady Li Wu and shrieked, “But you’re the one who tied those children up! You’re the one who kidnapped them all!”

Jiang Mi’s frantic accusations only elicited a series of cold laughs from Lady Li Wu.

But she didn’t notice that Li Fu, standing to the side, turned ashen-faced and trembled with fear upon seeing what was behind her!

Meanwhile, the surrounding dignitaries, upon seeing the carriage behind Lady Li Wu, also paled drastically!

Amidst everyone’s shocked gazes, Lady Li Wu heard her nephew’s trembling voice remind her, “Elder Aunt, Elder Aunt…”

Lady Li Wu turned around angrily and glared at him.

Just that one glance, just that one glance, and Lady Li Wu, who had been so full of vigor and determined to kill Jiang Mi on the spot, instantly turned ashen-faced.

In Lady Li Wu’s wide eyes, she saw the direction everyone was looking at: in the carriage she had brought, the curtain was being blown up to the roof by the strong wind, and inside, a child, bound hand and foot and gagged, was staring wide eyed at everyone!

But that child, that child… Lady Li Wu let out a scream from her throat, crying out, “It’s not him, it’s not…”

—This child was indeed not him, and the cases of child abduction had nothing to do with Lady Li Wu and Li Fu.

T/N: Jiang Mi’s plot armor is amazing! Legendary level!!!