Chapter 649 Hijack

**Chapter 649: The Abduction**

The next day, the Dowager Duchess of Xin had improved a great deal.

Xingxing came to visit her.

Leaning against a large bolster pillow, the Dowager Duchess accepted the antidote tonic she was due to drink that day from Nanny Qingluan, who was in attendance. She chuckled self-deprecatingly, “When I was young, I went on outings with the Duke and even killed snakes barehanded. Now, in my old age, I nearly died from snake venom.”

With that, she drank it all at once.

Xingxing handed her a piece of preserved fruit.

The Dowager Duchess paused, then laughed. “I’m not a little girl like you, needing sweetmeat with my medicine.”

Even so, she happily took the preserved fruit from Xingxing’s hand and popped it into her mouth.

Ah, the sweetness from her dear granddaughter’s offering was just that much sweeter.

“Your Grace, the eldest Young Master has come to see you,” a maid announced from outside.

“Let him in.”

Yu Chongjie entered, holding a stack of scriptures.

“How are you feeling, Grandmother?” he asked.

The Dowager Duchess nodded. “With Xingxing here, I already feel much better today.”

Xingxing added, “Grandmother, the main toxins have mostly cleared, and your body is in much better condition than yesterday when you were incapacitated. But there are still traces of venom—you must rest well and continue taking medicine to cleanse them.”

The Dowager Duchess chuckled fondly. “Alright, alright, I’ll listen to our dear Xingxing.”

Yu Chongjie hesitated for a moment before saying suddenly, “Grandmother, yesterday that poor girl Zhu Zhu drew out the snake venom for you. When Mother and I escorted her back to her room, we found this.”

He presented the stack of scriptures to the Dowager Duchess.

Looking at the mottled marks clearly different from ordinary ink, the Dowager Duchess quickly guessed, “This… was written with ink mixed with blood?”

Yu Chongjie’s expression darkened. “Grandmother, Zhu Zhu, even while living austerely at Baiyun Temple, never forgot us… If I hadn’t discovered these scriptures last night when I walked her back to her room, she wouldn’t have told us what she did for us! Her fingers were covered in needle pricks…”

The memory pained him deeply.

The Dowager Duchess pondered silently.

Xingxing leaned closer and asked, “Could I see them?”

The Dowager Duchess obliged and handed over the blood-written scriptures.

Yu Chongjie opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it.

These were Zhu Zhu’s words written in her own blood—how could they be shown so casually to someone outside the family?

But since Grandmother had already passed them to Xingxing, speaking up now would only seem disrespectful.

He simply warned her, “Be careful. Don’t damage them. These will be burned at the *Land and Water Ceremony* this afternoon.”

Xingxing gave a noncommittal hum without looking up.

She gently took out a piece of paper, brought it close, and kept sniffing it.

After carefully smelling it, Xingxing took another sheet.

Yu Chongjie couldn’t hold back anymore: “What are you doing?”

“Wait a moment,” Xingxing replied, pulling out another sheet and sniffing it intently.

Now she had her answer.

She returned the scripture to the Dowager Duchess of Xin without another word.

The Dowager Duchess noticed this and, after sending Yu Chongjie away, immediately asked Xingxing, “What’s wrong?”

Xingxing didn’t hide anything from the Dowager Duchess and explained, “…Since I was raised by Grandma Da Xi to identify medicinal herbs, my senses are keener than most people’s. The blood mixed in here isn’t human—it’s chicken blood.”

She hadn’t said this in front of Yu Chongjie because she knew he probably wouldn’t believe her, and it’d just mean wasting breath explaining—pointless.

But she didn’t want the Dowager Duchess to be deceived by such tricks.

Yu Mingzhu was cutting corners—trying to please the family but unwilling to put in real effort, using chicken blood as a cheap trick.

Of course, Xingxing didn’t voice that last thought to the Dowager Duchess. She simply told her it was chicken blood; the Dowager Duchess could decide what to do.

Upon hearing this, the Dowager Duchess fell silent for a long while. Her eyes grew weary as she sighed, “…Mingzhu’s gone a little astray. Truth is, she didn’t need to do this—her parents and brother would’ve doted on her anyway.”

“My Lady, there’s another urgent matter…” Xingxing hesitated, then continued. “Yesterday, while accompanying Grandma to forage for wild herbs in the back hills of Baiyun Temple, I came across a snake den with signs of fire being used to drive out and capture snakes. And then, right after, you were bitten by a snake. It felt way too coincidental… So I went back to examine the dead snake and visited the back hills again this morning. Based on the mucus traces left in the den, I can’t say for sure it’s the same snake, but at the very least, it’s definitely the same kind of venomous snake.”

The Dowager Duchess and Nanny Qingluan both went pale.

If it was the same species, that meant someone had caught the snake and deliberately released it!

In other words, the Dowager Duchess’s snakebite wasn’t an accident—it was premeditated!

“This is outrageous!” Nanny Qingluan snapped, so angry she was shaking. “We all assumed that damned snake had been disturbed by the chanting and slithered in through the window—we didn’t look any further! We almost let the culprit get away!”

The Dowager Duchess’s brow furrowed deeply.

Nobody would take something like this lightly.

Who could have done this?

Meanwhile, Jiao Shi sat by Yu Mingzhu’s bedside, feeding her a remedy to clear the toxins.

“Zhu Zhu… you nearly gave me a heart attack yesterday,” Jiao Shi chided gently while feeding her the medicine. “Don’t you dare try sucking out the poison again—even if your father or I were poisoned.”

Yu Mingzhu lowered her eyes. “Mother, I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. But later, Princess Fusui told me it wouldn’t help and would just poison me instead, so I realized my mistake… Still, I can’t promise I’d just stand by if you or Father were ever poisoned again.”

Jiao Shi’s heart swelled with emotion.

“Mother, may I visit the privy?” Yu Mingzhu asked shyly after finishing her medicine.

Jiao Shi immediately helped her up and escorted her to the outhouse in the courtyard.

She waited outside: "Zhu Zhu, I'll wait for you right here in the courtyard."

Yu Mingzhu responded with a soft acknowledgment, then took out a small packet of powder from her sleeve and emptied the entire packet into the chamber pot without a flicker of emotion.

This was her backup plan—if no one up here could cure the snakebite, she certainly wouldn’t let herself die from poisoning.

When Yu Mingzhu emerged from the privy, Jiao Shi lovingly stroked her cheek: "In a few days, I’ll take you home and nurse you back to health."

Yu Mingzhu gave a sweet, dutiful smile and said, "Yes."

After a pause, she added, "I can’t stop thinking about Grandmother. Mother, could you come with me to see her?"

Jiao Shi hesitated: "Wouldn’t it be better to rest up first?"

Yu Mingzhu said softly, "Mother, I was useless—all I did was try to suck the poison out for Grandmother. Princess Fusui was the capable one. If she hadn’t had that snakebite antidote on her, who knows what might have happened..."

Jiao Shi’s heart broke to hear her daughter—once the brightest beauty in the capital—sound so defeated.

"Oh, my silly girl," she whispered, "to me, Princess Fusui doesn’t hold a candle to you. You were ready to give your life for your grandmother—that’s true devotion. She’s just a physician—what does she know about such love?"

Hearing this, Yu Mingzhu’s face softened, and she buried herself in Jiao Shi’s embrace: "Mother, you’re the only one who truly loves me."

Jiao Shi tapped Yu Mingzhu’s nose lightly: "You’re my daughter. Who else would I love?"

Outside the courtyard wall, Xingxing paused mid-step.

Zhao Ying nearly cursed aloud.

Ridiculous! If you two want to gush over each other, fine, but why drag our princess into it just to put her down?

Xingxing shook her head at Zhao Ying. They were just passing by. People could say whatever they wanted in their own courtyard.

Nanny Qingluan’s people practically tore Baiyun Temple apart and indeed uncovered something—

An old nun at the temple made a habit of collecting herbs and such to sell down the mountain.

She’d caught the snake, planning to sell it to a medicine shop for a tidy sum, but it escaped. By cruel luck, it got into the Dowager Duchess of Xin’s room and bit her.

When the old nun was dragged out, she trembled in fear, kowtowing frantically: "Your Grace, spare me! I never meant for this to happen. The straw cage holding the beast had a hole, and it slipped out... I won’t do it again, never again..."

The temple’s abbot let out a heavy sigh: "I never dreamed she’d stir up this kind of mess! Your Grace, I don’t mean to excuse her, but her life’s been hard. In her youth, she married a butcher who beat her daily, blinding one eye and crippling her leg. With no choice left, she fled to our temple. Over a decade later, the butcher died, but her son’s little granddaughter has been sick since birth, surviving only on herbs. She did all this to save her granddaughter’s life..."

The Dowager Duchess’s heart went out to her. Being kind-hearted, she chose not to punish the old nun, only warning her never to capture dangerous creatures like venomous snakes again.

With so many visitors coming to Baiyun Temple, what if someone else got hurt?

The old nun sobbed, swearing up and down she’d never do it again.

And with that, the matter was dropped—for now.

When the Duke of Xinguo’s household concluded the Land and Water Ceremony at Baiyun Temple, they naturally took Yu Mingzhu back home.

Jiao Shi, fussing over Yu Mingzhu, rode with her in the same carriage.

Yu Chongjie kept pace on horseback, acting as their guard.

Yu Mingzhu drew back the curtain, her laughter tinkling like wind chimes as she chatted with Yu Chongjie.

Mao Fuqu’s carriage trailed just behind them.

She rode in the same carriage as when she came, still accompanied by the daughters of the second and third branches.

The loving words her husband had spoken to Yu Mingzhu reached her ears, but Mao Fuqu merely lowered her gaze and said nothing.

"Eldest Brother, why haven’t I seen Second Brother?" Yu Mingzhu asked curiously.

Yu Chongjie frowned at that.

During the Land and Water Ceremony, Yu Chongen had spaced out multiple times.

As soon as matters at Baiyun Temple were settled, he bolted like a rabbit and headed down the mountain early.

Recalling the red mark he had seen on Yu Chongen’s neck before ascending the mountain… Yu Chongjie thought he knew why.

Yu Chongjie coughed. "Don’t ask questions you’re too young to understand."

Yu Mingzhu pouted and turned to Jiao Shi to complain. "Mother, look at Eldest Brother!"

The group burst into laughter.

The convoy made its way forward, passing along a quiet path when suddenly—*all hell broke loose.*

The passing carriages of the Duke of Xinguo’s household were suddenly under attack.

The fleeing bandits immediately recognized them as rich or noble folks with light security, and rushed in to cut them down, intending to take the women of the Duke’s household hostage.

This time, the Duke’s convoy was mostly women, with few guards, and they were quickly overwhelmed.

Yu Chongjie, who knew how to fight, drew his sword and took on the bandits.

The men chasing these bandits were led by a young general in silver armor. Once they joined the battle, they quickly turned the tide.

But!

One last bandit grabbed Mao Fuqu, cackling wildly. "Dying’s no big deal if I can take a pretty young thing with me!"

Yu Chongjie saw red with rage. "Let her go!"

Cold sweat soaked Mao Fuqu’s bangs.

Her face was deathly pale, her teeth sinking into her lower lip.

She watched Yu Chongjie’s mouth move, but couldn’t hear what he was saying.

The world spun around her.

But she wanted to say to Yu Chongjie—*who are you trying to fool?*

When the bandits attacked, did he even look toward her carriage?

When she screamed, dragged from the carriage by the bandit, where was Yu Chongjie?

He was protecting Yu Mingzhu with his own body.

And now he’s putting on a show? What an act, Yu Chongjie.

A long blade was held to Mao Fuqu's throat. Her lower abdomen burned with excruciating pain, and in despair she closed her eyes.

Yet just as Mao Fuqu thought she was doomed, a sharp whizzing sound split the air!

The bandit who had abducted her fell straight backward—a killing arrow now lodged between his eyes; he was clearly already dead.

Mao Fuqu’s legs gave way and she collapsed onto the ground.

She felt warm blood flooding between her thighs in waves.

Before slipping into unconsciousness, the last thing Mao Fuqu saw was Xingxing stepping out from the crowd, a longbow in hand, rushing toward her.

"Fuqu!"

Yu Chongjie shouted, running faster than Xingxing and reaching Mao Fuqu first to help her up.

But Mao Fuqu’s face was ghostly pale, and the blood soaking through her clothes between her legs was unmistakable.

Yu Chongjie’s expression turned deathly white. In that moment, he was suddenly reminded of the Lantern Festival, when Mao Fuqu had bled heavily between her legs, miscarrying their first child…