FBC – Chapter 257 The Escaped Slave

The convoy arrived at the city gate just as it was being opened.

The crowd gathered in layers, watching—some nervous, some sorrowful, some astonished.

The mighty Mu family convoy slowly rolled out of the gate with great fanfare, gradually disappearing from sight under countless gazes.

Old Madam Mu noticed Gu Hua’s tense expression and gently said, “Good child, don’t be afraid. You’ve got this old woman here. I alone can handle ten of them.”

Zhou Zhilan chuckled. “Old Madam, if you can take on ten, then I must handle twenty.”

Old Madam Mu playfully tapped her on the forehead. “Braggart.”

Zhou Zhilan laughed, rubbing her head.

The heavy atmosphere in the carriage instantly lightened.

Gu Hua pursed her lips in a faint smile. “I’m not nervous, just worried about Ziyuan.”

“Men have their duties, and we women have ours,” Old Madam Mu said calmly.

Gu Hua nodded firmly. “Mm. I can take on one or two myself.”

“You just sit quietly and take care of the child in your belly.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Gu Hua looked out the window.

Their ostentatious departure was meant to spread word throughout the capital—that Chi Yu and the others had quietly dispersed.

There were those in Bianjing who could not tolerate the Mu family.

Some, enraged and humiliated, wanted the widow and orphaned remnants of the Mu clan dead.

As Mu Junyan had said, public opinion could force those people into rash action.

Most importantly, Mu Junyan had told her that His Majesty was a suspicious man. Although he held the Mu Army’s command token, he still feared they might not obey him.

Gu Hua knew that Mu Junyan was sending her and the Old Madam back to Juzhou partly to pacify the Mu troops and stabilize the region, and partly to lull certain people into complacency.

Mu Junyan himself could not leave; the emperor would never allow it. The Jiang family had yet to be completely crushed.

Gu Hua’s thoughts were a mess, her eyes growing red.

The time she and her husband had spent together was far too short. Just when she thought he could finally stay by her side, they had to part again.

But she would not cause trouble for him.

Suddenly, her gaze froze.

In the distance, a group of people were chasing a lone figure through the forest.

Chi Yu, riding nearby, noticed her leaning out to look and followed her line of sight.

“Madam, it’s best not to meddle in others’ affairs,” he warned.

Gu Hua nodded, about to pull back, when the fleeing person spotted their convoy and, desperate, turned and sprinted toward them.

Chi Yu immediately urged his horse forward, blocking the way. “How dare you! Do you not see this is the Mu family convoy?” he barked.

The person looked up sharply. “The Mu family? From Duke Yong’s residence?”

Chi Yu gestured toward the banner hanging from the carriage. “Can’t you see it?”

The person dropped to their knees with a thud. “Is Old Madam Mu or Madam Mu inside? Please, save me!”

Their pursuers arrived right after, reaching out to grab the person.

Terrified, the fugitive tumbled forward, rolling all the way to the side of the carriage.

Chi Yu and his men immediately stepped forward to block the pursuers.

“Stand down!”

The group looked fierce and brutish. Their leader glanced at the banner on the carriage, his eyes darkening.

He clasped his hands. “We’re pursuing an escaped slave. Please grant us passage.”

Chi Yu turned back to look at the person clinging desperately to the carriage shaft. “An escaped slave? You’re coming from the direction of Bianjing—whose household do you belong to?”

The man hesitated, stammering, “A small family… nothing of note.”

Chi Yu sneered. Judging by their uniforms, the blades in their hands, their vigor, and their numbers—this was no small household.

Mobilizing so many people to hunt a single frail person was no simple matter.

Still, for the safety of the Old Madam and Madam, Chi Yu didn’t intend to get involved.

He was about to step aside and let them take the person away when Gu Hua leaned out again. The fugitive was filthy, but she could see the clothing—a fine floral brocade skirt.

Her hair, though messy, was styled in a chuan yun bun—an elaborate coiffure favored by noblewomen.

How could someone dressed like this be a slave?

Gu Hua asked in surprise, “You’re a woman? Why do they call you a slave?”

The woman looked up excitedly at the familiar voice. “Madam Mu! I am Yuan Jieying! Please save me!”

Yuan Jieying?

The wife of Jiang Jingchuan?

Gu Hua was stunned.

“Why are they chasing you?”

Yuan Jieying burst into tears. “They want to kill me! The Jiang family wants me dead!”

Chi Yu and his men froze, instantly tightening their reins to block the pursuers.

Their leader quickly said, “Madam Mu, she’s our escaped slave. Don’t listen to her nonsense.”

Gu Hua’s eyes flashed angrily. “Nonsense! I recognize her—she is the wife of the Jiang heir! Who are you people to dare spout such lies?”

Old Madam Mu gave Zhou Zhilan a look.

Zhou Zhilan stepped down from the carriage, helped Yuan Jieying up, and said softly, “Madam, please come inside.”

Yuan Jieying, weeping with gratitude, followed Zhou Zhilan into the carriage.

The pursuers roared with anger. “So you’re determined to stop us?”

Seeing that the Old Madam and Madam clearly intended to protect her, Chi Yu smiled faintly and drew his sword.

“Yuan Jieying is of noble birth. You lot—bandits, are you trying to kidnap her?”

The Mu family guards also drew their blades.

The pursuers’ leader ground his teeth in fury, but he knew they were no match for Chi Yu’s men.

“Retreat!”

Once they disappeared into the distance, Chi Yu rode back to the window. “Madam, shall we continue?”

“Go. Let’s reach the next station quickly—we’ll decide what to do there.”

Gu Hua returned inside. Yuan Jieying, crying miserably, immediately dropped to her knees, about to kowtow to the Old Madam, but Zhou Zhilan quickly stopped her.

Old Madam Mu said gently, “No need for formalities. Zhilan, Yin Niang, help her change and tend her wounds.”

They were all women, so Yuan Jieying didn’t bother with modesty. Her injuries needed treatment.

When Gu Hua saw the whip marks covering her body, her delicate brows furrowed. “Who dared to beat you like this?”

As Zhou Zhilan applied medicine, Yuan Jieying gasped in pain, gritting her teeth through the sting.

She gave a bitter smile. “Who else but Jiang Jingchuan?”

“He actually hit you?” Gu Hua was stunned.

Yuan Jieying lowered her head in shame. “Their scandal—between brother and sister—was exposed. Jiang Ruoxi’s entry into the palace was ruined. The emperor flew into a rage, harshly rebuking both my father-in-law and my husband. My mother, heartbroken, wanted me to divorce him.”

Gu Hua nodded firmly. “You should have. Such a disgusting man isn’t worth keeping.”

“The moment I agreed, they locked me up. No food or water for a whole day and night. They meant to starve me to death.”

Yuan Jieying’s eyes reddened again.

“They even bribed my family, promising to treat me better, and threatened my mother. In the end, they brought me a handwritten letter from her, urging me to stay in the Jiang household.”

She lifted her tear-stained face toward Gu Hua. “I couldn’t endure it any longer.”

Gu Hua sighed. Though she never liked the Yuan family, Yuan Jieying herself didn’t seem wicked.

“You must be starving.”

Yuan Jieying nodded sheepishly. “Is there any tea?”

Seeing the teapot on the low table, she swallowed hard.

Zhou Zhilan handed her a cup and opened a food box to pick out some pastries.

Yuan Jieying thanked her, drank the tea in one gulp, then eagerly grabbed a pastry and stuffed it into her mouth.

She chewed twice, swallowed too quickly, and began coughing violently.

Gu Hua quickly patted her back. “Slow down, there’s plenty. Eat slowly.”

Zhou Zhilan refilled her tea.

Between sobs, Yuan Jieying alternated drinking and eating.

“So what will you do next?” Gu Hua asked.

Yuan Jieying froze mid-bite, glancing nervously between the Old Madam and Gu Hua, unable to speak.

“You want to go to Beijiang?” Gu Hua guessed.

Yuan Jieying shook her head vigorously. “I can’t… The Yuan family will never agree to a divorce. If they would, I wouldn’t have had to flee.”

Gu Hua frowned in disbelief. “The Jiang family wants you dead, and yet your own family still refuses to let you leave them?”

Tears welled again in Yuan Jieying’s eyes. “Old Madam, Madam Mu… you both know that the Yuan family relies on the Jiangs. Their relationship has always been intertwined. I’m not the only one married into that clan—if I divorce, what will happen to the other Yuan women in the Jiang family? So, they would rather I die than see me divorced.”