After getting married, she spent every night alone in her room; when she asked for a divorce, he kne

The horse reared up and neighed, and the coachman pulled on the reins, forcing the carriage to a stop. Liu Yuansheng and Xie Qinghe, who were sitting inside the carriage, were thrown out and fell heavily to the ground, having no time to protect the old lady.

The thick rug on the floor was crumpled, and the hot water bottle and the fruits and snacks on the low table rolled down, covering Liu Yuansheng completely. Liu Yuansheng shuddered from the scalding water, but enduring the pain, she got up to look for the old lady, only to see the assassin holding a sword to the old lady's neck, saying, "You're that corrupt official's grandmother, aren't you? Come with me!"

The old lady had been awakened. She stared at the masked assassin in shock for a moment, then quickly calmed down and said, "Alright, I'll go down with you. Just don't hurt the two children."

"Take both women away! Quickly!"

Immediately, two masked assassins carrying knives rushed in, grabbed Liu Yuansheng and Xie Qinghe, and dragged them off the carriage.

Screams echoed outside the carriage as Xiao Jingting, Ying'er, their accompanying nanny and maid were all surrounded by assassins, their blades drawn.

These assassins were clearly well-prepared; some fought the guards, while others captured hostages. Outnumbered, Liu Yuansheng knew things were going badly and knew he was doomed.

"Quickly, bring them all here!" The lead assassin, while holding the old lady hostage and retreating, threatened the guards of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, "Stop! If you resist again, I'll kill this old woman!"

When the guards saw that the old lady had fallen into the hands of the assassin, they hesitated to advance and instead surrounded the assassin.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Xiao Jingting, supported by his servant, stood on the ground, filled with fear and rage. "Do you know whose carriage this is? How dare you block our way!"

"We've hijacked your Zhenguo Duke's carriage!" the lead assassin declared. "That corrupt official Xiao Jinghan, a hypocrite with a heart of stone! Today, we'll teach him a lesson!"

"Xiao Jinghan?" Xiao Jingting trembled. "It's Xiao Jinghan again! If Xiao Jinghan offended you, why don't you just kill him? What are you doing here trying to kidnap my grandmother?"

"I will kill him to avenge my brother!" The lead assassin raised his long sword. "But those of you related to him won't get away unscathed either!"

The blade was pressed firmly against the old lady's fragile neck, making it difficult for her to breathe. Her eyes kept rolling upwards, as if she was about to give up.

This scene made Liu Yuansheng and Xie Qinghe tremble with fear, and Granny Tian rushed forward without regard for anything else, crying out, "Madam! Madam!"

"Get back!" Another assassin kicked Granny Tian to the ground. "Old hag! Are you looking for death?"

Granny Tian, ​​over sixty years old, couldn't withstand that kick and collapsed to the ground, unable to move. The old lady's face paled in horror. "Don't come any closer! Nobody come any closer!"

She took a deep breath and said, "May I ask which heroes you gentlemen are, and what grudge you have against my third grandson?"

The lead assassin glanced down at the old lady, then raised his knife even higher. "Old woman, even as you face death, I'm not afraid to tell you. We are all former subordinates of Prince Qingyuan, and we've come today to avenge our brothers who died at the hands of your grandson!"

After saying that, he shouted, "Tie these people up! Take this old woman away! With her here, I'm not afraid that the man surnamed Xiao won't surrender!"

"yes!"

The assassins immediately pulled out ropes and tied Liu Yuansheng and several others up tightly.

"Let me go! Let me go! You dare kidnap officials' wives? Don't you want to live?"

Xie Qinghe struggled and cursed at the assassins, but they were unfazed, holding her tightly and saying, "We've long since disregarded life and death. It's you who are terrified of dying!"

As the assassin spoke, he pressed the cold blade against Xie Qinghe's face. Xie Qinghe trembled in fright, afraid that the assassin would cut her face. She angrily shut her mouth and dared not make another sound.

Ying'er clung tightly to Liu Yuansheng's arm, trembling with fear. Xiao Jinghan, the eldest son of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, was no better off, sitting weakly on the ground, watching helplessly as the old lady was taken away.

The old lady, who had been calm and composed just moments before, was now plunged into endless despair. She allowed the assassins to tie her up and drive her to the roadside with whips.

"Madam!"

"grandmother!"

Xie Qinghe and the servants burst into tears. Just when they thought the old lady was about to meet with misfortune and be brutally murdered by the assassins, a clear and melodious voice rang out, "Leave the old lady here, I'll go with you."

Everyone was startled by what they heard and turned to look at the speaker.

The voice came from Liu Yuansheng.

She didn't know when she stood up. Because her hands were tied behind her back, her body swayed as if she was about to fall at any moment.

"Yuan Sheng, what... what are you saying?" Xie Qinghe asked incredulously. "Don't do anything reckless!"

"Sister-in-law, I didn't do anything reckless." Liu Yuansheng finally managed to stand up and looked at the assassins holding the old lady hostage. She said, "Release the old lady and I'll go with you."

The assassin, holding the old lady down, stared at Liu Yuansheng with great interest. "Who are you? That corrupt official's sister? His concubine?"

Liu Yuansheng shook her head. "I am Xiao Jinghan's wife."

The assassin paused, thought for a moment, and said, "Are you Liu Jingyuan's daughter?"

"good."

"So what? Everyone knows Xiao Jinghan has a mistress outside, who even bore him a son. What are you, his legal wife? You're nothing compared to this old lady in his eyes!"

"I may not be as important to the young master as the old lady," Liu Yuansheng said, glancing down at her lower abdomen. "But I'm carrying Xiao Jinghan's child, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion! With this child, are you still afraid you can't control Xiao Jinghan?"

Upon hearing this, the assassin indeed hesitated.

Pressing her advantage, Liu Yuansheng continued her persuasion, "Besides, my old lady is in poor health. Not only will she slow you down, but if something happens to her on the way and she dies, you'll have suffered a great loss. I'm different. I'm young, and I have two lives to live. To you, I'm definitely more valuable than my old lady!"

"That woman has a point! It's really inconvenient to travel with such an old man," one of the assassins said.

"Boss, time is of the essence, we need to leave quickly," another assassin said. "If Xiao Jinghan gets wind of this and arrives with a large number of palace guards, we won't be able to escape!"

The lead assassin glanced back and forth between Liu Yuansheng and Madam Shi, unable to make a decision for a long time.

"Yuansheng, don't worry about me! Take care of yourself!" Upon hearing that Liu Yuansheng was going to take her place as a hostage, the old lady burst into tears, saying with unbearable sorrow, "I know you're a good child, but you're still young, unlike me, an old woman. If I die, I die. There's nothing to regret!"

"No, Grandmother!" Liu Yuansheng stepped forward, coldly staring at the assassin beside the old lady, and said, "Will you switch or not?"

The assassin chuckled, released the old lady, and then slapped her hard on the body with the back of his knife. "Go away!"

The old lady cried out and almost fell to the ground. Liu Yuansheng hurriedly went to greet her, "Grandmother."

The old lady looked at Liu Yuansheng with teary eyes, "Yuansheng..."

Liu Yuansheng's eyes reddened for a moment, but she dared not hesitate, fearing that the assassin would change his mind. She bypassed the old lady and resolutely walked towards the assassin.

The assassin nodded with satisfaction. "Very good. If you had dared to try anything funny, I would have killed you both right here!"

He grabbed Liu Yuansheng, held a knife to her neck, and said to Xie Qinghe and the others, "Tell Xiao Jinghan that if he wants to save his wife and children, he should come to the Wind Sacrifice Altar alone!"

After saying that, he tossed Liu Yuansheng onto the horse like a sack of potatoes and rode away amidst the rolling yellow sand.