无翼乌工口里番无色无摭挡

A thick layer covered the ground, rooftops, treetops, and the withered flowers and plants.

Underneath a locust tree weighed down by snow, a young girl was hanging.

The girl was only wearing a bare midriff top and a thin pair of underwear on her lower body.

Her bare feet were buried in the snow.

The exposed skin on her neck, shoulders, and legs were red, blue, and purple from the cold.

Her hands were tightly bound by a hemp rope and hung on the tree.

Her head hung motionless as if she had already lost her breath.

Jiang Ning rushed forward, took off his cloak, wrapped her body, and tried to untie the hemp rope at the same time.

A light laughter came from the house: “Princess Consort, don’t waste your strength. That’s an ox-hide rope, and the knot is very special. You can’t untie it.”

Jiang Ning slightly hesitated, turned around, and shouted with all his strength, “Gucheng!”

A black shadow, like a hawk, fell straight down from the roof. A cold light flashed in its hand.

Hand raised, knife fell.

The ox-hide rope broke with a snap.

Gucheng then carried Xiachu in his arms.

Jiang Ning said to him, “Take Xiachu to the carriage.”

Gucheng stood still without moving.

Jiang Ning continued, “The carriage is at the door, and it’s warm inside. I believe that with your speed, you will be back soon. Besides, that kid’s target is me. He won’t kill me, and he dares not.”

After some thought, Gucheng quickly took Xiachu away.

In the blink of an eye, he returned to Jiang Ning’s side.

Jiang Ning marveled at his speed.

A voice came from inside again: “Princess Consort, aren’t you coming in? Since you’ve come this far, it wouldn’t make sense not to meet, now would it?”

Jiang Ning coldly replied, “You’ve kidnapped my maid. This matter naturally cannot be easily settled.”

“You mustn’t get angry, Princess Consort. I have nothing but admiration for you, and I haven’t mistreated your maid. I was left with no choice – how else could I have met you alone? But, you did not listen. You promised to come alone, so why did you bring a man along?”

Jiang Ning looked around the mansion and said, “Such a pity.”

“What’s a pity?”

“This exquisite and elegant mansion must have taken its former owner a great deal of effort to build. And now, it’s about to be destroyed, which is a real shame.”

“If the Princess Consort likes it, this mansion can exist forever.”

A strange sound came from the room, mixed with a low weeping of a woman.

Jiang Ning frowned and glanced at Gucheng.

Gucheng said, “Three people.”

He meant that there were three people in the room.

Jiang Ning asked, “What about the surroundings?”

Gucheng remained silent for a moment and said, “Around fourteen or fifteen people.”

“Are they all skilled in martial arts? If you can’t beat them, we’ll leave now. A wise man knows when to quit.” Jiang Ning whispered.

Gucheng then thought about it and said three words: “No problem. Go.”

Jiang Ning’s heart sank immediately.

She raised her foot and kicked the door open with one kick.

A warm fragrance of rouge and powder greeted them, causing Yun Dai to cough.

Gucheng remained expressionless but silently pulled the scarf around his neck over his mouth and nose.

There was a folding screen behind the door, with a pile of clothes hanging on it in disarray.

Jiang Ning didn’t bother going around it, instead, she kicked the folding screen down.

A large bed came into view.

It was so large that, aside from a small section separated by the folding screen, the spacious room was filled with the bed.

The moment she saw this bed, Jiang Ning finally admitted to herself that she was a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.