Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 123 Qing Fenghan

Chapter 123: Chapter 123 Qing Fenghan

Although some of the information didn’t quite match with Fifth Brother’s claims, the second in command didn’t dismiss it completely and instead just ordered his men to throw Nanzhi and the others onto mule carts, leading them back to camp.

The four carts, followed by a crowd, gradually disappeared into the mountain forest.

Silent in the mule cart, Nanzhi secretly opened her eyes.

Upon seeing her son also covering his mouth and staring at her, Nanzhi finally felt a bit more at ease.

Thinking back to the previous events, Nanzhi found it peculiar. She had felt a momentary darkness before her eyes, and then she passed out.

But she must not have been out for long because as soon as she thought to open her eyes, she could hear a man’s voice.

Second in command.

Who else would be called second in command?

Other than bandits, who else could it be?

Nanzhi’s face darkened at the recollection of the strange man she had met a few days ago.

It seemed they may have been tricked.

Initially, they were only worried about reaching Yan City quickly to seek refuge with Uncle Lin. But now, they had ended up in the dens of bandits, not knowing if they could even make it out alive.

Hearing nothing but the sound of footsteps for quite a while, Nanzhi’s heart sank even deeper.

The mule cart rocked gently, lulling the children back to sleep after they briefly woke up, leaving only the adults in the cart, their hearts hanging in trepidation, afraid to sleep.

After what felt like ages, Nanzhi saw light leaking in through the cart curtains— indication they’d probably arrived.

Just as she expected, the man known as the second in command soon spoke up, "Throw them into the woodshed."

No sooner had Nanzhi closed her eyes than she heard the sound of the cart curtain being lifted, and she was dragged off the cart and slung over someone’s shoulder.

After about long enough to boil the tea, she suddenly felt light, then was violently dumped onto a heap of hay. The pain made Nanzhi gasp in cool air, but she could only bury her face, trying not to make any subsequent noises.

She heard the sounds of some other heavy objects being dropped, followed by the door slamming shut. Only then did Nanzhi open her eyes.

Indeed, it was bandits!

As she bitterly complained in her mind, Nanzhi rubbed her waist where it hurt.

"Bao girl."

Lin’s mother, too, was massaging her own waist. Seeing her own daughter awake, she called out softly.

"Mother." Nanzhi responded with a nod, and then looked at her sisters-in-law and Shen Miaomiao.

"Sister Nanzhi." The young girl had teary eyes out of fear, looking utterly pitiful.

"It’s alright, we’ll be okay." Nanzhi forced a smile as she spoke.

Looking around, and not seeing Zhiyu, Doudou, and Maomao with them, Nanzhi’s forced smile slipped away.

Thinking of how bandits were usually portrayed on television, Nanzhi’s face turned even paler.

Her heart was in her throat.

Where were Zhiyu and the others now? Would they be okay?

"How are the people inside?"

A man’s voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"They’re all still passed out. With the second in command’s anesthetic, how could they wake up in less than a day or a night?"

Another person replied.

"I heard them saying that there were some pretty women in this batch, how come none were sent over?"

"What pretty women? I heard them saying that besides two older ones, all the other five are thoroughly ugly— one of them even has a large mole on her face."

He sounded somewhat disgruntled.

"Could Fifth Brother’s choice be wrong?"

The man who initially spoke seemed puzzled. Fifth Brother was notoriously picky.

In his opinion, them securing any wives at all was a good thing— why care if they were beautiful or not?

Those in the woodshed, however, were all ears.

Who was this Fifth Brother?

Selecting women? Was he planning on abducting the village wife?

With this possibility in mind, both Lin’s mother and Aunt Guihua’s faces further paled.

Looking at Nanzhi and the others, they wished they could rub more dirt onto their faces.

Meanwhile, Lin Yicheng and the others were all sitting upright.

"Father, what do we do now?" Lin Yicheng’s face was as pale as a sheet. Qiulan and their mother were somewhere unknown to them.

Lin’s father looked grave. On their way here, he had asked around. There had never been issues with bandits in this stretch of land, otherwise he wouldn’t have allowed his eldest son to take this route.

"Big Brother, you must not panic." Lin Ercheng softly consoled his visibly distressed elder brother.

"How can I not? Mother and others are somewhere unknown, in who knows what state." Lin Yicheng said, furious with himself for not noticing something amiss earlier. How had they been tricked so easily?

"Calm down, boy. It’s not helpful to get upset now." Shen San advised in a deep voice.

"Since the bandits have only detained us instead of causing direct harm, they may not be ruthless and uninvited." Lin’s father reassured gently.

"At least, at least they shouldn’t be in immediate danger."

Meanwhile, the three children had been placed on a bed.

Looking at the three on the bed, the little girl pursed her lips in dislike.

"Dad, I don’t want them to play with me!"

The man cleared his throat and tried to persuade her from the side, "They are still dirty, aren’t they? Small girl, Daddy will have uncle wash them clean for you to look at tomorrow morning, okay?"

Seeing the dissatisfaction on his beloved daughter’s face, Chi Sheng could only continue to coax her in a low voice.

Where could he find handsome boys in these troubled times?

All the kids he had seen were thin like baby chicks. But out of all the skinny children observed over these last few days, these three seemed the most pleasing to the eye.

"Then I want Mom!"

Yuanbao’s small face scrunched up. Why did other people have mothers, and she only had a father?

"This..." Chi Sheng’s voice choked up.

In his heart, he cursed the Ghost Daoist a thousand times over.

Ever since this so-called Ghost Daoist had come to the camp a month ago, peace had deserted their village!

Qing Fenghan always lived its own life. They had lived comfortably for years without causing any trouble.

But now, they were sending Fifth Brother to select good-looking women and handsome young boys from the refugees, just so the Daoist could appoint a husband and mother for Yuanbao to secure the peace of the village.

He was a grown man and still standing here, wasn’t he?

Why did they need to rely on some young boy or woman for the safety of the village?

But it was incredible how all the brothers in the village believed it, even Yuanbao herself had been asking for a mother every day.

"Dad, I want a mom!" The three-year-old protested, her lip pouting.

The old grandfather had said, she had a mother, too!

And it was a particularly good mom!

"My good Yuanbao, it’s late. You should sleep earlier. Tomorrow, Dad promises you, we will go see your mom. Is that okay?"

Chi Sheng bravely made the promise.

Yuanbao looked suspiciously at her dad. After a good while, she finally nodded and agreed.

Watching the little girl obediently follow Grandma Wang back into the house, Chi Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.

But thinking back to what he had said earlier, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

Where was he going to find her a mom?

Thinking of the women that had been brought into the camp by his second brother during the past few days, Chi Sheng felt a headache coming on.

Each time Yuanbao saw one of them, she would cry, insisting they weren’t the one. In the end, apart from those willing to stay in the camp, all the others were given twenty catties of black flour and sent down the mountain.

Thinking of the food that had been given away these past few days, a further headache threatened to overtake Chi Sheng, his heart aching at the wasted resources.