C2 Chapter 2

Money makes people greedy.

At first, Chu Jiuge and her maid had been huddled in a corner, and among the people lined up to enter the city, no one had paid them any attention. But the moment the maid in pink shouted that they had silver on them, a group of shady people from the back of the line immediately crowded around.

“What’s going on here? Which rich young lady is this? Carrying silver like that... what, is she eloping?” Though greed flashed in their eyes, they glanced at the soldiers stationed not far from the city gate and still didn’t dare make a move.

They had no choice. They weren’t bandits who lived by robbery, the kind willing to risk their necks, snatch the money, and run without a second thought.

When she saw people gathering around, the maid in pink forced herself to move despite her fear. Half crawling, half stumbling away from Chu Jiuge, she grabbed at the onlookers and begged, “Please, help me. Get the soldiers. Take my young lady back home. My young lady is...”

“Say one more word, and I’ll kill you.” Chu Jiuge’s face turned dark. By instinct, she reached for the ring on her hand that concealed silver needles, but her fingers found nothing.

Her left pinky was bare. There was nothing there. Her plum blossom pinky ring was gone.

The realization made Chu Jiuge instantly furious. That ring had been passed down to her by her grandfather. It was a symbol of the Chu family, an heirloom handed down for centuries, and now it was gone...

And she had no idea what someone had fed her, but her head was pounding. Though she still had her memories, her mind remained in a haze. The people and scenery before her felt like a black-and-white film playing out in front of her. She could hear it, she could see it, but she couldn’t fully connect with any of it...

“Help! Help! Miss... please don’t kill me, don’t kill me!” Seeing Chu Jiuge step forward, the maid in pink shrank back into the crowd in terror, still shouting, “Miss, I’m begging you, let’s go back. If we don’t return now, and the North Duke finds out you tried to elope with someone, you’ll never be able to marry him. And the whole Chu family will be dragged down with you.”

“What? Elope!”

“The North Duke? That’s Miss Chu from the Chu family—the one who’s supposed to marry the North Duke?”

“She’s still alive? No, wait—she’s refusing to marry him and planning to run off with someone? Isn’t she afraid the North Duke will kill her?” The onlookers glanced at Chu Jiuge, then at the bundle by her feet, and instantly gave up any improper thoughts they might have had.

This was the eldest miss of the Chu family, the North Consort. No matter how bold they were, they wouldn’t dare lay a hand on the North Duke’s future bride. Who knew whether the North Duke would avenge his fiancée?

After all, the North Duke had once charged into a bandits’ den alone and slaughtered every last one of them to avenge his seventh fiancée, who had been killed by those same outlaws.

“Please, I’m begging you—help me call the authorities and take my young lady back. My lady is trying to run away, and if she does, the entire Chu family will suffer for it.” The maid in pink hid behind the crowd, too afraid to look at Chu Jiuge.

The Chu family?

Chu Jiuge’s mind finally cleared. The haze before her eyes lifted, and the people around her were no longer blurry shapes behind a veil...

Hearing the maid’s words, Chu Jiuge laughed.

The Chu family would suffer?

Yeah, right. The Chu family had used the original Chu Jiuge as a stepping stone to curry favor higher up. Were they really going to suffer just because she refused to marry the North Duke?

If that were true, the original Chu Jiuge would never have resigned herself to marrying the North Duke at the risk of her own life.

Feeling the original owner’s resentment toward the Chu family, Chu Jiuge didn’t hesitate for even a second. She turned and headed straight for the city gates.

She wasn’t the original Chu Jiuge. She didn’t believe in all that husband-cursing nonsense, but she still had no intention of marrying the North Duke. She was used to being on her own. She didn’t want to get married, and she definitely didn’t want to head off to North County burdened with the stain of eloping.

But the moment she turned around, something happened...