Rose Thorns (3)

"Hiss!" Zheng Wuyou quickly withdrew her hand, her fingertips oozing tiny beads of blood, like the Sleeping Beauty pricked by the spindle.

"Big Sister!" Wansi rushed forward, anxiously taking her hand.

But Zheng Wuyou yanked it back.

"Be careful, this hemp rope has invisible thorns."

Her words piqued everyone's curiosity about the rope. Miao Laisheng crouched down and used a wooden stick to lift the rope.

As if sensing the commotion, the other end of the rope suddenly began to thrash violently.

Seeing this, everyone immediately backed away from the dog hole.

What if a big dog came out of a real dog hole?

That would be terrible!

"Why are you all here?" The woman, whom they had only seen at noon, stood at the entrance of the side room with a basin of clothes to wash, surprised. Her gaze fell upon everyone trampling her rose patch.

The basin dropped to the ground, scattering dirty clothes everywhere.

The woman turned and prepared to flee.

No!

She can't leave!

Zheng Wuyou and Miao Laisheng, with quick hands and eyes, chased after her from left and right.

However, the woman, imprisoned here for a long time, lacked nutrition and stamina.

After only a few steps, she was caught by the two healthy individuals.

Subdued in one blow.

Didn't Zhu Li tell me to save the First Wife? Why is she acting like she knows nothing?

"Let go... sob sob sob!" Before the First Wife could even cry for help, Zheng Wuyou, in a moment of desperation, plucked a blooming rose and stuffed it into her mouth.

Seeing the other two arrive, the woman's eyes instantly welled up with tears, and she stopped struggling.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you! Are you from the Zhu family? Were you the first one to marry the groom?" Zheng Wuyou cautiously dragged the First Wife back into the rose patch with Hu Yu.

Since they had caught her, they might as well go all the way.

The woman's hands were tied behind her back, and tears streamed down her face, splashing onto the ground.

She remained silent.

"You don't have to answer, just nod or shake your head." Considering the woman was injured, Zheng Wuyou hadn't tied her hands too tightly.

The woman spat out the rose from her mouth, her expression filled with sorrow.

"If you don't speak, I'll assume you agree." Zheng Wuyou knew she had plucked the rose out of urgency, so she softened her tone considerably.

Before the woman could nod, Zheng Wuyou directly posed her question.

"Are you from the Zhu family?"

The woman's eyes widened in surprise at the question. After a moment of hesitation, she shook her head.

"Were you part of the Zhu family before you got married?"

The woman paused for a moment, then nodded.

Interesting.

Zheng Wuyou, having reached this conclusion, let out a playful smile.

"Are you messing with us?" Hu Yu angrily crouched in front of the woman, rolling up her sleeves. This was clearly a nonsensical answer!

Zheng Wuyou pulled her back, signaling her to calm down.

She continued, "You hate this family, don't you?"

The woman was taken aback, then immediately shook her head.

"Were you the first one to marry into the family?"

The woman shook her head resolutely.

Despite her firm denial, Zheng Wuyou noticed a fleeting moment of hesitation, as if she had intended to nod.

"After you, no one else married your husband, is that right?"

The woman nodded in agreement, her gaze drifting towards the dog hole behind her.

The movement of the rope in the dog hole had quieted down, as if waiting for her answer.

"You... were trafficked, weren't you?"

As soon as Zheng Wuyou asked this, everyone except Miao Laisheng looked at her in astonishment.

Her short, ear-length hair obscured her face as she looked down; no one knew what she was thinking.

The woman's eyes showed fear at this question.

She tightly shut her eyes and shook her head.

"..." Zheng Wuyou looked at her exhausted face, not daring to imagine how much abuse she had suffered.

"Was the child you carried at noon yours?"

The woman nodded.

"The backyard... it's all women, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was startled again.

Hu Yu didn't know how Zheng Wuyou had reached these conclusions, but they were too creepy.

The woman shook her head.

Zheng Wuyou took a deep breath, squatted down, and loosened the restraints on the woman's hands.

"Last question, as a show of sincerity, can you tell me your name?"

Seeing this, the woman immediately clasped her hands together and knelt before them, begging, "I am Madam Zhao, a wife of the Zhu family. I won't run away again. I am one of the Zhu family! Please, stop testing me."

After speaking, she got up from the ground, stumbled to pick up the clothes on the ground, and threw them into the basin.

She completely ignored that her clothes were covered in dirt from the rose field.

Zheng Wuyou sighed as she watched the woman's retreating back rush towards the well.

"Let's go, there's no hairpin here." Zheng Wuyou and Hu Yu restored the rose field as much as possible before leaving Old Zhu's family to rejoin the others.

Before leaving, Miao Laisheng bent down and did something by the dog hole, though no one knew what.

Zheng Wuyou didn't ask.

Everyone seemed to have their own secrets they had uncovered.

The people in the wooden house had been patiently waiting for the four to return. While waiting, they brought Sun Wu's body back to the wooden house.

On the way back, Zheng Wuyou looked up and carefully observed the windows on the second floor of the wooden house.

Among the open windows, only the first and third were visible.

Last night, it was indeed the third window...

Spreading misinformation.

"Did you find a way into the backyard?" Wen Dian happily greeted them at the entrance of the wooden house. He felt uneasy staying in the same house with a dead person.

Hu Yu shook her head heavily, "She was completely uncooperative."

Wasn't it about getting into the backyard?

Who wasn't cooperating?

Wen Dian followed the four into the house with a puzzled expression. Could these people have had another adventure?

"Knowing she wouldn't cooperate, why ask so many useless questions?" Hu Yu, walking at the back, grumbled incessantly.

Tomorrow would come in a blink of an eye. If they were still at this pace!

What if another person died?

"Sister, how did it go?" Uncle Cai saw that they hadn't brought back the First Wife, assuming they had encountered some obstruction.

"What else could it be? She asked a lot of useless questions!" Hu Yu, her throat dry, picked up the teapot on the main table and poured herself a glass of water.

Uncle Cai's questioning gaze turned to Zheng Wuyou.

Zheng Wuyou smiled faintly and came up behind Hu Yu.

"For now, we are a team, so I won't argue with you. What you consider useless information is not useless to me." She snatched the water cup from Hu Yu's hand and took a confident sip with a raised eyebrow.

Hu Yu had wanted to stop her, but seeing that no one else objected, She grudgingly accepted the slight.

Zheng Wuyou organized her thoughts, "I did ask the woman a few questions. She is not from Zhu Village; she was trafficked here. She is the First Wife we are looking for. The child on her back is not hers; it was born to one of the women in the backyard. She has likely escaped countless times and been caught each time."

Hu Yu poured herself another cup of tea. Before she could take two sips, her hand froze in mid-air upon hearing Zheng Wuyou's conclusion.

"No, what you're saying is completely the opposite of what that woman said! Do you think we weren't there!"