CHAPTER 285: CHAPTER 282 HUMILIATION

"Madam, you must come with us."

Mrs. Rong heard that person speak in a low voice.

Mrs. Rong was just about to put on a stern face and rebuke them for daring to act on their own at this moment, but before she could say a word, she felt a pain at her neck and then lost consciousness completely.

When Mrs. Rong woke up again, she heard the sound of hooves, and then she felt a wave of nausea. She opened her eyes and found herself lying prostrate on a horse’s back, the hard back of the horse seemed to split her in two.

Mrs. Rong struggled to her feet, but before she could straighten up, she was pinned down firmly. She wanted to call for help, but as soon as she raised her face, she felt a sharp pain in her cheek as someone slapped her across the face.

Her ears rang, her vision blackened for a moment, and blood from her bitten tongue trickled down the corner of her mouth.

After the pain came the terror. Mrs. Rong was unsure what had happened and what was happening around her. Who were the people who had captured her?

Could it be that Song Qizheng had found out? Or did Song Xian make a move against her?

Why was no one coming to rescue her? Where was her Yu?

Mrs. Rong held on with difficulty, finally waiting until the hoofbeats gradually slowed, the rider reined in the horse and dismounted, then she was roughly pulled off and thrown to the ground by her collar.

Mrs. Rong could finally see the surroundings clearly—a dozen or so people dressed in short coats, all with weapons at their waists, with expressions of coldness and ferocity on their faces.

They were Liao people.

People that Xiao Xingzong had prepared for her.

Mrs. Rong’s mind went blank, feeling like she was in a nightmare.

No, this was all wrong; how could she have been captured, and why were these people treating her like this? According to her plan with Xiao Xingzong, it was supposed to be Old Mrs. Song who got abducted. Once Song Qizheng knew that Old Mrs. Song was captured, he would chase after them, and the Liao people would set an ambush midway to shoot Song Qizheng.

"What are you doing?" Mrs. Rong snapped back to reality. "Have you defected to Song Xian? Betrayed Zhao... Mr. Xiao?"

No matter what Mrs. Rong said, the Liao people ignored her and turned to converse in their own language.

Mrs. Rong finally remembered something and reached for the jade pendant at her waist. The jade pendant given to her by Xiao Xingzong was still there; feeling like she had grabbed a lifeline, Mrs. Rong took off the pendant and held it up.

Mrs. Rong summoned all her strength: "Do you dare disobey Mr. Xiao’s orders?"

The Liao people finally turned their eyes toward her, every gaze landing on the jade pendant.

Mrs. Rong said, "You should know Mr. Xiao’s temperament. If you dare disobey, he will definitely punish you."

Yes, the only thing she had was Xiao Xingzong’s token, now her sole support.

The Liao people finally stopped talking, and one of them turned around and walked toward her.

His gaze turned to the jade pendant, and his attitude softened slightly: "Mrs. Rong is right; if we disobey Mr. Xiao, returning would be a fate worse than death, not just for us, but our families wouldn’t survive either."

Mrs. Rong sternly said, "If that’s the case, why have you brought me here? Didn’t Mr. Xiao instruct you to follow my arrangements for everything?"

The man nodded: "When we arrived, we indeed received Mr. Xiao’s secret order, directing us to assassinate Song Qizheng."

This made sense, a faint light appeared in Mrs. Rong’s eyes.

The man continued: "This time, no matter what, we must eliminate the threat of the Song Family Army."

This was partly right and partly wrong. Mrs. Rong’s expression changed again; it wasn’t about eliminating the Song Family Army. In the future, the Song Family Army would be led by Yu.

The man said, "However, capturing just Old Mrs. Song might not be enough. After all, Zhenzhou is garrisoned by the Song Family Army. If we’re stopped, what will we use to threaten Song Qizheng? Wouldn’t it end in failure? We brought you along as a precaution."

As he spoke, the man’s gaze shifted sharply, carrying a trace of leeriness: "Madam, do not let Mr. Xiao’s efforts go to waste."

A burst of laughter erupted among the Liao people upon hearing these words.

The laughter had a tone of humiliation.

"No," Mrs. Rong, disregarding her anger, said anxiously, "You must have misunderstood. Even if it’s about threatening Song Qizheng, they wouldn’t use me as a hostage. Mr. Xiao would never allow that. From now on, listen to my instructions; I can forgive past actions and plead for you in front of Mr. Xiao."

These words didn’t persuade the Liao people; in fact, it made them laugh even more wantonly. After a moment, the leader of the Liao people stopped laughing and looked at Mrs. Rong with a deep gaze: "Are you not Song Qizheng’s wife? If we don’t use you to threaten Song Qizheng, should we use Liao women?"

Mrs. Rong was so shaken by that gaze that her whole body trembled, and her hairs stood on end.

"If you want to serve Mr. Xiao, you need to obey our orders. If we succeed in destroying the Song Family Army this time, we can take you to Liao," the man said, "But whether Mr. Xiao accepts you depends on whether you have that ability."

"Have you looked at yourself, at your age and appearance? Yet you still want to cling to Mr. Xiao. Ten years ago, even your two young sons were smarter than you."

It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over Mrs. Rong’s head; she froze there, her lips trembling: "What do you mean? What happened to my two sons ten years ago?"

The Liao said: "Ten years ago, your two sons were taken to Great Liao by me, and one of them even bit me. If Mr. Xiao hadn’t said they might be useful, I would have snapped their necks back then."

Mrs. Rong widened her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. It couldn’t be that Song Yu and Song Min were taken by the Liao people. Xiao Xingzong had risked his life to save them. These people were all Xiao Xingzong’s subordinates; how could they have been captured by them?

Impossible.

"You’re lying," Mrs. Rong cried out sharply, "It’s impossible, impossible, you’re lying."

The Liao man said: "As the master said, killing them was useless. Letting them go, Daqi would have an inside line—you’re our inside line for Great Liao."

"No... no..." Mrs. Rong shook her head frantically, nearly hysterical, disregarding her fear as she lunged at the Liao man, "This isn’t true."

The Liao man finally lost his temper due to Mrs. Rong’s actions. He reached out to squeeze Mrs. Rong’s neck, his fingers closing in as she struggled for breath, trying desperately to pull away from the Liao man’s arm, but with all her strength, she couldn’t budge it an inch.

A noise came from Mrs. Rong’s throat as she saw the Liao man’s mocking expression.

The National Guardian General’s wife of Daqi consorting with Liao people, thinking for them at every turn, ultimately bringing the wolf into her own home, faced with such an outcome.

Mrs. Rong felt only fear at the thought that the people she thought she could rely on never really cared about her, merely using her.

Her Min would die, and Liao people could not be uninvolved. Now she was in their hands, and they would also kill Song Qizheng and Song Yu.

Mrs. Rong regretted it all. The resentment she once harbored toward Song Qizheng now turned into remorse. She desperately hoped for Song Qizheng to come save her and kill these Liao people before her.

To kill every Liao person who knew her secrets and insulted her, Mrs. Rong sadly realized that the person she planned to kill had become her sole hope of surviving.

Tears trickled down from Mrs. Rong’s eyes.

Finally, the Liao man released his grip, and then another slap landed on Mrs. Rong’s face, leering: "Best not to speak again. Behave and let us handle you, or we’ll strip you bare and let everyone see you."

Mrs. Rong lay prostrate on the ground; now she finally felt the terror of the Liao people, these people were beasts.

In a daze, Mrs. Rong heard a clamor of hooves.

"Song Qizheng is here," the Liao man grabbed the prone Mrs. Rong from the ground, "Old Mrs. Song has been rescued. Right now, you’re all we have; let’s hope Song Qizheng is willing to rescue you."

The Liao man threw Mrs. Rong onto the horse’s back, commanding: "Lure Song Qizheng over."