NFBE Chapter 142 Arrival at the Entrance
Chapter 142 Arrival at the Entrance
Apart from the elderly, women, and children, most of the men among these people were wounded, some even hit by arrows, and were being helped forward.
During their trip to the imperial tomb, Meng Ruilin and his group gained nothing. Instead, they encountered numerous traps and mechanisms upon entering the tomb, resulting in many deaths and injuries among those who went in.
"Elder Meng, do you think Village Chief Meng and the others can still take us in?" an old woman asked anxiously.
Having been asked countless times along the way, he couldn't contain his anger any longer. He stopped and yelled, "Ask, ask, ask! What's the point of asking?! You'd be better off hurrying to catch up with the convoy!"
Everyone stopped in their tracks, startled by his sudden outburst. Having found an outlet for his anger, Meng Ruilin roared at the top of his lungs.
"Yang Dacai is dead, and now you're all counting on me? Did I send you in to die? Aren't you bandits and robbers always so capable? If you're so capable, how could you have caused the deaths of three of my five sons and injuries to two others?"
The bandits from Black Tiger Stronghold were displeased. Several of them walked up to Meng Ruilin with grim faces. "Old man, aren't you being a bit unreasonable? We forced you to go."
Faced with the ferocious mountain bandits, Meng Ruilin immediately lost his previous courage.
Then he found another target to vent his frustration on, muttering, "I knew it... I knew Meng Fuqing's sudden concession was suspicious... It was definitely a trap, that brat did it on purpose... Now look what's happened, they're all dead! All dead!"
He looked dazed, his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground, burying his face in his hands and weeping bitterly.
Upon hearing this, the bandits exchanged glances, a hint of hatred flashing in their eyes.
When Meng Ruilin cried, the grief of those whose family members had died in the imperial mausoleum welled up in their hearts, and they joined in the weeping. The cries blended together, startling the night watchmen at their lodging.
They immediately grabbed the weapons hidden beside them, gripped them tightly in their hands, and whispered, "Did I hear that right? Is there some movement to the north?"
"What's that sound? Are the wolves coming?"
"Crying? A lot of people are crying?"
"Why would there be crying in the middle of the night? It's really creepy."
"Could it be that Yang Dacai and his men have arrived?"
In their surprise and uncertainty, they picked up torches and went to investigate.
The crying startled many people. Meng Ranran and Meng Ali, who were sleeping in the carriage, got off the train and snuggled into Shan Qiyu's arms as soon as they heard the noise.
Meng Ranran's big eyes darted around as she asked Shan Qiyu, "Mother, have those people who left during the day come looking for us again?"
"It should be them," Shan Qiyu said with some concern. "We don't care, just don't speak or show yourselves later."
Judging from the crying, those people must have suffered a terrible fate. It would be bad if someone held a grudge against the eldest daughter who drove them away.
Thinking of her eldest daughter, Shan Qiyu crawled out of her tent and came to Meng Fuqing's tent to whisper a reminder, but she didn't hear a response from Meng Fuqing for a long time.
She was startled. She lifted the oilcloth and touched the quilt. The quilt was not warm at all, indicating that the person had been gone for a long time.
She quickly regained her composure after a moment of panic, returned to her tent, and said to Meng Ranran and Meng Ali, "Your eldest sister is exhausted and not feeling well. Don't let anyone disturb her. Understand?"
"What's wrong, sister? Are you sick?"
"Is my sister alright?"
The two little ones asked anxiously.
"It's nothing, she's just tired. She'll be fine after a good night's sleep. Don't bother her."
The two little ones frowned and nodded obediently.
Yan He guessed the source of the crying. She sneered, gloating, "Good words can't persuade a damned ghost. Serves him right!"
After speaking, she suddenly sat up and murmured, "Meng Fuqing ran away with Xie Jin. What if someone comes looking for her?"
She changed her voice, tried to speak in Meng Fuqing's tone, and adjusted it again. When she felt that it was about 80% similar, she crawled out of the tent. While everyone was talking and crying, she circled around and quietly crouched down and crawled into Meng Fuqing's tent.
At the same time, Meng Bochang slowly woke up.
Before he could speak, his wife, Meng Xueshi, poured out her heart about his illness and what had happened after he fainted.
Meng Bochang's mind gradually cleared, and he sighed softly, "It's all about individual fate."
Madam Meng snorted twice, "You should have thought of that earlier. With natural disasters and man-made calamities never ending, no relatives or clansmanship are more important than your own survival."
Hearing the commotion outside the tent, Meng Bochang wondered, "It's already dark, what's all this noise? Who's crying?"
"Stop worrying, take a nap. You'll have your turn to worry when the third son arrives," Meng Xueshi said irritably.
Meng Ruilin, seething with anger, led his group to catch up with the convoy.
After forcing the convoy to stop, he saw Meng Bochang emerge from the tent, took a few steps forward, and knelt down in front of Meng Bochang with a thud.
When he knelt down, the people of Mengjia Village behind him knelt down as well, not saying a word but just sobbing.
With tears in his eyes, Meng Ruilin said, "Second brother, I was wrong. I shouldn't have ignored your advice. Now, all three of your nephews are gone, and the whole family is either dead or injured. Second brother—you are our village chief and clan leader, you can't just abandon us!"
After he finished speaking, the cries of the people from Mengjia Village behind him grew louder, and they all kowtowed and begged.
Meng Bochang stared intently at the group of people kneeling before him. Some of them had grown up with him, but most of them were people he had watched grow up.
Remembering what he had said during the day, and Meng Fuqing's decision, he closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, his face seemed to have aged a few years, but his slightly cloudy eyes revealed a firm resolve.
He handed the matter over to Qingya, and Qingya took the blame for him, becoming the villain.
If he were to bring these people back into the ranks, wouldn't Qingyatou's actions become a joke?
He said calmly, "Third brother, I have already removed your names from the family genealogy. Since things have come to this, you should all go and flee for your lives!"
Meng Ruilin immediately became anxious. He stood up and said, "Second brother, we are cousins who grew up together. Have you forgotten our past friendship? You are the clan leader. Whether we are members of the Meng clan or not is not up to you to decide."
“I am no longer the patriarch of the Meng clan. Now Qingya is the patriarch. I told Qingya this before I fainted during the day. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Chief Du.”
In desperation, Meng Bochang used this as an excuse.
Realizing what had happened, he calmed down. What's said is said, and after this matter, whether Qingya becomes the clan leader or not is up to her to decide.
The Meng family members were all astonished. At this moment, Du Zhong, who had just driven away the former subordinates who were pleading desperately, came over.
He said loudly, "That's indeed true, but Village Chief Meng, why bother saying anything more to him? Just send him away!"
As he spoke, he beckoned his men to chase people away, but Meng Ruilin rushed into the area where everyone was resting and frantically searched for Meng Fuqing's tent.
"Meng Fuqing, Meng Fuqing, come out here! Please, have mercy and let us come back! Otherwise, how will we survive? Have some compassion... I'll kowtow to you..."
As he spoke, he actually tried to kneel down.
Shan Qiyu couldn't sit still any longer. Even if someone was kicked out, they were still an elder. How could they use this method to shorten the lifespan of a junior?
She hurried out of the tent and explained, "Qingqing isn't feeling well..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she heard her eldest daughter's voice—"Today's outcome is not my fault; you all brought it on yourselves. Please, Master, ask the head of the household to remove them!"
At this moment, Qi Liang and Niu Er arrived and carried the limp Meng Ruilin away.
Not only that, in order to prevent these people from getting close to their lodgings, Qi Liang also specially sent men with weapons to guard the perimeter, and anyone who tried to force their way in would be beaten without hesitation.
Soon, the place where they had settled down returned to calm.
Yan He, who had just finished showing off his power, poked his head out of the tent and bumped right into Shan Qiyu, who was raising his hand to lift the tarpaulin.
Upon seeing that it was Yan He, Shan Qiyu had mixed feelings. "So it's Miss Yan."
Seeing the disappointment in her tone, Yan He quickly tried to make amends for Meng Fuqing, "Qingqing, Qingqing, she..."
To prevent Yan He from overthinking, Shan Qiyu smiled and shook her head, "I know where she went. Thank you for your help earlier."
At the same time, the two humans and the wolf arrived at the entrance to the imperial tomb.
Compared to the fake entrance, the real entrance is more secluded, nestled in a valley, and is magnificent, with more stone statues standing outside.
After dismounting, the two tied their horses to a tree and led the white wolf inside.