Chapter 11

Chapter 11

From that day on, I began trying to escape.

The first time, I hid in a delivery carriage. The vehicle hadn’t even left the estate before it was intercepted.

The second time, I crawled out through a crawlspace under the wall under the cover of night. I hadn’t even reached the edge of town before some “kind soul” escorted me back.

Since I couldn’t escape, I had no choice but to keep pleading with Shen Yanlan.

“I want to go back to Lin Village to see my father. I haven’t seen him in so long.”

At the time, Shen Yanlan was practicing his calligraphy.

His brush paused for a moment. He looked up and said with a smile, “Your father is doing well. I’ve already sent someone to Lin Village with generous gifts.”

I said, “But I still want to go see him in person.”

He walked over and kissed my forehead.

“In a few days, once things at the bank aren’t so busy, I’ll go with you. How does that sound?”

I could only nod.

Over the following days, Shen Yanlan was frequently intimate with me, day and night, showing the utmost tenderness.

It seemed he wanted to use this method to make me forget the idea of going to Lin Village.

One morning, I heard that Shen Yanlan was going out of town to discuss business, and I made up my mind.

After he left, I changed into the servant’s clothes I had hidden away earlier.

I covered my face and slipped out when the back gate opened.

However, I discovered to my horror that I couldn’t remember the way to Lin Village.

The path in my mind constantly twisted and shifted until only an empty cliff remained.

I walked up to a small tofu stall and asked in a low voice, “Excuse me, how do I get to Lin Village?”

The old woman stopped cutting tofu and looked at me with confusion.

“Young lady, are you sure the place you’re looking for is called ‘Lin Village’?”

I nodded.

The old woman’s gaze grew complicated.

“Young lady, I have never heard of a Lin Village.”

“Once you leave Qileng Town, there is a graveyard to the west. If you go further, there is only the sea. Other than that, there are no villages.”

My head thrummed with a loud buzz.

How was that possible?

I clearly remembered that Lin Village was just to the west of Qileng Town!

If Lin Village didn’t exist, then where did I come from?

A sharp pain shot through my head, and I could barely stand.

The old woman seemed like she wanted to say something more, but in the next moment, her expression changed.

I turned around and saw my mother-in-law approaching me with several men.

Those men grabbed my arms with such force that it felt like they were going to pull my bones out of their sockets.

I screamed for help repeatedly.

But the pedestrians around us acted as if they saw nothing, lowering their heads and hurrying away to avoid us.