Wei Yumeng had to admit she had been foolish. Jiang Siyu's words, though coarse, held truth. She was fortunate not to have been taken as a hostage, let alone dream of influencing the Mu family's situation single-handedly. It would be better to escape herself, thereby reducing the threat to Zhan Mohan and the others, and not be considered unfaithful.
Thus, she and Jiang Siyu formed an alliance. However, the thought of devising so many plans based on just a small hairpin made her feel it was somewhat unrealistic.
But Jiang Siyu had been imprisoned here for a long time. Wei Yumeng understood how desperately she wanted to escape. Even though she felt it was unlikely to succeed, she didn't pour cold water on her ideas. Living in such a humiliating way was worse than trying. Perhaps it could even succeed.
Coincidentally, tomorrow was the birthday banquet. Success or failure would be decided after this night. Wei Yumeng gazed at the dim light by the dungeon entrance, silently calculating the time.
Meanwhile, Jiang Siyu was attempting to pick the lock on her body. She carefully inserted a thin hairpin into the lock and gently twisted it. It was her first time trying, and it took a long while without success. Hearing the outside become completely silent, she knew it was late at night. Wei Yumeng had also fallen asleep from waiting. She had a few more hours to experiment, and she grew more and more nervous.
After all, if she missed this opportunity, escaping would be almost impossible.
After resting for a while, she tried again. Fortunately, her efforts were not in vain. After so long, she finally succeeded in unlocking the chains on her waist.
She threw aside the iron chain and finally tasted the feeling of being able to breathe deeply again. She rejoiced for a short while, but then she saw the shackles on her feet and plunged back into busyness.
With the experience gained earlier, the remaining two locks were opened much faster. Finally, all the locks on her body were removed. She stood up and walked along the wall in the pitch-black space. This was the largest area she had been able to move in since being imprisoned.
She immediately woke Wei Yumeng to share her success. Seeing that she had unlocked all the locks, Wei Yumeng instantly sobered up and exclaimed how amazing she was.
Neither of them had ever imagined that they would become allies under such circumstances, sharing both sorrow and joy.
Although they couldn't see each other's expressions clearly, they could both feel each other's excitement, as if they had already successfully escaped.
Estimating the current time, the servants at the Ji mansion should have started their work. After all, today was the birthday banquet, and they would surely wake up early to make preparations. They wondered if anyone would come to the dungeon. They decided to sit by the wall to avoid being discovered if Jiang Siyu's escape was revealed, which would ruin their chance of escape.
The two sat in silence, vaguely feeling that several hours had passed without anyone coming. By then, guests should have already arrived on the mountain. Since no one came, it was likely that no one would come.
Jiang Siyu stood up, "Let's go. What are we waiting for if not now?"
They went to the door. Jiang Siyu had already learned how to pick locks with the hairpin. After fiddling with the door lock for a while, the dungeon door creaked open, and a soft morning light streamed in from the crack.
She carefully peered out from the crack. This was the backyard, rarely visited. However, several expensive luxury cars were parked there now.
Wei Yumeng guessed that these might be guests attending the banquet. If there was no one outside, they should be able to leave without being discovered.
The door was already open, and naturally, they had to run out. This step had to be taken. Jiang Siyu looked back at her, and their eyes met, each seeing the determination in the other's gaze.
Jiang Siyu nodded and took the lead. Wei Yumeng followed closely.
Indeed, there was no one nearby. They locked the dungeon door and quickly hid beneath a car.
When the car left, they just had to hold on tightly to the car's undercarriage, and the car would take them out of the Ji mansion. Once they were out of the Ji mansion, their danger would be halved.
This was Wei Yumeng's plan. Initially, Jiang Siyu was unwilling; she wanted to go her own way. But they were both unfamiliar with the environment. If one of them was caught, the other would be discovered before the banquet ended. After thinking about it, it was better for them to be together.
Moreover, Jiang Siyu knew that Zhan Mohan would definitely come to find Wei Yumeng. If Wei Yumeng could see Zhan Mohan, they would certainly not abandon her.
Thinking back to their past animosity, she never imagined that one day she would entrust half of her hope for survival to Wei Yumeng.
Hiding together under the car, they were trembling with fear. They didn't dare to move much, let alone breathe heavily, for fear of being discovered.
They waited anxiously, hoping for the banquet to end. Wei Yumeng witnessed many cars driving past her under the car and also noticed that besides guests arriving and parking, very few people came here, which somewhat relieved her.
"Brother, the Ji mansion is so large, how will we find them? Ji Tong will never just hand them over if we ask directly."
"We'll play it by ear. Since we are here, we must find them. Ji Tong cannot refuse."
As she lay there helplessly under the car, she heard these words and couldn't help but shed tears. That voice, it was Zhan Mohan!
Obviously, Jiang Siyu had also recognized it. They exchanged glances and quickly crawled out from under the car.
"Mohan."
Wei Yumeng's voice, choked with tears, called out to Zhan Mohan, who was about to leave.
Zhan Mohan, with his back to them, froze when he heard her voice. The three of them turned around together. Seeing Wei Yumeng, covered in dirt and looking disheveled, they were both shocked and delighted. Zhan Mohan strode over and embraced her tightly.
"I'm sorry, Yumeng. I'm late. I made you suffer."
He said, his voice catching slightly. Wei Yumeng, hearing this, held back her tears. "How could you say that? I knew you were always looking for me. I've finally waited for you."
Zhan Mohan released her and looked her up and down. Apart from being covered in dirt and emitting an unpleasant odor, she didn't seem to be seriously injured. He relaxed, then asked with some surprise, "Did they not do anything to you?"
She shook her head. "Feng Shiqing didn't touch me, but she has been tormenting Miss Jiang. She has been going through a difficult time."
At this moment, Zhan Mohan noticed Jiang Siyu beside them and was surprised. "Why are you here too?"
Jiang Siyu sighed. "It's a long story, best left untold. Can I borrow your car to hide? What if someone comes over soon?"