Chapter 42 A Terrible Practice From the Feudal Era
What the heck! Greg relentlessly called Abigail one more time, but her phone was still turned off. “Troy!”
As soon as he received the order, Troy immediately opened the door and entered the room. “Mr. Buckley, I’ve informed Mr. Miller about postponing the meeting. I—”
“No! Find out where Abigail is now. Why is her phone turned off?” Greg frowned with an impatient expression. Was that woman born to make things difficult for me?
Troy hurriedly looked into this matter. Just a moment later, he reported in a hushed voice, “Mr. Buckley, Dr. Kain is in trouble. She’s trapped outside of Mortimer Village, and things are not looking good.”
Greg stood straight up. “What do you mean that things are not looking good?”
“The other party didn’t go into details.”
After picking up the coat from his chair, Greg shuffled out of the room. “Get the car ready. We’re going to Mortimer Village. Also, call Stanley and tell him to go there as well.”
By the time he finished speaking, he was already outside of the office.
Even though there were many things that had to be handled in the company, Troy wouldn’t dare to waste any time as he passed all the work to the vice president and called Stanley. Then, he followed Greg as they stepped out of Global Inc. After getting into the car, Greg called Abigail again but to no avail.
Meanwhile, Abigail felt speechless. She was ready to head back to the city and wait for Greg to arrange a meeting with her uncle. However, as soon as she got into the car, she was trapped in this place. A woman in her forties or fifties stopped her from leaving. “Are you looking for Adeline Mortimer?”
That was the name of Abigail’s mother. When she heard that, Abigail nodded and stepped out of the car. “Yes. Do you know my mother?”
“You’re really the daughter of that b*tch! Come on. Tie her up!”
Before Abigail could understand what was going on, she was subdued by the people brought to this place by the middle-aged woman. She wanted to struggle out of it, but a doubt appeared in her mind. Why is my mother despised by the people in this place? If this woman can bring me into Mortimer Village, I will be able to find out more. At the thought of this, she let them tie her up.
When she saw how submissive Abigail was, the woman snatched her phone and turned it off before hurling it into the ditch. “Bring her to the ancestral hall!”
Upon receiving instructions, the people around her immediately executed her order, and the onlookers around the memorial arch quickly dispersed. It seemed that this woman was authoritative.
Who is she? Abigail was doubtful, but she didn’t have a chance to ask as she was pushed forward by those people.
This was an ancient village where all the buildings seemed to have been in existence for hundreds of years. While walking along the roads, Abigail felt as if she had returned to ancient times. As she walked slowly, she was brought to the ancestral hall at the other end of the village. The ancestral hall looked grand, and the golden ‘Mortimer Ancestral Hall’ had been inscribed on a board.
“Are all the people here Mortimers?” Abigail asked in a hushed voice.
Instantly, the woman glared at her. “Shut up! If you dare to utter one more word, I’ll cut your tongue off!”
Abigail frowned at that. Not only was this woman unfriendly, she was ruthless as well. Then, she was pushed into the ancestral hall. Before she could figure out what was going on, she felt a gust of wind coming from behind her. She wanted to dodge it instinctively, but she was unable to do so since she had been tied up.
With a loud bang, something struck the back of her head. Soon, she felt her vision darkening. As she secretly cursed, she collapsed to the ground and passed out. The door of the ancestral hall closed with a creak, and it was then locked.
Meanwhile, Sasha was drinking a cup of black tea with a smug smile at the Kain Residence.
“Mom, I don’t care. I can never leave this behind. I must make that b*tch Abigail fall on her knees and apologize to me.” Over the years, Emma had always oppressed Abigail. Now that it was the other way round, she was unable to get over it.
Seeing how her daughter was so infuriated, Sasha replied with a smile, “Don’t worry. Do you think I’ve done her a favor by giving her the address of her maternal grandmother? Rest assured. If she really goes there, she’ll be in hot water.”
“What do you mean?”
While Emma’s interest had been piqued, Sasha fell silent and kept her on tenterhooks.
When Greg arrived, the entire Mortimer Village had been cordoned off, so it was impossible for him to get in. Since he was left with no choice, he called Stanley. “What are you doing there? Hurry up!”
It was rare for Greg to lose his cool. Stanley furrowed his brows and uttered in a low voice, “You seem grumpy today. What are you doing in our village?”
“I’ll tell you about it later. Come here quickly.” As soon as he finished his words, Greg hung up the call. It was completely silent inside the village, so he had no idea what was going on. Abigail is an arrogant woman. Will they torture her? At the thought of this, he became increasingly anxious.
Just as he was despondent, Stanley finally arrived at the place in his car. “You’re late!” Greg complained with a dark expression.
Stanley shot him a glance and asked impassively, “Are you going in?”
“What’s wrong? Can’t I go in?”
Seeing as Greg appeared to be presumptuous, Stanley found it to be funny. “I’ll give you a heads-up. The people in our village are conservative, and they don’t welcome outsiders. So, if you want to follow me into the village, you must not speak as you please or interfere in our affairs. Also, just obey what I say. Now, you’re just my assistant and nothing else. Got it?”
Greg scowled and uttered in a small voice, “You want me to be your assistant? Stanley, do you know no shame?”
“That can’t be helped since you need me and insist on going in.” There was a smug smile on Stanley’s face.
Greg secretly cursed and fell silent, which surprised Stanley. “Are you really agreeing to it?”
“Are we going in or not?” Greg was apprehensive. It had been a long time since Abigail entered the village, so he was worried that she might have gotten into a fight. Even though she’s adept at fighting, she’s facing a lot of villagers. It’s said that a tiger can’t battle against a group of wolves. Moreover, she isn’t a tigress to begin with. At the thought of this, he directly took Stanley’s wrist and entered the village.
Without asking any questions, Stanley followed him promptly. When the guard at the entrance saw Stanley, he respectfully called him ‘Young Master Stanley’, but he stopped Greg from going further.
“He’s my assistant. Don’t worry, I’ll take up the responsibility if anything happens,” Stanley uttered.
Upon hearing that, the guard stepped aside and said in a low voice, “Young Master Stanley, Miss Amelia has captured the daughter of Miss Adeline. She has locked her inside the ancestral hall.”
Stanley became startled. “The daughter of Adeline? What’s going on?” He sported a gloomy expression.
Then, the guard told him what had happened to Abigail earlier. Upon hearing that, Greg became nervous. “She was just looking for her family members. How could you all knock her out and tie her up in the ancestral hall?”
Instantly, Stanley pulled the other man’s sleeve and uttered in a hushed voice, “Shut up.”
“No, I’m just asking—” Greg wanted to keep talking, but when he saw Stanley’s solemn expression and the guard’s unfriendly gaze, he tactfully kept his mouth shut.
It was then Stanley asked gently, “Is she still in the ancestral hall?”
“Yes, she is. Miss Amelia’s people are keeping guard outside the ancestral hall.”
After the guard finished speaking, Stanley led Greg to the ancestral hall as he asked, “Mr. Buckley, have you come all the way here for my niece?”
“What if I say yes?”
Upon hearing that, Stanley suddenly stopped in his tracks and stared at the other man before asking softly, “What’s the nature of your relationship with her?”
“We’re not related in any way, but she’s the best surgeon in the world, and she’s carried out an operation for my mother. Hence, I owe her a favor.” Greg didn’t mention his daughter, nor did he expose to him the one night stand he had with Abigail five years ago. He only revealed to him what Abigail, as a doctor, had done for his mother.
Stanley fell into silence. Everyone knew that Greg was someone who valued the people who had helped him before. Since Abigail had saved Valerie, it was expected that Greg would return her favor. But this matter… Stanley appeared to be in a dilemma.
Greg crossed his arms and uttered coldly, “Don’t you dare forget that I saved your life before. I don’t need anything else, but I just hope that you can help get Abigail out of here safely. Do you get it?”
“Mr. Buckley, you have no idea how difficult it is to handle this matter.” Stanley sighed. “The people in our village have always been conserative, and we value etiquette and social status. You saw the memorial arch at the entrance of the village, right? It was left behind by our ancestors. We have a rule in our village: a widow can never marry another man. She has to stay loyal to her deceased husband. Generations of women stuck to this rule in exchange for this memorial arch, and all the villagers are proud of it.”
However, Greg snorted. “This is a terrible practice from the feudal era. Stanley, you’re a PhD graduate, so how can you believe this?”
“I don’t believe this, but the villagers have always stuck to this rule. Their mindset will never change, and there’s nothing I can do. One year after my eldest sister got married, her husband passed away in a car accident. However, she didn’t abide by the rule and failed to stay loyal to her husband. Instead, she fell in love with another man in the village. In order to get together with him, she decided to run away with him. Unexpectedly, the man dumped her, and she was captured. At that time, the villagers locked her inside the ancestral hall. As long as she could endure that period of time, she would be chased out of the village, but she’d also regain her freedom by then. However, she eloped with a man from outside the village one day, which was humiliating for all the villagers. So, since her daughter has come over, the villagers will never let her off. They will think that not only has my eldest sister insulted the memorial arch, she has also sent her daughter to come and humiliate them. This will certainly cause an outrage.”
Upon hearing that, Greg felt as though he had been struck by lightning. He couldn’t believe that such a preposterous thing still existed in this modern age. Moreover, Stanley didn’t look like he was pulling his leg, so Greg began to worry. “How do you think they’ll deal with Abigail?”
Stanley stared at him and fell silent, but his gaze and expression made Greg feel like he was on pins and needles.
