The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)
Chapter 1273

"How is it? Mr. Ye, do you want to check the surroundings and see if you can find anything? I have been investigating all night and only found this dagger. But we can't rule out the possibility that the other party was deliberately using Captain Eaves' dagger to confuse us."

Paul had pretty logical thinking.

Nathaniel had guessed so too. After all, the other party was likely not that capable to keep the news from his and Noah's spies in Ocean City. Therefore, another possibility was that someone else had deliberately led them to another wrong clue.

"Let me have a look. You should head back first. Things don't look good for your wife, so you'd better go and see her as soon as possible. My wife and children are also in the village. Some mercenaries attacked the village just now, and your house was destroyed. Since you can't live there now, I'll ask someone to book a hotel for you."

Paul shook his head slightly upon hearing his words. He said, "Don't bother. We can stay anywhere for a few days. I am the chief of Zelle Village. This is not a problem for us. Besides, there is the ancestral temple as well. We can stay there if it comes to it."

"Are you the chief of Zelle Village?"

Nathaniel was slightly surprised.

Paul said with some embarrassment, "Yes, I am the chief of Zelle Village. Angela is only twenty-two years old and she is my only daughter."

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Nathaniel knew the rules around here. The village was under self-governance, so Paul's father was the absolute leader in Zelle Village.

As Nathaniel realized this, he also tried being nice to them.

Paul followed Angela as they descended the mountain. Nathaniel and his bodyguards stayed to look for clues.

After Angela exited the mountain with her mother, Wisdom examined her mother and treated her at the first instance. He also gave her an injection. But he still said in a low voice in order to be safe, "Now find a car to send her to the hospital. They can do a thorough investigation."

"There's no need for that. You're the descendant of Longford Country, right?"

Paul had keen eyes. He could tell from Wisdom's way of saving others that the latter had inherited the skills from Longford County.

"Do you know about it?"

Wisdom was a little shocked.

Paul nodded and said with a smile, "My wife is from Longford County. Of course, I'm familiar with the skills."

"Dad, I'll make some food for mom first."

Angela said in a haste.

"Alright."

"I'll go with you, Angela."

Rita followed her to the kitchen.

They were now staying in the house of a fellow villager. The house was quite spacious, so it was enough to accommodate the three of them.

Rita had not expected Angela, who was supposed to be in her thirties, to suddenly become so young. Furthermore, she was pretty good-looking. Most importantly, there were dimples on her face when she smiled. She really stood out from the crowd.

"I didn't expect you to know how to disguise yourself."

"It's not really disguise, it's just some makeup."

Angela smiled calmly and felt a little happy inwardly. It was rare to be praised by Rita.

However, Rita rolled her eyes and said with a smile abruptly, "Angela."

She sounded really sweet, but Angela shivered immediately.

"Don't call me that. It's so weird. What do you want?"

"Don't say that. I just think that you are really pretty, Angela, and you are good at makeup. Why don't you teach me?"

Rita's eyes were filled with excitement and enthusiasm.

Angela instantly understood what she wanted.

She said with a smile, "Sure, isn't it just makeup? I'll teach you later."

"Are you sure?"

Rita was a little taken aback.

"Of course, it's easy as pie. Besides, you are a girl too. It's good for you to do beautiful makeup for yourself when you grow up."

Angela said as she smiled

Then only Rita realized that Angela was really kind. How could she have the heart to bully the latter in the past?

"Angela, I swear I will never bully you or mock you again."

Rita's serious proclamation made Angela smile.

She then patted her on the head and said, "You're so cute. I had an elder brother back then, but my mother was too emotional and she got a miscarriage. After that, my mother couldn't get pregnant for many years. Many people in the village hoped that my father would marry another woman, but he didn't agree no matter what. Then, I was born."

Angela was feeling a little sad.

"Ugh, why am I telling you this? Well, there's a strong smell of cooking oil here. You can leave first. I will teach you makeup later. I promise I won't let you down." Angela chased Rita away from the kitchen.

She walked to Wisdom out of boredom and saw that he was still examining Angela's mother. She could not help but ask, "Wisdom, can you take a good look at her?" "Sure, okay."

Wisdom looked a little solemn.

Paul went to the village to console the villagers before coming back. He was very enthusiastic towards Wisdom as he looked at the latter differently. Rita was a little envious of him immediately. "Uncle Barnes, why are you so nice to my brother?"

"That's because he is the descendant of Longford Country. My wife is a member of Longford County as well. Now Longford County is already gone, so I feel a sense of familiarity when I meet any descendants of Longford County. If my wife wakes up, she will definitely be happier than me."

Paul spoke with immense love for his wife.

Rita pouted as she said, "If that's the case, you have to be nicer to me, my dad, and mom."

"Why is that so?"

"Because my dad is the current chief of Longford County. My grandmother is Madeline Zhang."

Paul was stunned upon hearing Rita's words.

"What did you say just now? Who's your grandmother?"

"Madeline Zhang."

Rita said calmly.

Paul's facial expression changed all of the sudden.

"Are you talking about Longford County's successor, Madeline Zhang?"

"Or else, what? Is there a second person named Madeline?"

Rita was a little baffled.

Mango had settled things with the bodyguards and she happened to walk in. When she heard Rita's question, she couldn't help but stop for a moment.

"Rita, how can you say that? Did you just call grandma by her name?"

"Mom, Uncle Barnes was asking me about it."

Rita stuck out her tongue as she was a little embarrassed.

Paul looked at Mango and asked hurriedly, "Mrs. Ye, is Mr. Ye really the son of my cousin, Nanny Zhang?"

"Your cousin?"

Mango was taken by surprise.

Paul hurriedly explained, "My wife is called Tina. She is cousins with your grandma, Madeline. She is ten years younger than her. They've been on good terms since they were young." Mango did not expect Angela's mother, Tina, to be Nanny's cousin.

It was such a coincidence!

"I heard that your wife, Tina, was driven out of Longford County because she was in a relationship with an outsider. But if there was a ten-year-old gap between them, Tina would still be a child when she left the county, right?"

Mango's thinking was very clear. She immediately pointed out this clue that had been neglected by everyone.

Paul was taken aback for a moment, and then he looked at Mango in a different light. He said with a hint of respect, "Yes, Tina didn't leave the village because of her romance with an outsider. So it was only a reason for her to leave the village."

"What do you mean by that?"

Mango was a little perplexed.

Paul sighed and said, "Tina doesn't like to learn medicine and herbs since childhood, but she has to learn the skills of the ancestors of Longford County. Since childhood, she hated it very much. She was even beaten many times for this. Her wish is to leave the county and experience the vast world outside. She wanted to understand how outsiders live their lives. So she actually left the village secretly and planned to go far, far away. She didn't expect that there would be a tragedy in Longford County."

At this point, a trace of pain flashed across Paul's face.

"I still remember that when I took Tina from the roadside, she had fainted from too much crying. She begged that I take her back to Longford County, but by the time we returned, it was already in ruins. Tina regretted that she left in secret. She didn't even get to see her parents and her sisters for the last time, and now she was an orphan. Since then, she changed a lot. She no longer complained about wanting to see the outside world. She stayed in the ruins like a dispirited ghost. Every day, she would catch poisonous insects and vermins to practice the art of witchcraft, read medical books, and learn about medicine. But unfortunately, no one taught her about it when she finally wanted to learn. The knowledge left by her ancestors in Longford County was passed down from generation to generation. Tina never listened to her father's teachings. Naturally, her skills were half-baked. She sobbed and shouted, but her family would never be back."

At the thought of the past, pain and sorrow flickered in Paul's eyes. Even after so many years, he still remembered the disappointed look in Tina's face.

"What happened afterwards? How did she become your wife?"

Mango asked in a low tone.

There was a smile on Paul's face.

"Tina was homeless, so I brought her back with me. There is no rule not to marry outsiders in our village. When my parents saw me bring a girl with me, they were naturally happy. Furthermore, I was the only child. They raised her as their own daughter. The feelings between us grew the longer we stayed with each other, and then naturally we got together."

Mango was rather contented to hear the story.

It was lucky that an orphan her family members all dead could find her own happiness.

She suddenly felt sorry for her.

If she asked Tina about Longford County, she was bound to trigger her bad memories and add insult to injury. This was really cruel to her.

However, if she didn't ask her, they wouldn't know how Augustus got into Longford County, and what other truths could be hidden in the destruction of Longford County.

At this moment, Mango was a little hesitated.

Paul saw that Mango was deep in thought, so he didn't want to disturb her. He walked outside.

Rita looked at Mango as she whispered, "Mom, I want to learn something from Angela. Can I leave first?"

"Okay."

Mango nodded in reply.

Mango and Wisdom were the only ones left in the room. Tina was still unconscious, so Wisdom whispered, "Mom, are you afraid that she will be

sad?"

Mango froze for a moment. As she looked at Wisdom's clear eyes, she couldn't help but sigh and say, "Longford County is just a name to us, but it was the source of pain and regret to her, a survivor." "But it was because she was the only survivor who knew the truth that we have to ask her. We'll never know the answer if we never ask. Grandma and my master have done so much for this. Also, there were those people who had waken up the people of Longford County. Shouldn't they deserve the truth?"

Mango suddenly felt that sometimes she was not as clear about certain things as a child.

"Got it. Thank you, Wisdom."

"You're most welcome."

Wisdom scratched his head in embarrassment, but Mango's phone rang all of a sudden. Mango frowned slightly at the unknown number.