Seeing Ruan Fang leave, the old woman lay down on the ground and pretended to have been knocked unconscious.

After Ruan Fang went out, he found a passageway in front of the door. Following the old woman's directions, he walked towards the backyard.

Several lanterns hung in the corridor, making the light dim and obscuring the surrounding scenery. This, ironically, facilitated Ruan Fang's escape.

She encountered several people in the corridor, all servants of the household. They were in a hurry and did not notice Ruan Fang at all.

Ruan Fang quickly arrived at the backyard, which was very large and had many big trees. Several Taoist priests were sitting at a table under one of the big trees, drinking tea, eating snacks, and chatting happily.

Ruan Fang lowered her head, walked around to the side, and went straight to the back gate of the courtyard.

She finally arrived at the back gate of the courtyard and was pleasantly surprised to find it ajar.

She opened the back door and slipped out of the yard.

It was very dark outside, and I couldn't see the road at all. I hadn't walked more than a few steps when I tripped and fell.

This place is not safe to stay any longer; we must leave quickly. There is a main road ahead, and Ruan Fang desperately hopes to find a carriage to take her away.

But it's nighttime, where would a horse-drawn carriage come from?

After walking for a while, her eyes gradually adjusted to the surrounding environment, and she was able to see the scenery around her clearly.

He remembered his wife's words, to try not to walk on the main road, so he began to pay attention to the side streets on both sides of the main road.

A fork in the road appeared ahead, and Ruan Fang immediately turned into it. Then it became a maze of twists and turns, and she had no idea where she was. Ruan Fang had only one thought: to get out of this place as quickly as possible, as far away as possible.

After walking for a long time, Ruan Fang was both hungry and thirsty, but she dared not stop and kept moving forward, her steps uneven.

Then the moon came out, and the surrounding scenery became clearly visible.

Ahead was a small village, and she planned to enter the village and find a place to rest.

The village was completely silent, not even a dog barked. Not daring to disturb the villagers, she found a pile of straw at the village entrance and rested against it.

Unexpectedly, after resting for a while, a wave of drowsiness washed over me, and I drifted off to sleep.

She didn't know how much time had passed when the sound of voices beside her startled her awake, and she suddenly jolted awake.

It was already broad daylight, and the sun had long since risen. Several villagers stood beside her, pointing and whispering, as if they were discussing something.

How could I have slept so soundly? If the Ma family catches me, I'm doomed.

She quickly got up, ignoring the strange looks from those around her, and hurried away.

I slept for several hours and regained a lot of my strength.

She needed to get back as soon as possible to tell her parents what had happened, to expose Ruan Jin's sinister intentions, and to let her parents know his true colors.

I don't know how long we walked, but a small town appeared ahead. I guessed we were now far away from that terrible place.

She planned to go to town to get something to eat, then find a horse-drawn carriage to get home as soon as possible.

Upon entering the town, she was dumbfounded. She was dressed in an old woman's clothes and didn't have a single copper coin in her pocket. She didn't even have enough money to rent a carriage or get a drink of water.

She touched her head and found a silver hairpin, which she quickly took off.

The silver hairpin was worth more than ten taels of silver, so she immediately found a pawnshop and pawned it for five taels of silver.

With these five taels of silver, finding a carriage to go home shouldn't be a problem.

She made some inquiries and soon arrived at a carriage shop. After agreeing on a price with the shopkeeper, she boarded a horse-drawn carriage.

Sitting in the carriage, her heart finally calmed down. She estimated that it wouldn't take more than two hours for her to get home.

Not long after the carriage left the carriage shop, it was stopped by someone, and she couldn't help but feel nervous, with a bad feeling in her heart.

Ruan Fang secretly lifted the carriage curtain and glanced outside. She was shocked to see several burly men standing on the road, inspecting pedestrians and vehicles.

The carriage driver seemed to recognize the person who had stopped the carriage in front, and said:

"So it's Steward Ma. What are all of you doing here?"

"Don't even mention it. Yesterday, Master Ma bought a maid, and not long after she got home, she knocked out one of the old women in the house and escaped. We're going to catch her now."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Fang knew that these people were there to arrest her, and she wondered why she was so unlucky.

There was no time to think. While they were talking, Ruan Fang quietly slipped off the carriage and quickly fled.

They hadn't run far before they were spotted by these people.

"That's her! Grab her quickly, don't let her get away!" At Steward Ma's command, several burly men gave chase.

Ruan Fang was no match for these burly men and was quickly caught up and surrounded.

This is it, Ruan Fang is completely doomed. She is desperate. Last night, her mother repeatedly told her not to take the main road, but she not only took the main road, but also swaggered into the carriage. Isn't this just asking for death?

It's too late to regret it now. Rather than being caught and taken back, I might as well die.

But he was already firmly controlled by several burly men, and he couldn't die even if he wanted to.

Several burly men escorted Ruan Fang back when suddenly a carriage drove up from a distance. This carriage was luxurious and tall, much more impressive than ordinary carriages.

Ruan Fang was well-informed and knew that only the rich and powerful could ride in such a carriage; even the county magistrate's carriage was not this luxurious.

Perhaps a high-ranking official is sitting in this carriage; if so, I might have a chance to ask him for help.

Thinking of this, Ruan Fang remained calm. When the carriage was not far from them, she suddenly broke free from the men and ran towards the carriage, shouting for help at the same time.

Lin Xi was riding in the carriage, heading to Narcissus Village, driven by one of her maids.

The girls drove the carriage very carefully, and the carriage did not go very fast.

The maid was focused on driving the carriage, but she noticed several burly men escorting a girl ahead. She found it strange, and when she saw the girl suddenly rushing towards the carriage, she was so frightened that she quickly pulled on the reins.

"Help me, help me!" Ruan Fang cried out as she ran.

Lin Xi, who was sitting in the carriage, was taken aback. Seeing that the carriage had stopped, she quickly got out to check, and another maidservant beside her also got out of the carriage.

She saw a girl dressed as an old woman running towards them, followed by four burly men.

Ruan Fang arrived at the carriage, panting, and saw two people get out of the carriage, one dressed as a young lady and the other as a maid. She assumed there were still people in the carriage, and that she was looking for the high-ranking official who was in the carriage.

Several burly men immediately surrounded them. They shared Ruan Fang's thoughts, believing that there was another important person in the car, someone they could not afford to offend.

"Stop calling. There's no one else in the car, just me. Tell me what you need," Lin Xi said.

After confirming that there was no one else in the carriage, Nguyen Phuong was dumbfounded.