Chapter 631 Qiao Ning is Deceived
"Come with me."
Wen Jue gave Qiao Yuanyao a deep look, then turned and left.
"What's the meaning?"
Wen Jue's unexpected words startled Qiao Yuanyao, followed by shock, bewilderment, and anger; countless emotions surged into her heart in an instant.
She quickly caught up with Wen Jue, "Did you really kidnap her? What do you intend to do to Qiao Ning?"
"No! If you really kidnapped him, why would you be so kind as to return him to me?"
What exactly are you plotting?
Qiao Yuanyao's mouth was full of doubts, but her body still followed Wen Jue's lead.
Wen Jue glanced back at her, but instead of answering her question, he said in an ambiguous tone, "Aren't you afraid I might do something to you if you just follow me like this?"
Qiao Yuanyao looked at Wen Jue mockingly, "Can you?"
Wen Jue didn't speak, but deliberately quickened his pace.
Qiao Yuanyao pursed her lips and silently kept up with Wen Jue's pace.
The two quickly traversed the forest path, bypassed the artificial hills and lake, and arrived at a secluded courtyard.
Two guards stood at the entrance of the courtyard.
Upon seeing Wen Jue approach, the two quickly bowed in greeting.
"Is everything alright inside?"
The two quickly replied that they were fine.
Wen Jue then led Qiao Qinghe through the door.
The courtyard is not large; it's a small traditional courtyard house.
Upon entering, Qiao Yuanyao saw four people tied up in the corner.
Several guards were watching them.
Wen Jue pointed to the main room, "The person is inside."
Qiao Yuanyao rushed to the main room, pushed open the door, and saw Qiao Ning sitting fearfully in a chair, with two maids nervously protecting her.
"Auntie!"
Upon seeing Qiao Yuanyao arrive, Qiao Ning burst into tears.
Seeing that the person was alright, Qiao Yuanyao breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Wait a moment, we can talk about it later."
After giving Qiao Ning a reassuring look, Qiao Yuanyao quickly walked towards Wen Jue.
At this moment, Wen Jue had already instructed several guards to take the four people, whose hands were tied and mouths gagged, away and prepare to leave the place.
Seeing that the person was about to leave the courtyard, Qiao Yuanyao quickly called out to them, "Wait! Aren't you going to explain to me what happened here?"
Wen Jue turned and glanced at her, then said indifferently, "I'm not planning on doing that."
Qiao Yuanyao choked, another unexpected answer.
"Let's get out of here before things escalate."
After saying that, Wen Jue quickly left with his men.
Although Qiao Yuanyao was unwilling, Wen Jue clearly didn't want to explain to her, so there was nothing she could do.
Moreover, now is not the time to dwell on this.
She needed to quickly take Qiao Ning back to the waterside pavilion and send someone to inform her aunt and Princess Huaiyang immediately, so that the news of Qiao Ning getting lost could not be spread.
Otherwise, even if she is eventually found, people will suspect that something happened to Qiao Ning while she was missing.
Public opinion is a fearsome thing.
Qiao Yuanyao didn't dare to linger and left the courtyard with Qiao Ning.
However, this courtyard was too remote. She had come with Wen Jue and was in a hurry, so she didn't remember the way at all.
At this moment, an unfamiliar old woman came over and said respectfully, "Eighth Master asked me to lead the way for the two young ladies."
As he spoke, he led the group toward the waterside pavilion.
"Thank you for your trouble." Qiao Yuanyao thanked her, then took Qiao Ning's hand and followed.
After walking for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the group finally saw the familiar road.
We're not far from the waterside pavilion now.
The old woman took her leave.
Qiao Yuanyao quickly sent two maids to inform Qiao Qinghe and Li Sanqi that the person had been found.
However, before the two maids could leave, someone nearby exclaimed, "Miss! Miss Ning! We've finally found you!"
Qiao Yuanyao frowned and saw seven or eight people running over in twos and threes.
"Miss Ning, where have you been? The old lady was so worried!"
"Yes, the Duke of Jin's mansion has also sent people to search for you everywhere."
"And Princess Huaiyang's people have all gone to Tingzhu Academy."
...
Everyone started talking at once.
Some clever ones ran off to report it early on.
By the time Qiao Yuanyao brought Qiao Ning back to the waterside pavilion, news of Qiao Ning's disappearance had already spread.
They said they were searching secretly, but it alerted Tingzhu Academy and Li Sanqi, resulting in dozens of people being mobilized from both sides. How could the commotion be small?
Upon arriving at the waterside pavilion, Qiao Yuanyao and Qiao Ning were summoned to a side hall by Li Sanqi's men.
Li Sanqi, Qiao Qinghe, Madam Zheng, as well as the Lady of Yongning Marquis and Yu Zhenhuan were already waiting there.
Seeing Qiao Ning return safely, Qiao Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief, but was still filled with lingering fear.
"What exactly happened? How did they just get lost out of nowhere?"
Qiao Qinghe couldn't hold back her emotions, and her tone was a bit harsh when she asked the question. But seeing Qiao Ning's pale face and reddened eyes, she immediately softened. She beckoned the person over and asked in a gentler tone, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Qiao Ning bit her lip. "After I separated from my aunt, I waited for her to come back."
"A middle-aged woman came looking anxious, saying that something had happened to my great-aunt at Tingzhu Courtyard and that I should hurry over to check on her..."
"And then you stupidly went with him?" Qiao Qinghe's softened heart was reignited with anger.
So all her previous advice was for nothing.
Qiao Ning said embarrassedly, "That old woman also said that my great-aunt was injured... I was so anxious that I didn't care about anything else."
Qiao Qinghe sighed, "And then? Where did that old woman take you? What did she do to you?"
Qiao Ning quickly said, "That old woman led me through many twists and turns, and finally we arrived at a secluded little courtyard."
“There were a few people waiting in the courtyard. As soon as we went in, they locked us inside.”
"Then, I heard another group of people come into the courtyard. This time I heard a man's voice."
"I had my maid peek through the door and saw that the group of guards who came later had tied up the group from before."
"And then nothing happened."
"My two maids and I hid in the room, not daring to make a sound."
"I don't know how much time passed before my aunt arrived."
Qiao Qinghe frowned. "So, those people just tricked you into going to a small courtyard and then locked you up there?"
"Mm." Qiao Ning nodded.
Qiao Qinghe then looked at Qiao Yuanyao, "And how did you find your way there?"
Qiao Yuanyao hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Wen Jue took the initiative to lead me there."
"Those guards were all his subordinates, and he also took those old women away with him."
Qiao Qinghe frowned.
The group that deceived Qiao Ning must have been Madam Wen's people.
However, after they tricked Qiao Ning into going there, they simply locked her up.
Was it because they didn't want to push things too far, or because Wen Jue had thwarted their plans before they could even do anything?
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