As Zhou Zifang's personal bodyguards, these two are quite skilled.
Just then, the thug rushed to the front of Xingyue Tower, brandishing a knife and about to take the woman hostage.
The woman's legs went weak, but in her panic, she tried to calm herself and shouted at the thug, "How dare you! I am the wife of the county magistrate!"
The thug sneered, "I'm after you, Madam Magistrate. I want to see whether your life is more important or the Magistrate's money."
"..."
"The magistrate's wife?" Upon hearing the conversation between the woman and the thugs, Qiu Yan darted forward and ran to the woman's side. "Stop!"
The woman breathed a sigh of relief and hid behind Qiu Yan in fear. "Girl, save me!" Although the girl in front of her was thin, the woman placed all her hopes for survival on Qiu Yan because no one else was there to help her.
"Qiu Yan..." Zhou Zifang was genuinely startled by Qiu Yan's actions. The men around them were all too frightened to move, so why was she, a woman, getting involved?
"If you want to be a hero and save the damsel in distress, you'd better see if you have the ability. Qiu Yan, you're not a hero... Lin Shu and Qin Wu, hurry and save her!"
The two guards beside her remained motionless, watching Qiu Yan with great interest.
This girl is incredibly brave.
Lin Shu chuckled mischievously, "Young master, when Miss Qiu Yan can't handle it anymore, we'll be your hero and save the day."
All he needed to do was ensure that Qiu Yan was not harmed.
Zhou Zifang kicked him in the buttocks, "What do you mean by 'saving a damsel in distress'?"
"You brat, you're asking for death!" Just when they were about to succeed, a busybody appeared out of nowhere. Without saying a word, the thug raised his long knife to stab Qiu Yan...
"Be careful, young lady!"
"Qiu Yan, watch out!"
The woman and Zhou Zifang spoke at the same time.
Zhou Zifang's palms were sweating, but unfortunately, he didn't know martial arts. "What are you two still standing here for? Save them!"
Lin Shu and Qin Wu took a step forward at the same time, just about to make a move, when Qiu Yan bent to the side and skillfully dodged the thug's attack.
Zhou Zifang's expression finally calmed down, and his gaze towards Qiu Yan held a hint of admiration.
Just as the assailant raised his long knife again to stab Qiu Yan, Zhou Zifang was startled again, shouting, "Quickly, save her!"
As it turned out, Lin Shu and Qin Wu were still a step too late.
Qiu Yan pretended to step back, then turned around and forcefully snatched the long knife from the assailant's hand, then pushed it towards his chest.
The thug was pushed backward by her.
The thug gritted his teeth, about to retaliate, when Qiu Yan kicked him to the right, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Seeing that the thug was trying to escape, Qiu Yan stepped forward, held her long knife to his neck, and ripped off his mask, revealing his hideous face.
The thug's body went limp, and he collapsed to his knees on the ground.
"No...girl, please don't kill me..." Seeing the sharp blade at his neck, the thug was instantly terrified, completely losing his previous arrogance.
Lin Shu and Qin Wu stared wide-eyed at Qiu Yan in front of them, suddenly realizing that they were just there to join in the fun.
The woman's heartbeat slowed down a bit; she was finally saved. Just moments before, her emotions had been fluctuating wildly, but now they had finally stabilized.
Zhou Zifang suddenly felt that Qiu Yan was somewhat unfamiliar. "She's incredibly capable!"
From just these few moves, Qiu Yan could tell that this thug was big and burly, and looked fierce, but in reality, he knew nothing except for his brute strength.
In other words, he's a complete idiot.
At this moment, Lin Shu had already brought a rope from the backyard of the restaurant, and soon he and Qin Wu tied the thugs up tightly.
The woman looked at Qiu Yan gratefully. "Thank you for saving me, young lady."
Qiu Yan smiled and replied, "It is only right to help those in need." Then, she looked at the thugs bound like dumplings, "I wonder what Madam intends to do with them?"
The woman glared at the thug, her eyes flashing with fury. "Send him to the county yamen so the officials can treat him well!"
The thug knelt down and began to beg for mercy, "Madam, please spare my life! This was not my intention; I was only acting under orders..."
Just then, a young maid rushed over, panting, "Madam, are you alright? You scared me to death!" The maid was the woman's personal maid; she had lost sight of her mistress while buying rouge.
The woman waved her hand at the maid, "It's alright."
Then, looking at the thugs, he asked, "Who ordered you to do this?"
The thug kowtowed to the woman, saying, "That person was wearing a mask, I... I didn't see him clearly."
The woman suddenly raised her hand and slapped the thug hard across the face. "Nonsense!" She took a few steps forward, snatched her purse back from the thug's arms, and then thanked Qiu Yan profusely.
So many people were terrified when they saw the knife-wielding assailant, but only this girl was willing to help her.
"Madam, please come into our Star Moon Pavilion to calm your nerves." Qiu Yan led the woman into the Star Moon Pavilion.
Zhou Zifang instructed Lin Shu and Qin Wu to escort the thugs to the county government office, and then returned to Xingyue Tower.
During the escort of the criminals, the woman sent her personal maid along to explain the events that had just transpired to the magistrate.
Zhou Zifang was the only one left in the huge restaurant. He led the two to their seats and soon served them a cup of hot tea and several plates of snacks.
Through the introduction, Qiu Yan learned that the woman in front of her was named Jiang Liu, and was indeed the legal wife of Magistrate Tang.
Jiang Liu is tall and slender, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a classic oval face, graceful demeanor, and extremely beautiful appearance.
She was dressed in a wide-sleeved silk dress and had an extraordinary air about her, but her complexion was not very good because she had just been frightened.
Jiang Liu was still wondering if Qiu Yan was the daughter of a martial arts school.
But she was somewhat surprised when she heard that Qiu Yan was just a peasant girl.
"Miss Qiu Yan, I see you're quite skilled. Why don't you come with me from now on? You don't have to do anything, just protect me, and I promise you'll live a life of luxury."
Zhou Zifang listened to their conversation from afar and slightly curled his lips.
It turns out that this woman really was the county magistrate's wife.
Last time, he wanted Qiu Yan to stay at Xingyue Tower, but she politely declined. He absolutely refused to believe that Qiu Yan would actually follow the magistrate's wife.
"I am grateful for your kindness, but my parents have passed away and my younger siblings are still young and need care, so I really cannot leave."
"Oh, then so be it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu lamented the injustice of fate. Such a righteous girl shouldn't have such a miserable life.
Jiang Liu thought to herself that Qiu Yan, standing before her, exuded confidence, and that such a woman would not want to be subordinate to anyone.
She took out her purse and handed the whole purse to Qiu Yan, saying, "This is just a small token of my gratitude for saving my life. Please don't refuse, Miss Qiu Yan."
The purse was bulging with silver ingots.
It would be a lie to say that Qiu Yanruo, who was desperately short of money, wasn't tempted.
She pushed the money pouch back, saying, "Madam, you're too kind. It was nothing, no need to thank me."
Jiang Liu genuinely wanted to help Qiu Yan. "If you don't accept money, then you're looking down on me, Jiang Liu."
Qiu Yan smiled and shook her head, then said, "Not at all. As long as Madam often comes to dine at our Xingyue Restaurant, that will be the greatest help to me."
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