Chapter 105 Jiang Ling Encounters Robbers
She blurted it out almost without thinking, her face showing surprise followed by delight.
What are you doing here?
Jiang Ling was also surprised that Fang Shijie would call her up directly, and she was overjoyed to see Hongxiu.
"I came to see the lantern festival. I was originally planning to go to the peony garden to find you, but I didn't expect to see you here."
Upon seeing Jiang Ling, it was as if he had found his pillar of support. The previous tension and reluctance vanished, leaving only the joy of meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
Hongxiu quickly walked to Jiang Ling's side, disregarding etiquette, and familiarly took Jiang Ling's hand:
"Sister, I was just about to come find you! If Boss Fang hadn't stopped me, I would have left by now!"
The two were delighted to see each other, which surprised Fang Shijie, who was standing to the side, so much so that he couldn't help but laugh.
He originally thought they were just ordinary acquaintances, but he didn't expect that their relationship seemed to be quite deep.
Seeing the two of them talking back and forth, I had a strange feeling of being neglected.
When Jiang Ling led Hongxiu and Xiaoran out of the Mulou Restaurant, the crowd outside had almost dispersed.
The streets seemed much emptier.
Because of Hongxiu's presence, Jiang Ling was able to avoid Fang Shijie's questions effectively.
Seeing that they were chatting happily and that he couldn't join in the conversation, Fang Shijie didn't want to disturb them too much, so he politely saw them to the door.
They also had the restaurant manager prepare gifts for them and send them to their respective carriages.
"I look forward to seeing Miss Jiang again next time."
Jiang Ling smiled slightly and curtsied. "Life is full of unexpected encounters, thank you very much for your hospitality, Mr. Fang."
Fang Shijie smiled and said, "You're too kind, young lady."
After Fang Shijie left, Hongxiu continued to talk incessantly, saying she missed her sister, told interesting stories about the capital, and complained about her mother's meanness, always making her solicit business.
Seeing that it was getting late, Jiang Ling glanced at Xiao Ran, who seemed a little listless, and figured she must be tired.
Zhao Yin and his wife should have taken Xiao Qi home as well.
She stopped Hongxiu from speaking further. "Alright, that's enough for today. Now that you're back, if you miss me, just come find me anytime."
"No, no. We haven't seen each other for so long. I want to stay with my sister a little longer." Hongxiu held Jiang Ling's hand reluctantly.
Suddenly, an idea struck her. "Sister, let me go back to the general store with you! Didn't you say the rouge and face powder had arrived? I can go get them."
Jiang Ling hesitated for a moment: "But it's so late... how about I have Xiao Ran deliver it tomorrow?"
Hongxiu persisted, "I want to go tonight. I want to spend more time with my sister."
Jiang Ling, seeing that she couldn't persuade her otherwise, had no choice but to agree.
The driver, Lao Liu, was still waiting in the same spot.
Jiang Ling led Xiao Ran toward Old Liu's carriage, but Hong Xiu took her arm and pleaded softly.
"Sister, want to ride in my car? We can chat on the way!"
Jiang Ling sighed helplessly, "Alright, Xiao Ran, you ride in Lao Liu's car and lead the way, we'll follow behind."
Xiao Ran nodded, "Okay, Sister Jiang."
Jiang Ling saw Xiao Ran get into the carriage before turning around and walking towards Hong Xiu's carriage.
Two carriages, one after the other, drove away from Mulou Restaurant and headed towards Jishui Village.
There were four people in Hongxiu's carriage: a coachman, Jiang Ling, Hongxiu, and Hongxiu's maid Xiaoqiu.
At first, the two carriages were quite close together, and you could see the lanterns hanging on the front carriage swaying in the night.
However, Hongxiu's coachman seemed less familiar with the road than Lao Liu, and since Hongxiu's carriage was heavier, it moved a little slower, and the distance between the two carriages gradually increased.
After leaving the city gate, there was a desolate stretch of road with no villages or shops in sight, and the only sounds were the rustling of the wind through the wild grass and the occasional chirping of insects.
Hongxiu was still feeding Jiang Ling pastries she had brought from the capital in the carriage, and they were chatting happily.
Suddenly! The car body jolted violently.
With a neighing sound, the wheels of the carriage sank into a ditch covered by weeds. The carriage shook violently before coming to a stop, tilted to one side.
"Ouch!" Hongxiu exclaimed, almost falling over.
"What's going on?" Jiang Ling asked, lifting the carriage curtain.
The coachman was anxiously trying to urge the horse on, but the wheels were stuck tightly.
"Girl, oh no! The car wheel is stuck in a ditch!"
In this era, roads were mostly dirt tracks, and vehicles frequently got stuck. Besides, it was dark today, making it difficult to see the road.
The three people inside the carriage steadied themselves and were about to get off to help push the carriage.
Suddenly, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps came from the darkness!
From far to near!
In the blink of an eye, seven or eight figures wielding long knives and wearing black cloth masks had surrounded them.
The driver turned pale with fright and trembled, unable to speak. "Good...good sir, spare my life...spare my life!"
Jiang Ling's heart sank to the bottom.
She actually encountered such a dark and stormy night, a murder and robbery!
She discreetly touched the few vials of strong anesthetic and pepper spray in her pocket; thankfully, she had prepared for the worst before leaving home.
However, there were as many as seven or eight men in black in front of us. Even if we don't consider their combat strength, we should still consider the long swords they were carrying!
These were all weapons she wielded, weapons meant only for close combat. Forcing herself to calm down, she shielded her face with her red sleeves behind her back, took a deep breath, and tried to keep her voice steady as she addressed the masked man who appeared to be the leader:
"Heroes, if you want money, we are willing to give you all the silver and jewelry we have on us, just to ask that you do us a favor and let us leave. We also promise that we will not report you to the authorities afterwards."
As she spoke, she quietly removed a silver bracelet from her wrist and a hairpin from her hair, then took out her purse and gestured for Hongxiu to do the same.
However, the masked leader just sneered, his gaze sweeping greedily over Jiang Ling and Hong Xiu's faces and bodies, without even glancing at the money.
Their goal wasn't money at all!
He originally only planned to kidnap Hongxiu, but he didn't expect to have such a pleasant surprise today!
The woman next to her looks just as good as Hongxiu.
Once he's had his fill of playing around, he'll resell all these women and make a fortune!
He ordered his men in a hoarse voice, "Enough talk! Tie up all the women! And get to it!"
Hongxiu trembled with fear, but still tried to remain calm. "You audacious bandits! I am the most beautiful courtesan under the Peony Flower! There are countless powerful figures behind the Peony Flower. If you dare to touch us, you will all be wiped out the next day!"
She gripped Jiang Ling tightly with one hand, and with the other, she threw the silver and jewelry from the carriage.
"If you know what's good for you, you'd better take your money and get out of here, or I can pretend nothing happened!"
She spoke with a certain air of authority, but only Jiang Ling knew how badly her hands were trembling.
There are indeed many powerful figures backing up the Peony Flower, so ordinary mountain thieves wouldn't dare to provoke it.
But what's in front of me isn't.
The leader of the men in black sneered, unfazed by her, and boasted, "You're the one I'm after! You'll end up in my hands sooner or later!"
Although the master did not specifically request her, how could she miss such a good opportunity!
He's determined to give that little slut a good beating!
If we kill her then, who knows what we've done!
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