Her explanation was rather far-fetched, but she stuck to this reason, and the Kyoto Prefect's men dared not interrogate or torture her; they could only do so.
They then interrogated the surviving bandits.
These bandits only knew that their leader had a master behind him, who ordered them to ambush Miss Qiao on the main road, kidnap her, defile her, and ruin her reputation.
As for who their master was, only their leader knew. They had never met him, and their leader wouldn't tell them his identity.
Now that the bandit leader is dead, the identity of his master has become an unsolved mystery.
Therefore, there was no evidence to prove that Shi Lingqiao colluded with the bandits, and she was also a victim. So, after Huo Jiwen arrived, the prefect of Kyoto released her.
After Huo Jiwen led Shi Ling out of the Kyoto government office, they saw a lot of people standing at the door watching and pointing.
Huo Jiwen's face darkened, and he quickly pulled Shi Lingqiao into the carriage and left.
As soon as she got into the carriage, Shi Lingqiao threw herself into Huo Jiwen's arms and cried uncontrollably, "Awen, I feel so bad, I'm so scared."
Huo Jiwen was initially angry, but seeing her frightened and pitiful appearance, he felt sorry for her.
He hugged her and comforted her, saying, "Don't be afraid, I'm here. I'll never let you be bullied again."
Shi Lingqiao was afraid that Huo Jiwen would feel resentful, so she took the initiative to say that she was going to the suburbs to buy ginseng, which she wanted to bring into the Duke's mansion as a gift to her future mother-in-law, hoping to win her favor. However, she did not expect to encounter such a thing on the way.
She avoided the bandit leader's attempts to kiss and touch her.
Huo Jiwen was deeply moved and felt even more sorry for her.
By this time, the news had spread throughout the capital that Shi Ling had colluded with bandits to ruin Miss Qiao's reputation, but it backfired on her, as she was kissed and groped by the bandits in public.
Huo Jiwen took Shi Lingqiao home and stayed with her for most of the day until she cried herself to sleep before leaving.
Then I heard the servants talking about the rumors circulating outside.
Huo Jiwen naturally did not believe that his beloved would collude with bandits to harm his cousin.
However, he still couldn't help feeling a little disgusted by the fact that Shi Lingqiao was being kissed and touched by the bandit leader.
If the bandit leader hadn't already been shot dead, he would have wanted to stab him right now.
He instructed people to quickly find a way to stop the rumors.
Huo Jiwen returned to the Duke's mansion in a bad mood, where the steward, who had been waiting for him, came up to him.
"Young master, Madam wants you to see her after you return."
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