People gathered around, but most just whispered among themselves and dared not step forward to help.
"This little girl is so pitiful."
"These thugs are despicable; how dare they be so arrogant in broad daylight."
"Alas, who dares to intervene? These people are not to be trifled with. I heard that the ringleader is a distant relative of a favored concubine, and he uses this connection to run rampant in the capital. He forces people to buy and sell, causing immense suffering to many merchants. He even rides his horse recklessly in the streets, injuring many innocent civilians. Once, a blacksmith refused to forge a weapon for him, and he beat him severely, and his shop was smashed. Everyone hates him, but they are afraid of the power behind him and dare not utter a word!"
Seeing this, Lin Qian felt a surge of anger. She strode forward and shouted, "Let her go!"
Hearing the voice, the thugs turned around and saw a woman wearing a felt hat, and they burst into laughter.
"Hey, where did this little wench come from, daring to meddle in other people's business?" a thug said disdainfully.
Lin Qian looked at them coldly and said, "In broad daylight, how dare you abduct a woman? Is there no law left?"
"The law? I am the law!" the thug with a face full of scars said arrogantly. "You little wench, are you tired of living? I have powerful backers, and no one in the capital dares to touch me!"
"Yeah, this chick's pretty good-looking. Why don't she come back with us and let me have some fun?" another thug said lewdly.
Upon hearing these words, the onlookers turned pale with fright and retreated in all directions.
"What should we do? We can't afford to offend this person!"
"Sigh, I guess I can only accept my bad luck. What can I do when someone has powerful connections?"
"Let's hurry up and leave, or we'll get ourselves into trouble."
Lin Qian showed no sign of backing down. She coldly said, "Even if you have powerful connections, you can't be so lawless! Today I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
"Haha, you think you can take me? Little wench, you have no idea how powerful I am!" The thug with a face full of scars said as he pounced on Lin Qian.
Lin Qian dodged the thug's attack with a quick sidestep. She then grabbed the thug's arm and twisted it forcefully, causing him to scream in pain.
"Ouch! It hurts so much!" the thug cried out in pain.
Seeing that things were going badly, the other thugs rushed towards Lin Qian. Just then, Lin Fu, who had been following behind Lin Qian, suddenly made a move and subdued the thugs who were rushing at the front in a few quick movements.
Seeing this, the remaining thugs stopped in their tracks and dared not make any further moves.
"You bunch of bastards, how dare you be so arrogant in broad daylight!" Lin Qian stared coldly at the thugs and shouted sharply.
"You...you better not get cocky!" one of the thugs retorted defiantly. "We're not to be trifled with!"
"Not someone to mess with? I'd like to see what you can do to me!" Lin Qian replied without fear.
At this moment, the thug whose arm Lin Qian had twisted begged for mercy, "Miss, we were blind to your greatness. Please forgive us!"
Lin Qian snorted coldly: "Now you know how to beg for mercy? Where were you before!"
The little girl timidly hid behind Lin Qian, like a frightened fawn. Lin Qian looked down at her; she wore a simple dress, with only a wooden hairpin in her hair, which made her features appear even more delicate and pitiful. Lin Qian felt even more sorry for her and asked softly, "What's your name? Where do you live? Why are you here all alone?"
The little girl answered timidly, "My name is Aruo. I came out to help my aunt buy things, but I got lost and was attacked by this group of bad people..." As she spoke, her eyes reddened again. "If it weren't for your help today, I'm afraid I wouldn't have survived this ordeal."
Lin Qian smiled and said, "No need to be so polite. I was just helping out when I saw injustice."
Those around who witnessed this cheered.
"Well done!"
"This young lady is really skilled!"
Lin Qian couldn't bear to see a girl cry, so she quickly comforted her, "It's alright, it's okay now. I'll take you home."
At this moment, one of the thugs lying on the ground suddenly jumped up, pointed at Lin Qian, and said viciously, "You bitch, you just wait, our boss won't let you get away with this!"
Meanwhile, in a private room on the second floor of a teahouse not far away, His Highness the Crown Prince was having tea and chatting with a son of a marquis.
"Your Highness, look at that woman outside the window, she's so brave," the Marquis's heir said, pointing to Lin Qian outside the window.
His Highness the Crown Prince looked in the direction he pointed, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He recognized Lin Qian as well.
"This woman does indeed have some courage," His Highness the Crown Prince nodded and said.
"Your Highness, should I go and deal with those hooligans, and also help this Miss Lin resolve any potential trouble?" the prince's attendant asked.
The young prince looked at the crown prince, awaiting his signal.
After a moment's thought, His Highness the Crown Prince said, "Hmm, go and warn those hooligans to behave themselves in the future. Also, help that young lady handle the aftermath properly, so that she is not implicated in this matter. Try not to make this public, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble for Miss Lin."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will take care of it immediately!" The attendant accepted the order and left.
Lin Qian was unaware of what was happening upstairs. She looked at the thugs in front of her and said sternly, "Don't bully people again, or you won't be so lucky next time!"
The thugs nodded repeatedly and slunk away. Lin Qian looked at A Luo and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
A-Luo shook her head and said gratefully, "I'm fine, thank you for your concern, young lady."
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