Qiao Zhao had already thought it through long ago. For a man like Chi Can, there was certainly no shortage of women sending him flirtatious glances daily. If she recklessly stopped him, she might be taken for a woman with ulterior motives.

Well, calling him “uncle” should put him at ease, right?

Qiao Zhao, thinking herself considerate, spoke at lightning speed about the whole situation: “I am the daughter of Academician Li from the capital. I was abducted by human traffickers during the Flower Festival and brought here. Please save me, Uncle—”

Uncle…

These two words made Chi Can’s mouth twitch. Snickering sounds came from nearby—without even looking, he knew it was his two good friends, making him want to reach out and cover this little girl’s mouth.

He was only a few years older than this little girl. How had he become an uncle? She should call him big brother!

However… if a girl had rushed out in broad daylight calling him big brother, his first reaction would probably have been to shake her off, wouldn’t it?

Thinking of this, Chi Can’s eyes deepened as he seriously examined Qiao Zhao for the first time.

The little girl had a slender figure and delicate appearance, like a white magnolia bud about to bloom but unable to withstand wind and rain, particularly pitiful. A red mole at the corner of her eyebrow made this magnolia flower charming.

This is a clever little girl, Chi Can thought.

“Nini, come back quickly! Don’t offend the noble gentleman!” The man who had finally escaped the restaurant server rushed over and reached out to grab Qiao Zhao.

Qiao Zhao’s figure swayed like an agile fish as she dodged behind Chi Can.

The man caught nothing and, both anxious and angry, explained: “Young master, this is my daughter. She’s having a tantrum with me for not being obedient. Please don’t listen to children’s nonsense—”

“Eh, you’re his daughter?” Chi Can turned to the side and looked at Qiao Zhao with a smile.

Unlike her delicate appearance, the girl’s tone was particularly firm as she coldly uttered two words: “I’m not.”

“This big brother, she says she’s not,” Chi Can said to the man.

Seeing the situation wasn’t quite right, the man immediately put on an honest and sincere appearance, sighing: “Young master doesn’t know—two days ago, my daughter was coaxed into eloping by some worthless boy. I finally managed to chase her down and bring her back, but she’s angry with me and won’t acknowledge me as her father. She insists on telling others I’m a human trafficker just to go find that worthless boy!”

The man was confident that once he said this, others wouldn’t meddle in his affairs. The last time this dead girl had tried to escape, he’d used this very excuse.

He couldn’t help but glance at Qiao Zhao with a veiled warning.

Dead girl, just wait until I deal with you later!

Qiao Zhao met his gaze calmly and suddenly smiled.

This time was different from that time.

When the little girl Li Zhao had sought help from onlookers, though there were many people, as long as this man gave a plausible reason, those people would mind their own business and disperse.

But she was seeking help from a specific person, who would unconsciously feel more responsibility and wouldn’t simply listen to the man’s explanation.

Moreover, he was Chi Can. If he didn’t even have this much discernment, how could he deal with the scheming imperial relatives and nobles?

“Little girl, did you elope with someone?” Chi Can leaned forward slightly with a half-smile, clearly finding Qiao Zhao’s situation amusing.

Qiao Zhao asked with complete seriousness: “Uncle, if your daughter had eloped with someone, would you shout about it like this, completely disregarding her reputation and dignity?”

Of course not!

Chi Can instinctively wanted to answer, but quickly suppressed the impulse.

What a joke—where would he get such a big daughter? He must have been hearing this little girl call him uncle too much.

Chi Can silently step back a pace. Catching sight of the crowd gradually gathering around them from the corner of his eye, he didn’t want to continue entangling with the man and said indifferently: “Both of you make reasonable points—”

“How can the young master listen to a child’s nonsense? Besides, this is a family matter between father and daughter—”

Chi Can smiled at the man.

He was so handsome that this smile truly made even early spring lose its color: “This big brother can rest assured. I’m certainly not someone who meddles in others’ affairs.”

The man secretly breathed a sigh of relief and forced out a smile, then heard that incomparably handsome man say leisurely, “So let’s go see the magistrate and have the Baoling County Magistrate determine who’s right and who’s wrong.”

Facing the dumbstruck man, he consoled him warmly: “We three brothers will just escort you to the yamen entrance. We absolutely won’t meddle in affairs.”

“You, you—” Encountering someone who didn’t play by the rules, the man was momentarily speechless.

Chi Can suddenly frowned and turned to the blue-robed man: “Zizhe, I remember that the Baoling County Magistrate served in Jiafeng County three years ago, right?”

Qiao Zhao took the opportunity to quietly observe the blue-robed man.

Her grandfather had a close friend who was a renowned physician of the age. When she was eight, her grandfather fell ill, and on the suggestion of that Divine Physician Li, grandfather had taken grandmother and her back to live in Jiafeng.

In previous years, Divine Physician Li would come to Jiafeng for extended stays annually to treat her grandfather’s health. She usually read medical texts extensively, and whenever Divine Physician Li came, she would take the opportunity to seek his guidance in medicine. Over more than ten years, she could be considered half his disciple. Later, her grandfather’s health had always depended on her care.

She had delayed until eighteen before being forced by her seriously ill grandfather to return to the capital and marry the second son of the Marquis of Jing’an.

Her new husband had been ordered to campaign before he could even lift her bridal veil on their wedding day. Her grandfather had also passed away shortly after, so during her time at the Marquis of Jing’an’s residence, she had rarely seen outsiders. Of these three men, she only recognized Chi Can, and she had met him in Jiafeng.

The blue-robed man didn’t notice Qiao Zhao’s observation and spoke: “This isn’t the capital—how would I know which magistrate it is? Shixi, if I remember correctly, you visited Jiafeng three years ago?”

Chi Can nodded: “Yes, I even had tea with the Jiafeng County Magistrate then. Coming here this time, I vaguely heard he was transferred to Baoling.”

Hearing that Chi Can knew the County Magistrate, the man no longer dared to argue and took advantage of their conversation to turn and run.

The green-robed man, who had remained silent until now, kicked the man down with one foot and said coldly: “It seems this person is a human trafficker!”

Qiao Zhao called out loudly: “We can’t let him go! This trafficker, with his honest and sincere face, knows how many good daughters from decent families he’s abducted. I was lucky to be saved by Uncle, but other girls have probably already—”

Hearing her words, the onlookers immediately became furious, shouting: “Traffickers are the most detestable! Beat him to death!”

Chi Can’s group very cleverly dodged to the side with Qiao Zhao, making way for the angry crowd. Soon they heard the trafficker’s pig-like screams.

Turning onto another street with few pedestrians, Chi Can’s trio looked at the little girl following closely behind them, exchanging glances.

What should they do about this?

The blue-robed and green-robed men exchanged a look, and both turned to Chi Can.

Whoever caused the trouble should solve it.

Chi Can raised an eyebrow and began: “Little—”

He wanted to call her little sister, but thinking of how she kept calling him uncle, his tongue immediately tied itself in knots.

Qiao Zhao was very understanding and quickly said, “Uncle, you can call me Li San.”

“Li San—” Chi Can’s mouth twitched again and again until he finally couldn’t help saying, “Actually, you can call me Big Brother Chi.”

“Big Brother Chi.” Qiao Zhao readily complied.

As long as he would take her back to the capital, she could even call him Grandpa Chi.

“Yes.” Chi Can finally stopped having a toothache and asked with a smile: “Your family lives in the capital?”

Seeing Qiao Zhao nod, he shook his head: “Then it’s unfortunate. We’re still going to Jiafeng, so it’s inconvenient to take you along. How about this—I’ll hire a carriage to send you back to the capital.”

Jiafeng?

Qiao Zhao’s heart jumped violently several times.

Li Zhao’s home was in the capital, but her—Qiao Zhao’s—home had always been in Jiafeng.

She hadn’t yet kowtowed at her grandfather’s grave, nor did she know how her grandmother and the others were doing now.

“Uncle, er, no, Big Brother Chi, I want to go with you all.” Before the three could speak, Qiao Zhao quickly explained: “Big Brother Chi is kind to hire a carriage to send me to the capital, but it’s hard to know people’s hearts. What if the driver develops evil intentions toward me halfway there?”

She had initially approached Chi Can, so naturally, she still needed to see if Chi Can would agree.

Seeing him still hesitating, Qiao Zhao blinked and said: “Big Brother Chi’s life-saving grace to me is beyond repayment—”

Chi Can immediately became alert.

This little girl wouldn’t say she could only repay him with her body next, would she?

He knew saving people had risks!

“But if Big Brother Chi sends me home, my parents will reward you handsomely.”

Reward handsomely? Chi Can nearly choked.

This was different from what he’d expected, but suddenly he felt quite uncomfortable about it too.

The blue-robed and green-robed men both burst into laughter.