Madam Xiao found herself in a small, low-ceilinged room. The roof beams showed large patches of wood rotted by insects, and a high window on the wall was too high to see out of even on tiptoes.
The floor was covered with yellowed straw, and piles of firewood were stacked against the walls. A faint musty smell lingered in the air.
Madam Xiao stared at the woodpile for a long time before realizing: this was a woodshed!
Who had kidnapped her and locked her in a woodshed?
Was it for ransom? If so, why had no one come to negotiate with her? Madam Xiao was confident that no matter how much the kidnappers demanded, as long as the Earl’s family could afford it, they would pay. After all, she was the mother of three children; even if her mother-in-law was calculating, she wouldn’t ignore her plight.
If it was for her beauty… Madam Xiao fearfully touched her cheek.
She was not yet forty and had always taken good care of herself. Thinking about it, she realized this possibility couldn’t be ruled out!
This thought made Madam Xiao panic.
If she were truly violated, even if they spared her life, the Earl’s family would no longer accept her.
“Is anyone there? Is anyone there?” Madam Xiao rushed to the door, pounding on it forcefully.
Not far away, in a hall, Cui Yi was using his cane to beat two young men while shouting, “Are you two idiots? I told you to bring me the Fourth Miss of the Earl of Dongping’s family, and you brought her aunt instead! If you’re so capable, why didn’t you bring her father?”
The two young men didn’t dare to dodge, letting the cane hit them while begging for mercy, “Young Master, please spare us! We’ve been watching the Earl’s manor closely and heard that the Fourth Miss was going to Baiyun Temple to offer incense today. Who knew the carriage we abducted would have a middle-aged woman inside…”
Hearing this, Cui Yi’s temple throbbed with anger, and he hit them even harder. “Who knew? If you didn’t know, do you think I did? You two idiots, couldn’t you have lifted the curtain to check?”
The two young men felt extremely wronged.
They weren’t experienced in kidnapping and weren’t martial artists who made a living with their skills. They were just ordinary servants. After the abduction, their only thought was to escape quickly. Who would have thought to lift the curtain and confirm the identity?
Cui Yi grew tired of beating them and threw his cane aside, gasping for breath as he leaned on the armrest of his chair.
He felt wronged too. Ever since the incident at the Jinshui River, his leg still hadn’t healed, and he had to be carried around in a chair wherever he went.
What’s worse, his father had even recalled Cui Cheng and Cui Gong, his two bodyguards, leaving him with only these two fools. His mother had returned from her summer retreat and, upon hearing about his situation, hadn’t said much, seemingly unwilling to intervene on his behalf.
Cui Yi, who had never suffered such humiliation in his life, harbored a grudge against Jiang Zhan. However, Jiang Zhan had joined the Imperial Guard, making it difficult for Cui Yi to deal with him directly in his current condition. So, he had set his sights on Jiang Si instead.
Wasn’t Jiang Zhan most fond of his sister? He would teach that precious sister of his a lesson, leaving Jiang Zhan with nowhere to cry.
Turning his attention to Jiang Si, Cui Yi thought it was an excellent idea.
Dealing with a young girl would be much easier than confronting a hotheaded young man, and the effect would be even better than directly beating up Jiang Zhan.
Cui Yi could already imagine Jiang Zhan’s devastated face upon learning of his sister’s disappearance. He never expected these two idiots would abduct the wrong person!
“Young Master, what should we do now?” one of the young men cautiously asked.
“What should we do? You have the nerve to ask me what to do!” Cui Yi felt like beating them with his cane again.
His original plan was to kidnap the Fourth Miss, tease her a bit, and then release her. This way, the Fourth Miss’s reputation would be damaged, enough to give Jiang Zhan a heavy blow.
Of course, he wouldn’t violate her; he considered himself above such despicable acts. As for murder, that was even further from his mind. Killing someone would bring too much trouble, and what if it provoked that old mad dog Zhen Shicheng again?
In Cui Yi’s mind, if he quietly released Jiang Si, the Earl of Dongping’s family wouldn’t dare to make a fuss. He would have vented his anger and could walk away unscathed. It was a perfect plan.
Now, this perfect plan had become a huge joke.
“Why don’t we do the same as we did with that lady’s maid and sell her?” the other young man suggested fearfully.
When Madam Xiao had left the house that day, she had traveled light, with only the coachman and her maid, Hong Yue, who sat with her in the carriage.
After the carriage was hijacked, Madam Xiao and Hong Yue were brought here together. Due to the violent jolting and fear, Madam Xiao had fainted. The two servants learned of Madam Xiao’s identity from Hong Yue, realized they had abducted the wrong person, and after a discussion, decided to sell Hong Yue. As for Madam Xiao, they didn’t dare to act rashly.
Even if they had abducted the wrong person, she was still someone from the Earl of Dongping’s family. The final decision on how to handle her had to come from their master.
Cui Yi raised his hand and slapped the young man, angrily saying, “Do you think that lady is a teenage girl? Which brothel would want her? Who in their right mind would take her?”
After calming down for a moment, Cui Yi sighed, “Quickly release her, and don’t let her see your face.”
The two young men immediately assured him, “Don’t worry, Young Master. We’ve been wearing masks the whole time. Even the maid didn’t know what we looked like from beginning to end, let alone that lady.”
“Release her far from here,” Cui Yi added, not trusting the two servants to handle it properly.
At this time, the Second Master Jiang and others who had gone out to search had returned. The atmosphere in Cixin Hall was heavy.
“Didn’t find her?” Old Madam Feng asked in a low voice.
The Second Master Jiang remained silent, his face as dark as an impending storm.
The Third Master Jiang spoke up, “We only found the abandoned carriage not far from Jinshui River…”
Old Madam Feng’s eyelid twitched.
Jinshui River?
At the mention of those three words, everyone in the capital knew it was the most famous red-light district. What did it mean for the Earl’s carriage to appear there? Could it be that Madam Xiao—
Even Old Madam Feng herself found this thought absurd.
Unless they were insane, who would sell a middle-aged woman there?
“I think there’s something fishy about this,” the Second Master Jiang said, finally speaking as he wiped his face.
Of course, he couldn’t avoid making enemies in his official career, but that was due to political differences or factional issues. It wasn’t strange to fight to the death over these matters in court, but who would kidnap an opponent’s wife? That would be insane.
“Old Madam, Master—” an old female servant rushed in, out of breath.
“What is it?” everyone asked in unison.
The servant, gasping for air, said, “Second Madam, Second Madam has returned!”
The Second Master Jiang stood up abruptly and strode out.
Old Madam Feng frowned, pondering for a moment before slowly sitting back down.
Madam Xiao stood at the entrance of the Earl’s manor, feeling as if she were in a dream.
What exactly had happened? Those people hadn’t robbed her of money or violated her; they had just released her like this?
Madam Xiao walked inside with a dazed mind, bumping into the Second Master Jiang. She suddenly jolted awake.