At the head of the group was a square-faced matron who rushed to Baozhu’s side with swift steps and grabbed the middle-aged woman by the hair. “You dare lay a hand on our Baozhu? Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death, you vile woman!”

The matron struck first, gripping the woman’s hair and delivering over a dozen slaps, leaving the woman dizzy and disoriented, only able to scream miserably.

The pig-like screams quickly drew out neighbors from all around.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but it looks like a man kept someone on the side and his wife brought people to confront them.”

“That can’t be right. This couple usually doesn’t interact much with others, but they seem like a real married couple to me. If he really kept someone on the side, wouldn’t he get someone better-looking?”

Hearing this, people looked at the burly, rough woman and nodded repeatedly. “True.”

By this time, both the middle-aged man and the old woman had been restrained. The little maid who had been acting delicate moments ago now had one hand on her hip, looking fierce and aggressive. “You have such audacity, daring to kidnap our young lady’s maid. Speak! Where have you hidden her?”

At these words, the murmuring suddenly grew louder.

“What? They’re human traffickers?”

“Tsk tsk, you can’t tell at all.”

“I always thought this family was suspicious. They usually keep their gate closed and don’t associate with anyone…”

The restrained middle-aged man’s expression changed drastically. “Who exactly are you people?”

Baozhu spat. “You have no right to ask! Quickly hand over Xiao Hua, or you’ll regret it!”

“You’re making false accusations! We’re honest, law-abiding people—”

The square-faced matron directly slapped the middle-aged man across the face. “Honest people my ass! Our Xiao Hua went to the street to buy rouge and powder for our young lady, and someone personally saw you drag her away and bring her into this house. What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and search the rooms!”

Except for the servants controlling the three people, the others rushed toward the various rooms.

The middle-aged woman was scared out of her wits and buried her head to ram it against the wall. “Neighbors, take a look! A few random people can slap false charges on you and break into your home to assault and rob you! Is there no law left in this world? I don’t want to live anymore—”

These words made the watching neighbors begin to hesitate.

That’s right, these people came so aggressively—who knows if it’s actually true?

The square-faced matron remained calm, gripping the woman’s hair. “What’s the rush? If we can’t find Xiao Hua here, you can report this to the authorities.”

The watching neighbors lost their intention to help stop them. Right, no need to rush.

“Over here!” A shout came from a side room whose door had been kicked open.

Baozhu flew in like the wind.

The small side room’s window was sealed up. Though bright sunshine filled the outside, it couldn’t penetrate inside. Several young girls huddled together, looking at the intruders with terror on their faces.

Baozhu immediately recognized Kou Wan.

Compared to the other three girls with disheveled hair and filthy clothes, Kou Wan was in much better condition.

Baozhu rushed over and embraced Kou Wan, bursting into tears. “Xiao Hua, we’ve finally found you! Our young lady has been worried sick!”

Kou Wan, held in Baozhu’s embrace, felt her thoughts were somewhat sluggish.

Xiao Hua?

“Our young lady is still waiting for you outside. Let’s go quickly.” Baozhu pulled Kou Wan up and half-dragged, half-supported her outside.

Having suddenly fallen into the hands of kidnappers and suffering hardship when she resisted, Kou Wan, a pampered young lady raised in luxury, still had a muddled mind. In a daze, she was dragged outside by Baozhu. Facing the sunlight, she caught a glimpse of the middle-aged man’s face and screamed, trying to hide.

“Don’t be afraid, Xiao Hua. They can’t hurt you anymore.” Baozhu raised one arm to shield Kou Wan’s face while walking outside and calling out, “There are several more young girls inside! Go take a look!”

With loose hair covering her face and Baozhu deliberately shielding her, the onlookers couldn’t clearly see what the kidnapped girl looked like before Kou Wan was led away by Baozhu.

They could only turn their curious gazes toward the courtyard.

A carriage was parked quietly by the roadside outside the alley. Baozhu directly escorted Kou Wan into the carriage.

As the carriage curtain fell, the surroundings instantly darkened. Kou Wan snapped awake as if from a dream and, face pale, tried to run outside.

“Second Miss Kou.”

The warm, calm call made Kou Wan freeze. Looking at the young lady in the carriage, her eyes widened suddenly. “Lin Hao?”

Lin Hao smiled sweetly. “It’s me.”

“How could…” Kou Wan instinctively moved closer, her eyes full of disbelief. “How could you be here?”

Lin Hao’s eyes turned slightly as she smiled. “This is my carriage.”

“I know, I mean—I mean—” Kou Wan spoke incoherently. Perhaps seeing Lin Hao made her realize she was completely safe now, and she suddenly broke down in tears.

Sobbing and choking sounds floated from inside the carriage to outside, unrestrained.

Lin Hao didn’t interrupt Kou Wan’s outpouring, only softly instructing the driver to start the carriage moving. The carriage carrying them quickly left the scene of trouble and headed toward the General’s Mansion.

Kou Wan cried the entire journey until the carriage stopped.

“Where is this?” She looked around in confusion with red, swollen eyes.

“I had the driver pull the carriage directly into the back courtyard. Luoying Residence is my dwelling.” As Lin Hao spoke, she brought Kou Wan into Luoying Residence and instructed the maids to take her to bathe and change clothes.

Kou Wan followed the two little maids to the bathing room in a daze. Only when her entire body was immersed in a large tub filled with hot water did she finally feel a sense of reality.

She was truly rescued!

Lin Hao waited for about half an hour before the completely refreshed Kou Wan was led in by the maids.

Only at this point did Kou Wan finally calm down. With reddened eyes, she deeply curtsied to Lin Hao. “Second Miss Lin, great kindness need not be expressed in words. I, I don’t know what to say…”

Lin Hao pulled her to sit down. “Anyone would help if they encountered such a situation. Second Miss Kou, don’t worry. The people outside all think it was a noble young lady’s maid who went missing—they won’t think of you. In a moment, I’ll arrange a carriage to send you back to your mansion, and this matter will be over…”

As for whether to be honest with her family about today’s ordeal, that would be Kou Wan’s own decision.

Listening, Kou Wan couldn’t help but let tears fall again.

She knew it wasn’t like that. Many people were too afraid of trouble to bother with others’ affairs—being willing to tell the patrolling officers on the street was already considered kind-hearted. Yet Second Miss Lin not only personally brought people to rescue her but also made thorough arrangements so she wouldn’t be caught up in rumors about a noble young lady being kidnapped and sold.

“Your clothing was damaged and can’t be worn again. I’ve instructed the maids to quietly dispose of it.” Lin Hao gestured to the clothes Kou Wan was wearing. “I haven’t worn this outfit yet. The color and style are similar to what you were wearing, so it shouldn’t attract attention. If someone does notice and asks, you can say you bought new clothes while out shopping.”

“I understand, I understand.” Kou Wan nodded repeatedly, almost wanting to embrace Lin Hao and cry again.

She managed to hold back and asked her question. “Second Miss Lin, how did you know I had fallen into the hands of kidnappers?”

Seeing Lin Hao hesitate, Kou Wan suddenly understood.

Second Miss Lin must have divined it!