Dou Zhaohun's head was spinning as she tried to get up, but the sound of Su Xiang's painful cry in her ear made her realize that the carriage had already overturned, and she was sitting on top of it. Bie Suxin was squatting beside her, staring at her anxiously, while Bie Sulan was leaning out of the window looking outside, with Su Xiang curled up in a ball in the corner behind her due to pain.

  "Miss, are you alright?" Bie Su asked her with concern again.

  "I'm fine." Du Zhao heard his own voice was a bit hoarse.

  Bie Sulan turned around and said nervously, "Sister, what should we do? Those two with the three-section staff are very formidable, and there's another one with a knife. The guards won't be their match."

  "Let me see!" Dou Zhao climbed up to the car window.

  Seven or eight men surrounded them, all of whom were big and tall with evil faces. Except for two who held three-section staffs and knives, the others were knocked to the ground by the Dou family's guards. The Dou family's guards also injured six or seven people, leaving only the leader and two others who were slightly more agile still struggling, but they were clearly on the verge of collapse. The coachman who drove them was thrown into a small ditch not far from the carriage, his face buried in the water, motionless, apparently with little chance of survival. Liu Wan, who came to deliver the message, trembled and hid in a bush by the side of the road, not daring to move.

  Dong Zhao's mind was racing quickly.

  At this time, it was a peaceful and prosperous era, and in the county of Zhēndìng, not to mention bandits, there hadn't been a murder case for many years. This group of people had named their target as the Dòu family's horse carriage, clearly they were well-prepared, but what they didn't know was whether they were going to rob the Dòu family's horse carriage or Zhāo's horse carriage? If it was aimed at the Dòu family, then that would be easy to handle. She had coincidentally bumped into them and there was Second Madam and Dòu Shìbǎng who would take care of everything. But if they were targeting her... what were their intentions?

  If it were for wealth, Uncle would not harm her, and the Dugu family did not want her to be harmed either.

  Then there is only one possibility.

  Blackmail!

  Dong Zhao was suddenly drenched in sweat.

  If these people just want to make a fortune, they should rob the Third Uncle who manages the household chores and the Third Brother who is always on the outside.

  Afraid these people are instructed by others!

  Only the Dou family knew that she had a large amount of property under her name and could also track her whereabouts!

  The second aunt is just her paternal uncle's wife, and the third uncle is just her father's cousin.

  Will this person affect Second Madam and Third Uncle's decision to give up on helping her?

  This group of robbers has already suffered more than half casualties, will they kill her in a fit of rage?

  The shadow of death, for the first time so close to Du Zhuo.

  She asked the Bai sisters: "Are you confident enough to protect me and kill our way out?"

  Bie Suxin and Bie Sulan exchanged a glance, both looking hesitant.

  Dong Zhao thought for a moment, gritted his teeth and said: "Su Xin, isn't Chen Xiao Feng working as a bodyguard for someone? You immediately go find him and tell him about the situation here. I'm offering a reward of 10,000 taels of silver. Then you go back and check on how Cui Niangniang is doing. Send someone to inform Dong Qijun that I've been robbed. Su Lan, quietly get off the horse carriage and try to follow them secretly, see where they'll hide me. Along the way, as long as they don't harm my life, you're not allowed to take action. We'll meet up here later. Su Juan, even if you can't outrun me, I'm letting you go, but since it's harmful for you, just follow me!"

  Su Ying tightly hugged Dou Zhao's arm.

  Bie Suxin and Bie Sulan shouted "Fourth Miss" in unison, saying: "How can we abandon our miss and leave? What if those bandits hurt you somewhere? Let us protect you and fight our way out! Even if we lose our lives, we will keep our miss safe."

  "It's still safer to follow my plan." Du Zhao made up his mind, "Take advantage of those three people being held back by the court, you guys quickly slip away."

  Bie Sulan still had some hesitation.

  She suddenly grabbed her sister and said, "Miss, I'll listen to you. But if something happens to you, we sisters will not survive alone." After finishing speaking, she didn't wait for Du Zhao to respond and quickly slipped away.

  Dong Zhao let out a sigh.

  I hope the Duan family has nothing to do with this matter!

  Soon, two shrill cries came from outside, the curtain was lifted by a hand, and Knife Scarface, holding a bloody big knife, shouted inward: "Who is Miss Duan's fourth daughter? Come out for me!"

  Thinking is one thing, seeing it with your own eyes is another.

  Dong Zhaoyi was extremely frightened, her hands and feet went soft, and the fresh blood stimulated her to feel nauseous and want to vomit, she wished there was a hole in the ground to hide herself.

  That scar-faced man's gaze had already fallen on Du Zhao: "Get out for me." As he spoke, he reached out and pulled Du Zhao down from the carriage, saying: "Is there anyone else?"

  At her feet, a guard from the Duan family was clutching his abdomen and groaning in agony, with fresh blood gushing out between his fingers.

  In her two lifetimes, Duan Zhao had never seen such a scene before, and she couldn't help but let out a loud "wow" as she spat it out.

  Scarface ordered the two men with three-section staves: "Lift up the carriage and pull our brother away."

  The guard led by Duan's family lay on the ground, panting and saying: "You, who are you? Don't let go of Fourth Miss quickly... or else there will be no way out..."

  The one holding three-section staff rushed forward and the leader of the Dou family's guards fainted after rolling his eyes.

  Dong Zhao found that all the guards of the Dong family were still alive.

  One of the bandits glanced inside the carriage and said, "There's no time to waste, if we drag this out any longer, we'll be discovered by the authorities. As long as Miss Duan is in our hands, that's all that matters." With that, Duan Zhaolost consciousness as a sharp pain shot through her neck.

  ※※※※※

  The play in front of Diao's house has dispersed, leaving behind only echoes in the ears.

  Wu Shan walked into the study of Du Zhengchang and Du Dechang, saw Du Dechang and Ji Yong playing Go, and Du Zhengchang watching on the side.

  Ji Yongzheng played white, Dou Dechang played black. The two were evenly matched and had their gains and losses, making it a worthy opponent in chess.

  Wu Shan is delighted.

  Ji Yong picked up the folding fan on the table and fanned himself a few times, saying calmly to Dou Dechang: "Let you have two more."

  Dòu Déchāng's face suddenly became entangled.

  Wu Shan let out a sigh and smiled: "The twelfth, I'll set off for Kyoto the day after tomorrow."

  The three of them looked up.

  Wu Shan coughed lightly and said, "I don't know when I'll be back, so I'd like to invite everyone to Fa Yuan Temple to admire the flowers."

  Ji Yongqi said: "What rare flowers does Fahyuan Temple have?"

  "It's just an old Osmanthus tree, nothing special." Wu Shan smiled and said, "But if you go to Fayuan Temple, my sisters, Fourth Sister, Shu Jie and Yi Jie can all go with you to have some fun."

  Ji Yong nodded: "That makes me one too!"

  Wu Shan invited Dou Dechang: "Let's go and talk to Fourth Sister, see when she is free."

  Dòu Déchāng had long been unwilling to play this chess game. Upon hearing the words, he smiled and stood up: "Alright! I'll go with you."

  Dòu Zhèngchāng felt that he couldn't face Jì Yǒng's strength alone and smiled, saying: "I'll go with you too."

  Ji Yong glanced at Dou Dechang and then at Dou Zhengchang, a sly glint flashing in his eyes. "In that case, I'll go too! It's just as well to take the pulse for Auntie Cui."

  Wu Shan and Dou Shi brothers looked at each other in dismay, so they had no choice but to take Ji Yong to the Western Mansion.

  They had just gotten off the horse carriage when Wu Shan saw Su Xin, Dou Zhao's maid, jump down from a hired horse carriage with a flustered expression.

  "He hastily said: 'Su Xin, why aren't you attending to Fourth Sister?' "

  Bie Su Xin turned back, forced a smile and bowed to Wu Shan and the others, then turned around and walked inside: "I still have something to see Cui Yi Niang Niang..."

  "Halt!" Ji Yong's face sank, and he shouted loudly. "What exactly happened to Fourth Sister? If you dare to utter one lie, I'll immediately call the slave trader to sell you off!"

  Her face turned red and white alternately.

  Wu Shan glared at Ji Yong for a moment, then spoke in a warm tone: "Su Xin, don't be afraid, we don't have any other intentions. We're just worried that Fourth Sister might have run into some trouble and want to help you..."

  Bie Suxin, though strong-willed, was just a young girl who had barely reached adulthood. With Duan Zhaosheng's life hanging in the balance, she was already at her wit's end. Suddenly hearing Wu Shan's gentle voice, tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes: "Fourth Miss... Fourth Miss has been kidnapped!"

  "What did you say?" Wu Shan's face changed greatly.

  Bie Su heartedly told Wu Shan and others about what had happened.

  "Hurry, hurry and inform Third Uncle to go rescue people!" Dou Zhengchang's face turned pale as he said, being held back by Wu Shan and Dou Dechang: "This matter cannot be made public." Wu Shan's gaze was like a thousand years of icy coldness, "Must find someone on our own side to rescue!"

  Don't worry, just listen and feel a little more at ease in your heart.

  "Then use mine?" Ji Yong shook his folding fan and smiled brightly at Wu Shan and the others.

  Wu Shan and Dou Dechang exchanged a glance, and resolutely responded with a "good".

  Ji Yong called his attendants and mounted his horse in a single bound.

  Wu Shan and Dou Shi brothers were shocked.

  Ji Yong widened his eyes in confusion and stared at the three of them: "Aren't you going to go there personally?"

  Dòu Déchāng's mouth twitched slightly as he said, "Go, why don't you go!" With the help of Ji Yōng's attendants, he sat up onto the saddle.

  Ji Yong ordered his followers: "Ride with Young Master Biao on the same horse. Otherwise, if Young Master Biao falls off, I will only ask you." With that, he whipped the horse and galloped towards the city gate.

  Dong Dechang loudly complained: "This guy, what can't he do?"

  Ji Yong's attendants all lowered their eyelids, pretending they hadn't heard.

  ※※※※※

  When Dou Zhao woke up again, she found herself lying on a half-new and half-old Luohan bed, with her clothes intact. She couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

  Silk slept beside her, there was no one else in the house.

  She sat up.

  My head is still a bit dizzy, but I'm fine.

  She listened attentively to the sounds around her.

  There is only the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves rustling.

  Dong Zhaolightly got out of bed and carefully pushed open a small gap in the window frame.

  Outside is a small courtyard, with bluestones paving the ground and a row of poplar trees planted, their trunks as thick as a wine cup. In the east of the courtyard, there is a stone mill, a hen pecking at small stones beside it, accompanied by several chicks. The surroundings are quiet, without any sign of people. It's actually a typical farmhouse yard.

  Dong Zhaoyi was thinking about whether to peek through the door crack when he heard the sound of robbers coming from the adjacent hall: "Damn it, I didn't expect the Dong family's guard to be so fierce. We had agreed to just knock him out, but now someone is hurt and our brothers are also injured. I don't know if he will take responsibility or not."

  Another voice, cold and menacing, said: "If he admits it, we'll take the silver and leave; if he doesn't admit it, humph, we'll tell the Duan family about this. You can just wait to collect the silver."

  ※

  Sisters and brothers, arrived in Hangzhou, living together with Lin's family oh (*^__^*) hehe......

  ※