Inside the carriage, Ying Lan was greeted by screams from Miss Ding and her maid. They curled up in a corner, their eyes full of horror.
"Help! Help! Assassin!" Miss Ding screamed.
Ying Lan did not hesitate. She seized the haughty Miss and pressed a dagger to her neck.
"No! No!" the Miss cried. "Let me go! Let me go!"
Ying Lan ignored her pleas. She fixed the maid with a cold stare and barked. "Scram!"
The maid dashed out of the carriage like a frightened rabbit.
Ying Lan then pulled Miss Ding closer and whispered in her ear. "Be quiet, do as I say, and you won't be harmed."
The Miss began to sob quietly. Ying Lan pulled back the curtain that covered the carriage door and dragged her out to the driver's seat. She scanned the surroundings. The Marquess and his guards had encircled the carriage. Their eyes were wide with shock as they beheld the scene before them.
The Marquess stepped forward. He pointed his sword at Ying Lan and roared: "What madness is this? What are you trying to do?"
"Keep your distance or I will cut her throat!" Ying Lan's eyes blazed with defiance as she glared at him.
Miss Ding shrieked in fear, tears streaming down her face: "Father, please, save me!"
The Marquess hesitated for a moment. He looked at her, then back at Ying Lan. "What do you want?" he growled.
"I have no quarrel with you," she retorted, "but your refusal to listen to reason has left me no choice. I need to borrow this carriage and your daughter."
"What?" The Marquess clenched his teeth and brandished his sword at her, his voice choked with fury. "You insolent whelp. What do you want with my daughter?"
"Don't worry," Ying Lan said, "I will leave the carriage and your daughter at the next village. She will come back to you unharmed. But if you follow me, she will die."
"Please father! Don't let him take me away!" Miss Ding wailed as she writhed and kicked in an attempt to escape Ying Lan's grip. Her frantic movements spooked the horse that was pulling the carriage. It sensed her terror and bolted, dragging the carriage behind it.