She stared blankly for a moment before finally recognizing the person. "Jing, Deputy General Jing..."
"It's Miss Qiao!" Jing Yan finally reacted. Subconsciously, he glanced into the room behind Qiao Nian. His brows knitted immediately, and he reached out to pull Qiao Nian behind him.
"People can't know that I've been abducted," she whispered.
Jing Yan clearly understood. He immediately said, "I'll take Miss to the back door."
With that, he was about to lead Qiao Nian away.
Unexpectedly, a suppressed cry of pain came from Qiao Nian.
He turned around abruptly and saw that Qiao Nian's face had turned deathly pale, and countless beads of cold sweat were oozing from her forehead.
"What's wrong, Miss?" Jing Yan was worried that Qiao Nian had been harmed by the two villains.
Then Qiao Nian raised her limp left hand and said weakly, "Deputy General Jing, is there any way to fix this?"
Such an injury!
Even Jing Yan, who had fought countless battles on the battlefield alongside Xiao Heng, felt his heart skip a violent beat when he saw the injury on Qiao Nian's hand.
No wonder he had heard a woman's scream earlier. This must have been the result of Qiao Nian forcefully dislocating her hand while struggling to break free from the ropes.
His face instantly turned extremely grim. He said softly, "It will hurt a bit, Miss Qiao. Please bear with it."
Qiao Nian nodded and then bit down hard on her lower lip.
Jing Yan gently held Qiao Nian's left hand, and strangely, he felt this injury pained him more than if it were on himself.
But he also knew that he couldn't hold back now. Otherwise, it would only worsen Qiao Nian's injury.
So, with a determined heart, he exerted a sudden strong force.
"Ugh!"
Qiao Nian let out a muffled groan, and blood trickled from her bitten - through lower lip.
She released her lower lip when she tasted the coppery sweetness in her mouth. Fortunately, her left hand didn't hurt as much anymore.
She then gave Jing Yan a faint smile. "Thank you, Deputy General Jing."
Jing Yan never expected that after such an ordeal, Qiao Nian could still manage a smile.
He couldn't help but recall many years ago when he first went to Xiao Heng's mansion to report military affairs. A little girl suddenly popped out from behind Xiao Heng, holding a pastry in her hand and insisting on feeding it to Xiao Heng.
When Xiao Heng got really annoyed and finally opened his mouth to take it, she giggled with extreme satisfaction.
Later, the girl gave him a piece of pastry too.
He was so flattered that he bowed and thanked her. She just waved her hand and skipped away.
"Deputy General Jing." Qiao Nian didn't know why Jing Yan was suddenly in a daze.
But this wasn't the time to be distracted. She couldn't let anyone find her in the inn.
Even if she appeared fully dressed in the inn, there was still a man standing beside her.
If people were as reckless with their words as Xiao Qingnuan, spreading rumors everywhere, she would really be doomed!
Jing Yan then came to his senses and immediately said, "Miss, follow me!"
With that, he led Qiao Nian towards the back door of the inn.
When Xiao Heng received the news and rushed to the Marquis Mansion, the mansion doctor had already bandaged Qiao Nian's left hand.
In the main hall of the Marquis Mansion, apart from the Old Lady, all the Lin family members were present.
Xiao Heng's gaze landed on Qiao Nian's left hand, and his eyes were filled with a gloomy look.
Jing Yan had told him everything, and he had also seen the rope with its tightly - tied knots. He really couldn't imagine what kind of willpower Qiao Nian had used to break free.
Lord Lin stepped forward and bowed. "Thank you for your trouble today, General Xiao. My daughter was naughty and ran off on her own, causing you to worry."
This was the official story. As for Ningshuang, they said she accidentally fell and got knocked out, and because she couldn't find her young lady, she thought her young lady had been abducted.
After all, a woman's reputation was of utmost importance.
But everyone present knew that this wasn't the truth.
Xiao Heng returned the bow and then looked at Qiao Nian. "Why was it Fulai Teahouse instead of Yuanlai Teahouse as Prince Ming mentioned?"
Qiao Nian was sitting aside at the moment. Although her hand injury had been bandaged, the slightest movement still caused her sharp pain.
The mansion doctor said that although her injury wasn't too severe, it couldn't be neglected. She shouldn't exert force on it for at least a month.
Hearing Xiao Heng's question, Qiao Nian stood up and said to him, "When I received the letter, it was written as Fulai Teahouse. That letter should still be in my dressing table."
As she said this, Qiao Nian turned to look at Lin Ye.
Lin Ye was standing in a corner not far away, in a very low - key position, as if he was afraid of being noticed by someone.
But Qiao Nian had spotted him as soon as he entered.
She walked slowly towards Lin Ye. "Young Marquis, you seem especially quiet today. What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Lady Lin didn't understand why Qiao Nian was suddenly showing concern for Lin Ye at this time. She immediately stepped forward to stop her. "You've just had a narrow escape. You should sit down and rest. Don't bother your elder brother."
But Qiao Nian pushed Lady Lin aside.
She didn't use much force. Her right hand just gently pushed away Lady Lin's hand that was reaching out to hold her. However, since there was a grand master chair behind Lady Lin, she stumbled when pushed by Qiao Nian and almost fell into the chair.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan rushed forward immediately. "Sister, what are you doing? Mother is just concerned about you! How can you..."
"Shut up!" Qiao Nian shouted harshly, glaring fixedly at Lin Yuan. "I don't know if you're involved in this matter yet, but if you say one more word, I'll hit you."
Lin Yuan didn't know martial arts. It would be easy for Qiao Nian to hit her.
Hearing Qiao Nian's words, Lord Lin was displeased. "How dare you! Niannian, are you trying to rebel?"
But Qiao Nian didn't care about Lord Lin's reaction at all. She looked at Lin Ye again and raised her eyebrows. "Young Marquis, aren't you usually the one who can't stand to see me 'bully' your mother and sister? Why are you so quiet today?"
Hearing this, everyone turned their attention to Lin Ye.
Indeed, Lin Ye seemed a bit abnormal today!
In the next instant, Qiao Nian took a quick step forward and slapped Lin Ye hard across the face.
"Slap!"
The sound was extremely loud.
Lady Lin was so shocked that she covered her mouth. "Niannian, what, what are you doing!"
"Shut up!"
It was Lord Lin who spoke.
His eyes were filled with scrutiny, as if he had already discerned something. "Let him speak!"
But Lin Ye just turned his face to the side and remained silent.
Qiao Nian took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Do you know why I pulled out my left hand first when I escaped? It was to save my right hand to slap you! Lin Ye, what deep hatred do I have with you that you want to harm me like this?!"
Was it Lin Ye who had harmed Qiao Nian?
Everyone present was stunned.
Lady Lin stood up, trembling. "No, it can't be. Niannian, you must be mistaken..."
"One thousand taels! He spent one thousand taels hiring people to ruin my reputation!" Qiao Nian's angry shout was deafening. "If Lady Lin thinks this is a misunderstanding, send someone to check his accounts! General Xiao asked why Yuanlai Teahouse became Fulai Teahouse. Why doesn't the Young Marquis tell him himself?"