Chapter 490: Chapter 459, Clue_1
The one-eyed man had been observing Daohua and the others, and after seeing the change in their expressions, he immediately understood the identities of Jiang Wanying and Chen Jiarou. Then he looked at Daohua and Dong Yuanyao, “And which families do you two belong to?”
Daohua and Dong Yuanyao glanced at the one-eyed man but did not immediately respond.
The bald man became annoyed when he saw them dithering and hesitating, and he raised his leg as if he was about to kick them.
Seeing this, Daohua quickly opened her mouth, “I am from the Prefectural Governor’s Residence of Ningmen Prefecture.”
Dong Yuanyao glared at the bald man and said gruffly, “I am from the Provincial Governor’s household.”
Upon hearing this, the one-eyed man immediately frowned.
Old Fan had said to avoid provoking local officials with no entanglement of interests, so as not to cause trouble for their master.
With this thought, the one-eyed man glared coldly at the bald man.
The bald man smiled ingratiatingly. He had not expected that a random kidnapping would net him the daughters of the highest-ranking officials in Zhongzhou and Ningmen Prefecture.
Knowing the identities of the four girls, the one-eyed man got up and left. When he reached the door, he said to the guard, “Keep a close watch and don’t step away from here.”
Considering the composure that the four young ladies had shown in the face of danger, he knew they warranted extra attention.
Once the bald man had also left, the four girls finally relaxed their breaths.
Although they appeared calm and silent on the surface, their hearts were filled with extreme tension and fear.
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Jiang Wanying in particular, who had experienced an assassination attempt before, knew that those villains would truly resort to murder.
At this moment, she deeply regretted that she should not have left home with her parents just to see Brother Yang.
Dong Yuanyao looked at Jiang Wanying and Chen Jiarou, asking with a depressed face, “Those people came specifically for you. Do you know who they are?”
Chen Jiarou shook her head, her face deathly pale.
Jiang Wanying bit her lip. She had her suspicions but couldn’t reveal them.
These people were probably from the same group that had attempted to assassinate her and her mother last time, from Prince’s faction.
Daohua sized up the expressions of Chen Jiarou and Jiang Wanying; Chen Jiarou genuinely seemed to know nothing, but Jiang Wanying seemed to know something.
Thinking of the assassination attempt against the Jiang Family before, Daohua felt a sense of foreboding; could it be the same group?
Dong Yuanyao asked again, “Why would those people want to kidnap you? You should know this, shouldn’t you?”
Chen Jiarou and Jiang Wanying remained silent.
Seeing this, Dong Yuanyao knitted her brows and angrily said, “Yiyi and I must have really bad luck to be caught up in this.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiarou and Jiang Wanying both lowered their heads.
The guard, hearing the voices of the four girls speaking, strode in with a roughness, stuffing a cloth into each of their mouths, “Keep quiet, you’re not precious young ladies once in our hands. If you make any more noise…”
The man clenched his fist, making a ‘crack crack’ sound, and said with a vicious face, “Don’t blame me for not being merciful!” And with that, he turned and left.
Daohua smelled the stench of sweat from the cloth in her mouth, combined with the strong salty taste, and truly felt both disgusted and nauseated.
The other three felt the same.
Yet, even though they were feeling extremely uncomfortable, all of them endured it.
No one would test the mercy and patience of desperate criminals; after all, if they truly angered those men, they would be the ones to suffer.
Daohua purposely slowed her breathing to mitigate the nausea, and when she felt a bit less uncomfortable, her mind started racing, thinking about how to escape.
The ropes on their hands and feet could be untied, but once untied, how would they escape the ship?
There were too many of those men, all large and tall. Even if she had sleeping powder, unless she could administer it to all at once, they wouldn’t stand a chance of getting away.
“Hmm… Hmm…”
As Daohua pondered her strategy, Chen Jiarou began to twist about. She staggered to her feet and somehow managed to slip her bound hands from behind her back to the front of her body. Then, she removed the cloth gag from her mouth with her hands and started to untie the rope, little by little, with her teeth.
Watching this scene, Dong Yuanyao was filled with admiration.
Although Daohua was also impressed by Chen Jiarou’s flexibility, she did not agree with her actions at the moment.
They were on a boat, after all. What good would it do to untie the ropes? Could they really escape? On the contrary, if they were discovered, it would only make the kidnappers more vigilant, and their chances of escaping would become even slimmer.
Once Chen Jiarou freed herself, she immediately set about untying Jiang Wanying.
Daohua made several muffled noises at her, but unfortunately, she paid no attention.
“Sigh…”
Daohua sighed at Dong Yuanyao and gave her a ‘we might get dragged into this’ look.
Shortly, Jiang Wanying’s ropes were untied, and Chen Jiarou proceeded to untie Dong Yuanyao.
Daohua glanced at Chen Jiarou, who had simply passed her by, and couldn’t be bothered anymore, thinking that the ropes would just be tied back on later anyway.
The moment the ropes on Dong Yuanyao’s hands were loosened, she turned to help Daohua with hers.
Daohua made a few more muffled sounds before Dong Yuanyao finally gave a sheepish smile and removed the cloth gag from her mouth. Just as Daohua was about to speak, Jiang Wanying, who had gotten up too hastily, fell to the floor. The noise she made alerted the guard outside.
Looking at her newly freed hands, Daohua’s face revealed a bitter smile.
When the guard came in and saw that the ropes around the four women were untied, his brows furrowed instantly. Just when Daohua thought they might be in for some trouble, the guard said nothing and simply walked over, knocking each of them on the back of the neck.
Resigned to her fate, Daohua closed her eyes.
After knocking out the four women, the guard chuckled smugly to himself, “Finally, some peace and quiet.”
Meanwhile, at an abandoned dock in the outskirts of Ningmen Prefecture City, Xiao Yeyang, accompanied by Yan Wenkai, Dong Yuanxuan, and others, swiftly boarded a boat and followed the direction pointed out by Sun Changmao with haste.
…
Time passed, and Daohua awoke from the severe pain at the back of her neck. As she opened her eyes, she realized she and Dong Yuanyao, along with the others, had been transferred to a carriage. The bumpiness of the carriage ride had caused her neck to twist, which was what brought her back to consciousness.
Had they already disembarked from the boat?
Slowly sitting up, Daohua soon heard voices from outside.
“Big Brother Cao, we’ll be home by this afternoon.”
“Hmm.”
“Big Brother Cao, I just don’t get it. How does kidnapping a few girls help our master?”
“Heh~” The one-eyed man chuckled scornfully, “You think the daughters of high-ranking households are the same as those from common families like ours? They are precious.”
Baldy rubbed his head, “What’s so precious? They seem ordinary to me, maybe just a bit more attractive, but good looks can’t fill the stomach. After seeing them too much, you even get tired of it.”
The one-eyed man shook his head, “What would a brute like you understand?” he said, his tone growing heavier, “We must keep a close eye on these four, especially the girls from the Jiang Family and the Chen Family.”
“The Jiang Family holds double betrothal alliances, with a vast network of supporters in the court. If the Jiang Family speaks for our master, his chances of returning to the court will significantly increase.”
“The Chen Family is trusted by the Emperor, in charge of managing the gold mine operations in Ningmen Prefecture. With their daughter in our hands, can he mine for gold in peace? If the gold mine doesn’t deliver to the royal treasury on time, let’s see what the Emperor will use to solve the problem of military provisions for the battles to the north.”
Hearing this, Daohua immediately confirmed that their kidnapper was Prince Duan.
She looked around the interior of the carriage; the windows were still sealed shut, but there was a gap at the corner of one of them. Seeing this, Daohua immediately took out a Fragrant Pill from her pouch (in reality, her space) and began tossing them out of the carriage one by one.
She had woken up too late, unsure if this little clue would help Xiao Yeyang and the others find them.