Blossom

Who could this "he" be?

The scar-faced man's shout came through: "Go check if the Fourth Miss has woken up yet?"

Dou Zhao was startled and quickly climbed onto the daybed, lying down beside Su Juan.

"That delicate young miss? My chop to her neck should keep her out for at least two hours," someone muttered as footsteps approached. "Don't worry, she'll be fine."

Dou Zhao closed her eyes, relaxed her body, and pretended to sleep.

After a brief pause where she felt eyes on her, the footsteps gradually faded away, followed by the "click" of the door being locked again.

Dou Zhao exhaled in relief, realizing her forehead was dotted with fine sweat.

Had Bie Suxin managed to find rescuers yet?

Had Bie Sulan lost track of her or been discovered?

She never expected to be knocked unconscious.

If anything went wrong now, regret would come too late.

This decision had been far too reckless!

A thousand worries tangled in her mind like hemp.

Suddenly, a faint creak sounded in the room.

Dou Zhao turned toward the noise in alarm to see a window being pried open slightly, through which Bie Sulan nimbly slipped inside.

Her heart leaped with excitement as she sat up immediately.

Bie Sulan flashed a bright smile and whispered, "Miss, Brother Chen and the others are outside. They'll act as soon as we're out."

Were they rescuing her early to prevent the kidnappers from using her as a hostage during the confrontation?

Dou Zhao hesitated, glancing at Su Juan.

If she disappeared, would the kidnappers harm Su Juan?

Bie Sulan looked uncertain and whispered, "There are two or three guards patrolling outside. I can't take Su Juan with us."

After a moment's thought, Dou Zhao whispered back, "Su Juan and I will hide inside. You go tell them to act now."

Bie Sulan disagreed.

Dou Zhao pressed, "Do you have a better idea?"

Bie Sulan had none.

Dou Zhao shook Su Juan awake.

Dazed, Su Juan's eyes flew open, and she nearly screamed—fortunately, Bie Sulan clapped a hand over her mouth just in time.

Dou Zhao quickly explained the situation in hushed tones, concluding, "..."

Even in this life-or-death moment, the Fourth Miss was thinking of her.

Su Juan's eyes reddened as she mustered her courage. "Fourth Miss, you and Sulan go. Those men won't bother with me."

"This isn't the time for noble gestures," Dou Zhao said sharply. "If we delay and all end up in danger, what then?"

Su Juan bowed her head, tears falling in heavy drops.

Sulan said nothing more, pushing the window open to scan for an escape route.

Dou Zhao and Su Juan hid beneath the daybed.

Sulan slipped out as silently as she'd come.

The room fell deathly quiet, the two girls scarcely daring to breathe. Outside, the occasional voices of the kidnappers ratcheted up the tension until Dou Zhao's legs trembled.

Time stretched unbearably—perhaps several incense sticks' worth, or maybe just the span of a cup of tea—before the window creaked open again. This time, Sulan returned with Chen Xiaofeng and a brawny, sharp-eyed middle-aged man."Miss," Su Lan crouched beside the daybed, peering underneath. "Brother Chen said that if we can't protect you, it won't matter even if those bandits are torn limb from limb." She then pointed to the middle-aged man. "This is Uncle Duan, who works as a house guard with Brother Chen. Uncle Duan is incredibly skilled. You and Su Juan should hide under the daybed. Once Uncle Lin and the others capture those men, you can come out." After speaking, she stood up and positioned herself protectively in front of the daybed.

Chen Xiaofeng and Uncle Duan took positions on either side of the door.

Soon, the sounds of fighting and shouts erupted outside.

The scar-faced man cried out in alarm, "Which faction are you from? We're under Master Xing of Lingshou County—don’t let family turn against family!"

The response was an even fiercer clash of combat.

The door burst open with a crash as the scar-faced man charged in, knife in hand. He froze momentarily upon seeing an unfamiliar dark-skinned maidservant standing before the bed.

In that split second, Uncle Duan moved like a ghost, wrapping an arm around the scar-faced man’s neck and twisting the knife from his grip with his other hand.

The scar-faced man yelped in pain. Chen Xiaofeng, a step slower than Uncle Duan, delivered a brutal kick to his stomach. The man’s face paled, his knife clattering to the ground as his legs gave way. If not for Uncle Duan’s grip on his neck, he would have collapsed entirely.

Uncle Duan spat disdainfully, his voice gruff. "Thought you were something special, huh? Turns out you’re just gutter trash!" He clearly held the scar-faced man’s skills in contempt.

"Who in Beizhili could possibly compare to Uncle Duan?" Su Lan’s words dripped with honeyed praise as she helped Dou Zhao and Su Juan crawl out from under the daybed.

"Thank you for your bravery, sir," Dou Zhao said, offering a slight bow to Uncle Duan before turning to Chen Xiaofeng. "Where are we?"

Chen Xiaofeng replied, "A small farmstead at the border of Lingshou and Zhen Ding, about twenty-some li from your estate."

Lingshou County?

Wang Yingxue’s hometown.

Dou Zhao’s heart stirred.

Outside, the sounds of fighting gradually subsided, replaced by intermittent groans.

Someone laughed. "Just a bunch of small fry. Chen Xiaofeng made it sound like we were up against dragons!"

Another voice chimed in, "Better safe than sorry." Then added, "Tie them all up. We’ll let the employer decide what to do with them."

The tension in Dou Zhao and the others finally eased.

She turned to Chen Xiaofeng. "Send someone with Su Lan to my farmstead to fetch Mr. Chen. Have him pay you the ten thousand taels of silver I promised in advance." She still had tasks for Chen Xiaofeng and his men, and paying the reward promptly would motivate them to work harder.

When Chen Xiaofeng heard from Su Xin that rescuing Dou Zhao would earn them ten thousand taels, he had assumed she was panicking and didn’t take it seriously. Still, he figured saving her would at least net them a hundred or two taels, so he’d only promised his men a hundred taels when recruiting them. Now, hearing the reward was indeed ten thousand taels, he was both stunned and overjoyed, speechless with disbelief. Even Uncle Duan stammered, "Miss Dou, is—is it really ten thousand taels?""I may be young, but every word I say is true—I never go back on my word!" Dou Zhao said calmly, yet her expression carried a resolute firmness that made it impossible not to believe her.

They had brought over twenty men. Even if Chen Xiaofeng took the lion's share, each person would still receive several hundred taels of silver. As a house guard, he earned no more than twenty taels a year.

"I'll go tell the brothers!" Uncle Duan said excitedly, yanking the scar-faced man's belt off and tying him up like a dumpling. "Thank you, miss!"

The scar-faced man seemed to snap out of his daze only then. He roared furiously, "That bastard Pang Kunbai dared to trick us! He said you were just a little girl abandoned in the countryside by your parents, left to run wild—yet you can casually produce ten thousand taels of silver! He only promised me a hundred taels for this job! I'll gut him—" He struggled violently, trying to break free from Uncle Duan's grip, but the older man's hands were like iron shackles, rendering him immobile.

Pang Kunbai!

So it was him!

Dou Zhao was utterly shocked.

She turned to Chen Xiaofeng. "House Guard Chen, could you do me another favor—interrogate this man and find out what underhanded dealings he has with Pang Kunbai?"

They had barely broken a sweat and effortlessly earned ten thousand taels of silver. Now, when asked for a small additional favor—something that was practically effortless for them—even if it were slightly troublesome, they wouldn't refuse, not after receiving such a sum.

Chen Xiaofeng agreed immediately.

But the scar-faced man began shouting, "Miss Dou, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything, just let us go!" He added, "We were fooled by Pang Kunbai too. You're magnanimous—consider that we were just hired hands doing a job. Don't hold it against us..."

Dou Zhao remained unmoved.

What if they had kidnapped someone else—a defenseless woman—instead of her?

She said to Chen Xiaofeng, "Please interrogate him thoroughly."

Chen Xiaofeng nodded.

Uncle Duan, however, admired Dou Zhao's decisiveness and proactively dragged the scar-faced man out.

Su Lan, noticing Dou Zhao was covered in dust from hiding under the daybed, went to fetch water to help her freshen up.

Dou Zhao asked, "Where's Su Xin?"

Su Lan replied, "Elder Sister was afraid of delaying your rescue. She told Brother Chen the meeting point and rushed back to the manor first."

Dou Zhao nodded, her voice tinged with worry. "I wonder how Grandmother is doing?"

Su Lan reassured her, "They were lying to kidnap you—it must have been a ruse!"

"I hope so," Dou Zhao sighed.

Su Lan and Su Juan brought water to wash her face and redo her hair.

Chen Xiaofeng requested an audience.

His expression was peculiar as he said in a low voice, "Xing Lao Liu confessed that Pang Kunbai ordered him to kidnap you and bring you here. Pang Kunbai planned to 'accidentally' rescue you later. Besides the hundred taels, he promised to arrange for them to serve as junior officers in the Shaanxi Itinerant Regional Military Commission..."

The Shaanxi Itinerant Regional Military Commission—Wang Xingyi's territory.

Dou Zhao's eyes turned icy. "Why not 'rescue' me during the kidnapping? Why bring me here first?""Xing Lao Liu doesn't know either," Chen Xiaofeng said. "Pang Kunbai only told him to guard this place, saying he would naturally come to rescue people. When the time came, Xing Lao Liu just needed to pretend to be overpowered and retreat."

"Did Pang Kunbai mention when he would come?" Dou Zhao frowned slightly.

"No."

Dou Zhao lowered her head in thought, only raising it after a long while. "House Guard Chen, since we've already involved you in this matter, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you further with it."

This was part of the cleanup—they had taken the money, so they naturally had to take responsibility.

Chen Xiaofeng smiled. "Please give your orders, Miss."

Dou Zhao then spoke quietly to Chen Xiaofeng for a while.

Chen Xiaofeng first looked surprised, then gradually composed himself, nodding repeatedly with a serious expression.