Suddenly, Bai Zheng thought of something and her eyes widened.
Just then, there came a strange noise from behind. Bai Zheng quickly lifted the carriage curtain and took a peek outside. She only saw several shadows dashing towards them at an incredible speed.
"Watch out!"
Before her voice faded, the carriage flipped over completely. Bai Zheng was thrown out of the carriage due to inertia.
Bai Zheng was extremely shocked. When she sat up, she found that the coachman was guarding beside her, fighting with those black - clothed men.
The coachman grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and threw it up. Then he snatched a silver sword with his right hand and clashed with the black - clothed men. With his left hand, he quickly took out a short flute about the length of a finger and put it to his lips, blowing out a shrill and ear - piercing sound.
Bai Zheng knew that the coachman was summoning his own people. Only then did her pounding heart calm down a bit.
She stood up. Although the coachman fought desperately, he was gradually running out of strength. His left shoulder had been cut by a sword at some point, and blood was gushing out in large clumps.
Suddenly, Bai Zheng felt a chill on her neck. A long sword was pressed against it.
Countless thoughts flashed through Bai Zheng's mind in an instant.
If these people wanted her life, they would have stabbed her directly when the sword came. But this person didn't act immediately. Instead, he put the sword on her neck as soon as he came. It was obvious that they wouldn't take her life for the time being.
So they must have other uses for her.
Bai Zheng suddenly calmed down.
Now she was indeed the envy of everyone in Yongding City. Everyone must know what day it was tomorrow. Kidnapping her at this time, presumably...
Moreover, everyone thought that Bai Zheng was hiding in the Bai Mansion today. Who would know that she had gone out and waited for her on the way back to the city?
A figure suddenly flashed through Bai Zheng's mind!
Her face darkened, as if covered with a layer of frost. Her tone was as cold as ice: "If Young Master Chu wants to find me, why use such a despicable method?"
The long sword on her neck hesitated for a moment. Then a cold voice sounded behind Bai Zheng: "I didn't expect that even a coachman from the Song family could have such skills. No wonder you were so determined to break off the engagement with the Prime Minister's Mansion. It turns out you've found a powerful backer."
Bai Zheng stretched out her slender fingers and gently moved the long sword away from her neck. Then she turned around and looked coldly at the brocade - clothed man walking towards her.
The moment they heard his voice, all the black - clothed men stopped fighting. They ignored the coachman who was barely standing beside Bai Zheng with a sword in his hand. Together with the man holding the long sword, they gathered behind the brocade - clothed man.
Bai Zheng glanced at the coachman, with a hidden anger between her eyebrows: "I wonder what brings Young Master Chu here? I thought that after breaking off the engagement, we should have nothing to do with each other and never see each other again in this lifetime."
There was a playful smile on Chu Feng's face: "Never see each other again? I never knew before that you were so smart, playing such a trick of feigning withdrawal to tempt me that almost made me believe it."
Bai Zheng's eyes swept across Chu Feng's face, and she couldn't help sneering: "Feigning withdrawal to tempt you? How does Young Master Chu think that he is worth me spending two hundred thousand taels of silver to seduce? That's two hundred thousand taels! Can't Young Master Chu see my sincerity in breaking off the engagement?"
Chu Feng clenched his fists tightly. There was a look of rage in his eyes, like boiling magma in a volcano. The muscles on his face twitched involuntarily, and his skin tightened unconsciously.
He pursed his lips and finally said nothing. He waved his hand at the black - clothed men: "Take her away."
Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows: "I'm afraid His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't know about Young Master Chu's kidnapping me, does he?"
Chu Feng put down his hand and sneered coldly: "Do you think you can scare me with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Well! Since he values you, don't you know that for him, it's far more reliable for you to marry into the Chu family than to the Duke Chen's Mansion?"
"The Chu family may be more reliable than the Duke Chen's Mansion, but Young Master Chu is Young Master Chu, and the Chu family is the Chu family!" Seeing the black - clothed men getting closer, Bai Zheng quickly said.
"What do you mean?"
The black - clothed men stopped and looked at Chu Feng. Then they stood behind Chu Feng again.
"Recently, the struggle between the Third Prince and the Crown Prince has become increasingly fierce. Young Master Chu has been courting my second sister for so long. Don't you know that you've unconsciously done a lot of things for the Third Prince?"
Chu Feng's face turned pale, and he subconsciously shouted: "Impossible!"
Bai Zheng took a step forward and stared closely at Chu Feng: "If it weren't for Young Master Chu, how would my second sister know so many secrets of the Chu family? And how did the Third Prince manage to suppress the Crown Prince step by step and make him lose the Emperor's favor? I heard that the Crown Prince confined Young Master Chu after the auction. I think after being reminded by me, His Highness must have investigated what I said. For what has already happened, His Highness the Crown Prince may not care about you, his uncle, for the sake of the Chu family. But it doesn't mean that if the same thing happens in the future, His Highness the Crown Prince will let you go!"
Chu Feng's face turned green and white alternately. He could hardly say a word.
Bai Zheng was right, and every word hit his sore spot.
Since Bai Zheng told Feng Jingye about Bai Di, he had been confined in the Prime Minister's Mansion by Feng Jingye. One day, his prime - minister father even rushed into his room and slapped him hard.
He, Chu Feng, had been living a life of luxury since childhood. Because his elder sister was the queen, no one had ever even said a harsh word to him, let alone beaten him. How could he bear such humiliation?
He didn't believe that Bai Di was such a person.
But he hated Bai Zheng even more.
So even though he was confined in the mansion by Feng Jingye, when he learned that the people from the Song family had taken Bai Zheng out of the mansion to teach papermaking, he secretly slipped out to kidnap her.
After all, apart from Feng Jingye and the Song family, only he knew that Bai Zheng was the real inventor of papermaking.
It was worth his while to send people to watch the Bai Mansion every day. Finally, he waited for the day when Bai Zheng went out to teach papermaking.
Today, since Bai Zheng had fallen into his hands, he, Chu Feng, would make this woman in front of him pay the price for her outspokenness!
Bai Zheng sneered, as if seeing through his thoughts: "Does Young Master Chu want to teach me a lesson today? Then I advise Young Master Chu to give up this idea. If Young Master Chu doesn't go back soon and His Highness the Crown Prince knows about today's incident, guess who he will look for first when he is defeated by the Third Prince next time!"
Chu Feng seemed to be hit on his sore spot. His face suddenly turned deathly pale. He stared blankly at Bai Zheng. After a while, he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Miss Bai is over - thinking. Isn't His Highness the Crown Prince worried about me and the Second Miss? If he knows that I sneaked out to meet you, I'm sure he won't blame me anymore. You're going to hold a recruitment for a husband tomorrow. Everyone is watching you. What do you think will happen if you don't go back all night but stay in the Prime Minister's Mansion, in my room..."
Bai Zheng smiled gently. There was a twinkling light in her eyes, like stars scattered in the night: "It sounds like a good idea."
"Why are you smiling?" Chu Feng subconsciously had a bad feeling.
"It depends on whether Young Master Chu has the ability to take me away." Bai Zheng said, with full of mockery in her eyes.
Chu Feng stared at her coldly and waved his hand again: "Take her away!"
But there was no movement at all.
Chu Feng was shocked and quickly looked back.
There was no one behind him.
The group of black - clothed men who had been gathered behind him had disappeared silently and completely out of thin air!