"Are you gentlemen here to stay or to dine?" the waiter asked eagerly.
"We'd like three rooms and some small dishes. Please make it quick," Jiang Yanqin said. As soon as the words left his mouth, he took out a silver ingot from his bosom and placed it in the waiter's hand. The waiter grinned from ear to ear. After weighing the silver in his hand, he scurried back happily.
Mu Fengqie, Jiang Yanqin, and Zhu Fei sat at a table. Soon, the dishes from the inn were served. Mu Fengqie took off the veil on her head, revealing her stunning beauty.
The farther they got from the imperial city, the more chaotic the places became. There were even bandits in some areas. So, to be on the safe side, Jiang Yanqin had prepared a veil for her. After all, her beauty was so outstanding that she would become the center of attention wherever she went.
As soon as she took off the veil, some of the customers in the inn cast their gazes at her. Mu Fengqie paid no heed to these burning looks.
After dinner, the three of them returned to their respective rooms. Mu Fengqie had been on the carriage all day and was so tired that her back ached. After taking a bath and changing her clothes, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up again, she found herself in a strange environment. The originally spacious and simple inn had turned into a pitch - black cave. Although the environment wasn't extremely harsh, it still looked eerie.
"Let's toast to big brother for getting such a beauty today! Now our cave has a mistress to guard it!"
"Third brother, this beauty will be your sister - in - law from now on. When will you also bring back a wife and let us have some fun!"
What? Did she hear that right? A mistress to guard the cave! Awesome!
When she first woke up, she thought she was dreaming, but after hearing these noisy voices, she came to her senses.
She had been kidnapped here by these people. She had no idea if these people knew her identity, nor did she know if they had noticed her disappearance.
She was now tied up on a stone bed and couldn't move her hands or feet. Obviously, those people were celebrating and didn't notice her on the stone bed at all.
So this was the perfect time for her to escape. She quietly inched to the side and then slowly rubbed the ropes on her hands against the edge of the stone bed.
Zhu Fei got up early in the morning, fetched some washing water, and knocked on Mu Fengqie's door, but there was no response. She had slept extremely soundly last night and thought it had been a peaceful night. Little did she know that the person inside had vanished.
Zhu Fei knocked on the door again, but there was still no movement. She immediately sensed something was wrong. When she broke into the room, there was no sign of anyone. Her heart sank, and she hurriedly ran out to look for Jiang Yanqin.
Jiang Yanqin had also slept very soundly and didn't wake up until dawn. He was just about to go out to find Mu Fengqie for breakfast when he bumped into Zhu Fei.
"Jiang Yanqin, have you seen the young mistress? She's gone!" Zhu Fei was so anxious that a row of sweat beads appeared on her forehead, and she asked in a panicked tone.
Jiang Yanqin was shocked and also became flustered. "Have you looked everywhere? Maybe she went for a walk after getting up?"
He had thought he had made full preparations, but he never expected such a thing to happen. He immediately sensed something was amiss and felt even more uneasy.
He had never slept through the night like this before. In a strange environment last night, he had slept so soundly. It seemed that someone had done this on purpose. He never thought an accident would happen before they even reached the border. He felt guilty for his negligence.
Zhu Fei was on the verge of tears. She was usually calm and composed, but now the young mistress had disappeared right under her nose. Even if she sacrificed her own life, it wouldn't be worth the young mistress's life!
"I've searched the surroundings and thought the young mistress might be with you. Now it seems something must have happened!"
Zhu Fei had never been so flustered before. They had brought so many secret guards, but who on earth could have taken Mu Fengqie right under their noses?
Zhu Fei quickly called out all the secret guards. Jiang Yanqin wasn't too surprised to see these people suddenly appear. Instead, he immediately asked.
"Were there any suspicious people yesterday? How could you let someone get taken right under your noses!" Jiang Yanqin almost roared.
He had known there were secret guards following them all the way, so he had been so relieved. After all, there were supposed to be no less than twenty of them. With so many people protecting one person, there shouldn't have been any accidents. But as fate would have it, an accident had finally happened.
"Two groups of people suddenly showed up yesterday and distracted us. However, we've already taken care of them. We didn't expect someone to take advantage of the situation... Please punish us, Miss Zhu!"
Hearing what the secret guard said, Jiang Yanqin and Zhu Fei's hearts sank. It seemed that someone had done this on purpose. That person was clearly not a good person.
"Right now, finding the person is the most important thing. You should go and check if there are any bandits or robbers in the area. Split into two teams. One team will conduct the investigation, and the other will search for the person!"
Although Jiang Yanqin seemed calm on the surface, he was actually in a complete mess. He blamed himself deeply for not noticing her disappearance until so much time had passed. If something really happened to her, how could he go on living?
"You stay here and guard. I'll go out and come back right away!" After leaving this sentence, Jiang Yanqin rushed out of the inn.
Now that Mu Fengqie was in great danger, he didn't care about anything else. He was even willing to expose his own strength. As long as he could save her, what did it matter if his identity was exposed?
Not long after, when Jiang Yanqin came back, he was holding a dog in his hand. Zhu Fei was extremely confused when she saw this. Did he go out just to bring back a dog?
"Do you have anything that the young mistress usually uses? Clothes or anything will do, as long as it has her scent on it."
Zhu Fei understood and fetched Mu Fengqie's bag from the room. Inside were some of her personal clothes and handkerchiefs.
Jiang Yanqin took out Mu Fengqie's handkerchief and waved it in front of the dog. Then the dog ran away quickly, and the two of them hurriedly followed behind.
Mu Fengqie kept her eyes closed and squinted from time to time to secretly observe these bandits. She always felt that these people didn't look like ordinary bandits. There was an indescribable sense of incongruity about them.
Some of them were already too drunk to stay awake and had fallen down. Mu Fengqie was extremely excited. She hoped that everyone would pass out so that she would have a chance to escape.
She had used all her strength to untie the ropes on her hands. She was just about to get up quietly and slip away when, in her panic, she accidentally bumped into a cup on the bed. The cup fell to the ground with a loud noise, instantly attracting the attention of those people in the distance.