A spark popped out of the candle flame, and Qiao Jinniang couldn’t fall asleep. The hut behind the restaurant carried the joy of the first twenty years of her life.

  Dreaming of this scene, she felt uneasy.

  Lu Chen took the handkerchief from an imperial maid and wiped the sweat on Qiao Jinniang’s forehead gently. “Dreams are all in reverse, and Qiao Ruoyun has no feud with anyone. I heard that the disaster relief in the South is properly handled, and the court has allocated 200,000 taels of silver. There shouldn’t be any refugees rising in revolt.”


  Qiao Jinniang sighed softly and said, “Yes, Qiao Ruoyun has no feud with anyone.”


  Maybe she missed her hometown too much.

  Chang’an was very good, but Lin’an was her homeland where she had lived for 18 years.

  Lu Chen said, “If you really miss the hut in the South, I will have the Ministry of Works construct a hut in the East Palace similar to that one. Don’t worry. Qiao Lu and Fulu are both in Lin’an. Besides, Qin Shu will protect Qiao Ruoyun!”


  But when Qiao Jinniang heard “Qin Shu”, she clenched Lu Chen’s hand and said, “Yes, Qin Shu, it’s Qin Shu!”


  Thinking that she was startled by the nightmare, Lu Chen ordered someone to boil a bowl of sedative medicine, saying, “But everyone knows that Qin Shu is in deep love with Qiao Ruoyun. At Qiao Lu’s birthday banquet last time, he even picked fish for Qiao Ruoyun in public.”


  “But Qiao Ruoyun doesn’t eat fish!” Qiao Jinniang said, “Fish conflicts with the medicine that Ruoyun is taking!”


  Lu Chen said, “Didn’t you say previously that Qin Shu was selected by your grandmother for Qiao Ruoyun and he was a good husband. Besides, when Old Madam Qin was abusing Qiao Ruoyun, Qin Shu was trying to protect her!”


  Qiao Jinniang said, “I thought Qin Shu really loved my sister before. At least, they had been engaged since childhood, and they were childhood sweethearts.

  “But thinking about it carefully now, his affections for my sister are all fake. If he really cared about her, how could he not even know that she couldn’t eat fish?

  “I only heard my mother mention it once, and I even remembered it. How can he not know? You may say men are careless sometimes, but this concerns Ruoyun’s life!”


  Qiao Jinniang continued, “And last time Ruoyun was tortured by Old Madam Qin and almost died, and this didn’t happen overnight. How could Qin Shu not know about it?

  “Besides, he is the heir to Duke Qin and a high-ranking official.

  “Even Duke Qin would have to give him face.

  “Even though Ruoyun’s mammy had ulterior motives, if Qin Shu really loves my sister, why did the servant not respect her at all?

  “Although my sister is soft-tempered, if Qin Shu hadn’t given the servants some signals, how dare they treat their mistress like that?

  “Although that concubine maid, Yuzhui, tortured my sister as ordered by Old Madam Qin, after all, she was Qin Shu’s concubine maid. Do you believe that Qin Shu had no idea what she did to my sister?

  “I used to believe what my sister said that Qin Shu treated her very well, but now after I think about it, he didn’t treat her well at all.

  “Qin Shu dared to proclaim that he would not take any concubines. I’m afraid that’s just because he didn’t dare to! Although the Qin family has a noble title, they don’t have the power of my family. If he dares to take concubines at will, can my parents and grandmother tolerate it? Qiao Ruoyun married the Qin family less than three years ago. How can we allow Qin Shu to get a concubine-born son?

  I thought he was a good man because he promised not to take any concubines, but now I think I was wrong.”


  Lu Chen handed Qiao Jinniang a cup of water. “If you are worried, I will have my guards go to the South to check.”


  “Okay.”
……

  The rain that finally stopped at night became heavier again, and Qiao Ruoyun, who was on the horseback, couldn’t open her eyes. She really didn’t know who she had offended.

  Someone wanted to kill her!

  The guards who came to protect her held off the villains who were chasing her, and in the dark night, only the smell of blood could be smelled.

  Hearing the noise, the people living nearby came out with lanterns to check, but when they saw what happened, they hurriedly hid back home.

  But they felt the situation was very strange. There were usually patrols at night in Lin’an. But why did no one appear although these people had been fighting and killing here for so long?

  Seeing the Qian Mansion close at hand, the guard who carried Qiao Ruoyun on his horseback hurriedly rode up to the Qian Mansion and knocked hard on the door.

  The villains at the back fiercely slashed a guard who tried to stop them. From a distance, someone among the pursuers said, “Big brother, it’s the Qian family!”


  “The Qian family has never been nosy! Chase!”


  The guard who protected Qiao Ruoyun knocked harder on the door, and finally the doorman of the Qian family came to open the door with a lantern. With the light of the lantern, he saw a woman who was soaking wet.

  The guard showed the jade pendant to the doorman, “This is the only daughter of Princess Shou’an, Princess Fulu. She is now being hunted down by bandits. She hopes her old friend can give her a shelter to avoid this disaster.”


  But at this moment, one of the [pursuers had already shot Qiao Ruoyun with an arrow.

  The silver light of the arrow reflected the candlelight, and at the critical moment, Qiao Ruoyun was held in arms by a tall, burly man.

  The man opened an ivory fan and blocked the arrow, which then fell to the ground!

  “Come, arrest all these bandits and put them in my private prison!”


  As soon as the man said so, many men in black came out of the dark and captured the bandits one after another.

  Before Qiao Ruoyun could see the appearance of the man clearly, she fainted in the arms of the stalwart man, and the guard who protected her all the way also fell into a coma due to excessive bleeding from the wound on his back.

  Qian Yin looked at the thin woman in his arms, who was soaked all over because of the rain, and her beautiful figure was completely revealed.

  Qian Yin took off his cloak and put it on Qiao Ruoyun before he asked the maids on the side to take her to change and call over a doctor for the guard and her.

  “Master, this woman is not the princess. Although we haven’t seen her for ten years, her appearance shouldn’t have changed so much. She looks very similar to the wife of Myriad Taste’s shopkeeper.”


  Qian Yin looked at the jade pendant carefully and said, “This is the jade pendant I gave to Xiangxiang. Even if she is not Xiangxiang, she should be a woman Xiangxiang wants to protect.”


  “Judging from her clothes and jewelry, she must also be a noble lady. Master, you’ve always been low-key. Wouldn’t it ruin your peaceful life if you intervene rashly?”


  Qian Yin said, “You talk too much. Hurry up to boil some water. I want to take a bath.”


  “Yes.”
……

  Fulu rushed all the way to Yin County, and after seeing Qiao Lu, she hurriedly said, “Qiao Lu, quickly go back and save Sister Ruoyun. Someone wants to kill her!”


  Qiao Lu, who was digging a canal in the fields, was shocked when he heard this. “Really?”


  “Do you think I’m kidding? Be quick!”


  Without saying a word, Qiao Lu got on Fulu’s horse and Fulu immediately turned the horse around and was riding back.

  Qin Shu chased after them and asked Fulu, “What’s wrong with Ruoyun? Why would someone want to kill her?”


  Fulu snorted. “Ask yourself! Who will benefit the most from Qiao Ruoyun’s death? I feel disgusted to have the same surname as you!”


  Qin Shu said, “Princess, mind your words. Ruoyun and I grew up together and had been engaged since childhood. I’m deeply in love with her. Why do you suspect that I am the murderer?”


  Fulu said, “Did I say she died? Why are you so sensitive? Get out of the way, don’t waste our time!”


  Fulu couldn’t guarantee that Uncle Qian would protect Qiao Ruoyun. After all, Uncle Qian had been keeping a low profile for more than ten years.