kingnovel Chapter 128 is tragic.
Chapter 128 is tragic.
Li Xiaonuan woke up in a simple house. She struggled to look around and realized it was a long-abandoned building. Because her limbs were bound, Li Xiaonuan couldn't even sit up.
Looking at the sky, it was still bright outside. Li Xiaonuan figured she hadn't been unconscious for long. The room, drafty from all sides and with light streaming through the roof, was quite bright. She struggled to move her tongue, trying to spit out the foreign object in her mouth.
But the other party had anticipated Li Xiaonuan's actions and bound her mouth tightly with strips of cloth. Her mouth was slowly filled with an unknown substance, and her mouth was already wide open in excruciating pain. To make matters worse, she was firmly tied to a stone millstone in this dilapidated house.
Calm down, you must calm down. Li Xiaonuan told herself. She took a few deep breaths and slowly leaned against the stone bench. Then, she calmed her chaotic and uneasy mind. The feeling of fear and tension also lessened considerably.
Li Xiaonuan calmed herself down and then listened intently to the sounds outside. Outside, it seemed as tranquil as any other suburb. The chirping of insects and birds, the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the occasional burst of summer cicadas added a touch of restlessness to the stillness.
No human voices?
This was Li Xiaonuan's first thought. In other words, the people who had kidnapped her weren't nearby at all. And she was the only one in this dilapidated house. Could it be that those people went through all the trouble of kidnapping her just to leave her here to fend for herself?
No, how could that person let her go so easily? Something's not right, or rather, it's really terrible. Li Xiaonuan instantly felt like a complete idiot; she'd followed a stranger without asking any questions, and now she'd fallen into their trap.
Thinking this, Li Xiaonuan realized her situation was critical. If she couldn't escape before those people showed up, her life was over. She struggled desperately for her hands, which were tied behind her back, trying to see if she could break free.
But she soon regretted it.
To Li Xiaonuan's dismay, the rope binding her was now connected to the millstone. And the knot on her hands, tightened even more from her frantic pulling.
Now her palms are engorged with blood, and you are slowly losing sensation in them.
If this continues, her hands might be ruined. What should we do?
Li Xiaonuan was frantic with worry and frustration. Tears welled in her eyes, and she looked despairingly at the rooftop. She thought: If only a hero could fall from the sky like this, maybe she'd relentlessly pursue him and even offer herself to him.
Just as Li Xiaonuan was getting anxious, Prince Jing was also growing impatient waiting for her. He sent someone to the Li family in Xinzhou Village to inquire, and the result was that Li Xiaonuan had entered the city early in the morning.
Upon learning that Li Xiaonuan hadn't reached the clinic all morning, the Li family was frantic. Li's father, disregarding the fact that the village head was still at home discussing the chili pepper planting with him, rushed out to find someone.
Wiping away her tears, Madam Su went to the homes of acquaintances, asking them to help search for Li Xiaonuan. The old lady was the most anxious; she disregarded Xiao Jun, who was still eating, and took him to a family in the village with a horse-drawn carriage to hire one. She then hurried to her other sons' homes, asking them to help search for Li Xiaonuan as well.
Although it was only a morning, the Li family was convinced that something had happened to Li Xiaonuan. If you were to ask them why they were so sure, you could only say it was the subtle connection of blood ties.
The man who returned to the city to report the matter analyzed it, saying, "Your Highness, I think there's something fishy about Miss Li's situation. On my way back to the city, I made a point of inquiring along the way. The guard at the city gate told me that Miss Li did indeed enter the city this morning. However, she was taken away by a young maid."
Prince Jing pondered for a moment and then gave the order: "Take a few of your men and go search for him yourself. Remember, you must find him alive or dead."
The man agreed and quickly left the clinic. After making a few hand gestures towards the street, he swiftly disappeared around the corner.
Prince Jing sat for a while with a gloomy face, then ordered Qi Ji and Wei Yu to be summoned. After all, they were local strongmen in this prefecture, and perhaps they could find Li Xiaonuan faster.
Qi Ji was the first to arrive at Prince Jing's courtyard. Upon hearing that Li Xiaonuan seemed to be in trouble, he hurriedly said he needed to go find her. Prince Jing asked him how he planned to look for her. Qi Ji simply said he would ask some thugs to help him.
After Qi Ji left, Prince Jing waited for another quarter of an hour before Wei Yu arrived. When Wei Yu heard that Li Xiaonuan had an accident, he didn't rush to find her like Qi Ji did. Instead, he asked about what had happened.
After that, he sent someone to inquire about the girl who took Li Xiaonuan away, and preferably find out whose family she belonged to. After assigning the task to someone, Wei Yu sat with Prince Jing, his face grim.
"Your Highness, could it be that Chu Feng found out something and therefore targeted Li Xiaonuan?" Wei Yu tried to analyze.
Prince Jing shook his head: "I've been keeping an eye on Chu Feng. I heard he's been having things packed these past few days, so it seems he's planning to return to the capital."
"Then what about Chu Xun'er? Did you also send someone to keep an eye on Chu Xun'er?" Wei Yu was still not convinced.
Prince Jing nodded again: "I have people keeping a close eye on their whole family, and I haven't let Chu Lin off the hook either."
Wei Yu remained silent, but his expression was somewhat strange. The two sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. After a long while, the men Wei Yu had sent out returned.
Upon returning, the man reported with a somewhat strange expression, "Your Highness, Young Master, I've discovered that the girl is the maid of Miss Ni Chang from Qunfang Pavilion. Furthermore, Miss Ni Chang redeemed herself from the pavilion the day before yesterday, and her whereabouts are currently unknown."
Wei Yu frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "Does Ni Chang know Li Xiaonuan? How did they meet?"
The subordinate replied, "That happened several days ago. You saw Miss Li at the clinic that day, sir. It was the day Young Master Qi was pestered by a girl, do you remember?"
Wei Yu nodded slowly and asked, "Could it be that the person who kidnapped Li Xiaonuan was the girl who was bothering Qi Ji that day?"
The subordinate nodded and said, "As far as I know, it seems that Young Master Qi used Miss Li as a shield that day to get rid of her."
"That bastard Qi Ji!" Upon hearing this, Wei Yu angrily slammed his hand on the coffee table, causing the tea in the teacups to spill out.
Knowing who kidnapped Li Xiaonuan made things much easier. Wei Yu ordered everyone to search for Ni Chang and her servant, and also to gather information on the activities of the city's scoundrels. Of course, they needed to pay close attention to the movements of the guards at Qunfang Pavilion.
Prince Jing watched coldly from the sidelines, offering no opinion. But seeing Wei Yu's increasingly dark expression, he couldn't help but feel a surge of amusement.
"What? Are you angry with Ji? That guy has a history of womanizing and then dragged Li Xiaonuan into it. You're really unhappy about that, aren't you?"
Wei Yu glanced at the somewhat gloating Prince Jing and sighed, "Qi Ji has always been like that, he's already hurt Chu Lin. Now he's still incorrigible and has implicated innocent people again. Your Highness, do you think I should be angry?"
Prince Jing nodded meaningfully and said, "That boy Ji is quite annoying. It's really not right for him to keep going to those places. What do you think? Should I just kidnap him and bring him back to the capital to marry my little darling?"
Wei Yu replied in a serious tone, "Yes, Your Highness, hurry up and tie him up and take him back, lest that guy harm others again."
The two chatted idly, one sentence after another, until Qi Ji rushed back in a hurry.