Chapter 440: Chapter 440: Kidnapping
In that shadowy alley.
Flickering flames illuminated the nearby area.
“Who are you? Who sent you?”
The cry of Prefecture Princess Luo brought Di Xuan, who was standing stupefied, back to his senses.
His heart also trembled!
Previously, he thought these shadows were people from Prefecture Princess Luo’s house. It wasn’t until he heard the cry of Thirteenth Luo that he realized things were not what he thought.
“Run!”
Di Xuan instinctively yelled, quickly passing through the shadows, attempting to escape.
How could the two half-grown kids escape with a dead alley in front of them and several shadows chasing them behind?
Even with their desperate struggle, they were eventually caught and tightly bound by several people after suffering some pain.
“Damn! I didn’t expect to run into fat sheep today! This should be enough for us to live worry-free for half a year! Move faster and don’t dawdle!”
A man forcefully shoved Di Xuan, almost causing him to stumble and fall face forward.
He staggered a few steps, barely regaining his balance.
As he tried to move his sore and numb arms, he found them tightly wrapped by hemp ropes, unable to break free.
“Mmm”
The situation for Thirteenth Luo walking in front was no better. Not only was she similarly tied up, but her mouth was also gagged.
The shadows pushed them both every few steps: “Hurry up! Don’t even think about escaping! Want more marks on your faces?”
As they spoke, they raised the knives in their hands.
Rather than leaving the alley, they pushed the two people into a small door beside them.
Di Xuan instinctively tried to run, but before he could escape, several people grabbed him and shoved him.
He lost his balance and fell forward onto Thirteenth Luo. The two of them tumbled to the ground and struggled for a long time before barely managing to climb up, only to be kicked several times by the shadows.
Someone emerged from the small door, making a gesture to those around.
“Shh! What are you doing, making so much noise? If the night patrol finds out, we’ll be in big trouble! Hurry up and get everyone inside!”
“Yes, yes, right away!”
The two behind them carefully pushed the two captives through the door.
On the avenue.
Di Yelei, Zhang Peng, and the others refused to give up, searching frantically in the streets. Not only did they fail to find Prefecture Princess Luo and Di Xuan, but they also came across the distraught maid.
This maid had been slapped more than a dozen times by Thirteenth Luo and was naturally unhappy.
She was originally a favorite of the Princess Consort and had been assigned to serve Prefecture Princess Luo. This made her feel extremely wronged, which caused her to consider herself superior to the other maid and woman-servants by Prefecture Princess Luo’s side.
This time, Thirteenth Luo took her alone on this trip, making her feel she was on top of the world.
Unexpectedly, she ended up being punished by Prefecture Princess Luo in the end. If this were to get out, how could she continue to hold her ground in the prince’s mansion?
With resentment in her heart, her movement naturally slowed down. By the time she noticed, the two people in front had already disappeared.
She suddenly jolted awake, completely alert!
If something really happened to Prefecture Princess Luo, she would not only lose her footing in the prince’s mansion but also worry about whether her body could remain intact after death!
However, she had survived in the prince’s mansion for a long time and knew that it was not appropriate to make a big fuss about the matter at hand. So, she immediately went back and brought along her newly recruited confidantes, searching quickly on the streets.
Seeing that Di Yelei and the others were also searching for someone, and considering their connections, she hesitated before stepping forward.
She understood that informing Di Yelei and the others about this matter would be tantamount to telling the whole world. However, she was gambling that Di Yelei and the others would not dare to publicize the matter for Di Xuan’s sake.
And she was right!
Upon learning of the situation, Di Yelei’s head suddenly felt like it was swelling!
If Di Xuan and Luo Prefecture Princess went missing together after their chase, even ten Di Xuans wouldn’t be enough to pay for the consequences!
But right now, the most important thing was to find both of them.
So, he immediately contacted people in the government offices in secret and quietly spread a net throughout the county to search for the two missing people.
Liu Sisi and Elderly Mr. Di were anxiously waiting by the roadside.
They had not felt cold while walking, but now that they stopped, the chilly wind started to blow into their collars, making them tremble all over.
This could not go on!
Liu Sisi called to wake up her sleeping father, then slowly walked toward the location of the carriage, carrying YingEr.
Elderly Mr. Di’s legs were not agile, and Di Yelei had been half-carrying him while walking. Now that Liu Sisi was carrying YingEr in her sleep, they could only move forward slowly.
Finally, when they reached the place where the carriage was parked, Liu Sisi realized that the place was filled with carriages. She carefully looked around and finally found her own carriage in a sheltered area.
Old Cheng was sleeping in the carriage. Liu Sisi woke her up, took YingEr and entered the carriage.
The wind inside the carriage was much less, and she placed the blankets from the carriage to wrap YingEr up properly. Then, she lit the warming stove in the carriage, and the carriage immediately became warm.
“Dad, it’s too cold outside. Come inside to get warm. It’s fine with Old Cheng present, no one will gossip.”
Liu Sisi called twice, but Elderly Mr. Di sat on the front bench, silently refusing.
Old Cheng saw the situation and had an idea: “Madam, there’s still another brazier in the hidden compartment. You can also add charcoal fire to it so that it can be used by Old Master.” He could also warm up by the fire.
“I had totally forgotten about the extra brazier!”
Liu Sisi was also happy, as she hadn’t put much thought into the extra brazier at the time. Now, she wouldn’t have remembered it at all.
Liu Sisi quickly took some hot charcoal and placed it into the small brazier before handing it to her father.
Elderly Mr. Di shakily accepted it, and the warmth from the brazier warmed his entire being, making his old face smile.
Liu Sisi thought for a moment, then took out some water to heat up and handed it to Elderly Mr. Di: “Dad, it’s cold today. Have some hot water to warm up.”
“Good, good!”
Elderly Mr. Di happily drank the hot water with a wrinkled smile on his face, while Liu Sisi, not minding the hot temperature, drank half a bowl as well.
Old Cheng was even more clever! Seeing that the charcoal fire in the brazier was burning bright red, he took out some sweet potatoes from a hemp bag underneath the front of the carriage and placed them around the brazier.
“Hehe, it’s a waste to not use this charcoal fire. Roasting some yam eggs would be perfect.”
Liu Sisi saw this and asked him for some sweet potatoes as well, which she placed around the brazier in the carriage to bake.
Old Cheng, being an experienced carriage driver, had chosen a location that was sheltered from the wind. At this point, it was already halfway through the night, with howling cold winds. While the occasional complaint of freezing cold could be heard from the other coachmen, the people in the wind-sheltered area were warming up.