A somewhat composed voice replied from outside, "Who we are, miss, you'll know soon. But please believe that we mean you no harm."
Like hell Jifeiyu would believe him. Having been deceived so many times, she was determined not to let others control her fate anymore. So she sat back in the sedan chair and started searching her body for any hidden powder.
But who would carry poison while wearing a wedding dress and about to get married?
Jifeiyu couldn't help but regret. There were so many people outside. If she fought them head - on with her martial arts skills, it would be suicidal. So she gave up the idea of running away and simply waited to see who was trying to harm her.
With this thought, she calmed down. She quietly lifted the sedan curtain and peeked out. Apart from the four sedan carriers, there was also a team of wedding attendants in red.
At this moment, they were on a desolate mountain road. Although the road was uneven, the wedding attendants walked as fast as the wind, and even the sedan carriers didn't lag behind, making her feel as if she was sitting on a flat surface in the sedan chair.
It seemed that even the sedan carriers were not to be underestimated. Her chance of escaping was even slimmer.
This group walked for a while. She was finally put down in front of a thatched cottage. There was a carriage parked in front of it. The carriage was simple, but the horses were good.
Jifeiyu was politely invited into the cottage. She was just about to see who the mysterious person was when, to her surprise, as soon as the person turned around, she cried out in disbelief, "Dad! Why is it you? What are you doing?"
That's right. Standing in front of Jifeiyu was Lord Lian, the vice - minister of the Supreme Court. At this moment, his brows were tightly knitted, and his face was full of grief. "Daughter, it's all Dad's fault. Dad has made you suffer so much."
Jifeiyu was full of questions. She saw him reaching out to hold her hand, but halfway through, he retracted it reluctantly. "Daughter, you'd better get on the carriage quickly! The people who are going to arrest you for running away from marriage will be here soon."
Hearing this, Jifeiyu was even more confused. She said jokingly, "Dad, what on earth are you talking about?"
Lord Lian heaved a heavy sigh and said, "This is an order from the grand preceptor. He said that after the storm is over, he will bring you back to marry his beloved son."
Wait a minute. The grand preceptor ordered someone to kidnap her? What was going on?
She thought that on the wedding day, how could the groom's family let the bride be kidnapped without any preparation?
"So, these people pretending to be the wedding procession were sent by you?"
Lord Lian nodded.
Jifeiyu felt like overturning the table but managed to hold back. She cursed, "Then why didn't you tell me in advance? And you laughed so obscenely. I thought I had met some villains!"
The sedan carrier who came in with her was embarrassed. "Cough, cough. My laughter is inborn, and I can't control it at all. I'm really sorry for scaring you, miss. The reason we didn't tell you the truth was just to follow the lord's order. And even if we had told you at that time, you probably wouldn't have believed us."
Hearing this, Lord Lian also apologized repeatedly. "Daughter, Dad knows I'm sorry for you in this matter. But please go to a place to take shelter first. Dad will pick you up when things calm down. Don't ask about other things."
But Jifeiyu refused to let it go. "No. If you don't explain this clearly today, I'm definitely not going. Didn't you say the people who are going to arrest me will be here soon? Fine. I'll just let them arrest me." She wanted to see what tricks the old fox, the grand preceptor, was playing!
Seeing her like this, Lord Lian had no choice but to dismiss the servants. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Actually, this is an imperial order. We have no choice but to obey!"
"What imperial order?" Jifeiyu looked at him in confusion.
Then he told Jifeiyu the whole story.
It turned out that when the emperor heard that the grand preceptor's son was going to get married, he personally came to congratulate. But secretly, he asked the grand preceptor to do something for him. He said that a very important person was missing from the palace. Due to the dignity of the royal family, it was not appropriate to issue an order to arrest the person openly. So he asked the grand preceptor to pretend that the bride was kidnapped by villains on his son's wedding day, and then order a nationwide search.
To put it simply, on the surface, they were looking for the vice - minister's daughter, but in fact, they were searching for the queen.
Hearing this, Jifeiyu really admired the dirty trick that Yong Yaxuan had come up with.
With this trick, first, the grand preceptor would lose face. He would have to swallow his anger even though he had suffered a loss. Second, the grand preceptor would take the blame. All the trouble caused to the common people would be pushed onto him, making the people think that the current grand preceptor was really troublesome.
All she could say about this was that Yong Yaxuan was really ruthless.
However, this matter was a disgrace to both the grand preceptor's family and the Lian family. She didn't know what Yong Yaxuan had promised them to make them willing to do this. But in the end, imperial power was greater than everything.
As Lord Lian said, as soon as the person was found after this matter was over, she would be brought back immediately to marry Lin Zhiran. The grand preceptor's family would not have the slightest bit of dislike.
But Jifeiyu knew that this matter was aimed at her. Because as long as the queen (herself) was not found, she, "Miss Lian", could not marry Lin Zhiran. And if the queen was found, there would be no possibility for her to meet Lin Zhiran again.
It seemed that she and Lin Zhiran were just destined to be apart.
Seeing Jifeiyu deep in thought, Lord Lian thought she was in a bad mood. He said, "I know you must not be able to accept this, but there is no other way for now." After saying that, he looked at Jifeiyu. Seeing that she didn't respond, he sighed sadly, "If I had known this would happen, I should have let you elope with the person you like. Dad knows it's all because Dad was greedy for glory and wealth that I've harmed you!"
Alas, hearing this, Jifeiyu couldn't help but sigh. Some parents always like to regret, but what's the use of regret when things have already happened?
Sometimes, the wonder of fate really makes people feel mixed emotions. Just like this matter. If she hadn't been brought back by him, she would have had nothing to do with Lin Zhiran. She would never have known Lin Zhiran's little secret. Now that she knew it, but the two of them would never see each other again.
Jifeiyu shook her head and sighed deeply. Finally, she got on the carriage that Lord Lian had prepared for her.
This place was in the wilderness. The thatched cottage was at the turning point of the way here and the way ahead. The way ahead branched into two paths, which were the choices to deceive the officers later.
Jifeiyu heard the coachman whip the horses and set off. Halfway through the journey, she suddenly heard someone shouting from behind, "Hey, it's wrong! Didn't we agree to take the main road? Why are you going to the south pass!"
Then someone shouted from farther away, "Oh no! The coachman has been replaced. Li San was knocked out and thrown into the grass. Who is the person driving the carriage!"
Then came Lord Lian's scream, "Ah! My daughter! Give my daughter back to me! Where are you taking my daughter!"
The voices behind gradually faded away, making it hard for her to hear clearly. When she lifted the curtain and looked back, she saw a group of people chasing after them.
Just then, the coachman whipped the horses hard and shouted, "Sit tight!"
Jifeiyu was immediately thrown to the deepest part of the carriage by the acceleration. She wondered what was going on. Why did she just get out of the tiger's den and fall into the wolf's lair! God, could you stop playing tricks on her!