"Hey! So bold! Do you think you have the right to speak in front of our master? Get out of the way!"
Yin Bao sprang out like a cannonball and shouted at the old coachman.
The old man was fearless. He gave a cold snort and said, "This is so unreasonable! Even a noble lord has no right to deliberately make things difficult for a commoner on the road! You really have a big nerve!"
The person inside the carriage couldn't sit still any longer. Impatiently, he pushed aside the beaded curtain and showed a frivolous, fair - skinned face.
Dressed in a light - colored robe, with a powdered face and oiled hair, who else could it be but Young Master Guo?
With a wink from Young Master Guo, his servant Yin Bao led seven or eight men and dragged the old coachman off the cart.
The old man kept cursing, but Yin Bao stuffed a cloth into his mouth, making his words muffled.
Yin Bao dragged the old man to the side, swaggering like a petty man who had achieved success.
Young Master Guo held a closed gilded folding fan. He skillfully opened the curtain of the mule cart. To his surprise, he saw a young and beautiful face.
Young Master Guo stared blankly for a moment, and half of his body went limp.
"What a beauty!" he said, unable to hide his excitement. "I haven't seen such a charming young beauty for a long time." He trembled as he reached out his hand to touch Pei Li's face.
Pei Li's face twitched, and he was furious.
Gritting his teeth in hatred, he punched Young Master Guo with all his might, sending him staggering.
His servants quickly stepped forward to support him. "Are you all right, Young Master?"
After Young Master Guo finally managed to stand still, he was enraged. Pointing at Pei Li and Qi Jiao in the cart, he shouted, "Arrest them! Don't let either of them go!"
His servants clearly weren't doing this for the first time. Upon receiving the order, they stepped forward to arrest them.
Qi Jiao and Pei Li naturally wouldn't sit back and wait for death.
In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged a glance. Qi Jiao jumped out of the cart first. After she got off, Pei Li threw all the sundries in the carriage at the faces of Young Master Guo's lackeys.
Taking this opportunity, Qi Jiao ran towards Young Master Guo. She took out the celadon dish hidden in her chest and smashed it on the ground. The dish shattered instantly.
Qi Jiao quickly picked up a piece of the broken porcelain and pressed it against Young Master Guo's neck.
"Don't move! Be careful or I might slip and cut your neck. Young Master Guo, you may not know this, but I'm a cook. I've got a lot of strength in my hands. With just a light scratch, you'll be in pain and bleeding."
Qi Jiao was of medium height among young women. Fortunately, Young Master Guo wasn't very tall. She held his arm with one hand and threatened him with the porcelain shard in the other, managing to maintain her balance for the time being.
Young Master Guo had never experienced such intimidation before. Qi Jiao's voice was as cold as ice, and the weapon at his neck was so cold that his teeth chattered.
All his amorous thoughts flew out of his mind. He didn't dare to move. He slightly raised his hand and pleaded miserably with his servants, "Stay there! Don't come over!"
Young Master Guo kept begging Qi Jiao for mercy. "Jiao Niang... Miss Qi... My lady! Can't we talk this over? After all, you were once my elder sister's maid. In a way, we're still master and servant. Don't do anything rash! Killing me won't do you any good!"
As he spoke, his voice became hoarse. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his breathing became rapid due to nervousness.
Qi Jiao sneered. "Tell your men to let A Li go."
Young Master Guo craned his neck with difficulty and glared angrily at Yin Bao. "Hurry up and let him go! Do you want your young master to lose his life?"
Yin Bao reluctantly let go of Pei Li.
Qi Jiao stepped back while saying, "Come here, A Li."
"Pick up the porcelain shards on the ground."
Pei Li did as he was told.
Qi Jiao then said, "Aim at Young Master Guo's private parts."
Pei Li's face froze for a moment, but he cooperated well. He pointed the sharp porcelain shard at Young Master Guo's lower abdomen, scaring the young master into screaming.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah———————"
"What are you doing?!"
Yin Bao was like a man who had lost his father. He anxiously said, "Young Master! Be careful!"
Seeing Young Master Guo being humiliated like this, Yin Bao couldn't help but jump up and curse. "You two damned criminals! Vicious shrews! If a single hair on our young master is harmed, the Guo family will never let you go!"
Qi Jiao raised her eyebrows. "Really?" She pressed the porcelain shard deeper.
Young Master Guo had been pampered since childhood. His skin was fair and tender, and blood immediately oozed out.
Pei Li held Young Master Guo's hands with one hand, and Qi Jiao took the opportunity to dip her hand in his blood and wiped it on his face with a look of disgust.
There was a heart - rending scream.
If it weren't for Qi Jiao and Pei Li holding him up, Young Master Guo would have fainted on the spot.
This scene scared Yin Bao so much that he didn't dare to say a word.
Qi Jiao quickly negotiated terms with Yin Bao.
She asked Yin Bao to release the old coachman and send them back to Yun Village.
Naturally, Young Master Guo would only be released after they were all safe.
Yin Bao looked grief - stricken. In his heart, he had already imagined thousands of ways to take revenge on Qi Jiao and the others.
But on the surface, he had to plead, "Our young master was just being impulsive for a moment. Although he was tempted by beauty, he had no intention of harming anyone. Please be magnanimous and don't hurt him anymore."
Qi Jiao nodded slightly as an agreement. She and Pei Li stuffed Young Master Guo into the mule cart.
The old coachman, Uncle Zheng, returned to the driver's seat. The big carriage followed behind, with only Yin Bao and another young servant on it.
Before getting off the cart, Qi Jiao paid Uncle Zheng the fare and compensation.
Uncle Zheng was from Danxia Village, another village in Yinwan. But since Qi Jiao and Pei Xia often took his cart to the city or town, they were old acquaintances.
Uncle Zheng only took the fare. Indignantly, he said, "What an unexpected disaster! Jiao Niang, hold on for a while. We'll be at the Pei family's place soon."
Uncle Zheng didn't stop at the fork in the road but continued driving into the village.
The lives of the villagers in Baiyun Village were plain and monotonous day after day. When they suddenly saw Uncle Zheng's mule cart followed by a magnificent carriage, they all rushed over to watch the excitement.
Although the villagers were simple - minded, they were always vigilant against the outside world. After the excitement, they felt something was fishy.
Such a fine horse and carriage indicated that the owner was either rich or noble.
Even the richest family in the village didn't have such a wealthy relative.
Moreover, Uncle Zheng was driving so fast. There must be something going on.
Seeing something was wrong, Qu Silang, who was boasting under the big banyan tree, quickly gathered a group of young and strong men and followed the carriage to the Pei family's place.
Tang Guiniang had just sorted out this year's harvest from the fields and was planning to transport a batch of grain to the Zhu family in the town to sell the next day.
Just as she walked out of the room, she heard the sound of horses neighing.
Qi Jiao and Pei Li were dragging Young Master Guo into the courtyard.
Tang Guiniang was shocked to see them bringing back a strange man and threatening him with a porcelain shard.
She asked anxiously, "What's going on?"
Yin Bao and Uncle Zheng also came in. The atmosphere between the two sides was very tense.
Qi Jiao didn't have time to explain the situation to Tang Guiniang. She kicked Young Master Guo first.
This fellow was really useless. After the bumpy journey and the scare, he looked half - dead.
No wonder Tang Guiniang thought Qi Jiao and the others had done something to Young Master Guo.
Yin Bao quickly rescued Young Master Guo. He was almost on his knees in front of Qi Jiao.
"My dear sister! My lady! We've arrived. Please be kind - hearted and let our young master go home."