Chapter 87 — Kidnapped

Dou Yan tried to stand up, her head swimming, but a cry of pain from Sujuan reached her ears. Only then did she realize the carriage had overturned and she was sitting on its roof. Bie Suxin was crouched at her side, watching her anxiously, while Bie Sulan lay at the carriage window looking out, and behind them Sujuan huddled in the corner, curled into a ball from the pain.

"Miss, are you all right?" Bie Suxin asked her again, worried.

"I'm fine." Dou Yan heard how hoarse her own voice was.

Bie Sulan turned back, uneasy. "Elder Sister, what do we do? Those two with the three-section staffs are terribly fierce, and there's another with a saber. The guards can't hold against them."

"Let me see!" Dou Yan crawled to the carriage window.

The seven or eight men besieging them were all burly fellows with villainous faces. Apart from the two with three-section staffs and the one with the saber, the rest had been cut down by the Dou estate guards, and six or seven of the guards were wounded too. Only their leader and two others, quicker than the rest, were still barely holding on, and even they looked about to give way and be struck down. The coachman had been flung into a ditch not far from the carriage, his face buried in the water, motionless—plainly there was little hope for him. Liu Wan, who had come to warn them, was cowering in the roadside shrubs, trembling too hard to move.

Dou Zhiwei's mind raced.

This was an age of peace and plenty. In Zhending County one did not speak of bandits—there had not been a murder case in years. These men had demanded the Dou estate's carriage by name, so they had clearly come prepared. But which did they mean to rob—the Dou estate's carriage, or hers, Dou Zhiwei's? If it was the Dou family they were after, that was one thing. She had merely blundered into it; the Second Madam and Dou Zhen would surely do all they could to manage the affair. But if they had come for her... then why had they come?

If it was for money, her uncle would not harm her, and the Dou family would not wish her harmed either.

That left only one possibility.

Ransom!

Dou Yan broke into a cold sweat.

If these men merely wanted to make a fortune, then her third uncle, who managed the Dou family's affairs, and her third cousin, who was always out and about, were both renowned. If anyone was to be robbed, it should have been the third uncle and the third cousin.

What she feared was that these men had been put up to it!

And the only people who knew of the great fortune in her name, and could also know her movements, were the Dou clan!

The Second Madam was merely her father's cousin's wife; her third uncle merely her father's cousin.

Would this person's influence make the Second Madam and her third uncle give up on rescuing her?

More than half these robbers were dead or wounded already. Would they fly into a rage and kill her to vent their spite?

The shadow of death had never been so close to Dou Yan.

She asked the Bie sisters, "Are you absolutely certain you can cut a way out and get me to safety?"

Bie Suxin and Bie Sulan looked at each other, both wearing expressions of hesitation.

Dou Yan thought it over, then clenched her teeth. "Suxin, isn't Chen Lanxu working as a guard for someone? Go to him at once and tell him what's happening here. I'll offer a reward of ten thousand taels of silver. Then go back and see how Aunt Cui is doing, and send word to Dou Yan that I've been robbed. Sulan, slip out of the carriage quietly and follow after them however you can, and see where they hide me. So long as they do not take my life along the way, do not strike. Meet back here when it's done. Sujuan, you can't even outrun me—sending you off would only do you harm. You stay with me!"

Sujuan clutched Dou Zhiwei's arm tightly.

But Bie Suxin and Bie Sulan cried, "Fourth Miss!" Then together: "How could we abandon you and go ourselves? What if those robbers hurt you somewhere? Let us guard you and cut our way out! Even if we lose our lives, we will keep you safe."

"It's safer if we follow my plan." Dou Yan had made up her mind. "While those three are still tangled up with the guards, slip away quickly."

Bie Sulan still hesitated.

Bie Suxin seized her sister by the arm. "Miss, I'll do as you say. But if any harm comes to you, we sisters will not live on alone." With that, before Dou Yan could speak, she turned and slipped out.

Dou Yan sighed.

She only hoped the Dou clan had nothing to do with this!

Soon two shrill screams came from outside, the carriage curtain was flung open, and the scar-faced man raised his bloodied saber and roared into the carriage, "Which one is the Dou family's Fourth Miss? Get out here!"

Imagining it was one thing. Seeing it with her own eyes was another.

Dou Yan was terrified, her limbs gone weak, and the sight of the blood made her sick with nausea. She wished she could hide herself in a hole in the ground.

The scar-faced man's gaze had already fallen on Dou Zhiwei. "You. Out." He reached in and hauled Dou Yan out of the carriage. "And the others?"

At her feet, one of the Dou estate guards lay clutching his belly and groaning, blood seeping ceaselessly through his fingers.

In two lifetimes, this was the first time Dou Yan had seen such a scene. She could not help it—she doubled over and vomited.

The scar-faced man ordered the two with the three-section staffs, "Right the carriage and drag our brothers out."

The leader of the Dou guards lay on the ground and gasped, "Who—who are you? Let the Fourth Miss go at once! Then you might still live..."

One of the men with a three-section staff stepped up and struck the Dou guards' leader once. His eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.

Dou Yan saw that the Dou estate guards were all still alive.

One of the robbers glanced into the carriage. "No time left. Drag this out any longer and the authorities will find us. So long as the Dou family's Fourth Miss is in our hands, that's enough." As he spoke, a sharp pain shot through the back of Dou Yan's neck, and she lost consciousness.

※※※※※

The drama before the Dou household gate had already dispersed, leaving only its echoes behind.

Wu Shan walked into Dou Yong and Dou Huaide's study and found Dou Huaide and Ji Yong playing Go, with Dou Yong watching from the side.

Ji Yong held white, Dou Huaide black. The two were evenly matched, each gaining and losing ground, a true meeting of equals.

Wu Shan was delighted.

Ji Yong picked up the folding fan from the table and fanned himself a few times, then said to Dou Huaide with cool indifference, "I'll spot you two more stones."

Dou Huaide's expression instantly turned tangled.

Wu Shan could not help sighing. Then he smiled and said, "Twelve, the day after tomorrow I set out for the capital."

All three of them looked up.

Wu Shan gave a light cough and said, "I don't know when I'll be back. I'd like to invite everyone to Yuquan Temple to admire the flowers."

Ji Yong said in surprise, "What rare flowers does Lingyan Temple have?"

"Nothing but an old osmanthus tree—nothing remarkable," Wu Shan said with a smile. "Only, if it's Yuquan Temple, then my sister, Fourth Sister, Sister Shu, and Sister Yi can all come along and join the fun."

Ji Yong nodded. "Then count me in!"

Wu Shan turned to Dou Huaide. "Shall we go talk to Fourth Sister? See which day she's free."

Dou Huaide had long since wanted to abandon the game. At these words he rose with a smile. "Good! I'll go with you."

Dou Yong felt he could not face Ji Yong's overwhelming presence alone, so he smiled and said, "I'll come too."

Ji Yong looked at Dou Huaide, then at Dou Yong, and a flicker of cunning darted through his eyes. "Then I'll come along as well! It'll be a good chance to take Aunt Cui's pulse."

Wu Shan and the Dou brothers exchanged glances, and had no choice but to bring Ji Yong along to the West Residence.