NOVEL WEB Chapter 40: Nian Nian Cannot Fall Here
Chapter 40: Nian Nian Cannot Fall Here
When Qiao Nian woke up, everything was still dark. Her eyes seemed to be covered by something.
She instinctively raised her hand, only to find that her hands were tied together.
It was then that she suddenly remembered everything that had happened in the teahouse!
So now, where was she?
The surface beneath her was quite soft; she should be lying on a bed. She could faintly hear some noisy sounds from outside.
She was still on Chunshan Street!
This should be some inn on Chunshan Street!
But with her eyes covered, she couldn’t be sure exactly where she was, nor did she know what time it was now.
How long had she been kidnapped?
As she was thinking, the sound of the door being pushed open rang out.
The two men had returned.
Qiao Nian could hear the footsteps of one of them coming towards her, seemingly to check if she was awake.
She didn’t dare move at all.
Fortunately, the person didn’t realize she was awake, only laughed and said, “Brother, you bought some good sleeping drug this time!” Then he walked away.
“Of course! I heard it’s from Medicine Valley!”
The scent of alcohol wafted over; the two had clearly started drinking.
“Brother, why are there so many officials outside? They’re not after us, are they?” one of them asked, sounding a bit depressed.
The other replied, “You fool, those outside aren’t officials. Have you ever seen officials with such a strong killing aura?”
As he spoke, the man took a drink and said gravely, “In my opinion, those are all soldiers who’ve been on the battlefield and killed people!”
After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence.
The two seemed to be in a bad mood. Qiao Nian only heard the sound of them drinking for a while before hearing one ask, “Then, are those soldiers after us? Just for that young lady from the Marquis’s mansion?”
“Perhaps!” The man sighed, “If we had known this job would be so difficult, we should have asked for more silver! But it’s fine, we’re hiding in the inn now, not showing our faces. Even if the whole street is full of soldiers, they won’t find us! We just need to wait until dawn and release this girl.”
“Ah, it’s strange though. Why did he pay so much silver just to have us keep this girl for one night and then release her? And he repeatedly emphasized not to harm her.”
“Did you forget what she said earlier? The Emperor betrothed her to Prince Ming! But now she’s been kidnapped and gone all night. Although we didn’t touch her, will people outside believe that? When the time comes, every citizen in the capital will spit on her, drowning her in shame. How could she still marry Prince Ming then? She might hang herself out of humiliation!”
“Tsk! So vicious! Is this what people call ‘killing without bloodshed’?”
“We’re openly bad, but those rich people are secretly vicious! But it’s none of our business. Tomorrow morning, we’ll release her, take our silver and go home. We won’t need to take risks for the next ten years! Come, let’s drink!”
As they spoke, the two brothers seemed to have beautiful imaginations about their future days. From toasting each other to drinking heartily, and finally to being completely drunk, Qiao Nian didn’t dare make a sound the entire time.
She didn’t even dare to move a toe.
Only when the two were snoring thunderously did she dare to slightly move her numb limbs.
Qiao Nian secretly felt relieved that these two trusted the “Medicine Valley” sleeping drug so much that they both got drunk.
But clearly, they had been deceived.
This also created a glimmer of hope for her.
However, her limbs were too numb. Even the slightest movement was painfully unbearable, causing Qiao Nian to involuntarily let out a low moan.
Realizing she had made a sound, Qiao Nian froze again.
Fortunately, the snoring of the two men continued unabated.
Only then did she confirm that the two should be sound asleep.
Without further hesitation, she began to struggle vigorously.
However, the captors were clearly experienced; the knots were tied exceptionally tight. Qiao Nian struggled for a long time but couldn’t loosen the rope on her wrists even slightly.
But she couldn’t give up like this.
She had heard the two men’s conversation clearly earlier. They wanted to ruin her reputation and destroy her engagement to Prince Ming!
Although she didn’t care about these things and could choose not to marry Prince Ming, if her grandmother found out about this, she would surely be heartbroken!
Grandmother’s health was getting worse and worse. Since returning to the Marquis’s mansion, she hadn’t been able to do anything for her grandmother. Now, the only thing she could do was to not let her grandmother worry at all!
Thinking of how her grandmother would embrace her and comfort her gently, a fire rose in Qiao Nian’s heart.
She couldn’t let her fate be buried here, absolutely not!
The two villains were already sound asleep; this was the best time for her to escape. She couldn’t let a rope cut off her future, cut off her grandmother’s lifeline!
Thinking this, Qiao Nian began to forcefully pull her left hand out.
Even though the rope on her wrist was so tight it dug into her flesh, she didn’t care and continued to pull her hand out forcefully!
Did it hurt?
Of course it hurt!
The rough hemp rope rubbed against her skin, like countless knives carving into her flesh!
But she couldn’t give up like this; she had to run!
Qiao Nian used all her strength, and finally, she could feel her left hand being pulled out a little bit, but then her bones got stuck.
She had no more strength, so she struggled to get up from the bed.
Kneeling, she pushed one knee between her two arms.
Her knee pressed down on her right hand, allowing her left hand to exert more force!
The pain became even more intense.
Qiao Nian could clearly feel the bones in her wrist separating bit by bit.
It hurt so much!
But grandmother, Nian Nian can’t let herself fall here, right?
Nian Nian must run, right?
“Ah!”
Finally, after a heart-wrenching scream, Qiao Nian managed to pull her left hand out, but…
A sharp pain shot through her left wrist, making her whole body tremble.
For a moment, her brain went blank with pain.
But fortunately, the pain also brought her back to her senses.
She didn’t dare hesitate for a moment. After her right hand shook off the rope, she removed the cloth covering her eyes.
In the dim candlelight, she immediately saw the two drunk men slumped over the table and several wine jars beside them.
They had drunk a lot; even her heart-wrenching scream hadn’t woken them up.
Qiao Nian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She looked down at her left hand, which was bleeding profusely from the rope marks. Her entire left hand hung limply, clearly dislocated.
But she had no time to attend to her left hand’s injury. Instead, she quickly untied the ropes on her feet with her right hand and rushed out as if her life depended on it.
Unexpectedly, just as she rushed out the door, she collided with an incredibly solid chest.
She abruptly looked up to see a tall man looking at her with surprise.