Chapter 325: Chapter 312: Familiar

Translator: 549690339

“Hmm.” Xu Zhengping sighed again.

Whether they could find Miss Zhuang was uncertain.

If they could find her, all would be well.

If they couldn’t…

Xu Zhengping rubbed his furrowed brow.

He had heard from Ding Gaochang that Miss Zhuang had lost her parents and now only had a little sister at home. If Miss Zhuang had really encountered disaster, he would take her sister under his wing, treat her as his foster daughter and look after her.

That would be his way of offering what little help he could.

Those criminals, they really had the audacity. If they could capture them, they surely should be severely punished!

“Sir, Sir!”

A government official ran over in a hurry, “Two people have arrived outside, driving two carriages.”

“They say…they say they’ve captured the criminals who kidnapped the young lady!”

What?!

Xu Zhengping was shocked and immediately went outside, “Quickly, take me there.”

To see if Zhuang Qingning was among them…

Chu Jinnian and Jing Zhao arrived at Qingzhuyuan.

Ning Feng knew earlier on that Chu Jinnian would be returning in a day or two, but he didn’t expect him to return so quickly. He hurriedly made preparations and welcomed him in person.

However, when he saw Chu Jinnian walking briskly into the courtyard with a young lady in his arms, he was momentarily stumped.

But it wasn’t his place to question the master’s affairs.

Ning Feng quickly instructed his servant, “Rush to prepare a side room and get two maids to take care of the lady.”

The servants busily complied.

Although Qingzhuyuan rarely had guests and the rooms always remained vacant, Ning Feng was diligent and often instructed his servants to clean up. So, at this time, when it was said to ‘tidy up’, they only needed to prepare soft pillows, candles and other simple items.

A servant holding a lantern led the way, and Chu Jinnian placed Zhuang Qingning on the bed.

He reached out to touch her forehead.

Thankfully, she did not have a fever.

After such an ordeal, the fear in her heart, coupled with the sedative she had been given, and the long journey they had rushed through in the heavy dew of the deep night, it would be easy to fall ill. It was a relief she was fine for now.

The cut on Zhuang Qingning’s hand had stopped bleeding. Chu Jinnian asked someone to fetch some medicine. After cleaning the wound, he applied the medicine.

“Prepare some food and hot water.”

Chu Jinnian said, “And this place needs to be taken care of properly, be sure to check on her condition throughout the night. If she has a fever, report it immediately.”

“Yes.” Ning Feng agreed, but was even more perplexed as he glanced at Zhuang Qingning who was lying on the bed.

Why did he feel that he had seen her somewhere before? But he couldn’t remember where.

But it didn’t matter. Since Chu Jinnian had instructed him to take care of her, he should do it well. As for who she was, it wasn’t important.

Chu Jinnian had brought her home, so he must have his reasons.

Chu Jinnian breathed a sigh of relief, stood up from the bed and rubbed his sore arm.

It wasn’t that Zhuang Qingning was heavy, nor was he weak, but maintaining the same position for a long time still made him uncomfortable.

Seeing Zhuang Qingning still sleeping soundly on the bed, Chu Jinnian felt somewhat relieved and prepared to leave.

But as soon as he stood up, he realized that he couldn’t leave.

The corner of his sleeve was tightly grasped in Zhuang Qingning’s hand.

Right, before Zhuang Qingning fell unconscious due to the sedative, she had grabbed his sleeve. He had been holding her all the way and hadn’t noticed it yet.

Chu Jinnian tried to pull his sleeve gently, but found it impossible to remove.

Zhuang Qingning’s knuckles were somewhat pale, probably because she was using great strength. This must have shown her fear at that time, and… for her, he was the only hope.

Chu Jinnian suddenly remembered the scene when he first saw Zhuang Qingning.

She was being chased by two kidnappers. She threw some silver coins to attract the surrounding residents, which restrained the kidnappers and let her escape. At that time, Zhuang Qingning’s face was resolute. She was calm and composed in the face of danger. In the end, however, she leaned against the wall due to weak legs. Her inner feelings at that time must have been extremely frightened, but she understood her situation and knew what she was supposed to do.

It might be the same this time.

After being kidnapped, she managed to grab the reins of the carriage from the bad guys and escaped all the way in the pitch-dark night.

Compared with those young ladies from well-off families who screamed at the sight of a summer insect, and lost their heads when encountering a problem, Zhuang Qingning could be described as a female knight.

Was she scared at that time?

Upon careful thought, she probably was frightened. Otherwise, why did she fall asleep so quickly afterwards?

The sedative on the arrow was one thing, but more likely, she felt somewhat at ease because someone came to her rescue, so the anxiety string in her heart that had been tightly stretched all this time finally snapped.

Chu Jinnian pursed his lips. He suddenly felt a touch of admiration for Zhuang Qingning and also a little reluctance to pull away the sleeve from her hand. So, he sat down beside the bed and adjusted the position of her arm properly.

“Bring the meal here.”

Chu Jinnian commanded.

“Yes.” Ning Feng was taken aback. He glanced between Chu Jinnian and the lady lying on the bed before going to prepare the food.

The food was prepared quickly.

A few simple dishes and a bowl of mushroom chicken noodle soup.

With his sleeve still held by Zhuang Qingning, Chu Jinnian could hardly move. So he had the table brought to the bedside and managed to eat with his left hand while sitting on a low stool next to the bed.

His posture had an awkward demeanor.

Chu Jinnian paused, “You may all leave.”

“Yes.” Ning Feng retreated to the door, waiting for further instructions.

Seeing Jing Zhao, who had finished eating and cleaning, Ning Feng pulled him aside, “By rights, as a servant, I shouldn’t pry into the master’s affairs too much. But I feel that the lady looks very familiar…”

“What actually happened when you returned with the master?”

“Naturally, Ning Feng, she is familiar. Isn’t she the shop manager from the tofu shop of the town?” Jing Zhao explained. Fearing that he might not understand, he added, “That famous tofu shop in the town, where the tofu is very delicious, both the master and the third young master like it.”

“So, it’s her.” Ning Feng suddenly realized, thinking back to the incident of the kidnappers in the town when he had passed by with Chu Jinnian earlier, “No wonder she looked so familiar.”

“Yes, it’s Manager Zhuang. Let me tell you, she is impressive. She fought against four single-handedly, and even helped to save many people…”

Speaking of this, Jing Zhao was somewhat excited. He clearly described everything that had happened this night to Ning Feng, “Originally, the master and I were rushing on the way with a few attendants. We saw a weird carriage by the roadside in the middle of the night, not to mention there were traces of blood around. So, we went to investigate..”