A piece of Japanese incense

"We have made an agreement with the Wanning Marquis' Mansion. We spent thousands of dollars just to see Miss Tian Tian's true face. Miss Fang even sent her personal maid to accompany her. Miss Xiaohan, please speak up and confirm it for us!" I glared at Xiaohan, hoping that she would not reveal any flaws.

"Oh! Yes... yes!" Xiaohan responded to me stutteringly.

"Marquis' Mansion?" The leader tilted his head and turned to his companion beside him.

"Yes, yes! Miss Fang agreed to it personally!" I nodded desperately in Xiaohan's direction.

"That's right! I am the personal maid of Miss Fang, the eldest daughter of Marquis Wanning!" Xiaohan stood up and raised his chin proudly.

"Are you really sent by the Marquis' Mansion?" The hand that was pinching my wrist loosened.

The servant who brought us here jumped out and blurted out, "Impossible! I asked the young marquis, and he didn't know anything about it. He just told us to handle it ourselves."

"Tsk! No wonder! My dear, you don't know that Miss Yangen from your neighborhood was once Miss Fang's personal maid. You have to ask Miss Fang about this matter!" I immediately retorted.

"You're talking nonsense! Miss Fang is a study partner in the palace, and she is her personal maid. Why is she here?" The servant pointed at Xiaohan with a firm tone.

"I...our young lady is ill. She is now recuperating in the royal garden Suiyuan on the outskirts of the city. I am in charge of all affairs on her behalf..." Xiaohan stammered.

I said without hesitation: "Yes, yes! Brothers, you can send people to the Marquis' Mansion to inquire. This matter is confidential. If we didn't get Miss Fang's consent, how dare we find Qianyanfang!"

The leader looked at the servant hesitantly. I took the opportunity to break free from the restraints, took two steps back, and with a smile on my face, I coughed lightly, glanced at Xiaohan next to me, and tapped my fingers quietly on my waist, hoping that Xiaohan could receive my signal.

Xiaohan pulled out the silver belt hook from his waist and held it high in his hand: "Everyone, check it out for yourselves! This style of silver belt hook is only available in Wanning Marquis Mansion!"

The servant quickly stepped forward, took the silver belt hook and examined it in his hand.

In an instant, Xiaohan took the wooden hairpin from her hair and threw it to the other party: "This is evidence. If you have any doubts about my identity, you can take it to the Marquis' Mansion to check and confirm my existence. But it would be best to find Housekeeper Liu. Nanny Wang has returned to her hometown and is preparing for her grandson's wedding. I'm afraid she hasn't been able to come back yet."

The boy took the silver belt hook and ran out the door. Xiaohan called him:

"You have to be careful! Our young lady went to Suiyuan to recuperate secretly under the order of the emperor. If the news is leaked, you'd better be careful of your life!"

The servant stopped hesitantly. Xiao Han looked at him sharply, warning him, and shouted, "What a waste! The young lady just took some money and asked them to take a look at her servants. You guys went to such great lengths to deal with such a small matter. Do you want the young lady to personally speak up one day to settle this matter?!"

(I secretly gave Xiaohan a thumbs up in my heart. He is so awesome and has great adaptability!)

I swallowed and said, "Miss Xiaohan, please don't be angry. Qianyanfang is a recently acquired property of the Marquis' Mansion. It is normal that the brothers don't recognize the young lady. I don't think they are questioning the young lady, they are just being cautious. Big brother, what do you think, right?" I turned to the leader.

His expression eased slightly, and he bowed to Xiaohan to apologize: "Please forgive me, Miss Xiaohan, it's all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."

"Hurry up and take us to see that person so that I can go back and report to the young lady!" Xiaohan ordered seriously.

"Yes!" The leader nodded and bowed: "The person is locked in the room. Wasn't it yesterday..."

"No!" the servant interrupted, "If it was Miss Fang who gave the order, why didn't she inform us to receive her? They didn't even know the name of Fangen, so why were they sneaking around and asking around yesterday?!"

I quickly explained, "Oh! Miss Fang is busy. My brother only met Miss Fang in a hurry during the Qingming Festival. He just told us to go meet her at Qianyanfang. So we went to see Miss Fang again after we returned yesterday. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Miss Xiaohan to come here in person today."

The servant immediately suppressed his temper and stopped talking.

"Stop talking nonsense! Take us to see him quickly! It's such a small matter, but you have dragged it on for so long. If I get scolded, you won't have a good life!" Xiaohan said sternly.

"Please come in!" The leader bent down and extended his hand.

Yu Nian was supported by someone and walked into the house with us and sat on a chair.

The house was cold and damp, with green moss seeping out of the walls. The windows were sealed with thick wooden boards, so sunlight could not penetrate. The whole space was filled with an atmosphere of depression and terror, and the air was filled with a suffocating smell of mold.

A swaying oil lamp barely dispelled the darkness. The room was divided into two by a large iron door from top to bottom. From behind the iron bars came bursts of miserable sobbing and painful groans from a woman.

Cold iron chains locked their hands and feet. They huddled in a corner, ragged and pale. Their breath condensed into white mist in the cold air, and every breath was accompanied by a violent cough.

"Huangen! Someone is here to see you!" A burly man opened the iron gate and dragged out a thin woman.

Her clothes were tattered and covered in dirt and blood. She held her head tightly with both hands. Her figure looked so lonely and helpless under the light. The scars and bruises left deep marks on her body.

"Why did you beat me like this!" Xiaohan clenched his fists, looking fierce on the outside but weak on the inside.

"It was Master Yu who came to see her yesterday and gave her a large sum of money. We felt it was suspicious and feared she might be being framed, so we tortured her severely."

Xiaohan glared at him angrily. I was worried that she would reveal her flaws, so I quickly shook Yu Nian who was in a coma.

"Brother! Brother! Look! This is the first embroiderer you've been dreaming of. She's right in front of you. Open your eyes and look at her!"

It seemed that I shook too hard and Yu Nian was really awakened by me. He started and stood up.

I was afraid that he might do something, so I immediately held his hand and shouted excitedly: "Brother! You are finally awake! Miss Tian Xin is right here! The person you fell in love with at first sight, go and have a look at her!"

Yu Nian breathed rapidly and looked around in a daze.

"You guys go out! Let them have a good talk."

"Okay!" Everyone walked out of the room, and the leader still stared at Xiaohan hesitantly.

"I have to watch them here! I'll go back and report to the young lady! There are a bunch of rough guys like you outside the house, why would I go out?"

The leader left with a smile, and I gently closed the door.