Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

600 I thought I would die [Bonus chapter]

Lin Jiao looked at Ye Xin and then at the letter in her hand. “Why did you take it from Bai Jue?” Lin Jiao questioned.

“I didn’t take it. Yesterday after you left behind the Fourth Prince, Bai Jue saw me in the restaurant and he handed it to me. I tried to refuse, but he walked away,” Ye Xin stated and picked up the dumpling to eat.

Lin Jiao fisted the letter in her palm when Ye Xin asked her if she succeeded in making the Fourth Prince understand not to marry her.

“I could not change Prince Mingquan’s decision,” Lin Jiao said and recalled he got hurt because of her.

“I even troubled the Fourth Prince, but he is still rooted in his decision to know about me. What to do, Ye Xin?” Lin Jiao looked at her friend, who was smiling.

“I think the Fourth Prince likes you. If you troubled His Highness and despite that, he didn’t get angry or scolded you, then that means he can bear your tantrums. His Highness can keep you happy,” Ye Xin stated while smiling.

Lin Jiao sighed and leaned back on the chair. “I am too young to marry. I do not want to leave my father and brother,” she mumbled.

“Lin Jiao, if I had been at your place, I would have married the Fourth Prince. He is a gem!” Ye Xin again began praising Mingquan. Lin Jiao leaned forward and keenly listened to her.

“Should I tell the Fourth Prince to marry you?” Lin Jiao asked Ye Xin.

.....

“What are you saying? The proposal has come for you, not me. Also, I am telling you from every single woman’s perspective in the Kingdom,” Ye Xin clarified to Lin Jiao.

“What to do? How to make the Fourth Prince agree that I am not a suitable woman for him? How could he be so patient with me?” Lin Jiao held her head and hit her forehead lightly on the surface of the table.

Ye Xin tsked and shook her head when they both heard the loud voices of men. The next second, some plates were smashed on the floor and a few people screamed.

Lin Jiao and Ye Xin turned to look. They found a group of four men threatening the restaurant owner and even the customers present there. Lin Jiao stood up when Ye Xin caught her wrist.

“Don’t go there,” she told Lin Jiao.

“I am not,” Lin Jiao said. Ye Xin stood next to her while holding her arm. The sight got scary when one of the men took out the slightly curved sword, called a cutlass, and put it on a young servant’s neck, who was a teen boy.

“How dare you charge me extra? Do you consider me a fool? Now, this boy will lose his life because of you,” the man bellowed at the restaurant owner. He caught his leg and apologized to him.

“I will not charge anything from you. Let the boy go,” the owner pleaded with him.

Lin Jiao saw that everyone was scared because of those four men. Because of them unnecessary chaos occurred and she didn’t like it.

Lin Jiao wanted to intervene but the evil men looked powerful to her. She decided to sneak out somehow and inform the local market inspector about it.

“Ye Xin, I will sneak out of the restaurant. Stay here,” Lin Jiao whispered in Ye Xin’s ear, who turned her head to look at her and shook her head.

Lin Jiao gestured to her to stay quiet. She let go of Ye Xin’s hand from her arm and with quiet and careful steps she moved to the door. She had almost reached the door when one of the men saw her.

“Hey!” Another wicked man from the group shouted at her. Everyone turned their attention to her.

“I will inform the inspector,” Lin Jiao ended up saying and then ran out of the restaurant.

“Grab that woman!”

Ye Xin got worried because of this action of Lin Jiao. Two of those wicked men had already gone after Lin Jiao while one of them closed the door, thus captivating everyone inside the restaurant.

Lin Jiao asked the people to get away from her way. She looked behind her and saw the men chasing her.

She looked straight and saw a cart coming from the front. The porter stopped to see her when she jumped over the goods to the other side.

Her knee got scratched, but it wasn’t the time for Lin Jiao to stop. She got up and ran ahead. Because of the fear, she forgot to take the route that could lead her to the main market, where local inspectors would easily be found.

Her legs started to give up and her throat dried. Lin Jiao looked behind again and found those men were still after her.

“Aish, this heavy dress!” Lin Jiao found difficulty in running in that skirt. She saw a garment house and went to its backyard.

Lin Jiao placed her hand on her chest trying to catch her breath. She saw a small storehouse in the backyard and decided to hide there for a while.

Twenty minutes passed, but no one came. Lin Jiao got assured that those men would not keep pace to chase her. She decided to leave when the storehouse door slid and the same men walked in.

Lin Jiao faltered in fear and fell to the floor covered in dust.

“How dare you make us run?” One of them raised his hand when the other one stopped him.

“She looks beautiful. Why don’t we have fun with her? We can sell her later” another one suggested.

“What? No!” Lin Jiao looked around and a log of wood came in her hand. She stood up while keeping the log in front of her. She would attack them if they tried to do something odd to her.

Lin Jiao knew defense, but she was not good at it. However, she needed to play smartly to run away from there.

She tried to intimidate them with the log and even hit hard the arm of the man on her left.

She pushed the right one and quickly ran out of the storehouse. Lin Jiao shouted for help while running from them. Tears had formed in her eyes thinking she would be dead today.

Her foot slipped and she was going to fall. However, a strong arm wrapped around her belly and she got saved from falling.

Mingquan steadied her and looked at her face. Lin Jiao started weeping to see him. “I thought I would die,” she murmured.

“You love to invite danger,” Mingquan said while caressing her arm. He patted her head and then made her stand behind him.

Mingquan looked at the two men and the swords in their hands.

“Hey! Move away, if you do not want to die,” the man on his right said.

Mingquan chuckled and said, “The one whom you threatened is my betrothed.”

Lin Jiao stopped blinking and her heart skipped a beat.

Mingquan drew out his sword and within seconds, he brought those wicked men to the ground. Those men pleaded with him to spare their lives after Mingquan revealed his identity.

“Sadly, I don’t forgive those who hurt children, women, and old people,” Mingquan stated.