Jiang Yi'an's expression froze strangely for a moment.
The little girl's sobs drew closer and closer, occasionally mingled with a choked sob or two from Lin Jinshu.
When he reached the corridor's exit, those earth-shattering wails, no longer muffled by distance, crashed against his ears so hard that, for an instant, he felt as though they might pierce straight through his skull.
Jiang Yi'an looked over, his face expressionless.
That terrifying expression could usually make Li Cheng and the others quake three times over, but Jiang Yingcheng paid it no heed. She ran straight up to Jiang Yi'an and launched herself at him. "Uncle Prince Jing!"
She raised her head, her little face covered in soot. Tears kept streaming down, carving two furrows through it. "S-someone bullied Chengcheng! Waaaaah-"
Jiang Yi'an: "..."
Cui Yue: "..."
Li Cheng: "..."
Her unexpected reaction left the grown men in the Secret Chamber dumbstruck for quite some time, unsure how to respond.
Fortunately, when Jiang Yingcheng's acting talent erupted, she never relied too heavily on her fellow performers' cooperation.
She pouted, wailing as she tattled. "A-a bad man tried to take Chengcheng and little brother Jinshu away! Ch-Chengcheng was scared half to death! Waaaaaah-"
Jiang Yi'an fell silent for a moment, his gaze laden with meaning. "A bad man took you away?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Jiang Yingcheng nodded emphatically, looking utterly aggrieved. "That man somehow drugged the first uncle unconscious, a-and then he knocked Chengcheng and little brother Jinshu out too. When Chengcheng woke up, we were already in the mountains!"
Jiang Yi'an tapped his index finger twice against the wooden armrest without immediately speaking.
What the little girl said seemed reasonably plausible.
Cui Yue was meticulous. Even under those circumstances, he would never rashly entrust the two little ones to guards they could