Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

The group rented a horse-drawn carriage in town and then went their separate ways.

Xiao Zong and Yuan Zhi rode together on one horse, which their subordinates were used to. After all, their master had carried the woman in the masked robe all the way, and even a fool could see their relationship.

Five days later, Xiao Zong and his group arrived in Qingzhou, intending to rest before taking a boat back to Shengjing.

When Wei Yan Lou first opened, Yuan Zhi bought her wine from this very place. Now, revisiting it, she couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia. With plenty of time before their reunion, she wandered aimlessly, carrying her bundle.

"Young lady, you look so worried and your brows are furrowed. Have you encountered any difficulties?"

Yuan Zhi stopped and turned his head to look, where he saw a middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe.

He stroked his beard, and behind him leaned a long banner on the wall that read: "Fortune telling, physiognomy, and auspicious divination, all for ten coins."

Yuan Zhi was both amused and exasperated; they were going to use her to make a profit!

"Master, you can make money if you want, but that 'bloodshed' rhetoric won't work on me."

"Hey, I only said that you looked worried, young lady, but I didn't say that you were going to have a bloody disaster. Your face reflects your heart! You have doubts in your heart, but you can't find the truth anywhere, so this sorrow is reflected on your face!"

Thinking of her mother's background, Yuan Zhi asked, "Can you answer my questions?"

"Write a word on a piece of paper and tell me what you want to ask, and I'll take a look for you."

Yuan Zhi picked up his brush and wrote the character "Su". "I want to know where my mother's ancestral home is and whether there are any relatives still alive in my family."

The master calculated for a while and then said, "Go west along this street, and when you reach the end, turn north. There you will meet a benefactor who will tell you the answer."

Yuan Zhi put down the money and walked in that direction with a sense of skepticism, feeling that something was amiss. She took out the jade pendant and the fluorite powder that Xiao Zong had given her from her bundle and secretly tucked them into her bosom.

In the corner, a group of men turned around and looked at the man wrapped in a black cloak.

"Are you sure she's the owner of Wei Yan Lou?"

This woman is extremely beautiful and delicate; could she be the imperial wine merchant appointed by His Majesty?

"Absolutely true!"

"Fine, whatever you say goes. But if we arrest the wrong person, you'll have to apologize to the boss in person!"

The men rolled up their sleeves, split into two groups, and headed towards North Street.

When Yuan Zhi arrived at the place, he didn't see anyone. He took out the packet of fluorite powder, held it in his palm, and turned to walk back.

"Now that you're here, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Four burly men blocked the alley entrance, their faces grim as they spoke.

"who are you?"

Yuan Zhi took a step back and quietly opened the paper package.

"Who are we? We're your enemies, of course!"

The man smiled maliciously, and Yuan Zhi glared at him, issuing a warning.

"In broad daylight, how dare you abduct a woman? I am a family member of Xiao Zong, the commander of the Leopard Guard. If you know what's good for you, let me go right now! Otherwise, if he doesn't see me return soon, he will definitely destroy your stronghold!"

The burly men had been doubting her identity, but after hearing her words, they were certain that she was Boss Yuan.

"The one I'm looking for is you!"

Yuan Zhi's eyes narrowed. What did he mean by "...you're looking for her"?

She had no grudges against the people of Qingzhou, so how did things escalate to this point?

"We are complete strangers, why are you looking for me?"

The man frowned. "Why so many questions?"

"What a hassle. On Tuesday, knock him out and take him away!"

Yuan Zhi turned to run, but before she could even cry out in pain, a hand chop came flying at her, and she fainted.

When I woke up, it was pitch black all around. I could vaguely tell from the smell that this place was an abandoned wine cellar.

Her hands and feet were bound with hemp rope, and her mouth was gagged. After groping around for a long time, she finally found a fragment of a pottery jar.

She slowly rubbed the rope, using all her strength just to break the rope in her hands. Pulling the cloth out of her mouth, she leaned against the wall and let out a long breath.

Surrounded by danger, she only rested for a couple of breaths before starting to untie the ropes binding her legs.

Just as she finished solving one round, a fire suddenly lit up in the distance. Yuan Zhi's breath hitched, and she grabbed the fragments, assuming a defensive posture.

As the man drew closer, he saw what she was holding and lewdly laughed. The young woman was stunningly beautiful and had quite a fiery temper!

The master of the house was unmoved by such a beauty, only saying that he would feed and treat her well. He really didn't know how to cherish a beautiful woman!

The man rubbed his hands together, and then he got the first time!

"Don't come here!"

Yuan Zhi's voice trembled as she spoke, her tone utterly threatening.

"Don't be afraid, your brother won't hurt you, he just wants to talk to you."

The man put down the candle and loosened his belt to comfort her.

Yuan Zhi's eyes darted around, "Where's your boss? Tell him to come see me!"

"The head of the household is busy, isn't it good for your brother to stay with you?"

When Yuan Zhi heard them call him "boss," he wondered if these people were bandits.

Generally, when a subordinate captures a woman, he should first offer her to his boss, but this bastard does the opposite.

Either their boss wasn't interested and gave her away to someone else, or this person was so audacious that he disobeyed his boss's orders and tried to take advantage of her.

"Does your husband know that you're having a good time behind his back?"

The man's eyes lit up. "I thought you were a virgin, but it turns out you're a shrewd woman. That's even better! We can both have fun! Forget about being in charge now, let's just enjoy ourselves!"

Yuan Zhi sneered and pointed the pottery shard at himself.

"Your boss put you in charge of watching over me, but in the end you saw me as a corpse. Tell me, how do you think he'll punish you?"

The man rushed forward to snatch it, but Yuanzhi dodged and pressed the pottery shard deep into her mouth.

Blood beads instantly appeared on her snow-white neck. Her eyes were eerie and crazed, and a morbid smile appeared on her lips, sending chills down one's spine.

The man was startled by her appearance and took two steps back. "You...you mustn't be impulsive. I won't hurt you. I'll leave right now!"

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps sounded at the doorway, leaving the man with nowhere to retreat but frozen in place.

Yuan Zhi tossed aside the pottery shards and smiled at him. Before he could understand what was happening, she loosened her belt and shouted:

"Help! I'm being molested!"

Qingzhou Ferry.

When the appointed time arrived, Yuan Zhi still hadn't arrived. Xiao Zong was extremely anxious and ordered his men to go out and look for him.

Everyone was worried because the woman was always wearing a veil, and they didn't know what she looked like. How could they find her?

The matter was urgent, so Xiao Zong no longer concealed anything and said, "That woman is my wife, the owner of Wei Yan Lou."

Everyone suddenly realized that it was the fifth daughter of the Yuan family!

Remembering their accusations of adults being fickle, I silently repeated to myself: Withdraw! Withdraw!

Everyone scattered and searched the streets of Qingzhou. Before long, Xiao Zong saw the signal fire from the Leopard Guard. He ran to North Street and saw the fluorite powder on the ground, and suddenly felt hopeful.

"go!"

Following the intermittent trail of powder, the group eventually arrived near a mansion.

The house was guarded by servants at both the front and back gates. Xiao Zong divided his men into two groups: one group sneaked into the backyard to search for Yuan Zhi, while the other group, led by him, visited the master through the main gate.