The whole family is reborn, and their five-year-old child becomes the darling of the entire capital.

Mu Yunchen snorted coldly, "Xixi is my sister, so naturally we have a good relationship."

Mu Yunchen, holding Xiao Yuxi's hand, turned around arrogantly with his nose in the air and simply walked around him.

Shen Zhijie chuckled lightly, not paying any attention to his young master's temper. His eyes were slightly lowered, and he seemed to be thinking about something as he followed Xie Yaochuan into the house.

-

Shen Zhijie smiled and reached out to pour Xie Yaochuan a cup of fragrant tea. He then said softly, "Upon hearing of Lord Xie's arrival, I rushed here without hesitation. I've heard that Lord Xie has already established collaborations with certain people in Cihe County. Since Lord Xie is interested in cooperating with them, could you please do me a favor?"

After saying that, Shen Zhijie respectfully handed the teacup to Xie Yaochuan, raised his head slightly, a faint smile on his face, but his gaze was fixed on the other person.

Xie Yaochuan held a folding fan, gently pressed down the teacup that Shen Zhijie was holding high, and looked up at the two children standing outside the courtyard.

He was secretly amazed at how well-informed Shen Zhijie was; he probably knew all the details of his dealings with those people in Cihe County.

Just how many places did he plant his informants?

Xie Yaochuan's mind immediately went into high alert.

"Lord Shen may not be aware of the situation yet, but the conditions offered by Cihe County are quite generous. If we're talking about doing you a favor, what kind of offer can you provide, Lord Shen?" Xie Yaochuan tapped the table lightly with his fan, asking with a half-smile.

"Lord Xie, don't you want to ask me what I would like you to do first?" Shen Zhijie maintained his relaxed smile, but his deep eyes held an unfathomable glint of amusement.

Xie Yaochuan smiled confidently, "There's nothing I can't do."

"But my matter involves the border; can Lord Xie handle that?"

Xie Yaochuan's smile vanished, and he suddenly sat up straight. "What do you want to do?"

"This humble official wishes to send out a batch of goods. If successful, I will pay you this amount, sir." Shen Zhijie held up three fingers, his eyes full of smiles.

This sum of money is quite generous. If Xie Yaochuan were truly an incompetent fool who would do anything with money, he would certainly agree without hesitation.

But if he's just pretending to be a fool, then it's uncertain what he'll actually do.

Xie Yaochuan's eyes widened in shock, and he immediately bombarded him with questions, "You're so rich? What kind of business do you run? How can you earn so much?"

Shen Zhijie lowered his eyes slightly and presented the cup again with both hands. "Profiting from national disasters is naturally easy. Why don't you, Lord Xie, have a share?"

Xie Yaochuan's smile faded. "This pie won't be easy to divide."

A dark glint flashed in Shen Zhijie's eyes as he gazed at him intently.

Xie Yaochuan waved his fan. "This amount isn't enough for me to do something this big," Xie Yaochuan put down the fan and made an outrageous demand, "At least 50%."

"Isn't Lord Xie being a bit too greedy?" Shen Zhijie wasn't afraid of his greed; the most terrifying people were those who weren't greedy.

Of course, the more greedy the better.

"What I did was the most crucial step," Xie Yaochuan shook his head.

"Four percent."

Xie Yaochuan chuckled and took the teacup from his hand. "Deal."

Shen Zhijie's lips curled up slightly, revealing a gentle smile: "In my opinion, Lord Xie is probably about to set off back to the capital, isn't he? Recently, bandits and outlaws have been rampant on the official roads, so Lord Xie must be extra careful."

Upon hearing the words "bandits," Xie Yaochuan frowned, his face full of suspicion. His journey here had been smooth, without encountering anything unusual. He hadn't heard any of the county officials mention this matter when he passed through the other counties. More importantly, there had been no news of bandits appearing in the capital.

Indeed, a group of bandits had appeared a few years ago, but they had been wiped out by Mu Yunnan's army. How could they have returned so quickly? Xie Yaochuan pondered to himself.

"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Shen, but I wonder where these bandits came from?" Xie Yaochuan pressed.

Shen Zhijie looked at him with a serious expression and spoke with particular earnestness, "I urge Lord Xie to be cautious on your return journey. I heard that you were injured in a fight while drinking in the capital, so you must not be skilled in martial arts. The journey back to the capital is long, so please remember to arrange for guards to protect you. After all, the two children of the Mu family also need your care."

Xie Yaochuan nodded thoughtfully, indicating that he understood the other party's good intentions, but he was still deeply puzzled about the origin of the bandits. "Where did these bandits come from?"

Shen Zhijie sighed softly and replied, "These bandits mostly come from all directions and have complicated backgrounds. Lord Xie has just reached a cooperation agreement with me, so we must not allow any accidents to happen at this moment."

Xie Yaochuan sat quietly in the car, slightly lifting a corner of the curtain, his gaze fixed on the dense forest outside the window. All around was silent, as if the whole world were asleep.

He gently turned his head and gazed at the two children sleeping nestled together beside him. They had been in the carriage for days and were indeed quite exhausted.

However, he couldn't help but recall his conversation with Shen Zhijie a few days ago. Xie Yaochuan felt something was off about the few words he had said, as if they had been deliberately spoken to him.

Although the group was large, not everyone was skilled in martial arts; many were even servants or maids. The few guards accompanying her were specially sent by Mu Yunchao to protect Mu Yuxi. If, as Shen Zhijie said, they had encountered bandits, it would be difficult to ensure their safety.

But what kind of coincidence is that?

Why did they have to run into bandits?

Xie Yaochuan pondered to himself, his brows gradually furrowing.

Just then, the carriage suddenly braked sharply, and the huge inertia caused Xiao Yuxi to lean forward and almost fall.

Xie Yaochuan reacted quickly, grabbing her collar and lifting her up.

Seeing that the little one was still fast asleep and completely unaware, I just smiled and carefully put her back in her seat, then gently covered her with clothes.

Their gazes turned again to Mu Yunchen, who had fallen into the carriage due to inertia. Mu Yunchen smacked his lips in his sleep, then curled up like a silkworm and burrowed into his blankets.

Xie Yaochuan shook his head helplessly at him, then kicked him hard with a look of disgust until he was kicked off the chair. Only then did he reach out and lift the curtain to watch the guards fighting outside the carriage.

In reality, only two of the secret guards were disguised as bodyguards: one named Thirteen and the other Nineteen. In addition, several other secret guards remained hidden in the shadows…

and many more……