After the fake heiress was arranged to marry a powerful future minister, she took him away.

After Yingxiang left, Jiang Huaiyu sat alone at the table in deep thought for a long time. After breakfast, he went to the private school to teach.

As dusk fell, she and Tu Wenying left together. Just as they were about to say goodbye at the town entrance, a little girl of about four or five years old suddenly approached and gently tugged at Jiang Huaiyu's skirt.

"Big sister, my hair tie is missing. Can you help me find it?"

Seeing that the little girl was as lovely as ice and snow, Tu Wenying stopped getting into the carriage, walked over and gently pinched her cheek: "Where did you lose her?"

The little girl pointed to a patch of uneven grass behind the house and said, "I was just playing there!"

Tu Wenying looked up and saw that the grassy area was overgrown with vegetation, so she suggested, "This lady is not feeling well, and the grass is so dense that she might not be able to find it. How about this, I'll give you a new hair tie, okay?"

The little girl shook her head, pouted, and said, "No, that hair tie is a new one Mommy bought. If I lose it, Mommy will be angry..."

Helpless, Tu Wenying called her maid over, "Qi Mo, go and help her look for it."

The little girl refused to comply, pointing at Jiang Huaiyu and saying, "The townspeople all praise Sister Fuzi for her kind heart, and I want Sister Fuzi to help me find it myself!"

Upon hearing this, Tu Wenying smiled broadly, turned to look at Jiang Huaiyu, and teased, "Sister Jiang, it seems you are truly beloved in town!"

Jiang Huaiyu smiled and nodded gently, but did not speak.

"What a naughty little fellow!" Tu Wenying pointed to her own nose. "I am also a teacher, so I will help you find it, shall we? Let's go!"

She took the little girl's hand and was about to walk towards the grass.

The little girl struggled to break free and firmly said, "I don't know you, I won't go with you!"

Then, she stared intently at Jiang Huaiyu with expectant eyes, her little face looking so pitiful that it made one want to cherish her.

"You're such a headache!" Tu Wenying said, shaking her hand in frustration.

Jiang Huaiyu glanced at the little girl but ignored her, and said to Tu Wenying, "Sister, I have important matters to attend to at home, so I'll take my leave first."

Seeing her suddenly turn around, Tu Wenying couldn't help but be a little surprised. Her lips moved slightly, and she muttered under her breath, "Sister Jiang's behavior today is really unpredictable..."

In the middle of a bustling city, just leaving a little girl aside like that is really not in her character!

The little girl immediately burst into tears, accusing through her teary eyes, "Bad person! Teacher Sister is a really bad person! Waaah..."

Tu Wenying suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head and quickly comforted her, "Don't cry, don't cry. That teacher has some urgent business at home. How about this, I'll take my maid and go with you to find the hair tie, okay?"

The little girl, sobbing, led Tu Wenying forward.

Jiang Huaiyu had already walked quite a distance, but she could still seem to catch the intermittent crying in her ears. A sense of irritation welled up in her heart, and she hurried home.

"How can Master Jiang be so cold-hearted?"

Suddenly, a figure appeared like a ghost, blocking her path.

Sure enough, it came.

Jiang Huaiyu's heart tightened, and she instinctively stepped back.

"Where does Master Jiang intend to go?" Another voice came from behind.

Jiang Huaiyu sized up the two people, feeling they looked somewhat familiar. After a moment's thought, he finally remembered and pointed to one of them, saying, "So it's you! You're the pancake vendor!"

She then turned to another person, "And you, you must be that herbal medicine merchant?"

The two exchanged a smile. "Master Jiang truly has a photographic memory."

"Who instructed you? What are your intentions? Why did you intercept me?" Jiang Huaiyu questioned in a deep voice.

Today, her personal maid Yingxiang is not by her side. She is all alone. This road is located halfway up the mountain. After turning the corner and walking a hundred steps or so, she will reach the gate of the Bai family. If she can rush over there, she may be able to ask for help.

The two seemed to have seen through her thoughts long ago.

The person blocking her way said, "Don't waste your time. We're here specifically to deal with you. Master Jiang, you'd better surrender and come with us to avoid suffering more."

"Who are you? Abducting a woman in broad daylight is a serious crime!"

The two men exchanged a smile, their expressions contemptuous: "Someone you can't afford to offend."

These two men exuded a powerful aura and had unwavering gazes; they were simply not in the same league as the thugs who kidnapped him last year.

Moreover, they spoke with a Beijing accent, but she couldn't recall ever offending any powerful figure in Beijing who would go to such lengths to come and deal with her.

Could it be Jiang Shuqin?

She was the only one who harbored resentment towards herself.

But then Jiang Huaiyu realized something was amiss. She had helped Jiang Shuqin at the beginning of the year, and now that she was in the Marquis's residence and under the strict supervision of the Marquis's wife, she couldn't possibly have such great abilities and methods.

If it wasn't her, then who was it?

As Jiang Huaiyu backed away, she asked, "Was that little girl you arranged too?"

The two of them showed a hint of surprise.

I pondered to myself, everyone had praised what I had seen and heard in Fushun Town these past few days, and Master Jiang was renowned for his benevolence. Yet today, you remained unmoved by a little girl who asked you for help. It turns out it wasn't that you lacked compassion, but rather that you had already seen through our scheme!

Jiang Huaiyu gave a disdainful sneer, "Old tricks."

How could she forget that she had been lured into Huiyi's trap and trapped in the same predicament last year?

The two looked puzzled. "Hmph, enough nonsense, you're not escaping today!"

Jiang Huaiyu's back was pressed tightly against the mountain wall. She looked around and found that the two of them had completely blocked all her escape routes. There was really no way to escape.

She gave up the futile struggle and calmly asked, "Do you intend to escort me to the capital?"

The two looked slightly surprised. "So what if it is, and so what if it isn't?"

Jiang Huaiyu smiled contemptuously, "Since that's the case, then the answer is already decided. Did the person who ordered you to arrest me tell you that they wanted to take my life? You should be able to give me that answer, right?"

The two exchanged a glance and shook their heads. "That wasn't mentioned."

Jiang Huaiyu breathed a slight sigh of relief, straightened his clothes in front of the hillside, and then stretched out his bound hands. "Since you don't need my life, then you can go with me. But I must remind you that I am frail and sickly, and I am most afraid of the arduous journey. This trip to the capital will take at least two days. If you don't want any accidents to happen along the way, you'd better be polite to me!"

"Since you are so reasonable, we will naturally not let you down."

The two men took out ropes and bound her hands, then pointed to a carriage not far away, saying, "Please come in, Master Jiang."

Jiang Huaiyu obediently walked towards the carriage. Seeing this, the two men kept their promise and simply accompanied her without resorting to violence.

Once they were in the carriage, the two men whipped their horses and galloped away.

Jiang Huaiyu leaned against the carriage window, peering through the crack to observe the outside world. She saw the carriage enter the main road at the entrance of the town from the winding mountain road, about to leave the town. Suspicious, she hurriedly asked, "Why are there only the two of you? Where are the others?"

Yesterday she clearly saw many unfamiliar faces, who should all be with these two. Why is it that today, when they set off, there are only the two of them?

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't know!"