Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

The entertainment districts in the west of the city were frequented by merchants and commoners from other places, and were built along the city moat.

It's very lively at night, but closed during the day.

At dawn, the breakfast stalls opened, and the brothel owners came out, ate breakfast, and went back to sleep, while all the other shops closed their doors.

Today is special. The brothels and theaters, which were disturbed all night by the patrol battalion and the rarely seen Black Armor Guards, all know that the young mistress of the Duke of Yong's mansion has been kidnapped.

When Mu Junyan and his group arrived at Xinghua Washe, it was already the twenty-fourth house they had searched.

The patrol officers had been working all night and were exhausted.

Just as they were about to knock on the door, it opened, and a group of people walked out cursing. Suddenly, they were startled by the patrol officers and the black-armored guards, and they all stood there dumbfounded, not daring to move.

The inspector waved his hand: "Go inside, the inspector is investigating a case."

"We're just watching a night show, we haven't broken any laws, why can't we leave?"

I boldly quit. I was already furious because I was kicked out before the show was even over, and they wouldn't even let me leave.

"Yes, we're going to the yamen to file a complaint. We paid money but they won't let us watch the show..."

The crowd was chattering when suddenly they saw a majestic figure riding a tall horse, followed by a large group of black-armored guards. They were all startled into silence and stepped back to make way for him.

The Black Armor Guards were the personal guards of the Duke of Yong. They were usually stationed in military camps outside the city and never participated in military affairs in the capital. Their sudden appearance today made everyone feel that something big had happened.

Inside, Lu Laosan was leading a search party. They had been searching all night but hadn't found the little woman, which made them so angry they wanted to kill someone.

Suddenly, the patrol officers and the black-armored guards entered, and some people rushed to grab their weapons.

Lu Laosan calmly waved his hand and whispered, "They haven't discovered us, so continue as usual. Keep searching for that bitch in secret. If you find her, kill her without mercy!"

He thought for a moment, then instructed, "Everyone, don't panic! They've already blocked the door. If we panic, we'll give ourselves away. If we're discovered, we'll fight them!"

"Yes."

With a leader in mind, everyone pretended to be fine and quietly dispersed.

But Lu Laosan was not willing to give up.

Pretending to wander around the stage, his eyes searched everywhere, then suddenly his gaze stopped.

In the center of the stage, there was an octagonal table for performances, surrounded by embroidered curtains, so that nothing could be seen inside.

He recalled the entire search process, noting that this was the only place he hadn't looked.

Because they had just been performing on stage, they didn't expect her to be hiding below.

Outside the door, the patrol officers and the black-armored guards were questioning the guests who had just been kicked out.

He rushed over, yanked open the curtain, and suddenly saw a face smeared with greasepaint.

The contours of his face and those frightened, doe-like eyes—wasn't that the person we'd been searching for all night?

"you!"

Lu Laosan glared angrily: "You damned woman, you hurt our second-in-command and made us search for you all night!"

Gu Hua was caught off guard and gasped for breath.

At the same time, she heard a commotion at the door and saw a familiar figure.

Mu Junyan!

It's him!

She quickly opened her mouth and shouted, "Help..."

Lu Laosan was faster; he covered her mouth and forced her to crawl under the table.

Lu Laosan's men also heard the commotion, and several of them surrounded the area, guarding it warily.

"If you dare to shout, I'll snap your neck right now!" Lu Laosan threatened her.

He certainly wouldn't really kill her; if he were discovered, he could use her to shield Mu Junyan.

Lu Laosan pulled a rope from his waist and tied her hands and feet, then stuffed her mouth with a smelly cloth.

The guests who had been questioned outside were released. They all said they hadn't noticed anything unusual and hadn't seen anyone being abducted.

Mu Junyan led his men in and looked around. The place was similar to the several entertainment venues they had investigated before.

But being kicked out halfway through a performance is unusual.

Akabane and the others had already dispersed to search. He slowly paced around, carefully observing the few people wandering around.

Lu Laosan's men had already quietly replaced the person from backstage.

He straightened his clothes, strolled out, stretched, and saw the leader looking imposing.

Unexpectedly, Mu Junyan came in person.

He feigned surprise and quickly bowed and scraped, saying, "Oh, sir, you're here so early in the morning? Is there something wrong?"

Mu Junyan said calmly, "It's just a routine security patrol. Are you the owner of the entertainment venue?"

He spoke casually, but the pressure emanating from him was terrifying.

Lu Laosan had never met Mu Junyan on the battlefield, but he knew how formidable Mu Junyan was.

He hurriedly shook his head: "No, no, we are just a troupe of acrobats. We rented a backyard for the brothers to stay temporarily. But we have been living here for a long time. If you have any questions, please ask us. We will answer you truthfully."

Mu Junyan glanced at him: "Since you're just a tenant, why are you chasing away the guests who are watching the play? They're none of your business, are they?"

"Absolutely, they've gone too far!" The troupe leader happened to walk over and said indignantly upon hearing this.

Lu Laosan glared back: "They owe rent. Sir, although I am a tenant, I rented the whole courtyard and then sublet it to the opera troupe. They owe me a month's rent."

The opera troupe leader was furious: "Didn't we agree that the tickets would be given to you after this performance? Because of your interference, most of the tickets have been refunded. How am I supposed to pay?"

"Sir, isn't he being unreasonable? He's performing two shows a day, and ten days have already passed this month, yet he still owes last month's rent..."

The two of them started arguing, one sentence after another.

Mu Junyan circled around once.

Gu Hua, trapped under the table, had her head pressed to the ground, and just then, she saw a familiar figure through the gap in the curtains.

But she couldn't move, watching helplessly as her rescuer was so close, yet she couldn't call for help.

Gu Hua was surprised that Mu Junyan would come to find her in person, and she felt a mix of emotions.

An indescribable emotion welled up inside me, and my heart felt heavy and uncomfortable.

She was right in front of him!

A strong will to survive surged within Gu Hua, and she struggled desperately, hoping to make some noise.

The person controlling her held her tightly, and as soon as she struggled to break free, she was dragged back.

Mu Junyan walked to the front of the stage, examining it inch by inch with his eyes.

As Lu Laosan argued, his eyes were fixed on him walking toward the stage, and his heart tightened.

He quickly came over and blocked Mu Junyan's view of the center of the stage: "Sir, please be the judge. It's not easy for us outsiders to make a living in the capital."

With her view blocked, Gu Hua was so anxious that tears streamed down her face.

If she were to miss out on Mu Junyan's life, she would truly have no other choice but to die.

"Call out all your people. And all of you too." Mu Junyan turned to look at the opera troupe leader.

Lu Laosan was taken aback: "Most of the brothers have just gone to sleep..."

"Stop babbling!" The patrolman walked over and shouted impatiently, "The Duke of Yong's daughter-in-law is missing, and you're still hesitating. Are you hiding something?"

Lu Laosan smiled obsequiously, "How could I dare? I'll go and call him right away."

He dared not leave, and waved to one of his brothers not far away, "Go quickly and call all the brothers out."

A group of people, still half asleep, came out and stood together.

The opera troupe and the backyard acrobatic troupe were all real performers, while the remaining few were disguised as servants in the courtyard.

The weapons were also hidden, and the patrol officers and the Black Armor Guards searched the area but found nothing.

The patrolman forced open his extremely sleepy eyes: "Lord Duke, it seems this is just an ordinary entertainment venue. There are still three or four left to check. Shall we move on to the next one?"

Mu Junyan's eyes darkened, his heart burning with anxiety.

The longer it drags on, the more dangerous it becomes for Gu Hua.

If they didn't find the person and made their move first, he couldn't imagine what Gu Hua, with her personality, would do.

His gaze suddenly paused: "Have you checked the backend system?"

The inspector hurriedly said, "We checked, we found all the boxes were turned upside down."

Mu Junyan felt uneasy and looked around one last time, unwilling to give up.

Lu Laosan intentionally or unintentionally blocked his view of the stage.

Gu Hua heard their conversation clearly. If they still couldn't find her, she would be finished.

Mu Junyan suddenly leaped onto the stage.

Lu Laosan stared at him nervously, but dared not follow, lest he be discovered as to be acting strangely.

The other brothers nearby were also on guard, ready to grab their weapons at any moment.

Mu Junyan stood on the stage, looking down at his surroundings again, but found nothing unusual.

He let out a heavy sigh and prepared to leave the stage.

Gu Hua panicked.

The despair of near death suddenly gave her immense courage and strength; she could not give up this opportunity.

She suddenly lowered her head and bit down hard on the hand that was holding her. Taking advantage of the person's pain and movement, she struggled to straighten her body and slammed her head hard against the table leg.

The person holding her, ignoring the pain in their arm, reacted quickly, grabbing the table leg to steady themselves, and then using their other arm to pull back, even gagging her mouth.

The collision was extremely subtle amidst the empty square and the cacophony of voices, but Mu Junyan was acutely aware of it.

He suddenly turned his head, but there was no movement from Taichung.

Lu Laosan was so frightened that his palms were sweating. Without thinking twice, he quickly jumped onto the stage to block Lu Laosan's view of the table.

While sneaking closer to the table, he chuckled ingratiatingly, "We have a lot of rats here, and they're all this big. We catch the smaller ones when we don't have any meat to eat. Two or three are enough to make a whole pot of stir-fried rats."