Only after being reborn did I realize that I was the white moonlight of a powerful minister.

Ye Wanning slept in a sweat and woke up with a splitting headache and a very dry throat.

"Cough cough."

She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and almost bumped into the fire.

"If you keep sleeping, I'm leaving." Xie Bohuai had just finished speaking when he saw Ye Wanning's eyes clear up a bit. "Let's go. I don't know if we can reach the town today."

It seems that Qingshan has already entered the capital, and if Ye's lie has been exposed.

Ye Wanning rubbed her legs and followed Xie Bohuai on their way again. "Has the master not slept at all?"

"Ah."

"Aren't you tired, sir?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, just concerned about the adults."

"No need, I don't need your concern." Xie Bohuai said, taking much larger strides, forcing Ye Wanning to jog to keep up.

The two reached the foot of the mountain and finally saw a mountain path. The path was rugged, but fortunately, Ye Wanning was already used to it. However, her shoe had a hole worn through, and her big toe was sticking out.

In such cold weather, her thumb turned bright red in no time, but Ye Wanning didn't dare to say anything until she almost slipped and fell, at which point Xie Bohuai turned around to look at her.

Seeing Ye Wanning's disheveled appearance, Xie Bohuai really couldn't believe how someone like her had managed to get through all this.

Ye Wanning noticed Xie Bohuai's gaze and explained, "At first, we did have a carriage."

Xie Bohuai didn't speak, but handed over the sword hilt. "There's no carriage for you to be sentimental about now. I have to go back to the capital to handle some business."

"That's true, you're a very busy person," Ye Wanning said sarcastically.

Without Xie Bohuai, the capital city was in a difficult situation for Si Yan, because Qingshan had not returned either.

People outside were already eyeing Xie Bohuai and the town government officials with covetous intent, but then Xie Bohuai disappeared for several days.

Unable to find Xie Bohuai, they went to the town government office to inquire, and the town government office then went to find Si Yan.

Facing those people, Si Yan could only say that Lord Xie had his own reasons.

He had just seen a few people off when he gave the order, "Don't let anyone else in. Just say the master isn't here and we'll talk about it when he returns."

After watching the servant leave, Zhezhu expressed his concern, "The master hasn't sent any messages back for two days. Could he have run into trouble?"

"I've already sent people out to look for him; he's probably encountered assassins. That's just how reckless he is. He knows so many people want to see him die, yet he only takes that idiot Qingshan with him when he goes out. It's driving me crazy." Just as Si Yan finished speaking, a servant came in again, saying that Prince Cheng had led his men in and broken in.

Having no other choice, Si Yan had to go out and deal with it.

"Where is your master?" Prince Cheng asked, looking at Si Yan.

"The master is out and has not returned," Si Yan said.

"Hmph, he still has the nerve to linger outside. Shouldn't he give an explanation about how the traitor died?" When King Cheng saw the traitor, the traitor was already a corpse.

Si Yan remained expressionless. His master had already thoroughly offended these people, so he no longer needed to feign compliance with them. "If you want an explanation, go find him. If you can find him, ask him whatever you want. As for causing trouble here, sorry, our master is not here and cannot give you an explanation."

"You lowly sixth-rank official, how dare you speak to me like that! Guards, take him away..."

“Your Highness, please understand, this is the Xie residence. Are you going to torture me here?” Si Yan raised his voice, interrupting the prince.

Today, he will carry out his act of abusing his master's power to the end, so that these people won't keep thinking about coming to the Xie family to inquire about him all day long.

Not only was Prince Cheng rebuked by Xie Bohuai, but he was also threatened by a minor official. Pointing at Si Yan, he said, "Fine, fine, you're just a bully who relies on his master's power. If you're so capable, don't ever step out of the Xie residence. You'd better pray that Xie Bohuai returns safely, or else you lot... Hmph, just you wait and see!"

"Walk slowly, don't send."

Si Yan rolled her eyes at Prince Cheng's retreating figure and complained to Zhe Zhu, "This is exhausting! When will our lord ever tone it down? He's making everyone want him dead. You know, now when I go out, I have to use silver needles to test the food, just in case someone can't kill him, they'll kill me first!"

Zhe Zhu smiled, pursing her lips. "You can tell the master these things yourself when he returns?"

"No, no, there's no need for that. I'll just vent to you for a bit." Si Yan's smile faded, and he became serious. "From what Prince Cheng said, our master is in danger. I'll be going to the palace to keep an eye on things for the next few days. The manor will be in your hands. Qingshan isn't the brightest, but he's quite skilled in martial arts. He should be able to protect our master."

Zhezhu also believed in Qingshan on this point.

In fact, Qingshan not only didn't follow Xie Bohuai, but also lost Chunxi.

Chunxi thought her master was making things up about the Ye family, so she definitely couldn't go to the Ye family. Therefore, before entering the city, she told Qingshan that she needed to use the restroom, and then ran away halfway.

She inquired along the way about Princess Longyu's villa, which was about half a day's walk away. She needed to stay overnight in a nearby town first.

Then she met her master, and she was incredibly excited.

Ye Wanning also saw Chunxi, but dared not show it. When Xie Bohuai asked for rooms, she asked for two, saying, "Men and women should be different. Your Excellency is not yet married, and I should not affect your reputation."

Xie Bohuai was about to say it was alright when Ye Wanning added, "If you're worried, you can tie a bell to my wrist. With your keen hearing, you'll know as soon as I move, won't you? Besides, I'm a woman, and I might remarry in the future. You don't want people to say you're taking advantage of me, do you?"

Looking at Ye Wanning's pockmarked face, Xie Bohuai said after a while, "Okay."

"Don't worry, I'm terrified right now. Without your protection, I wouldn't dare go to the capital alone," Ye Wanning said, expressing her loyalty.

But in the middle of the night, she stuffed the bell with cotton, then untied the red rope and tied it to the headboard.

Chunxi waited tacitly outside the inn, and even prepared a horse. The two of them ran off without looking back.

As soon as it was light, Xie Bohuai tugged at the red rope, but couldn't budge it at all, and realized that something was wrong.

When he discovered Ye Wanning's room was empty, he ran to ask the waiter, who said he hadn't seen her. After searching the entire town and confirming that he had been tricked, his eyes turned as cold as knives. "Liar!"