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

Which one?

It turns out that even Xie Bohuai has times when he's out of the loop.

However, this matter would affect a young lady's reputation, so Ye Wanning didn't want to say much to Xie Bohuai. Instead, she said, "The Ye family is not like the Xie family. It seems that this tea does not suit Lord Xie's taste. I'll have someone change it."

"No need." Xie Bohuai seemed unhappy as he stood up and said, "No matter which one it is, Miss Ye, you'd better keep your eyes open. Don't end up with nothing after another."

Ye Wanning stood there awkwardly, watching Xie Bohuai leave just like that, finding him utterly inexplicable. Who were they to her? Why were they so concerned about her marriage?

Shaking her head, Ye Wanning turned to play with her younger sisters, finding it more comfortable to be with them.

Jiang Si was going to stay overnight at the Ye family's house. Ye Wanyu enthusiastically pulled Jiang Si aside to tell her stories. When she learned that Jiang Si had read many books, she became even more persistent in telling Jiang Si stories.

Jiang Si was very patient and answered Ye Wanyu's questions carefully.

As the night passed, Ye Wanyu and Jiang Si's relationship improved even more. The next day, Ye Wanyu invited them to stay for lunch, and Jiang Si had no choice but to agree.

It wasn't until Ye Mingyue arrived at the manor that the others realized what Ye Wanyu was up to.

"Second brother, I really didn't lie to you. There are indeed refugees outside the manor. Yesterday, Lord Xie even personally escorted Sister Jiang here. Please help take Sister Jiang back later, otherwise we can't rest easy," Ye Wanyu said.

Ye Mingyue felt somewhat helpless, but he could only agree, thinking that he would settle accounts with his sister when he got back.

After watching Ye Mingyue and the Qian family carriage leave, Ye Wanning leaned over and asked, "What reason did you use to get your second brother to come?"

"I told you that things weren't peaceful outside the manor, and that the manor was full of women. My eldest brother was busy, so I asked my second brother to bring the book to the manor to read. I wrote this letter to my eldest brother, so if I had asked my second brother to tell him, he would definitely think that my second brother was trying to slack off," Ye Wanyu said proudly. "How about that? Aren't I clever?"

"That's quite impressive." I just wonder if Miss Jiang and Second Brother will be able to be together again this time.

An hour later, instead of Ye Mingyue returning, the coachman arrived, saying, "It's terrible, Miss Ye! Some bandits have kidnapped Miss Jiang!"

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Wanning's heart skipped a beat. How could such a thing have happened?

"Calm down first. This matter concerns Miss Jiang's reputation, so we absolutely cannot make it public." Ye Wanning took a deep breath. "Xu Da, you take some people and go with the coachman to find someone. I'm going to the Qian family; I'll personally ask Madam Qian for help."

At this point, I remembered to ask my second brother. The coachman said that Ye Mingyue had gone to chase after the mountain bandits.

Ye Wanning frowned as she listened. Her second brother knew a little bit of martial arts, but he wasn't very good. If he were to face a few people, he wouldn't be able to come back unscathed.

Not daring to wait even a moment longer, Ye Wanning led her people to the Qian family.

The carriage sped to the Qian family's residence. Seeing the dust rising behind her and recognizing Xie Bohuai, Ye Wanning opened her mouth, but after thinking it over, she decided to enter the Qian family's gate first.

When Madam Qian heard that Jiang Si had been kidnapped by bandits, she almost fainted. This was her own niece. If anything happened to her, how could she explain it to her sister?

At that moment, Madam Qian sent people to look for her.

Upon learning that Xie Bohuai had come to her door, Madam Qian dared not say that Jiang Si was missing, until Xie Bohuai himself realized the truth.

"Mr. Xie is currently investigating a group of thieves. They are vicious and not good-tempered. Madam Qian, it would be best to tell me as soon as possible, otherwise I'm afraid you'll regret it."

"But?" Madam Qian hesitated.

"I only brought one attendant with me. I can guarantee that today's events will not reach the town government headquarters," Xie Bohuai said.

Ye Wanning also looked at Xie Bohuai. It was indeed better to rely on servants and young men to deal with bandits than to rely on Xie Bohuai's experience. She advised, "Yes, Madam, Lord Xie is both brave and resourceful. With his help, we might be able to find the people faster."

After much hesitation, Madam Qian nodded in agreement. Once Xie Bohuai understood the situation, he immediately set off with the Qian family's servants.

Meanwhile, Ye Mingyue had already taken advantage of the chaos to take Jiang Si away. The two of them crossed the river, jumped into the water, and followed the river to a cave.

Ye Mingyue sat at the entrance of the cave, his back to Jiang Si. His arm was cut and bleeding.

Jiang Si wrung out her clothes, her face pale with fear. When she saw Ye Mingyue's injured arm, tears streamed down her face, but she knew now was not the time to cry.

"Where...where are we now?" Jiang Si was unfamiliar with the area.

“South of the Ye family manor, those bandits must have come from out of town. After all, this is the outskirts of Beijing, and no bandit would be so bold as to set up a stronghold nearby.” Ye Mingyue spoke without turning around. “We’ll wait here for a while. Those bandits are well-trained and are likely still checking the area.”

"Well-trained?"

"Yes, they look like deserters." Ye Mingyue had never been to a military camp, but he had a wide circle of friends and knew a thing or two about all sorts of people. From his fight with the bandits, he could tell that they were no ordinary bandits.

Jiang Si cursed her bad luck; it was only a five or six li journey, yet she had encountered bandits. Even if she was rescued, what would become of her?

However, she has dragged Ye Mingyue into this mess. We'll deal with the future later; she can't be crying now.

After wiping away her tears, Jiang Si took out a handkerchief. Although her hands were still trembling, she had calmed down considerably. "Let me bandage your hand for you, Second Brother Ye. Thank you for today."

“It’s what I should do. If anything happens to you, our family will feel guilty.” Ye Mingyue went out to check the surroundings first, and only after confirming that there was no danger did he leave with Jiang Si. “You hold the other end of the stick, and we’ll hurry back. It will be difficult to do things after dark.”

Jiang Si nodded, and although her shoes were torn, she didn't utter a sound of pain. Ye Mingyue had been injured saving her, so she couldn't be delicate.

On the edge of the cliff where the two men fell into the water, several bandits angrily cursed.

"I told you to be careful, but now that the person has been taken away, how are we going to explain this to the princess?"

"Brother, we didn't expect that man to catch up with us and even ambush us."

"Useless piece of trash, can't even handle this simple task. Hurry up and find someone, or none of us will have a good time."

The princess gave instructions to have them kidnap Jiang Si, ruin her reputation, and dump her at the city gate. Now that she's been taken away, they've failed in their duty, and given the princess's temper, she might very well take their lives.

The group chased after the two people along the riverbank until they found their footprints, at which point they quickened their pace.

After chasing for a while, they realized they had been tricked; there was no road ahead, and it was a deliberate illusion set up by the other side.

Ye Mingyue knew that he couldn't travel too fast with Jiang Si with him, so he used many tricks along the way. He had heard from his friends who were escorts that bandits were cunning, so he used every method in his mind he could think of.