Sang Yun reached out and pulled her up: "No need, I didn't expect anything from you when I helped you."

Yang Liu looked up, her almond-shaped eyes instantly brimming with tears: "Young master, do you find me unworthy of my plain appearance? Then why did you save me in the first place?"

"Miss Liu, that's not what I meant." Sang Yun was flustered again when she saw her crying.

"What do you mean, young master?" Yang Liu stubbornly looked up at him, as if to say that this matter would not be over until he gave her a clear answer.

Sang Yun scratched his head awkwardly: "It's really not appropriate for a grown man like me to bring a young lady like you along."

Yang Liu pursed her lips, and after a long while, as if she had made a great decision, she looked at Sang Yun firmly and said, "Since you saved me, I am willing to follow you and serve you as your servant. If... if you don't mind, I am willing to be your maidservant. I don't ask for a title, I only ask that you give me a place to shelter me from the wind and rain."

Sang Yun looked at her resolute little face and fell silent.

Seeing that she was starting to hesitate, Yang Liu burst into tears again: "Since you are unwilling, young master, then I will leave now. Please take care of yourself in the future."

After she finished speaking, she turned around very slowly and was about to take a step away when Sang Yun grabbed her arm.

Yang Liu was overjoyed. She turned around and smiled at Sang Yun, her face still glistening with tears. The way she cried and laughed at the same time was quite unique.

Sang Yun felt a tremor in her heart, as if her heartbeat had skipped a beat.

"Does the young master intend to keep Yang Liu here?" Before Sang Yun could speak, she spoke again: "Of course! Young master, I have prepared the meal. You still have things to do later, so please come and eat."

Sang Yun sighed as he watched her retreating figure, then followed her.

Yang Liu stood beside him, serving him food, and watched him leave after he finished eating, just like a young lady seeing her husband off.

Sang Yun couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips, but something still felt off. However, the current situation didn't allow him to think about it too much.

He went directly to the waiter to fetch his horse and rode towards the city lord's mansion.

He was unfamiliar with Yancheng, but fortunately, he and Yang Muchen, the eldest son of the city lord, were very close friends, so he could go to the city lord's mansion to ask for help.

The City Lord's Mansion.

Sang Yun looked at the three large characters at the entrance, dismounted, walked to the door, took out his waist token, and handed it to a guard: "Please inform your young master that Sang Yun has something to discuss with him."

The guard glanced at Sang Yun's waist token and then ushered him inside.

"Please have a seat, sir. I will go and inform my young master now."

"Mm." Sang Yun nodded and sat down in the chair.

"Miss, no! Waaah! I know I was wrong. I'll never do it again."

Sang Yun frowned upon hearing the noise outside. He wanted to go out and see what was going on, but then stopped, considering that it was someone else's family matter.

"Slap, slap, slap."

"Please spare me, Miss! Waaah! I really won't do it again!"

The continuous cracking of the whip and the woman's cries for help made him frown. He struggled internally for a moment, but finally decided to get up and go outside.

He followed the sound to a garden, where a woman dressed as a maid was kneeling and begging for mercy, while another woman, presumably the young lady she was referring to, was constantly wielding a whip, and the people around them were watching coldly.