"Has he disappeared again?"

"It's gone."

How many times has this happened?

"I can't remember, was it the fifth or the sixth time? Damn it, living people just disappear like that, it's like being haunted."

In the corner, two guards were having a strange conversation with complicated expressions on their faces.

Recently, a strange thing has happened at the villa: guards keep disappearing, and no matter how hard you search the whole villa, they can't find them.

Sometimes they were sent to monitor Shen Jiao, and sometimes they were sent to cause trouble for Shen Qingfeng. No matter how careful they were, they would always disappear suddenly, causing panic among the people.

Something seemed amiss, and Ji Xiao, being overly cautious, began investigating with utmost care.

He thought Ji Yan had chased him to Qibei Mountain and was secretly causing trouble, but after two days of careful screening, he found no trace of intrusion.

Unable to find any clues, and with the person still unfazed by his disappearance, Ji Xiao was in a very bad mood, and for several days he was furious and had no good expression.

Even his most favored concubine didn't get a single smile. Instead, she was scolded mercilessly for wanting to go down the mountain to buy a hairpin and a few boxes of rouge.

Separated by a wall, Shen Jiao sat on a stone bench, listening to the guards chat while sunbathing and eating melon seeds.

Not far away, eight guards with swords stood guard.

No one connected the disappearance of the guards to Shen Jiao. Ji Xiao had initially suspected it, but quickly dismissed his doubts.

If Shen Jiao had that ability, she would have escaped long ago, wouldn't she?

The two guards in the corner started talking about ghosts and gods, which Shen Jiao found quite amusing.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps approached, accompanied by the faint tinkling sound of hairpins clinking together.

Shen Jiao immediately guessed who the visitor was.

She rubbed her temples, wondering if this person had no friends. Why was he always hanging around her all day?

The voice arrived before the person.

"Quickly, seize this shameless vixen!" The concubine glared down at Shen Jiao, ordering the maids and servants she had brought with her.

When Shen Jiao saw his beloved concubine's furious expression, he knew she must have been upset by Ji Xiao.

Please, sister, you can call me a vixen if you want, I can just take it as a compliment on my fair skin and beauty.

But can you please wake up? I'm a hostage!

I've already been arrested, what more do you want?

Is it okay for couples to involve innocent people in their arguments?

The concubine's servants, numbering about a dozen or twenty, rushed towards Chen Jiao upon receiving the order.

"Wait a minute." Shen Jiao raised her hand to stop her.

"Miss Zhuzhu, there must be a reason why you arrested me, right?"

But you can't just say you were in such a rush that you forgot your brain, can you?

Concubine Zhuzhu thought that Shen Jiao must have been frightened by the power of the group of people, but she did not expect that Shen Jiao would be in such a state and still dare to ask the reason.

She was furious when she saw Shen Jiao's fair and delicate skin, which looked so smooth it seemed like she could squeeze water out of it. Why? Why was her skin, which she took great care of every day, not as good as this dancer who loved to sunbathe!

Concubine Zhuzhu pointed at Shen Jiao's nose and said fiercely, "Your Majesty believes you, but I don't. Those missing guards must be related to you, you shameless slut who only knows how to seduce men. You used to seduce the tyrant, and now you're seducing Your Majesty. You shameless scoundrel."

To distinguish between the Tyrant and Ji Xiao, the players in this pretend game unanimously decided to refer to Ji Xiao as "Your Majesty".

Shen Jiao: "..." Well, although this concubine has a foul mouth, I have to say that a woman's sixth sense is indeed quite accurate.

That's right, she tied up all the guards who went missing these past few days and threw them into the washroom. There were only about ten of them in total.

She didn't want to be tied up either, but they always carried hemp rope with them when they went out.

She didn't want to catch so many, but she always got whipped by Shen Qingfeng every time she passed by.

Shen Jiao felt that she was also troubled, but she wouldn't tell the truth.

"Miss Zhuzhu, you've wronged me! How could a weak woman like me, who can't even crack a melon seed shell, possibly hide those eight-foot-tall strong men?"

The eight guards stared at the small mountain of sunflower seed shells on the ground: "..."

Is this what you call a weak woman who can't even peel a sunflower seed shell?

The ten caterpillars locked in the washroom: "..."

This is what you call not being able to hide an eight-foot-tall strong man?

Shen Jiao looked serious. He couldn't persuade his beloved concubine Zhuzhu, but he did manage to convince the maids and nannies.

To be honest, the master's arms and legs are thicker than this dancer's. Although the dancer is tall, she is thin and looks like she can't even beat the master.

Concubine Zhuzhu: "I don't care, I'm just stubborn as a mule."

She pointed at the most burly of the eight guards, "You, it's you! You take her to the torture chamber. If you chop off all ten of her fingers, she'll definitely confess!"

Shen Jiao stood still, not flustered at all.

The guards were summoned by Ji Xiao to monitor her and to threaten the tyrant; how could he possibly listen to the nonsense of a concubine?

Sure enough, the guards not only ignored them, but also chased the chattering group out of the courtyard.

Concubine Zhuzhu initially felt she had lost face and didn't want to leave, but the guards immediately brought up Ji Xiao, and only then did she glare at Chen Jiao a few times before reluctantly leaving.

After being disturbed by her concubine, Shen Jiao lost her mood for sunbathing and returned to her room.

She just realized a problem.

The number of guards monitoring her increased from two to eight. These eight guards, though seemingly ordinary, were more than twice as skilled in martial arts as the previous two, which was already quite strange.

It wasn't until she saw her beloved concubine arrive with a group of maids and servants, swaggering around, that she realized something was wrong.

Shen Jiao thought that regardless of whether it was the tyrant who had brought Qi Beishan, there must be trouble ahead.

Therefore, Ji Xiao increased his surveillance of her.

So...did Ji Yan really come looking for her?

...

This was a huge problem. Ji Xiao slammed his hand on the wheelchair in anger, his eyes wide with fury as he glared at the monk in front of him.

"Moonlight Swordsman! Is this the method you suggested? I went through so much trouble to capture that dancer, and you personally assured me that Ji Yan would come to find her. But what happened? He didn't come; instead, Chen Bao flanked us and launched a sneak attack. Do you know how many troops I lost this time?!"

The monk bowed slightly and said solemnly, "I always thought Ji Yan was treacherous, but I never expected him to be so treacherous. Qibei Mountain is steep and dangerous. Chen Bao is his confidant. He actually disregarded the lives of his own people and let them flank and ambush us. This is my fault, but Your Majesty, you are not at a disadvantage in capturing the dancer."

Ji Xiao felt a sharp pain in his chest from anger; he knew Ji Yan all too well.

This person is arrogant and aloof, dislikes beating around the bush, and always fights directly, which is why he was convinced that Ji Yan would come from the main mountain.

But he never expected that in such a short time, Ji Yan would guess that it was him who did it, and even summon the troops from Langya Pass!

Ji Xiao, suppressing his anger, said, "Tell me what you think!"

The monk said, “I deliberately lingered at the martial arts tournament for several days and witnessed Ji Yan’s affection and concern for this dancer. Your Majesty, do not worry. Anyway, our troops are not on the mountain. As long as Ji Yan dares to come up the mountain, the dancer is still in our hands, and our plan will not fail!”