One of the maids said, "Didn't our young master set a wedding date with the eldest daughter of the Zhao family? What's the reason for this?"

Another said, "How can we servants possibly understand the affairs of our masters?"

The third person said, "I heard that our young master treats the Zhao family's daughter very well, often buying her small gifts. The wedding is in a few months, so this doesn't make sense."

The second one frowned and said, "Be careful what you say. It's best not to talk about these things anymore. We are just servants, how can we speak ill of our masters like this?"

The maids awkwardly agreed, while the one who had spoken earlier muttered softly, "It was all told to us by the young master's servants; I didn't go and find out myself."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his companion pinched his arm and said, "You still dare to talk back? If the nanny hears you, you'll be punished."

Upon hearing this, the maid's expression changed, and she said, "Good sister, I won't do it again."

Yang Siying was naturally unaware of the gossip about him from the maids after he left. He strode out of the hanging flower gate and reached the main gate, where a gust of wind made his head feel cold. Only then did he realize that Xu Yao had left and his plans could not be interrupted, but he did not have a suitable candidate at hand.

Yang Siying stood in front of the screen wall, head bowed in thought. His most important matter now was not the marriage with the Zhao family, but how to find a young lady from these aristocratic families who was not engaged. The young master had already started urging him, and if he could not find a suitable candidate, Yang Siying did not know what consequences he would face.

Yang Siying lowered his head and slowly emerged from the side gate, followed by two attendants.

The Yang family's residence was located in a hutong (alleyway). This hutong was inhabited by noble families, many of which were houses bestowed upon them by the founding emperor after the establishment of the People's Republic of China. These houses had been inhabited for generations. The hutong was wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side. Yang Siying was walking along one side of the hutong when, after only a few steps, his figure was blocked by a carriage speeding past. The two people behind him felt a blur before their eyes. By the time the carriage had passed by, they could no longer see their young master.

The two servants were terrified. In broad daylight, a living person had vanished right before their eyes. After regaining their senses, they looked at the carriage that had already driven far away and hurried back to the manor to report that their young master had been kidnapped.

Leaving aside the chaos and turmoil that ensued after the Yang family received the news, let's just talk about Yang Siying. He was grabbed by the collar and dragged onto the carriage. Yang Siying was terrified and completely terrified.

Yang Siying was dragged onto a carriage, his mouth was stuffed with a handkerchief, a black hood was put over his head, and his hands were tied behind his back. Yang Siying was so frightened that he dared not move. He was a scholar and had never encountered such a thing before. If his mouth hadn't been stuffed with a handkerchief from the start, he probably would have screamed out.

Yang Siying felt that the carriage was moving very smoothly at first, and she could hear the hawking of vendors at the roadside stalls. Gradually, the sounds stopped, and the carriage became more and more bumpy. When the carriage stopped, Yang Siying was lifted off the carriage, put into a cloth bag, and carried forward.

Yang Siying was now so frightened that he was as limp as a noodle, filled with remorse. He knew what he had done. He always came out with several guards, but today, in his haste, he somehow wandered out of the mansion. Yang Siying knew that whenever he went out, he was always followed by attendants; it was a rule of the mansion. As the only son of the Marquis of Zhongyong, the Marquis's wife truly regarded Yang Siying as the apple of her eye.

But things happened too fast. Yang Siying didn't know if his attendant could react in time. He knew very well that if the manor made a big fuss about finding him after he was taken away like this, his reputation would be damaged. If they searched secretly, it would take time. So, where he was taken was crucial.

After calming down, Yang Siying slowly sensed his surroundings. Perhaps because he couldn't see, he was very sensitive to the sounds around him. Gradually, he felt the breathing of the person carrying him getting heavier and heavier. He could hear birds chirping and feel the wind blowing on him. Yang Siying thought that he had probably been taken to some mountain.

The capital is surrounded by mountains, and it's unclear which city gate these mountains are outside. All that's known is that we're now like fish on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of others.

Yang Siying was thrown to the ground. After his mask was removed, he realized that he was indeed on a mountain, surrounded by dense forest, with two tall, masked men standing beside him. The handkerchief that had been covering his mouth was taken out, and Yang Siying gagged twice before saying, "My two brave men, I will give you whatever money you want. Please take me back to the capital."

The two burly men remained silent and stripped Yang Siying of his clothes. When Yang Siying saw this, his heart sank. Although he spent his days in brothels for the sake of the young master, he was not gay.

Yang Siying felt a chill run through her body. Her clothes had been stripped off, leaving her only in her underpants. She was naked from the waist up and tied to a thick tree.

After the two burly men tied Yang Siying up, they didn't say anything, and left with Yang Siying's clothes.

It was already noon. Although the sun was shining brightly, the mountain wind was still quite chilly. Yang Siying was only wearing a pair of underpants. The wind blew in gusts, and she felt uncomfortably cold. At first, Yang Siying didn't dare to shout, but as time passed, she couldn't bear it any longer and began to shout for help.

Yang Siying had considered whether he had offended anyone, but he believed he was meticulous in his work and always delegated tasks to others so that no one would trace them back to him. He had considered the possibility of the Xu family, but he truly didn't take them seriously. In their large household, the most successful person was a concubine's son, who was only a fifth-rank official. To be honest, Yang Siying didn't respect the Xu family at all, which was why he dared to provoke Xu Yao.

Not far away, Xu Di, his face covered, squatted on a big tree. Beside him was Ma Ming, who had come from Hexi. Ma Ming had come to the capital a couple of days ago for the military supplies of the Hexi garrison and had been running to the Ministry of War for the past few days.

Ma Ming looked at Yang Siying and chuckled softly, "Young master, you went to all this trouble to bring people here just to strip them naked, tie them to a tree, and let them enjoy the mountain breeze?"

Xu Di said, "He hasn't done anything particularly evil, so I can't take his life. I'll just give him a small lesson."

Ma Ming said, "So how long are we going to stay here?"

Xu Di said, "Wait until their family comes looking for us."