A dark shadow swept across the round, bright moon. It was fast and agile, like a nimble black cat.

"Thief! Catch the thief!"

Immediately, servants from the manor came out with lanterns and ran towards the "thief" who was squatting on the roof. The man seemed to be provoking the servants; he had clearly taken something, but he just wouldn't leave.

"Grab him!" The man in the cloak pointed at the person on the roof and stomped his foot in anger.

"Master, please go back and rest. There are servants watching over you." The beautiful young woman clung to the man, acting all lovey-dovey. Judging from her posture, she didn't seem like a proper wife.

The man shoved her away and yelled, "What do you know? What you lost is extremely valuable!"

He ordered his guards to arrest the man. These guards were much faster than the servants, but only faster.

The thieves in front seemed to be dangling them at a distance that wasn't too close.

Soon, the people in the surrounding villas were alerted.

A group of people suddenly rushed after the man in black.

Seeing that the time was right, the man in black plunged into a relatively simple courtyard.

"ah--"

A woman's delicate cry suddenly pierced the night sky. She grabbed the blanket to cover herself and then pointed towards the window, "There's someone there! Huai'an, there's someone there!"

The one who spoke was Chen Yirou, her watery eyes filled with extreme fear.

Xue Huai'an put his arm around her waist and pulled her back, gently comforting her, "There's no one here. Don't be afraid, Arou, I'm here."

Chen Yirou looked closely and saw that there was no one there. She leaned against Xue Huai'an, trembling. Her weak appearance perfectly aroused Xue Huai'an's protective instincts.

Her delicate skin pressed against the man's chest, and she whispered, "Huai'an, I'm scared. Could it be... could it be someone sent by the Princess Consort of Chen?"

She hooked her arms around Xue Huai'an's neck, clinging softly to him.

Xue Huai'an's breathing grew heavier. His large hand gripped the woman's waist as he kissed her lips. "No, Arou, don't be afraid."

He kissed the person in his arms, somewhat eagerly, yet seemingly absent-mindedly.

Why would she send someone?

Qin Su is probably engrossed in Yu Shuo's arms right now, so how could she possibly care about this side?

Thinking of this, Xue Huai'an kissed the person in his arms forcefully.

"It hurts~" Chen Yirou cried out in dissatisfaction, her eyes filled with tears, looking pitiful.

Her hand ran through Xue Huai'an's hair, touching the back of his head. She bit her moist, swollen lips and asked, "Who were you thinking about just now, Huai'an?"

Xue Huai'an stopped what he was doing, but quickly replied with a smile, "Of course I was thinking of Arou."

Chen Yirou had already sensed something was wrong; she noticed it when Xue Huai'an brought her out of the prison.

Xue Huai'an's change of heart made her very uneasy. Her reputation in the capital was already ruined. Even if she and Xue Huai'an had not had any illicit affair at that time, it was impossible for her to marry into a good family.

So, on Yinghong's advice, she decided to tie Xue Huai'an up, and no matter what means she used, she was determined to secure her position.

"Bang—"

The gate was suddenly and violently damaged.

"You can't go in!"

"Get out of the way! I saw a thief come in here!"

"Ah! Don't hit me! We really didn't see any thieves."

The courtyard was extremely chaotic, with lanterns and torches illuminating the surroundings brightly.

A group of people pushed the servants aside and rushed in.

Chen Yirou was terrified. She could shamelessly seduce Xue Huai'an into doing something shameful before their marriage, but that didn't mean she could be so open with other people.

Immediately, someone stepped out from the shadows. He was dressed in black, with a large knife at his waist, and stood at the doorway exuding a menacing aura.

"Who dares to go in?!" His sharp eyes swept over the crowd, and his murderous aura instantly subdued the scene.

Xue Huai'an told Chen Yirou not to go out and to put on her clothes. He quickly dressed himself as well.

"My servants saw the thief enter your yard. What? Are you protecting the thief?" The middle-aged man pointed at the nose of the burly man in black and cursed, then quickly looked around to take in the surroundings.

There are rules governing the large resettlement offices' residences; not just anyone with money can live in a large house. The specific specifications are strictly related to one's status.

The man was merely guessing the identity of the owner of the house based on its surroundings.

Those who can live in this area are all either very wealthy or very powerful in Kyoto.

Xue Huai'an tied her hair up with a hairpin and then looked at the person standing in the courtyard.

"So it's Lord Zhou. May I ask what brings you here so late at night?" Xue Huai'an clearly recognized the man; if he had known nobody, he wouldn't have bothered with him at all.

But this person happened to be in a higher official position than him, so he couldn't pretend he knew nothing.

"So it's someone with such high manners, it turns out to be Young Master Xue. Humph!"

He addressed him as "Your Highness," but his tone and attitude showed absolutely no respect.

“Today, a thief broke into my residence and stole something very important. We tracked him down and found that he had entered Prince Xue’s villa. To clear Prince Xue’s name, I must have him searched.”

Xue Huai'an recalled Chen Yirou saying there was someone outside the window and suspected that it might be the thief.

Even if the thief is in his house, so what? At this time, we can't let people search it.

If word got out that Chen Yirou was following him in an ambiguous relationship, wouldn't he lose face?

“There are no thieves in my residence. Perhaps Lord Zhou’s servants have misjudged. It’s dark here, so it’s easy to make a mistake,” Xue Huai’an said, glancing at the others.

The more he looked, the more uncertain he felt.

It wasn't just Lord Zhou who came; other high-ranking officials from the capital also arrived.

He frowned, somewhat regretting buying the house here.

He bought this house simply to build good relationships with these people nearby, but before he could even establish those relationships, this incident happened.

"We'll only know if there were any thieves searching." Lord Zhou had long disliked Xue Huai'an. He was clearly a down-on-his-luck young master who was lucky enough to be named a prince, but now he had become the Censor-in-Chief.

If he continues like this, it's hard to say when he'll surpass him.

Young people should learn a lesson.

Whether there are thieves or not, he's determined to search this yard today.

"Wait." Xue Huai'an snapped, tearing off his gentle mask. He said in a deep voice, "Lord Zhou, is this really necessary? You have no search warrant; you are not allowed to search an official's residence."

“Young Master Xue,” an elderly official stepped forward and said, “We don’t want to make things difficult for you, but the thief stole more than one thing. Even for the sake of your innocence, we must conduct a search.”

Lord Zhou immediately followed up with, "Refusing to allow a search means you have a guilty conscience!"

Xue Huai'an couldn't afford to offend so many officials, but he also didn't want to be searched. He said, "I can guarantee that there are no thieves in the courtyard. If there are, we will definitely catch them and give you all an explanation."

"It seems that Prince Xue has something to hide," one of them sneered.

The officials here are almost all a cut above Xue Huai'an, and their words carry a lot of weight.