On the fourteenth day, Zheng Yong and Nan Yi finally managed to climb out. After staying in the valley for half a month, she hadn't even caught her breath when a large group of assassins suddenly rushed out, forcing her and Zheng Yong to retreat in a sorry state.

"Damn, this is never going to end." Nan Yi threw a short blade at Zheng Yong and fought back while fighting with Zheng Yong.

Zheng Yong protected Nan Yi and coldly scanned the surroundings. "They are not the men in black from last time. Judging from their skills, their moves are more like military swordsmanship."

"The military? How could someone from the military be trying to assassinate us?" Nan Yi was stunned. What kind of deity had she summoned that was so eager to take her life?

Zheng Yong was thinking that someone he had offended in the past was seeking revenge and had sent someone to kill him. He didn't want to implicate Nan Yi, so he dared not linger and could only leave for the time being. Once he entered the palace, he would be able to find out who was behind it.

The two wanted to return to the manor as soon as possible; they had been missing for so long, and the Fourth Master must be very anxious.

To their surprise, the journey back to the capital was so difficult, with waves of men in black appearing one after another. Judging from their intentions, these men in black clearly did not want them to return to the capital.

Moreover, their only target is South One.

Under pressure, Zheng Yong and Nan Yi had no choice but to take a detour, abandoning their direct return to Beijing and instead traveling in circles outside the capital with the black-clad assassins.

Fearing being recognized, Nan Yi and Zheng Yong disguised themselves and waited at the city gate at dawn, blending into the crowd of beggars.

The two men huddled in the corner with their hands in their sleeves, dressed like beggars. Nan Yi secretly observed her surroundings. She raised her chin and said, "Look over there, three o'clock, nine o'clock, twelve o'clock, three groups of people, nine men in black. It seems they haven't given up yet."

Zheng Yong narrowed his eyes, a sinister glint flashing in them. He had served the Emperor for over a decade and held a high position for a long time. Apart from the Emperor, even princes treated him with respect. He had suffered a great loss this time, and once he was out of danger, he would definitely repay him double.

"Ignore them, go straight to the governor's office after entering the city. Once we're in the government office, they can't do anything to us."

“No.” Nan shook her head. “If you can think of it, they can think of it even more easily. I don’t want any more accidents to happen. Let’s find someone who can help us.”

Those people want Nan Yi dead; the journey from the city gate to the governor's mansion is still a long one.

Just to be on the safe side, she decided to seek refuge with Xiao Xi first.

Xiao Xi is on vacation these days. Her wedding date has been set, and she is taking advantage of this free time to prepare her dowry.

Early in the morning, Qiao'er was clamoring for the big meat buns from the street corner. When Xiao Xi went out, Nan Yi and Zheng Yong were already lounging at her doorstep. Xiao Xi didn't pay any attention, but when she came back, she bought a few more meat buns.

"Here, you must be starving." Xiao Xi handed the meat bun to Nan Yi. Nan Yi didn't take the bun, but instead looked up, brushed the messy hair off her face, and grinned at Xiao Xi.

"You..." Xiao Xi almost cried out when he saw that dirty little black face.

"Shh~" Nan Yi quickly gestured for her to be quiet. She looked around and, seeing nothing amiss, said solemnly, "My sister is in trouble. Think of a way to get me home."

Xiao Xi nodded hurriedly. She wanted to reach out and help Nan Yi up, but Nan Yi waved his hand. "I know what you mean. I can't go to your house, so my lover won't worry. You're familiar with the city. Could you find a way to take me back home without outsiders?"

Xiao Xi stuffed the steamed bun into her hand. After thinking for a moment, she turned and went into the courtyard. Since her lover married into the Xiao family, her elder brother had not found any other business. He was asked by Nan Yi to come to the estate to be her manager.

Zhuang Ziyuan, after his sister-in-law became pregnant, his elder brother was worried and specially bought a carriage for transportation. Since his elder brother was at home these days because of her marriage, the carriage came in handy.

Xiao Xi told her sister-in-law that she was going out, and Nan Yi, who was outside the courtyard, could even hear her lover gently reminding Xiao Xi to come home for dinner early.

"The former top female constable in the capital, is she reliable?" Zheng Yong asked, frowning.

As Nan Yi ate her meat bun, she was so tired of the bland roasted meat she had eaten for half a month in the valley. She swallowed the food in her mouth and said proudly, "My best friend, if there is anyone in the entire Qing Dynasty whom I can trust, is Xiao Xi."

"There is no absolute trust in this world, only absolute interests. You shouldn't blindly trust someone like that," Zheng Yong advised, speaking with the air of someone who's been through it all.

He had once been just as naive as her, but painful experiences taught him that trusting someone too much would be a disaster.

Nan Yi raised her eyebrows upon hearing this. She disagreed with his point of view. Nothing in the world is absolute. Friendship may be unreliable, but she simply believed in Xiao Xi.

She winked at Zheng Yong and teased, "Brother Yong, judging from your tone, you've been betrayed by the person you trusted most. You're like someone who's been bitten once and is now afraid of ropes for ten years. You're just too pessimistic. There may be people who betray their friends, but they're only a few. Like me, I would never betray a friend, not even with a knife to my throat. Xiao Xi is the same."

Xiao Xi happened to hear this, and she glared at Nan Yi, "You flatter me. If it were a matter of life and death, I wouldn't bother with you."

Nan dusted himself off, stood up, and said fearlessly, "Then I won't blame you. If it really comes to that, you must have your reasons."

She climbed into the car, Zheng Yong followed behind, muttering, "Difficult circumstances are not a reason for betrayal."

Nan pretended not to hear and chatted with Xiao Xi through the curtain.

Xiao Xi was genuinely curious about Nan Yi's beggar attire and had a lot of questions. The fact that Nan Yi was able to return to the manor meant that the matter wasn't too serious.

What she feared most was that Nan would cause trouble and leave home.

As long as Nan Yi didn't run away from home, it wasn't a big deal in Xiao Xi's eyes. Anyway, no matter what happened, Fourth Uncle would always clean up the mess for his good friend.

"Tell me, what's wrong with you? How did you end up as a beggar? That's too pathetic. And you even brought your own little eunuch with you. Nan Yi, you're getting worse and worse."

"What are you guessing? It's not what you think. No, actually you're right too," Nan Yi said, who had been quite self-righteous. He tugged at his clothes, realizing how miserable he was. He couldn't even go home and had to pretend to be a beggar. He was depressed, extremely depressed.

She pulled back a corner of the curtain, coldly watching the bustling crowd on the street, and complained in a low voice, "I don't know who I offended, but I got into some trouble not long ago. Good heavens, as soon as I came out, I was chased by assassins. They're so powerful, I can't kill them all. I can only hide for now and wait for my reinforcements to come. I'll take care of them."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xi's expression turned grave. "Is Fourth Master aware of this matter?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to go back to the manor to find out," Nan Yi said, feeling frustrated.

Logically speaking, she didn't have many enemies. Xu Huaiyu's fate was unknown, and he wasn't one of her subordinates. So who would want to cause trouble for her and eliminate her?

The other party seems to have invested heavily, having hired dozens of experts. An ordinary person probably couldn't afford to hire so many experts.

Zheng Yong said the other party seemed to be a member of the military, which was even more impossible; when had she ever offended anyone in the military?

Nan Yibai couldn't figure it out.

She racked her brains but could never have imagined that what was merely a petty squabble in the Fourth Master's harem had escalated to the point where some people could no longer tolerate her and were even plotting to kill her to silence her.