Neither of them mentioned Xiao Yi's feelings for Nan Wusi until the end, as if that sentence in the room just now was an illusion.
A few days later, after Nan Wuyu had arranged all the disaster relief matters, he told Nan Wusi and Xiao Yi that they could set off to return to the capital.
Before setting off, Nan Wuyu also brought some of these counterfeit official silver coins, intending to present them to the Emperor. He also instructed Liu Lin to keep these fake disaster relief funds safe, as the Emperor would certainly want to inspect them later.
The main reason was that their return to the capital wasn't a direct trip back; they needed to investigate the whereabouts of the disaster relief funds, so it wasn't convenient to flaunt such a large sum of money in public. However, none of this concerned Nan Wusi; she only needed to stay close to Nan Wuyu.
Xiao Yi had no interest in these matters. He had already achieved his goal in coming out, and all he needed to do was return to the capital with peace of mind.
On their way back to the capital, they made a special detour to Baili Prefecture, which was under the jurisdiction of Fanghong County. However, Nan Wuyu did not inquire about the disaster relief funds, but instead asked the prefect of Baili Prefecture to send someone to assist them.
When the prefect of Baili Prefecture learned that Nan Wuyu had not come to investigate the funds, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had assumed that officials from the capital who had come to provide disaster relief had discovered the problem with the relief funds and were therefore planning to investigate further.
But was Nan Wuyu's trip to Baili Prefecture truly a spur-of-the-moment decision? Actually, no. Although he didn't explicitly ask the prefect of Baili Prefecture about the disaster relief funds, his attitude revealed that something was definitely amiss.
However, this kind of thing cannot be discussed openly, so it is quite difficult to investigate.
Nan Wuyu and his group stayed in Baili Prefecture for a while, sending people to secretly investigate whether the prefect had recently made any large expenditures, or whether he had not purchased rice for a long time.
It is extremely difficult to investigate the whereabouts of funds or disaster relief supplies, but as long as these people take any action, they will inevitably give themselves away.
After some time, Nan Wuyu finally received news from an underground bank that the prefect of Baili Prefecture had recently exchanged 100,000 taels of silver for official silver notes.
Moreover, around the same time, they disposed of a large quantity of rice at a low price, and then this rice was transferred to these rice shops through underground transactions, where it was sold to the surrounding disaster-stricken counties and villages at a higher price.
After figuring out the situation, Nan Wuyu immediately set off, intending to return to the capital as quickly as possible. If a prefect of Baili Prefecture could embezzle 100,000 taels of silver and over a thousand dan of disaster relief grain, then his superiors must have embezzled even more.
With heavy hearts, the group set off again. Little did they know that, despite their best efforts to conceal their actions, word eventually reached the ears of the prefect of Baili Prefecture.
He then realized why Nan Wuyu had stayed in Baili Prefecture for so long—it really was for disaster relief funds. So he immediately reported the situation.
Although Nan Wuyu and his companions did not travel day and night as they had on their way back to the capital, they still did not rest for a single day and did their best to keep going, because every extra day they stayed on the road meant an extra day of uncertainty.
Although things appear calm on the surface, no one knows when the biggest embezzler of the disaster relief funds will realize what's happening and then strike them down.
After another ten days of travel, Nan Wuyu and his companions finally encountered the assassins who were meant to kill them.
As Nan Wuyu rode on his horse, he coldly observed the group of masked assassins in black surrounding them, feeling somewhat anxious.
This group of assassins is large in number and appears to be highly skilled. Each of them exudes a murderous aura, suggesting they have taken many lives. It will likely be difficult for them to escape unscathed today.
Nan Wuyu glanced at his younger sister, who had jumped down from the carriage upon hearing the commotion. His greatest fear was that she would be implicated; he shouldn't have agreed to let her come along. But it was too late now; Nan Wuyu could only hope that heaven would grant his sister a safe escape.
Nan Wusi hadn't thought that far ahead. She had long anticipated an assassination attempt on the way back to the capital, since she suspected that her second brother's disaster relief efforts might be part of a conspiracy.
Nan Wusi simply gripped the whip in his hand silently, waiting to strike at any moment.
The stalemate didn't last long. The assassins seemed to have no intention of negotiating or letting anyone go. After exchanging glances, they charged forward at the signal of their leader.
While fending off the assassins, Nan Wusi moved closer to her second brother, not wanting any mistakes on her part to cause any harm to him.
These assassins were indeed highly skilled in martial arts, and Nan Wusi had some difficulty dealing with them. Nan Wuyu was in even worse shape, facing numerous dangers. This caused Nan Wusi to worry about his second brother while dealing with the enemies.
As Nan Wusi approached Nan Wuyu, Nan Wuyu also noticed her situation. He shouted loudly, "Little sister, don't hold back! These people are going to fight us to the death, so kill as many as you can find an opportunity to kill."
Nan Wuyu knew that although his younger sister looked fierce, she had never actually killed anyone. Asking her to kill someone would indeed be a bit difficult for her.
However, the situation is not optimistic. If the younger sister continues to show mercy, she may very well be the one to die. Therefore, she must not have any pity for these assassins at this moment.
Nan Wusi also understood this principle, but she had not yet overcome this mental barrier. This was murder! As a model youth of the 21st century, she really couldn't accept this kind of cruelty.
While Nan Wusi was struggling with this decision, Xiao Yi's carriage was also destroyed, exploding open and the horses, startled, ran away. Xiao Yi tumbled out of the carriage.
Fortunately, Xuan Li stayed by the carriage's side, so Xiao Yi was not in any danger.
After Nan Wusi was distracted and focused on Xiao Yi, he suddenly heard Nan Wuyu's scream. It turned out that the assassin he was fighting had cut Nan Wuyu's arm.
Now, Nanwu Yu, who already had little fighting ability, was even less able to fight.
Nan Wusi was also anxious. Seeing that Nan Wuyu was in imminent danger, she recklessly lashed the whip in her hand at the assassin.
After the whip snatched the assassin's knife, it spun around and killed the man instantly.
Blood was splattered all over the ground, and Nan Wusi stared blankly at the man's corpse for a moment.
"Little sister, be careful!" Nan Wusi heard Nan Wuyu's heart-wrenching scream.
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