“Bandits, robbers…” the middle-aged man repeated with interest.
Then, with a smile on his face, he slowly walked around the two women once, and finally turned his back to them, saying in a sharp and harsh voice, "Do you want to see what real bandits and robbers are like?"
Just then, another girl, who looked younger and had her hair styled in neat double buns, suddenly burst into tears, whether out of fear or something else. Wiping away her tears, she sobbed, "Miss, poor Miss, where are you? Do you know that Yan'er has come looking for you? But why, after searching for so long, almost splitting up with everyone to search every mountain, river, and lake in Western Qin, have I still not found a trace of you? Miss, do you really hate Yan'er so much that you don't want her anymore? Or... or have you already..."
Suddenly, instead of the two women who should have been timid, the middle-aged man looked astonished, and he and the other woman who had just been so aggressive looked at the tearful, heartbroken maid in front of them, and a feeling of sympathy and sadness arose in their hearts.
Suddenly, a resolute look appeared on Yan'er's face, and she murmured to herself, "No, Miss, even if you are so heartless as to abandon Yan'er, Yan'er can never live without you. Miss, don't be afraid. No matter what, whether it's climbing mountains of knives or plunging into boiling oil, Yan'er will come to be with you. Miss, slow down, wait for Yan'er..."
As Yan'er muttered to herself, her eyes snapped up and scanned her surroundings sharply. She quickly locked onto the thick pole in the center of the courtyard where the Xiaolong Society flag was erected, and then she ran towards it with all her might, intending to crash into it headfirst.
"Yan'er, no!" Another woman, seeing the situation was dire, was frozen in place, seemingly unable to move to catch up, and could only shout loudly at her retreating figure.
Upon hearing the sound, the middle-aged man seemed to snap out of his grief. With lightning speed, he touched the ground with both feet, then leaped into the air, performing two somersaults before landing perfectly in front of the flagpole that Yan'er was about to crash into.
So Yan'er crashed heavily into the middle-aged man's sturdy chest, only to be violently thrown back to the ground, where she landed heavily on her buttocks on the hard, dusty ground.
Before Yan'er could react, another woman rushed forward, bent down to support her, and said with a look of shock, "Yan'er, what are you doing? Don't you want to die?"
At this moment, Yan'er seemed to have recovered her senses, but her brows were still furrowed. Sniffling, she sobbed, "Sister Lanxiang, so many of us have searched almost every place the water has flowed through these past few days, but we still haven't found any news about Miss. We're afraid we've already missed the chance to rescue her. My Miss...she...she must have already...already..."
Yan'er's words were on the tip of her tongue, but she dared not utter them. Hearing her disheartening words, Lanxiang immediately roared angrily at her, "Pah! Pah! Pah! Don't say such unlucky things! There's a saying, 'Good people are rewarded,' she certainly won't die so easily. I won't allow you to think that way, and I won't allow you to say that! Don't you hear me?"
Yan'er was startled by the sudden, extremely serious reprimand.
As the two men stared at each other, at a loss for what to do, the middle-aged man who had been standing quietly to the side slowly walked over. He looked them over for a moment, then asked, "Have you two had enough of your bickering and crying? Do you know where you are? How dare you disregard the presence of your leader and speak so recklessly?"
Hearing this, Yan'er and Lanxiang finally looked up at the flagpole behind the man. Yan'er stopped crying and muttered in puzzlement, reading the three prominent characters on the flag, "'Xiaolong Society'? What does that do?"
Lanxiang glanced at the flag with disdain, then quickly picked up where she left off, saying contemptuously, "Hmph, what else could they be? They're nothing more than bandits and robbers who have taken to the streets, robbing and plundering, committing all sorts of evil deeds!"
"Hmph... You're a young lady, yet you speak so sharply and meanly. Didn't your parents teach you manners from a young age?" The middle-aged man sneered coldly at her, calmly speaking with one hand behind his back.
When Yan'er heard Lanxiang's words, she was startled and terrified, but she still reached out and quietly tugged at Lanxiang's sleeve, signaling her not to get into trouble.
However, Lanxiang seemed completely unfazed by the bandits' faces and threats. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and spoke with even greater contempt, deliberately provoking them, "Oh? Uncle, we haven't met before, have we? How do you know that Lanxiang was born but never raised? Or... is this uncle himself just like Lanxiang? Perhaps Lanxiang said something wrong just now, wrongly accusing you, Uncle Xiaolong Society?"
Upon hearing this, Yan'er seemed to be so frightened by Lanxiang's words that she tugged at her clothes and said timidly, "Sister Lanxiang, please stop talking now."
Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man suddenly burst into laughter, "Hahahaha... Hahahaha, you little girl, you speak quite sincerely. You dare to speak so boldly and recklessly to this gang leader, and your words are so sharp and unforgiving. However, although your words are unpleasant, your personality... seems quite similar to this gang leader's."
Suddenly, the middle-aged man stopped laughing, stared at Lanxiang with a serious expression, slowly walked closer to her, leaned down and stared into her eyes for a moment, then whispered in her ear, "The way you are makes this gang leader unable to resist wanting..."
At this moment, Lanxiang's heart suddenly began to race, and she exclaimed in surprise, "What do you want to do?"
The middle-aged man said mysteriously, "What? Weren't you all so sharp-tongued and fearless just now? You've already lost your nerve? Don't worry, I'm in a good mood today. I've met so many beautiful girls in one day, and since I like you so much, I don't mind. I'd like to hear your story first. Which of you will explain your purpose for coming here? My ears are ringing from the noise you two girls are making. I'm so confused. What's your relationship? Did you come up the mountain together?"
"You..." Lanxiang was clearly stunned by the patience of the middle-aged man in his forties. In all her years, she had seen all kinds of people in Wanjiao Pavilion, but this seemed to be the first time she had been defeated by someone's patience.
Seeing that Lanxiang was already stunned, the middle-aged man pointed at Yan'er, who was still dazed and slumped on the ground, and said, "Why don't you tell us?"
Yan'er suddenly came to her senses and said softly, "Uncle, oh no, Chief. I came all the way from the Yi family in the west of the Imperial City to find my young lady. My name is Yan'er. A few days ago, my young lady accidentally fell from the cliff on the north and south mountains of the city into the Bishui Lake at the bottom of the cliff. That night, there was thunder and lightning and torrential rain, and my young lady disappeared."
"North and South Mountain of the city? Are you kidding me? Falling from such a high cliff and still alive?" The middle-aged man exclaimed in astonishment.
“Miss is alive, she must be alive, because she didn’t fall off the cliff alone. Qin… and others fell off the cliff with her, and they are all still alive.” Yan’er said excitedly, though she hesitated to finish her sentence.
"What does your young lady look like? Do you have a portrait for reference?" the middle-aged man asked after thinking for a moment.
“My young lady… because she was born with a very striking red birthmark on her face, she always wears a white veil, so…” Yan’er said helplessly.
"There's not even a portrait... just a white veil covering her face..." the middle-aged man murmured to himself thoughtfully.
So he hurriedly asked, "What's your young lady's name?"
“My young lady is the eldest daughter of the Yi family in the west of the city, and her name is Yi Shangyun,” Yan’er said.
"Yishangyun? Ruoxi?...Is your young lady blind?" The middle-aged man quickly compared the two in his mind and then suddenly asked.
"You're the one who's blind! My young lady is wonderful. She's the best young lady in the world, the gentlest and kindest person. If it weren't for that, after the Lantern Festival, she would be a physician in the Qin Prince's mansion in the east of the city. His Highness the Qin Prince values my young lady very much." How could Yan'er allow anyone to slander her young mistress like this? So she said angrily.
"The Qin Prince's Mansion?... Hmph, that Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, is nothing but a mere child. What ability does he have? He's just a member of the royal family in name only. Soon, he will be nothing at all." The middle-aged man said confidently.
"What do you mean by that? I've heard that bandits are rampant in some places lately, threatening the imperial court. Do you intend to rebel?" Lanxiang suddenly snapped out of her daze and interrupted.
"Rebellion? This land of Western Qin originally belonged to me. I'm just taking back what's rightfully mine." The middle-aged man suddenly clenched his fist and said to the two men with a ferocious expression.
Immediately, the two women gripped each other's hands in astonishment, exchanging bewildered glances. Then they heard the middle-aged man order his two subordinates, "Now that you're here, you're not leaving. Men, take these two women away and put them in charge of the daily tea service. I'm keeping them here so they can witness everything I do. During this time, if anyone dares to lay a finger on them, I will show no mercy."
"What are you doing? Let go, let go now..." So, the two women struggled and were dragged away by the two strong men.
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