The horse galloped in the silent night. After an unknown amount of time, He Yan pulled the reins and stopped the horse.

This was an empty market, and the merchants had already gone home. This strong-willed girl had been shaking since she got on the carriage. Now it seemed that the drug had worn off a little, and she was able to speak. She said softly and weakly, "Let me go."

He Yan helped her off the horse and sat down in front of a tofu shop.

I was in a hurry just now and didn't take a good look at what the girl looked like. Now, with the weak light from the lantern hanging under the eaves of the tofu shop, I could see clearly that the girl was indeed beautiful. She was delicate and soft, fair and tender, with delicate features, but her cheeks were a little chubby, which made her look a little childish. She should be young, at most about the same age as Cheng Lisu.

Such a little girl was dressed up by the people of Wanhua Pavilion to look seductive and weird. She wore an inappropriate gauze dress, heavy makeup, and was shivering from the cold.

As soon as she sat down, the girl shrank back and looked at He Yan warily: "Who are you?"

He Yan was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, thinking that the girl must have mistaken him for a flower thief. He then pulled off his scarf and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid, I'm here to save you. It's just that it was inconvenient for me to show my face just now, so I covered my face with the scarf. Didn't it scare you?"

Under the moonlight, the young man who tore off the cloth had delicate features and spoke softly, which made people gradually let down their guard.

"How do you know..." She was still struggling to speak. He Yan took out a ball of paper from his sleeve and said, "I picked up the one you threw out. I heard about the business of forcing women of good families into prostitution in Wanhua Pavilion. I have been hiding in the teahouse next to Wanhua Pavilion and followed your carriage all the way."

He Yan looked at the girl: "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

It would have been fine if she hadn't said this. As soon as she said this, the girl's eyes suddenly turned red. She stretched out her hand tremblingly, and her ten fingers were terribly swollen. She didn't know what had pinched them.

The girls in the brothel, especially the new ones, would be taught a lesson even if they didn't know the rules, but their mothers would not use methods that would leave marks on their bodies. After all, the girls still had to go out to entertain guests, and if they had bruises all over their bodies, it would turn off the guests' appetite and they would lose both the gain and the loss. Therefore, they came up with such a torturous method.

He Yan felt a little distressed. Whose daughter was being abused like this? Her parents must be heartbroken. She softened her voice and asked, "Girl, where is your home? I'll take you home first."

"Home?" The girl was stunned for a moment, looked at He Yan, and answered after a while: "My home is in Shuojing..."

"Shuo Jing?" Now it was He Yan's turn to be stunned, "Were you kidnapped?"

"I guess so." The girl said, "I, I ran away from my marriage. I originally wanted to go to Yangzhou, but I got the wrong direction and came to Liangzhou. I originally wanted to stay in Liangzhou for a few days and then leave, but I didn't expect to be seen by Sun Ling." She said bitterly, "If I go back to Shuojing, I will definitely teach them a lesson!" At the end, she almost gritted her teeth.

He Yan: “….”

This little girl looks weak and frail, but she is really too brave. How dare she run away from Shuojing to Liangzhou? What's the matter? Is it fashionable for young men and women in the capital to run away from marriage? Cheng Lisu was like this, and now this little girl is also like this.

He Yan asked: "Are you here alone? Do you know anyone in Liangzhou or have a place to stay?"

The little girl shook her head.

He Yan was also in a dilemma. Should she take such a big person back to the inn? Xiao Jue would not beat herself to death, even though they would go to Sun Zhixian's house for a banquet in a few days, and even though she had just intercepted someone from Sun Zhixian's son tonight.

The little girl seemed to see He Yan's embarrassment. She sat up with difficulty, still quite stubborn. She bit her lip and said, "You...you don't have to worry about me. I'll just hide for a while from now on. I'll let my parents repay you for your kindness when I return to Shuojing. Whatever you want, gold, silver, jewelry, mansions, beauties, it's all fine. What's your name? I'll go back..."

"Little girl, you can't even protect yourself right now," He Yan held his forehead, "It's hard to say whether you can even get out of Liangzhou City, let alone something so far away."

"So what?" He avoided her gaze and said with red eyes, "I won't beg you anyway."

All the young masters and young ladies who came from Dashuo Capital had bad tempers. He Yan thought that being tough was a good thing, but being easily broken was not so good. If Cheng Lisu was here, he would be able to bend and stretch, and he would be able to avoid so much physical pain if he entered Wanhua Pavilion.

He Yan pulled her up: "Let's go?"

"Where are you going?"

"Of course he went to my place. This girl," He Yan said helplessly, "I just kidnapped you. I think it won't be long before Master Sun will search the whole city for you. You have nowhere to go at this late hour, and in the end, you were still found by Sun Ling. He will only torture you more severely. I worked hard all night, is this the result?"

The little girl didn't have much strength yet, so He Yan helped her onto the horse. She said hesitantly, "If you take me home, it will bring you trouble. The Sun family has absolute power in Liangzhou, you..."

The little girl knew everything in her mind. He Yan said, "Don't worry, my family is still powerful enough in the Wei Dynasty."

If it really doesn't work, just bring Xiao Jue out. The Second Young Master Xiao is the one who can cover the sky with one hand in the Wei Dynasty.

He Yan asked: "I forgot to ask you, what's your name?"

"My name is...Taotao." she said.

Tao Tao? This name sounds familiar, as if I have heard it somewhere. He Yan thought about it carefully, but he couldn't remember it. The situation was urgent, so it was not the time to do such things. Let's send Tao Tao back to the inn and interrogate him in detail after tonight.

…

After all, He Yan didn't grow up in Liangzhou City, and she didn't know the roads there. Fortunately, she had a good memory of the roads, and found the inn she came from. Because they were afraid that people would find out that Sun Ling's horse was here, they dismounted from the horses far in front of the inn with Tao Tao, patted the horses' buttocks in the opposite direction, and watched the horses run into the night.

Mr. Xiao was quite good at choosing inns. This place was not as lively as the Wanhua Pavilion before, and it seemed much quieter. It was late at night and there was almost no one. When He Yan helped Tao Tao upstairs, there was no one downstairs in the inn. She opened the door and found that Fei Nu was not there either, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

There was water in the room. He Yan said, "Wash your face first. I have some clean clothes here. You can change into them. You can't wear what you are wearing. You will catch a cold." She put all the clothes Cheng Lisu gave her into Tao Tao's hands, "Pick out the ones you like."

Tao Tao looked at her and blushed, "Get out."

He Yan then remembered that he was now a man, so he said, "Okay, okay, I'll go out, I'll be guarding the door, you can change without worry."

After she closed the door, she thought for a moment, then slipped outside Xiao Jue's room and put her ear to it to hear if Xiao Jue was there.

The lights in the room were off. I wonder if Xiao Jue is asleep. He Yan said softly, "Commander-in-chief, Commander-in-chief?"

No one responded, so she reached out and knocked on the door again, but still no one answered. He Yan stood up straight, hesitated for a moment, and pushed the door open.

The window in the room was not closed, and the wind from outside leaked in. In the moonlight, the bed was neat and tidy, with no signs of anyone having slept there. Xiao Jue was long gone, and the Yinqiu sword he had placed on the table was also gone. This man never let go of the sword, so I guess he had gone out.

He Yan noticed that the familiar Wanxiangqin was still on the small table next to her. He Yan curled her lips and complained in her heart, saying that she came to repair the qin, but in fact she must be doing something confidential in Liangzhou City. Fei Nu was not there either, the master and servant must have gone out to do something, and they did not take her with them, which clearly showed that they did not trust her.

Although she already knew that Xiao Jue didn't trust her, and she also knew that this was reasonable, He Yan still felt a little uncomfortable. After all, they were classmates and had known each other for so many years. She wouldn't tell anyone else about her work! How stingy.

She left Xiao Jue's room again and closed the door again.

On the other side, Tao Tao had already changed her clothes. She pushed the door open, saw He Yan, and said with her head down, "I'm done."

He Yan pushed her in and said, "Walls have ears, come in and talk."

She turned on the lights in the room, and Taotao changed into Cheng Lisu's clothes, which made her look more beautiful. Cheng Lisu's clothes were mostly bright colors, and the purple robe on the little girl made her look even fairer and more beautiful. Her eyes were still red, and her hair was scattered on her shoulders. She was as obedient as the snow-white bunny that He Yan had seen. At first glance, she was a girl who was pampered and raised carefully by a wealthy family.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't say this, but your taste in clothes is really terrible." The little rabbit said, and it was not so cute. Tao Tao frowned and pointed at a carp on the clothes, "It's really vulgar."

He Yan: “…”

This lady, it's already so late, and she still has the mind to observe the clothes? Are all the young ladies from Shuojing like this? He Yan thought that she was not like this before. She coughed lightly and said, "At the moment, we have no choice. Miss Taotao should put the matter of clothes aside for now."

She handed Cheng Lisu's box of hairpins to him and said, "First, choose one that you think is not too vulgar, and tie your hair up. You can't dress like a woman now."

"Why?" Tao Tao was puzzled.

"Sun Ling will probably send someone here soon to hunt down all the women in the city who look like you. We won't be spared either."

Tao Tao became nervous when he heard this, "What should we do?"

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to get them out of here. It's so late, you haven't eaten yet, right? I have some dry food for the journey here, I'll ask the inn to make you something hot tomorrow morning. There's also tea here, it's a little cold, please help yourself."

Tao Tao touched her stomach and realized she was hungry, so she went to pour the tea from the teapot. He Yan sighed when he saw this. This girl is really naive. After what happened in Wanhua Pavilion, she is still so easy to trust others. If she hadn't met him, if it were someone else with bad intentions, they would have just tricked her a little and put drugs in her tea, and they would have kidnapped this little girl without any trouble.

Although I left the He family alone, I followed the Fuyue Army and was not in such danger. This world is always more difficult for women.

She thought to herself that she had wanted to keep this a secret from Xiao Jue, but now that Xiao Jue and Fei Nu were not around, it was difficult to do so. She had originally planned that if Sun Ling's men came to her house, they would not have to go into the house to check if Xiao Jue was there, but now that this big Buddha was gone, if she brought up Xiao Jue's name, others would probably think she was lying.

I can only hope that Xiao Jue will come back soon. He Yan has never found himself looking forward to the return of the Second Young Master Xiao as much as he is now.

Taotao ate a few bites of dry biscuits, drank a cup of tea, and said, "I'm not eating anymore." Judging from her wrinkled nose in disgust, this "I'm not eating anymore" was definitely not because she was full, but because the food was not to her taste.

She sat down at the table, combed her hair in front of the bronze mirror, and after a while, she turned around and said, "All right!"

He Yan also felt a little thirsty at this moment, so she took a cup and was drinking tea. She almost spit out the tea. The child's hair was tied up in a mess, as if he had just escaped. She couldn't help asking, "Your hair... is it tied up?"

"I never combed my hair in the mansion before. It was always the maid who combed it for me." The little girl felt very aggrieved and threw the comb away, "I can't do it!"

He Yan: “…”

She walked over helplessly, picked up the comb in a good-tempered manner, and said, "If you don't know how to do it, then you don't know how to do it. Why are you so angry? I'll help you."

Having said that, he really held Taotao's long hair in his hands and combed her hair.

Tao Tao was stunned. The boy reflected in the bronze mirror was gentle and handsome. She couldn't help asking, "You can also do this?"

"You'll get it after trying a few more times." He Yan replied with a smile.

She had been the eldest son of the He family for many years, but no one except the people in the first and second houses of the He family knew about her change of identity. Therefore, He Yan's servants and maids were never allowed to get too close to her. Even tying her hair could be exposed. So He Yan started tying her hair herself when she was very young.

Not only tying her hair, but anything that might reveal her secrets, she had to do it herself. Over time, she developed a personality that wanted to do everything by herself. Although sometimes she envied those young masters and young ladies who were raised in the palm of their hands, she changed her mind and realized that if she encountered something like today, she would not cry. In many things, she would always have more confidence to rely on herself.

After tying her hair, He Yan painted her face darker and thickened her eyebrows. She was already very good at disguising herself as a man. After putting on makeup, Tao Tao looked at herself in the mirror and said blankly, "Thank you so much... You are really good at it."

He Yan clapped his hands, "Practice makes perfect. Miss Taotao, turn your back. I also need to change my clothes."

…

Liangzhou City is extremely lively tonight.

Someone had robbed Young Master Sun's carriage not far from the county magistrate's residence. The person in the carriage was Young Master Sun's new concubine. For a moment, the government office in Liangzhou was in a state of chaos, and everyone vowed to catch the thief.

“Young Master, Young Master, that man is clearly her lover!” The guard who had just been punched by He Yan was now kneeling on the ground and crying out, “They are in cahoots, they kidnapped her on purpose!”

"She's not from Liangzhou at all, where did her lover come from?" Sun Ling kicked her, "Idiot!"

Sun Ling is now thirty years old and has accomplished nothing. He lives by his father, the county magistrate. He bullies men and women in Liangzhou City and does all kinds of evil. He was born with a rabbit head and a deer head, and there is a black birthmark on his cheek, which makes him look even more terrifying. He has countless concubines in his house, and countless decent women who have been bullied and abandoned by him. The people of Liangzhou dare not speak out and let him and his son dominate the city.

But today, she was robbed on the way home. Women's affairs are small matters, but the shame is big. To Sun Ling, this is a blatant disregard for their Sun family!

"The city gates are now sealed." Another guard said, "The woman is injured and should still be in the city. If we check every household, we will eventually find her whereabouts!"

"Idiot," Sun Ling cursed again, "When did the people in Liangzhou City get so bold as to dare to take action against the emperor! Since you said that person knew that it was the person I, Sun Ling, wanted but still dared to take action, he must be ignorant of his own life and death. Most likely he is not from Liangzhou."

"That woman is not from Liangzhou either. They might be in the same group!" the previous guard said again.

"No matter if he is in the same group or not, if you dare to go against my Sun family, you must be prepared to die! Tell me again, what does that person look like?"

"He had his face covered, so I couldn't see what he looked like. He was about seven feet tall, a head shorter than me, and thin. But he was wearing expensive clothes, and the material of his clothes didn't look like ordinary stuff." The guard racked his brains and recalled, "In short, he shouldn't be a poor man."

Sun Ling thought for a moment and said, "I understand."

The two guards looked at him.

"The troops in the city continue to block the city gates. The rest of you, follow me to check the inns!"

"Guest inn? Master, why is this?"

Sun Ling scolded, "A fool is a fool. He doesn't even think about it. Since he is most likely not from Liangzhou, he must be staying in an inn! You said that this person is well-dressed, so it is impossible for him to live in a shabby inn. Why don't you just look for a good inn that costs a lot of money?"

"So that's how it is," the two guards praised hurriedly, "Young Master is wise, Young Master is wise!"

"Humph," Sun Ling smiled smugly, and the birthmark on his cheek looked even more terrifying. He said sinisterly, "It's been a long time since I've seen such a fearless person in Liangzhou City. I want to see who is so brave. And that bastard is really ignorant of manners. He has done this again and again. I'm afraid he doesn't know how powerful I am."

"Don't let any of them go!"

…

The night in the city seemed to be lit up by torches. It was supposed to be a time for people to sleep, but every household was awakened by the sound of horse hooves. Yamen runners and city guards rushed into the houses of civilians and checked them one by one.

It shouldn't be like this, but the Sun family has been abusing their power for a long time. When they heard that Sun Ling's concubine was taken away, many people secretly scolded them.

"Bah, nonsense. Where did this concubine come from? With such a face, even a wealthy man would look down on her. She must be an innocent girl picked up from somewhere. What's the difference between her behavior and robbery? Robbers always strike at night. Who dares to rob in the open?"

"But wasn't the person kidnapped? Which righteous man couldn't stand it and took action?"

"If he is truly a righteous man, I will pray to the Bodhisattva every day for his safety and health, and hope that he will not be caught by Sun!"

“Alas, the world has changed.”

Naturally, these voices did not dare to appear openly in front of the officers and soldiers. They only whispered about them after the people left, and then they quickly dissipated into the night, leaving no trace.

All the inns in the city were also affected tonight. The shopkeepers, the waiters, and the guests upstairs were all pulled out for inspection. If they looked wealthy, they were interrogated more carefully, and the house was searched until not even a fly was spared.

He Yan sat on the bed, the lights were off, only a little moonlight came in from the window. It was already late at night, and Xiao Jue and Fei Nu hadn't come back yet. She thought, could it be that they were not coming back? Just like those poor families who couldn't afford to raise extra children, they took their little sons to the crowded streets, lied to the children that they were going to buy candy, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving their flesh and blood on the roadside.

Did Xiao Jue abandon her? She was really pitiful! She only had so little money, and she had to pay the rent for the inn tomorrow, eat, and go back to Liangzhou Health Center. Is this something a human could do? If so, she would sell the Wanxiangqin next door tomorrow. He Yan was thinking wildly, whether this person would come back or not. If not, she and Tao Tao would just have a room each tonight, so it wouldn't be a waste.

Just as I was thinking about it, Tao Tao, who was also sitting next to the couch, whispered, "You won't run away, will you?"

"Ah?" He Yan was surprised.

"They said that Sun Ling was very powerful in Liangzhou and everyone was afraid of the Sun family's power. I had asked many people for help before, but when they heard it was Sun Ling, no one dared to help."

Tao Tao looked angry when she said this. She was not plotted against at the beginning when she was stranded in Wanhua Pavilion. She struggled on the road and asked for help whenever she got the chance. She looked for many people, including a strong man who looked tall and strong, and a scholar who seemed to be polite and honest. There was a wealthy businessman who could be her father, and a knight who traveled around with a knife on his back. She tried her best to find those who seemed to have the ability to rescue her, but when they heard that it was Sun Ling who wanted her, they walked away in disgrace. Even though she promised a huge sum of money and revealed her identity, no one paid attention to her.

In the end, Tao Tao herself was in despair. When she threw the note, she hadn't thought about tomorrow. She only thought that if she really met Sun Ling, she would die with him. Who knew that at the last moment, someone rushed out.

She turned her head to look at the person beside her. The young man tilted his head and didn't know what he was thinking. It was strange that such a weak and young person could make her feel inexplicably safe. Maybe it was the gentle smile on her face, or her clear eyes without dust.

Tao Tao inexplicably trusted this man, but at the same time she was a little worried. She said, "A powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake..."

"You know this?" He Yan laughed, "Actually, I'm also a local boss, and I'm very powerful."

Seeing her relaxed expression, Tao Tao also relaxed a little. She looked at He Yan and couldn't help asking the last question. She asked, "The Sun family is so domineering. You are not from Liangzhou, and you don't know what kind of trouble you will get into if you save me. They don't dare to help, so why did you save me?"

This child, why does she have so many questions? He Yan tilted her head and saw the little girl looking at her with red eyes, curious and expectant, and couldn't help but reach out and touch her head.

"Because you are a woman." She said silently in her heart: "And I am also a woman."

…

The noise filled the entire inn.

The night was illuminated by the firelight, and everyone in the inn was awakened by the sudden arrival of the officials, who stood at the door and interrogated them one by one.

Sun Ling stood at the door, his eyes fell on the last room upstairs, and asked, "Where is that room? Why isn't the door open?"

The shopkeeper knocked on the door tremblingly: "Young Master, Young Master?"

After a while, someone came to open the door lazily. It was a handsome young man in his underwear. He asked sleepily, "It's so late, what's the matter?"

Before he finished speaking, the soldiers went in to search. There was a servant in the room, busy putting clothes on the boy: "Young Master, don't catch a cold."

The officers and soldiers went in to search but found nothing. They came out soon and shook their heads at Sun Ling.

Sun Ling looked at the young man in front of him. He was very young and seemed to have lived a life of luxury. His servant was busy helping him put on his boots.

"What are you doing?" He Yan frowned, "You didn't even say hello."

"Say hello?" Sun Ling sneered, "What a joke, there is no place in Liangzhou City that needs me, Sun Ling, to say hello." He looked at He Yan and remembered what the guards had said before, that he was about seven feet tall and thin. This young man was exactly like that.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Cheng Lisu." He Yan replied.

With a "pop", the boot in the boy's hand fell to the ground. Everyone looked over and saw Sun Ling's expression change. He suddenly said, "You, raise your head."

He was referring to the book boy.

He Yan felt bad and asked, "What are you doing? In broad daylight, you guys are still trying to steal my people?"

"Your people?" Sun Ling stared at him with a gloomy look. "Don't speak too early. The one on the ground, raise your head for me!"

The person on the ground didn't move. He lowered his head and looked carefully, his hands still shaking a little.

Seeing this, Sun Ling's expression became even more ferocious. He took a step forward and was about to pull the book boy's hair. The next moment, He Yan stood in front of the book boy and held Sun Ling's arm: "Young Master, please watch your words and actions."

"You are the assassin who stole my concubine, right?" Sun Ling laughed, his birthmark like a demonic tattoo, "You are dead!" He said, "Come here, capture these two for me!"

"Catch me?" He Yan smiled. She said, "I advise you to think twice before you act. Do you know who my uncle is?"

Sun Ling asked, "Who is your uncle?"

"My uncle is General Feng Yun, who was personally appointed by His Majesty. He is now the commander-in-chief of the Right Army, the Second Young Master Xiao. Master Sun, are you sure you want to arrest me?" He Yan raised an eyebrow.

Sun Ling was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. He laughed until tears came out. He pointed at He Yan and asked the people around him, "Did you hear who he said his uncle is?"

Everyone around burst into laughter.

"You little bastard," Sun Ling stopped laughing, stared at He Yan and said viciously, "Since your uncle is Xiao Jue, just let him out! What's wrong with Xiao Jue? Today, in front of your uncle, I will make sure you have no way to live or die!"

"Really?"

A strange voice sounded from behind him.

Sun Ling looked back and saw a young man as bright as the moon walking slowly towards him with his guards following behind him. His voice was low and full of cold mockery.

"You might as well give it a try."

——Digression——

Yanyan: If you can’t handle it, call the parents