After a cup of tea, the old matriarch and others, having finished their Qingming Festival ancestor worship, left Taiping Mountain in a sedan chair. Chu Mubai and Xia Yixin, on the other hand, walked to Guijie Street, which is open only once a year next to the Taiping Mountain Temple.
The place was already bustling with people and pilgrims, which also brought together many vendors selling all kinds of food, antiques, jewelry and sachets. Because people from all walks of life come to pay their respects during the Qingming Festival, there are both high-ranking officials and ordinary people. As the sky darkened, the crowds of people came and went, making it exceptionally lively.
Xiao Man and Leng Zhan followed the two at a distance, while Chu Mubai naturally took Xia Yixin's hand. The two attracted a lot of attention as they walked.
Chu Mubai apologized, "I didn't inform Madam about the family genealogy beforehand. Please don't be angry, it's just an ancestral rule that can't be changed."
Xia Yixin gently shook her head, recalling how he had sworn in the ancestral hall, in front of Grand Tutor Chu and the others, that he would only have her as his wife and would never marry again. She paused and asked, "You said that in the ancestral hall, what if you meet someone you like in the future? Chu Mubai, we still have a bet. Why don't you tell Grand Tutor Chu that what just happened..."
“Everything I said in the ancestral hall today came from the bottom of my heart.” Chu Mubai interrupted her, took her hands in his hand, and said earnestly, “Xia Yixin, no matter who wins or loses the bet with you, I, Chu Mubai, will only have you as my wife.”
Xia Yixin met the man's deep eyes, and her heart could no longer remain calm. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly heard a few ambiguous laughs.
It turned out that the two were already the subject of a crowd due to their outstanding looks. Several young women couldn't help but laugh when they heard Chu Mubai's confession. Xia Yixin immediately blushed and hurriedly pulled Chu Mubai away.
The feisty country woman chased after him, laughing, "Girl, you'd better hold on tight to him; good men like him are rare these days!"
The two were strikingly good-looking and easily attracted attention wherever they went. Xia Yixin happened to see a mask stall and was about to go over when a group of people suddenly squeezed through.
She couldn't hold onto Chu Mubai for a moment, and the two were separated by the crowd. Fortunately, they weren't far apart, and she saw Chu Mubai struggling to push through the crowd and walk towards her.
Just then, a system notification sounded in her mind: "Ding! Emergency side mission: Rescue the heroine Zi Linglong's chastity. 15-minute countdown. The map has been sent to the host's mind. Upon completion, you will receive 100 points. Failure will be considered as failure of the mission in this dimension. Please set off immediately!"
Xia Yixin glanced at the location map in her mind. It was in a brothel in the capital city, and it would take five or six minutes to get there and back using her light-footed skills.
As Chu Mubai drew ever closer, she steeled herself, turned around, and bought two masks from a mask stall—one of a fox spirit and the other of a scholar with a hundred faces.
After explaining things to the stall owner and leaving behind a mask of a handsome young man, he disappeared into the crowd.
Chu Mubai arrived at the stall a step too late. The stall owner, who was selling masks, handed him the mask with a smile and said, "Young master, the young lady just said she had something to do. This mask is for you. She said she will answer your question when she returns. Please go back to your residence first."
Chu Mubai looked at the "pale-faced scholar" mask in his hand. The mask was made by painting various appearances on a thin wooden board. It was simple and even a bit crude, but he felt more comfortable keeping it than any gold or silver treasure, because it was a gift from her.
But thinking of her sudden departure, Chu Mubai's eyes darkened slightly. He had a vague sense of foreboding. Just then, Leng Zhan and the others squeezed in.
He said in a deep voice, "Cold War, you take your men and search everywhere. If you find Madam, do not disturb her. Just follow her and protect her safety."
Upon receiving the order, Leng Zhan immediately led his men to disperse and search, while Chu Mubai headed down the mountain.
On the other side.
The system in Xia Yixin's mind kept counting down, which annoyed her quite a bit. She used her light-footed skills to return to the capital from Taiping Mountain.
With the storage ring, she carried a change of night clothes with her. She found an empty, deserted house, used her appearance-changing ability to transform into Yan Jiu's appearance, and dressed in the night clothes, headed straight for the brightly lit place—the Enchanting Pavilion, also known as a brothel.
The system relentlessly reminded him in his mind, "Host, you need to hurry! The countdown for the 'Protect the Female Lead's Virginity' instance has begun: 10-9-8..."
As expected, she was too naive. In the original story, the Ninth Prince didn't even dare to kiss her for three months. Why did the plot suddenly change?
"This is because the host transmigrated here, which will definitely create a butterfly effect," the system explained.
Without time to think, Xia Yixin jumped up and down, pulled off her mask, and kicked open the window of the room where Zi Linglong was when the countdown reached 5, breaking in through the window.
Immediately, a strange, overpowering fragrance filled the air, and she quickly held her breath.
"Who are you?!" The Ninth Prince was both anxious and furious.
Without wasting words with him, she rushed to the bedside and kicked him away.
The Ninth Prince had not expected the other party to be so strong, and he knocked down the guard who rushed in, which also brought him back to his senses.
Xia Yixin hastily used the blanket to wrap up the groaning female protagonist, Zi Linglong, on the bed, then broke through the window and left in a few leaps.
They moved incredibly fast, disappearing between the rooftops in the blink of an eye.
The Ninth Prince's face was ashen with rage. He roared, "Catch up with him! Make sure that woman is safe! As for that man in black, kill him on sight!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards in the Prince's mansion quickly gave chase.
Today, he was furious that this little girl, Zi Linglong, dared to run into a brothel, so he chased after her. But when he entered the room, he smelled a strange odor and fell into her trap.
But now that he had calmed down, the Ninth Prince immediately sensed something was wrong. With a grim face, he ordered, "Seal the building! No one is allowed to leave here today. Investigate thoroughly and find out who dared to plot against me!"
Just as his subordinates were preparing to seal off the building, the royal guards who had chased after the kidnapper brought news that it wasn't just them chasing the person who had abducted Zi Linglong; the Eastern Depot agents from the palace were also lurking in the shadows, and the two sides, whose identities were unknown, had even fought.
The Ninth Prince was a clever man; he immediately sensed something dangerous and led his men to the palace in a menacing manner.
In the palace, the new emperor received news that his Ninth Uncle had suddenly requested an audience. He was so angry that he smashed several cups and pointed at the Eastern Depot guards kneeling on the ground, growling.
"You bunch of useless trash! You can't even handle this simple task! Get out! Go out and find her before the Ninth Prince! If the princess is missing even a single hair, I'll exterminate your entire clan!"
Chaos erupted in the palace; the Ninth Prince's men and the new emperor's men practically turned the capital upside down.
But they never expected it.
Xia Yixin possessed superhuman strength, and carrying Zi Linglong, she crossed Taiping Mountain in one breath, far away from the capital. She then slipped into a nearby forest, a place where she could retreat and defend herself, and where she could hide easily.
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