Chapter 053

Chapter 53: Tea Fragrance Everywhere

Yu Zhi Yi lifted her brows and said with mild surprise: “Ah? You didn’t find her?” She raised her hand and made a quick calculation, then said with a polite smile: “Sorry, I missed something. The general direction of Ma Family Village is right, but it is a little off. Your sister is not in Ma Family Village, but in a town fifty li away (about twenty-five kilometers) called Peach Spring Town.”

Yu Zhi Yi continued evenly: “There is a landowning family named Tian there. After your sister was abducted back then, she escaped by chance and slipped into a Tian Clan caravan. The head of the Tian Clan saw she was clever and, since he had long wished for a daughter and could not have one, he kept her as an adopted daughter while also helping search for her family, because she could not say where she came from or who her relatives were.”

Yu Zhi Yi spoke clearly: “Your sister had no token that proved her identity when she was taken, and Great Sheng Empire is vast. Even though the Tian Clan wanted to help, they had nowhere to start. Half a year later, that gang of kidnappers left the area, and there were no more leads.”

Yu Zhi Yi explained further: “Ten years later, when your sister reached marrying age, the Tian Clan could not bear to marry off the girl they had treasured, and your sister and the Tian young master liked each other, so they held a wedding.”

Yu Zhi Yi concluded: “Life after marriage was not always smooth for your sister, but her feelings with her husband are steady, and she has both a son and a daughter. She is fairly happy.” Then she looked at Duke Ding Guo and said with a small smile: “I know you want to lash out at me. Please don’t be hasty, because if you don’t go within three days, your sister’s son and daughter-in-law will be in danger.”

Yu Zhi Yi finished calmly: “And after they die, your sister will die from grief.”

Duke Ding Guo went rigid. He had to admit that, for a moment, he wanted to punish this Young Madam Du who he thought was talking nonsense. After being deceived once, it was hard to trust again. But she said that if he did not go quickly, his sister would be in danger. He thought: [I can’t gamble on this.]

He looked at Yu Zhi Yi with a cold face and said: “I will believe you one more time. If you deceive me again, even if your father-in-law is the chancellor, I will not let you go.”

Yu Zhi Yi answered with quiet confidence: “Rest easy. You will not get that chance.”

Duke Ding Guo gave her one last look and left at a quick pace.

Prince Xiao Yao frowned slightly. His eyes swept over Yu Zhi Yi’s beautiful but always indifferent face, a cold light flashing there as he said: “You already knew where this prince’s great aunt was. You did this just to make Maternal Grandfather and this prince run around for nothing, and to use the chance to humiliate Yue’er.”

Yu Zhi Yi wore an innocent look and said: “If that is what you want to think, Your Highness, I cannot help it.”

Prince Xiao Yao clenched his jaw, then said: “You had better pray Maternal Grandfather finds Great Aunt safely. Otherwise, no one will be able to protect you.” He flicked his sleeve and left. As he turned, a shadow crossed his eyes. He thought: [I have a feeling she is telling the truth. Maternal Grandfather may really find Great Aunt. But that is not what I want to see. If she is right, it means her skill is above Yue’er’s. Yue’er’s information was only wrong; she did not mean to deceive anyone. I will not let anyone throw dirt on her. So Great Aunt can be found, but she must not be found at the Tian Clan in Peach Spring Town.]

Prince Xiao Yao strode out of Chancellor’s Manor, ready to order his people to reach Great Aunt before Maternal Grandfather, when a trusted aide ran up in a panic and said: “Your Highness, something has happened to Miss You!”

Prince Xiao Yao’s face changed, and he asked sharply: “What is it?”

After the failed search, Duke Ding Guo had scolded You Bing Yue fiercely. He did not give Prince Xiao Yao any face and cursed her from head to toe. He also strictly forbade her from appearing before him again or taking part in the matter.

You Bing Yue was used to doing as she pleased. Except for Madam Yao, no one had humiliated her this badly. Her pride would not let her swallow such insults. After returning to Capital City, she began to look for clues from what she had read in books about that year. She really found something: one of the kidnappers from back then.

Hating that gang who had caused her to lose face, she stopped the man. At first he refused to admit he was a kidnapper. After You Bing Yue tortured him, he finally gave in. He admitted his crimes and even remembered the little miss who went missing years ago. He said that although their group did not catch the little miss again, they later learned where she had escaped to. They did not act because she later had someone protecting her.

Because so many years had passed, he could not remember the exact place. He needed to return to his lodging to find a ledger. That ledger recorded the sellers’ addresses and prices for every woman and child they sold. If someone escaped halfway, like that little miss, and they found out where she went, they also wrote it down.

You Bing Yue followed him back to his place. But she was walking into a trap. That filthy gang would do anything to steal women and children, and they kept many dirty tricks. The most common was knockout powder. Since they feared the yamen and the victims’ families, they had their own way to pass messages. If the people who came were many, they used a tunnel to escape. If only one or two came, then…

As soon as You Bing Yue stepped inside, someone dumped knockout powder over her head. Before she could show her skills as a killer, she passed out cold.

Although Prince Xiao Yao had sent men to protect her, the Shadow Guards were only two. The kidnappers were seasoned criminals, and there were even Martial World experts among them. The two Shadow Guards feared startling the enemy and causing You Bing Yue more harm, so they did not act rashly.

Once Prince Xiao Yao heard she was in trouble, he could not think of anything else. He at once led a large force to surround the kidnappers’ hideout.

Duke Ding Guo, already out of the city, did not know any of this. Du Zi Heng, injured and confined at home, also did not know. Even Yu Zhi Yi did not know. Because You Bing Yue was heaven’s chosen, Yu Zhi Yi could not read her face and fate. She was not curious about You Bing Yue’s movements at all. After sending away Du Zi Heng, who wanted to dig to the bottom of things, she turned her thoughts to another matter.