Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 569 - 567

Chapter 569: Chapter 567

Xiao’er went into the bathroom inside her personal space, washed herself, and then had a delicious chicken leg. After feeding Yang Liu some water from the magic space, she took Yang Liu out of the space and settled her back onto a chair.

Xiao’er too went to sit back on a chair, closing her eyes to encourage some sleepiness.

The time in the personal space seemed to fly by, and before Shangguan Xuanyi could arrive, Xiao’er hoped the Bat King would have been fully subdued.

As their king was gone, the vampire bats outside were in a mess, wildly fluttering around.

The men clad in black wrapped themselves up tightly as they watched the chaotic dance of the bat swarm. One man frowned, "What’s happening with these vampire bats tonight?"

Another man heard this and responded nonchalantly: "Probably they are starving. They saw people and got excited."

These vampire bats could eat quite a lot! If this continued, what could they possibly feed them?

"No idea when the boss will get the silver. Once we get the silver, we don’t have to wrangle with these freakish things."

"What’s so bad about these vampire bats? With them, aren’t we untouchable?"

"Well, yes, but they’re too expensive to keep! I don’t want to live day to day on a knife-edge anymore. All I want is to get my hands on the silver as soon as possible and lead a normal life."

The few of them chatted back and forth before eventually drifting off to sleep.

...

Marquis Shengping’s Mansion

Upon returning home from the yamen, Shen Chengyao saw an arrow shoot past his eyes and lodge into a column in the corridor.

Shen Chengyao jumped in shock. He looked at the arrow and found a piece of paper attached to it. He quickly sought the direction from where the arrow had come but wasn’t able to see anyone.

He pulled the arrow out of the column, removed the paper from it, and opened it up, which promptly lost his color.

He took the note and ran toward the inner courtyard.

Seeing Shen Chengyao rushing in, Mrs. Liu asked anxiously, "What’s wrong, child’s father?"

When Shen Chengyao saw his heavily pregnant wife, he regained his rationality and quickly put away the note: he couldn’t panic or scare the child’s mother.

Shen Chengyao had to calm himself down, striving to sound normal, "Where is Xiao’er? Has she come back yet?"

"Not yet. I heard from the gatekeeper that there was trouble at the hot spring resort. Apparently, a woman was hit in the head by a brick. Xiao’er went to check on it."

When Shen Chengyao heard this, he became even more anxious. He said, "That’s the case! I should go and check as well. If any problem arises, it would be tough for a young girl like her to handle alone."

"Go ahead, she’s been gone all afternoon. It’s getting dark soon, you should go and meet her." Mrs. Liu nodded after hearing this.

Shen Chengyao turned around and strode out. Then he remembered something, so he turned around and instructed, "Since your belly is big now, don’t wander around and just stay at home obediently! If we can’t make it back tonight and the issue remains unresolved, you should not wait for us. Go to bed early."

Mrs. Liu felt strange after hearing this. She was not a child that needed to be told to stay obediently at home! Nevertheless, she nodded in agreement, "Be careful, if it gets too late, don’t rush back in the dark."

"Okay." After leaving Mrs. Liu’s room, Shen Chengyao then went to the accounting room to take all the silver banknotes amounting to 150,000 taels. He asked the officer in charge not to tell Mrs. Liu and then rode off to the Sixth Prince’s Mansion. He was no fool to think that he could save Xiao’er faster than Shangguan Xuanyi.

Just as Shen Chengyao’s horse made its way out of the gate, he ran into Zhao Yong, who was hurrying back.

Seeing Zhao Yong, Shen Chengyao was relieved, thinking that Xiao’er was probably in the carriage. But, before he had time to ask, the words Zhao Yong said made his already uncertain heart heave.

"Marquis, is our young miss back?"

Shen Chengyao’s heart sank. He handed the note he pulled from the arrow to Zheng Yong, "Xiao’er has been kidnapped. Weren’t you with her?"

Zhao Yong opened the note and read it, "Marquis, it’s a long story, and I don’t have time to explain it. You wait here, and I will go to the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince will definitely be able to save the young miss."

"I’m going with you."

When the two arrived at the Sixth Prince’s Mansion, Shangguan Xuanyi and Di Shaowei were discussing matters in the study. He immediately sensed something wrong when Xiao Fuzi reported that Zhao Yong and Marquis Shengping were there for an urgent matter.

"Send them in," he ordered.

Shangguan Xuanyi wondered why this duo would come to see him, as he was pretty sure that Xiao’er had gotten herself into trouble again.

Upon hearing this, Di Shaowei expressed his worry, "It wouldn’t be Xiao’er who’s in trouble, would it!"

Shangguan Xuanyi shot Di Shaowei a glare. There’d better be nothing wrong with his girl!

Di Shaowei: ... he was just expressing concern!

"Master, the young miss is missing," Zhao Yong burst in without even bowing. He knew that explaining the situation quickly mattered more than formalities to the Sixth Prince right now.

"Sixth Prince, Xiao’er has been kidnapped! I received a ransom note." Shen Chengyao, too, didn’t bow and it was more because he was anxious and forgot to do so.

Seeing his fears confirmed, Di Shaowei covered his eyes. Yes, Xiao’er really got into trouble.

"Speak clearly!" Shangguan Xuanyi stood up, took the note from Shen Chengyao, and read it. His eyes squinted in apparent danger.

Zhao Yong explained what had happened, and then reported the leads he had found in the dense forest.

"Feng Qing, Feng Yang, Feng Xing!"

The three of them swiftly entered the room.

"Feng Xing, have someone secretly observe every move of the Li Mansion. Report any news to me immediately!"

"Feng Yang, send someone to guard the nearby mountain temple outside the city. Marquis Shengping will place 200,000 taels of silver notes there. Have your men secretly tail the person who takes the silver notes,..."

"Feng Qing..." Shangguan Xuanyi gave his orders consecutively.

He then asked Xiao Fuzi to bring out 200,000 taels of counterfeit silver notes to give to Shen Chengyao. However, Shen Chengyao declined the offer, saying that he had brought some himself and only needed to borrow 50,000 taels.

Even though his daughter was betrothed to the Sixth Prince, the marriage had not occurred yet, she was not yet his property. So, how could he ask him to bear the cost to save his own daughter?

"This silver note is fake. Take this stack to the mountain temple first thing tomorrow morning."

Fake? Shen Chengyao looked at the notes that were so finely crafted that they could easily pass for genuine ones, then he took them with some relief.

With the banknotes in hand, Shen Chengyao returned home first, as he had to visit the mountain temple the next day.

Shangguan Xuanyi summoned An Yi to give some instructions and then stood in front of the window, lost in thought.

One hour later, he received a message sent via Pigeon Post.

Feng Qing had already prepared the ship. After reading the message, Shangguan Xuanyi strode out.

"Where to?" Di Shaowei quickly got up to follow.

"Rescue!" was Shangguan Xuanyi’s curt response as he didn’t look back while leaving.

"I’m coming too!" Di Shaowei quickly followed him.

Shangguan Xuanyi said nothing. If he could catch up, so be it!

The two of them rode quickly towards the pier in the dense forest.

Sorry, correction, Di Shaowei was riding a horse, while the Sixth Prince was riding a white tiger. Thus, in no time, a whole street’s length was between the two of them!