Chapter 659: Chapter 652_1 Chapter 659: Chapter 652_1 “Yes, Mrs. Lin, I think you misunderstand our leader. He has his reasons for what he does. Although you’re in the stronghold, hasn’t he provided you with good food and drink, and allowed you to stay in the best room? You have the best of what our enclave has to offer. Even though you can’t leave the mountain for now, the leader hasn’t mistreated you, right? Maybe the leader has other considerations for asking you to stay in the stronghold for now.”
“That’s right, Mrs. Lin, don’t misunderstand our leader. He’s really a good man; you’ll understand once you’ve been around him longer.”
Because Lin Yue’s character was quite likable, and she got along well with everyone, they all tended to favor her. That’s why they spoke up for the leader in such a gentle manner, defending him. Otherwise, if it were soone else, they might have been t with physical confrontation already. Slandering their leader was simply unforgivable.
With everyone talking at once, Lin Yue, no matter how capable, couldn’t outtalk them all. She could only silently wipe her sweat. Originally, she had just voiced so discontentnt in her heart—how had it escalated to such collective anger? It seed she needed to keep a lower profile and endure quietly when on others’ turf.
“Hmm, perhaps I did misunderstand. You all can get back to your activities; I’ll be heading back,” Lin Yue said, devoid of any desire to continue the conversation. She turned to leave but unexpectedly encountered Huangfu Yi on the way. His face was full of teasing and laughter as he looked at her, which made Lin Yue rather uncomfortable, especially considering what Huangfu Yi said next.
“How’s it going? Got ganged up on for badmouthing soone behind their back, didn’t you? Tsk tsk, it seems you still don’t quite grasp the respect I command in the stronghold or how much the others trust their leader. It’s not sothing just anyone can challenge. If you dare to speak ill of in front of everyone, you’ve seen the consequences. Everyone has actually been quite polite to you. If it were soone else, things might have turned out quite differently,” Huangfu Yi said with a grin, clearly reveling in her misfortune.
From his words, Lin Yue realized that Huangfu Yi knew about what happened earlier. Or maybe he had been hiding out of sight, watching the excitent, seeing how she was surrounded by those won—how else would he know so much? How despicable.
“I spoke the truth. If you weren’t a petty person, you wouldn’t have been eavesdropping behind people’s backs. Truly the behavior of a petty man,” Lin Yue said, heading straight back to her residence. Huangfu Yi followed at a distance behind, not too far, yet not too close, always having sothing to retort whenever Lin Yue tried to dismiss him.
At this ti, Huangfu Yi was genuinely intrigued by Lin Yue. It was more than just finding her agreeable. When Lin Yue first saw him, she had been very surprised, which made him suspect she recognized his imperial brother. But how could a re farmwife know the current Emperor? Huangfu Yi found it puzzling. So, he sent a ssage back to Capital City inquiring about it. The reply he received was quite interesting. Moreover, his imperial brother had even instructed him to take good care of Lin Yue, not to trouble her, which piqued his curiosity even more. He decided to observe her closely, to see what was so extraordinary about this farmwife, finding her more and more intriguing as ti went by.
When Lin Yue returned to Qingfeng Residence, she locked herself in her room directly, not finding it pleasant to be alone with her thoughts. She pondered how she would rectify the situation if Huangfu Yi’s attempt failed and how she would conduct herself upon reaching the Capital City. Her head spun with various scenarios, none of which seed foolproof. The best course of action would be to rescue the person en route.
As for those clad in black, they were indeed the Yin Family’s Hidden Guard, raised from childhood to undertake the family’s clandestine affairs. Their latest mission was to kidnap Master Xue under instructions from Capital City. With no specifics given, they were simply told to uncover the Zhao Family’s secrets and, above all, to conceal their identities to avoid bringing trouble to their masters.
Clearly, this mission had been a failure. Even if they had taken Master Xue, so of the Protectors who knew their identities had been rescued. Their secret was out. They had been very cautious since their arrival in Xin’an City, but in the end, they had faltered at the crucial mont.
The Hidden Guard had underestimated the Zhao Family’s influence, deeming it just another household that had risen from farming, with ager foundations and little standing. They thought the mission would be simple, perhaps not even requiring the likes of Hidden Guards. It was only upon arriving in Xin’an City that they realized things weren’t as straightforward as they had assud. Initially planning to infiltrate the Zhao Family and uncover secrets, they had been unable to enter the Zhao village without raising suspicion. Eventually, they settled in Xin’an City, yet found they could glean no information from the Zhao household.
After waiting more than a month and putting in considerable effort, they finally managed to bribe a young maid in the Zhao Family. This maid proved her ttle—within a re ten days, she provided them with useful information. While others were unaware, they from Capital City knew that Master Xue was a master glassmaker from the palace, nearly on par with the head of the Glaze Workshop. His misfortune had cost him the chief position, and now, here he was, working for the Zhao Family—an undoubtedly significant secret. Capturing Master Xue would not only expose the Zhao Family’s secrets, but also possibly give them access to secret recipes the masters might desire.
Receiving the information, they acted imdiately. While they didn’t know where Master Xue’s family was, they set up ambushes along the essential routes out of Xin’an City and indeed captured Master Xue along with several Protectors. A single escapee didn’t worry them—after all, they hadn’t revealed their identities, and even if one got away, they had left no trace for Zhao Family to track back to them. It was unfathomable to the Zhao Family that an unrelated Aristocratic Family from Capital City might be the culprits.
They were initially smug, hoping to extract information from their captives but found them stubbornly tight-lipped. After several days of fruitless interrogation and fearing complications if they stayed in Xin’an City too long, they planned to return to Capital City. Unexpectedly they were ambushed one night just ahead, caught off-guard. Besides Master Xue, whom they deed crucial, the other Protectors they had captured were all rescued, and they didn’t have the chance to silence them.
Moreover, despite their skills, they were outnumbered in Xin’an City and were forced to flee, dodging and hiding until they finally left the city. They breathed a sigh of relief upon exiting Xin’an City, but before they could rejoice, they ran into bandits on Longhu Mountain. Luck was certainly not on their side.
“Boss, what do we do? We’ve been surrounded by bandits,”
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