"Siya, what are you doing? Come back quickly..." Han Chi'er waved frantically, "That Marquis Gu is full of tricks. What if he captures you?"
Siya Kedun: "..."
This idiot.
Even if Marquis Gu was detestable, he wasn't so brazen as to capture someone in broad daylight.
Besides, Marquis Gu didn't even know who she was. Why would he capture her?
Siya Kedun ignored Han Chi'er and directly knocked on the Marquis's mansion gate...
A moment later, Steward Zhou opened the door a crack and poked his head out, "Who is Madam looking for?"
Siya Kedun was dressed very simply that day, in coarse linen clothes, with her hair tied up in a simple bun. Her smile was gentle and serene, no different from an ordinary woman...
She made a good first impression, so Steward Zhou didn't deliberately make things difficult for her.
Siya Kedun performed a Han Chinese courtesy and asked with a smile, "Old sir, I'd like to inquire, is this Pingyang Marquis's mansion?"
She had to coax information out of him bit by bit, so she had to make the person in front of her lower his guard...
Steward Zhou pointed to the plaque above the gate, "Isn't it written right there? What business do you have, Madam?"
Siya Kedun smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not very literate. I've come today to sell bracelets!~"
As she spoke, Siya Kedun took out a pair of exquisite and translucent jade bracelets from her sleeve...
Jewelry was scarce on the grassland, but there were plenty of high-quality jade. The pair of jade bracelets in Siya Kedun's hand had been meticulously crafted by tribal artisans. They were even more refined than those from the Central Plains and were most suitable for girls to wear.
"These jade bracelets are very beautiful..." Steward Zhou stepped out, picked up the bracelets, and examined them closely.
Seeing this, Siya Kedun smiled slightly, "Good things should be paired with good people. Before coming here, I inquired with others, and I heard that there are two girls from the grassland in the Marquis's mansion. Old sir, why don't you call them out and let me see them wearing the bracelets..."
Steward Zhou: "???"
How did you know the Marquis's mansion was holding two barbarian women?
The young Marquis was usually meticulous and careful, and his secrecy was excellent. Apart from the people within the Marquis's mansion, no one else knew of Han Chi Yan and Hu Ge Shuang'er's existence...
Of course, the Yun family was an exception.
Steward Zhou, being old and experienced, wouldn't be fooled by her few words?
"Madam, you might be mistaken. Apart from maids and cooks, we don't have any other young ladies in our Marquis's mansion. You should go sell your bracelets elsewhere!~"
Steward Zhou returned the jade bracelets to Siya Kedun and turned to close the gate...
"Old sir, wait a moment!"
Siya Kedun tried to grab Steward Zhou, but the old man was too fast. With a 'bang', he slammed the door shut, blocking Siya Kedun outside.
Siya Kedun: "..."
This old fellow had no manners at all.
However, judging by his 'fleeing in panic' demeanor, there was something suspicious going on.
Siya Kedun was a shrewd person. If she couldn't see through such a small trick, she wouldn't have become the female leader of the barbarian tribes...
"Siya, Siya, how was it? Did you find anything out?"
Back in the carriage, Han Chi'er was restless, like a monkey.
Siya Kedun snorted, "You were right. Jiaojiao and Yan'er might be locked up in the Marquis's mansion. Tonight, have Rendula proceed with caution and make sure to rescue the two daughters..."
"Okay, I'll listen to Siya about everything!~" Han Chi'er nodded repeatedly.
The three found a restaurant, had a simple meal, and then returned to the inn to rest.
That night, outside the courtyard wall of Pingyang Marquis's mansion.
A black figure soared into the air and nimbly leaped into the mansion's courtyard. Seeing a room with a light on not far ahead, the black figure narrowed its eyes and quietly approached...
It was said that Marquis Pingyang, Gu Mingyan, possessed peerless martial arts and was invincible, with a combat power close to the ceiling.
However, Rendula carefully sensed the surrounding aura. There were no masters in this Marquis's mansion. Could it be that Marquis Gu was not at home?
Approaching the window, Rendula poked a hole in the window paper and peeked inside...
He saw Steward Zhou holding a large tabby cat, sitting at a table, drinking by himself. The candied pork knuckle gleamed under the oil lamp, making Rendula's mouth water.
"Hmph, trying to get information from this old man. Truly overestimating yourself!~" Steward Zhou took a sip of wine and sighed softly, "Alas, I wonder how the young Marquis and the old Marquis are doing lately. Traveling such a long distance must be very arduous..."
Rendula: "???"
Traveling such a long distance, where did they go?
Steward Zhou didn't continue. He took another sip of wine and stroked the large tabby cat, "I don't know what Princess Han is thinking. The capital is rich in resources and very lively, but why does she insist on going to Dashui Village? Sigh, it's really annoying..."
Princess Han?
Dashui Village?
Rendula frowned, catching these two phrases.
But what confused him was, which Princess Han was Steward Zhou referring to, Han Chi Jiao or Han Chi Yan?
Never mind. Since he knew the Princess had gone to Dashui Village, the rest would be easy...
With that thought, Rendula flew away from the Marquis's mansion and returned to the inn.
"Are you sure you didn't mishear?"
In the inn, Siya Kedun looked at Rendula in front of her and asked in a deep voice.
Rendula nodded heavily, "Absolutely certain, your subordinate definitely didn't mishear..."
Upon hearing this, Han Chi'er looked puzzled, "What kind of place is Dashui Village, and why would they go there?"
"You ask me, who do I ask?" Siya Kedun shot him a glance, "Everyone get some sleep. We'll head to Dashui Village first thing tomorrow morning!~"
This time, if she didn't find her daughters, she would never return to the grassland...
The next morning, in a mansion in the capital, a young man was instructing his servants to load wine onto a carriage.
"Be careful, everyone. This wine is expensive, one bottle sells for one tael of silver!~" the young man instructed.
This person was named Bu Yi, a close friend of Yun Si Man in the capital. Their relationship was exceptionally good...
This time, Si Man was going to the northern border to fight with his uncle, so he didn't have time to help his sister sell wine. He called Bu Yi over to sell it on his behalf at a restaurant.
Bu Yi's family had been running restaurants for generations. Whenever they encountered good wine, they would buy it at a low price and then sell it to customers at a high price...
"This Si Man's vision is too narrow!~" Bu Yi pouted, casually opened a bottle of wine, and took a sip, "Such delicious fruit wine should sell for at least ten taels a bottle. Be careful, everyone. If you break one bottle, ten taels of silver will be gone!"
He decided that he would sell it for ten taels a bottle at the restaurant, take a twenty percent profit for himself, and give Si Man eighty percent, which would be eight taels of silver.
With that thought, Bu Yi boarded the carriage and signaled for a group of people to set off.