"Young master, Wen Jie has not returned home yet," said Master Sun.
Xuesong retracted his sword and said coldly, "If you had said so earlier, we wouldn't have troubled Master Sun."
With that, Xuesong turned and left.
Master Sun watched the receding figure before saying in a low voice, "Go tell Wen Jie not to come out again."
Xuesong returned to the carriage to report. Upon hearing this, Yan Jinchao said indifferently, "Return to the manor."
Xuesong was startled. "Isn't young master continuing the search?"
Yan Jinchao looked at the little one in his arms and said faintly, "Haven't we found her?"
Xuesong blinked, and after a while, he finally understood what his young master meant by "found."
It turned out that the young master's true intention was never about the wine, but about the little one.
He wondered if Administrator Lin would be so angry he'd die upon hearing this.
"Daddy, you can't do that."
Xue Xingyue, groggily overhearing the conversation between Uncle Xuesong and her daddy, almost burst into laughter. Although her mother had told her that her daddy only had eyes for her mother and no one else could catch his attention, she hadn't believed it at the time. After all, with such a vast world and so many people, how could her daddy control himself?
Now she understood. It turned out her daddy was cruel to those who were not "his people," like Miss Lin.
But she couldn't allow it. Regardless of whether it was Miss Lin or Miss Xu Shiniang, they were her mother's subjects. She had to protect her mother's subjects for her mother.
Yan Jinchao lowered his head, looking at the exquisitely carved little one speaking earnestly about not being able to do that. The ice in his heart gradually melted.
He looked up at Xuesong, who was still waiting outside the carriage, and said indifferently, "Continue the search."
The little one was delighted, her small hands grabbing his sleeve. "Daddy, you're the best."
Her sweet, soft voice made his heart melt. Now, he was starting to look forward to meeting the little one's mother. What kind of person would she be?
But then he thought, if he met the little one's mother, would he also have to meet the little one's father?
He didn't want to. Selfishly, he didn't want to meet the little one's father.
The little one's father should be him, right?
Suddenly, he was startled by his own thought. What was he thinking?
He lowered his head to look at the little one, who also looked up at him. "Daddy..."
So sweet and soft. He couldn't help but tighten his embrace. The little one was so soft, so incredibly cute.
"Daddy, I'm hungry..." the little one licked her lips.
Yan Jinchao couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out and tapped her forehead. "Wait..."
He reached into a nearby drawer, took out a box, and opened it. Xue Xingyue's eyes widened. It was her favorite pastry, peach blossom cake.
She reached out to take the pastry, eating it and saying, "Delicious."
"No one is snatching it from you, eat up!" Yan Jinchao's lips curved into a slight smile.
"Young master, it should be here," Xuesong's voice came from outside as the carriage stopped.
"Shall we follow?" Yan Jinchao asked.
The little one took another piece of cake and nodded. "Yes."
Yan Jinchao, holding the little one, alighted from the carriage. Xuesong walked to the gate of the manor and knocked.
Someone soon opened the door. Seeing Xuesong, they became extremely vigilant. "Who are you?"
Xuesong produced the search warrant given by Administrator Lin and said coldly, "We are here on the order of Administrator Lin to search for the criminal Sun Wenjie."
The servant trembled and tried to run, but Xuesong kicked him in the waist, sending him to the ground.
Xuesong stepped forward and said coldly, "Why are you running?"
The servant shivered in fear. Xuesong said coldly, "Search inside."
Soon, the manor was brought under control.
Sun Wenjie was dragged over as if he were a rabbit. Sun Wenjie angrily said, "What are you doing? Do you know it's against the law to break into a private residence?"
Xuesong stepped forward and showed Sun Wenjie the search warrant, saying coldly, "We are here on the orders of Administrator Lin to conduct a search."
Sun Wenjie trembled all over.
Xuesong stepped forward, bent down in front of Sun Wenjie, and asked, "Young Master Sun, I hope you will answer all my questions truthfully and exhaustively. Otherwise, this sword in my hand is without eyes."
Sun Wenjie's body stiffened. "Can... can you not kill innocent people?"
Xuesong sneered, "Kidnapping Administrator Lin's daughter, do you think Administrator Lin would allow me to kill you?"
Sun Wenjie's gaze flickered, and he swallowed hard. "Do... do you have evidence? Are you going to kill people without evidence?"
"Someone saw you, Young Master Sun."
Sun Wenjie trembled all over. "You... you're talking nonsense. Who saw Miss Lin? There is no Miss Lin."
"It seems Young Master Sun won't shed tears until he sees the coffin." Xuesong finished speaking, grabbed Sun Wenjie's arm, and forcefully swung him backward.
With a crack, anyone could hear that Sun Wenjie's arm was broken.
Sun Wenjie cried out in pain.
Yan Jinchao reached out to cover the little one's eyes in his arms, but unexpectedly, the little one watched with great interest and even said, "Daddy, this is too slow. Just break both his arms."
Yan Jinchao: "..."
Hearing this, Xuesong looked up at the little one in his young master's arms. If it weren't for fear of his young master not wanting the little one to see too much bloodshed, he would have been much more ruthless.
Sun Wenjie rolled around in pain and shouted, "I'll talk, I'll talk... Miss Lin was taken away."
"Who?" Xuesong asked.
"A group of bandits," Sun Wenjie shouted.
Xuesong came before Yan Jinchao and whispered, "Young master, it seems to be a rather large band of robbers."
"Little one, I'll send you back to the Administrator's manor," Yan Jinchao said, looking down at the little one.
Xue Xingyue quickly shook her head. "No, I want to be with Daddy."
"Xuesong, send someone to notify the Administrator, and we will proceed," Yan Jinchao said.
Xuesong nodded, sent someone back to notify Administrator Lin, and the group headed towards the bandits' lair.
Wind Chime Village
"Boss, those two keep crying and wailing. Can we..." Thin Monkey made a throat-slitting gesture.
The Boss glanced at Thin Monkey and said coldly, "Kill her? I want to, but that one is incapacitated now."
"Why is she incapacitated?" Thin Monkey asked.
As the Boss was about to speak, he saw someone else enter from outside. His entire demeanor became exceptionally lively. He walked forward, smiling, "Third Sister, you've finally arrived."
Xue Zining looked at the Boss, Xu Yangshuo, and nodded. "Boss, have you captured any new people?"
Xu Yangshuo smiled. "As expected, nothing can be hidden from Third Sister. This one is big game."
"What kind of game?" Xue Zining asked.
Xu Yangshuo said mysteriously, "She is the daughter of the Administrator of Jiangnan."
Xue Zining was startled and looked at Xu Yangshuo. "Boss, kidnapping the Administrator's daughter, isn't that..."
"What are you afraid of? Big Brother has connections above. It's just an Administrator, Big Brother isn't afraid."
The Administrator held a respectable fifth-rank official position. Xue Zining frowned, and the more she interacted with him, the more shocking she found it.
"Boss, how do you plan to deal with the Administrator's daughter?" Xue Zining asked.