Detaining the family members of court officials, the evidence is conclusive.

Seated gracefully by the bedside was a woman of extraordinary beauty. Even with a bright yellow headscarf partially veiling her face, her delicate and exquisite features were still apparent. Locks of amber hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she wore a vibrant red brocade half-sleeved garment. Bejeweled silver chains adorned her shoulders, wrists, and waist, chiming softly with every slight movement.

This captivating beauty from the Western Regions was none other than Huai'an's eldest sister-in-law – Yuekun Lijing.

Back then, Ping Huai'an's eldest brother, Ping Qing, who had always been fond of tinkering with metals and earth since childhood, felt that the craftsmanship in the Northern Territory was backward. Thus, he had traveled far to the Western Regions to study the artillery, pewter, and damascening techniques of the Arabs, staying for nearly a decade. There, in the rolling sands and vast deserts, he had met the love of his life, like a parched land meeting sweet rain, his solitary existence no longer lonely.

He resolved to spend his life with her. The beautiful woman lowered her head and softly agreed, her cheeks blushing as if about to drip water.

Overjoyed, he sent letters back home, hoping to seek his parents' consent for the marriage. Unfortunately, it was during the uprising, and the war was raging fiercely. Firstly, they had no time to attend to it, and secondly, the uprising was extremely dangerous. Ping's parents were worried about their son's safety, so they replied with a few words, sending their blessings and allowing Ping Qing to marry in the Western Regions, asking him to return home after everything had settled down.

It wasn't until the second year of Emperor Duanzhao's reign, when the Great Zheng Dynasty had just stabilized, that Ping Qing received the news and was able to return home. Accompanying him, besides his new wife, were his first pair of grandchildren, one in each arm.

After returning home, relying on his exquisite craftsmanship and vast knowledge, without even needing to depend on the Ping family's influence, Ping Qing rose to the position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works on his own merit, his official career soaring smoothly. He had now been promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

Last year, by imperial decree, he also took on the position of Deputy Director of the Bureau of Arms Manufacturing. In the previous month, following the Fourth Prince, the "Prince Duan," who also loved craftsmanship, he had traveled to the Western Regions again to purchase the latest type of firearms for future use in suppressing the remnants of the former Qin dynasty.

Having not returned to her tribe for nearly three years, Yuekun Lijing had traveled with her children, intending to visit her family in her hometown along the way.

But now, she, who should have been by Ping Qing's side, why was she in a place like Yexiao Pavilion, a den of pleasure?

Huai'an still stood rooted to the spot, only calling out again, "Eldest Sister-in-law?"

It was Huan Sui who reacted quickly. He reached out and draped the silk curtain over Yuekun Lijing, covering her barely concealed attire, and at the same time asked, "May I ask if madam is the wife of Vice Minister Ping, Madam Yuekun?"

Yuekun Lijing shifted her gaze to him, nodded, and then, as if understanding the situation before her, immediately stood up. Ignoring the silk curtain slipping from her body, she quickly stepped forward and grasped Huai'an's hand. Although her words were neither hurried nor slow, they carried urgency. "Huai'an, save the children."

"Children?" Huai'an finally reacted. She gripped Yuekun Lijing's hands in return, her eyes wide with shock. "Why is Eldest Sister-in-law here? Where are Weiyu and Jixi?"

"They're being held by the proprietress. Huai'an, we must find the children first."

Huai'an looked back at Huan Sui, asking with her eyes. Huan Sui nodded and called out to the empty outer corridor, "Go find them."

Several footsteps echoed in the long corridor. Huai'an estimated that Huan Sui's guards had gone to search for the children. A sense of relief washed over her. She looked at her eldest sister-in-law again. "Are you alright, Eldest Sister-in-law? Have you suffered?"

"Not me," Yuekun Lijing shook her head. "The children have suffered more."

"His Highness has sent people to search. They should find them quickly in one building."

Upon hearing this, Yuekun Lijing turned and gave Huan Sui a proper bow. "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Eldest Sister-in-law, what exactly happened?"

As a princess from a small tribe of the Yueban Kingdom in the Western Regions, and having been by Ping Qing's side for many years, Yuekun Lijing possessed remarkable diplomatic skills. Even in the face of great adversity, her narration was logical and coherent, with clear causes and effects. In less than the time it took for a cup of tea to cool, Huai'an understood what had happened.

It turned out that half a month ago, Ping Qing had successfully purchased fifty of the latest type of firearms, the Tiger-Fear Cannons, from the Arab gun merchants. The silver and goods were exchanged, and even next year's contract was signed. After two days of rest, the Fourth Prince, Prince Duan, personally led a thousand imperial guards to escort them. When they reached the border of the Western Regions, they were suddenly ambushed by fierce bandits, who attacked with overwhelming force, throwing everyone into chaos.

In a moment of near death, Ping Qing told Yuekun Lijing to take the children and escape through the east gate of the backyard, while he stayed behind to buy them time. Yuekun Lijing fled day and night with the children. Who would have thought that they would run straight into the hands of human traffickers?

They had no money and no identification. The traffickers, seeing Yuekun Lijing's beautiful appearance, sold her at a high price to a middleman trafficker in the capital. The middleman trafficker then sold her to Yexiao Pavilion at an even higher price.

Yexiao Pavilion, hearing her claim to be a princess from a Yueban tribe, was overjoyed. They thought they had gotten a distressed princess. Although she had given birth to two children, her graceful bearing remained undiminished. After some discussion among the senior manager, the owner, and the proprietress, they decided to put her up for sale for her first night at an exorbitant price today.

Huai'an was so shocked that she couldn't speak. A wave of fear washed over her. If she and Huan Sui hadn't "coincidentally" bid for the spring night tonight, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Yuekun Lijing said softly, "I had already thought of using A'qing's name to negotiate with the guest and find a way to escape from here. Fortunately, it was you who came; otherwise, it would have been a real struggle."

"Why didn't Eldest Sister-in-law reveal your identity at the beginning?"

"At that time, I didn't know if the traffickers were in league with the bandits, so I didn't dare to reveal my identity rashly. It wasn't until I heard the middleman trafficker say they were sending me to the capital that I thought of hitching a ride and then finding an opportunity to contact the manor. Who knew that within two short days, I would have been resold twice, with no chance to send a message at all."

Huai'an lowered her head and remained silent for a long while. She thought about the harrowing journey her eldest sister-in-law must have gone through, yet she described it with such calmness, as if she didn't take the suffering to heart at all.

Thinking this, Huai'an's heart suddenly tightened, and she said softly, "Eldest Sister-in-law has suffered."

"No," Yuekun Lijing shook her head. "The children have suffered more."

"Why were the children taken to the proprietress?"

Upon hearing this, Yuekun replied, "Although the traffickers tried their best to get rid of the two children, I held onto them tightly the whole way, not letting them out of my sight for a moment. Although the traffickers engaged in forced buying and selling, they were still somewhat humane and didn't separate our mother and children." She paused, her eyelids lowered, her voice trembling slightly. "But just before entering Yexiao Pavilion, that proprietress insisted on taking the children away, threatening me not to escape tonight and to serve... the guest well."

The furrows between Huai'an's brows deepened. She said coldly, "That damned proprietress dared to threaten you with the children?" She placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist, the anger in her eyes about to erupt. Although the traffickers were hateful, she knew that with her eldest sister-in-law's intelligence, she would definitely find a chance to escape. That would have been the end of it, but threatening a mother with her children had truly crossed her bottom line.

With that, she loudly summoned the waiter outside the door and ordered him to quickly bring the proprietress into the room.

The proprietress pushed the door open with a beaming smile, a flattering expression on her face. "Esteemed guest, is it that our 'Spring Night' didn't please you? Was the service not good enough? It's really that this humble establishment was too impatient, she wasn't trained, thinking her natural talent was exceptional. But don't worry! Just tell us any requests you have, and our 'Heaven-Class Spring Night' guarantees your satisfaction."

Huai'an couldn't listen anymore. She drew her sword from its scabbard with a backhand motion. With a "shua" sound, the blade was already against the proprietress's neck. The blade, having been quenched in the blood of countless battlefields, now gleamed with a crimson cold light, causing the surrounding temperature to drop sharply.

Seeing the murderous intent in Huai'an's eyes and feeling the vibrating sword blade against her neck, the proprietress's expression remained unchanged. What kind of scene hadn't she seen? It was just a military officer drawing a sword to show off, right?

She slightly tilted her head and gestured to the waiter outside the door. Understanding, the waiter quickly ran off.

"My lord has such spirit, but this humble one doesn't know how she offended you to incur such wrath? Please tell me, my lord, and this humble one will definitely change." That's what she said, and that's how she smiled, but the proprietress's eyes looking at Huai'an were filled with fear, a cold sweat quietly sliding down her back. She had never seen such pure determination and confidence in someone's eyes, the bearing of a great general. This was definitely no ordinary military officer.

So her tone softened. "Could it be that the 'Heaven-Class Spring Night' offended you?"

Huai'an laughed in extreme anger. "Offended?" She swung her hand back. With a "zi" sound, she sliced off a corner of the proprietress's sleeve. The proprietress cried out in shock and jumped back, finally feeling fear.

"Do you know who your so-called 'Spring Night' is?" Huai'an pressed forward step by step.

Seeing Huai'an advancing, the proprietress stumbled backward, waving her hands anxiously. "This... this humble one doesn't know! This humble one bought her from Zhang Qilang in the West Market. This humble one... this humble one didn't investigate clearly. It was this humble one's dereliction of duty."

Huai'an snorted. Just now she was saying "just enjoy yourself, don't ask about the origins," but with a knife to her neck, she confessed everything.

Huai'an took off the jade seal from her waist and showed the side with the 'Ping' character to the proprietress. "That is the wife of Ping Qing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works of the Great Zheng!" She then placed the long sword against the proprietress's neck again and asked in a deep voice, "Who gave you the胆子 to push the eldest daughter-in-law of my Ping family into a room and make her receive guests?"

Upon hearing this, the proprietress's ears rang as if thunder had struck. With a "thump," her knees went weak, and she knelt on the ground, trembling like a sieve.

The... the Ping family! That was an ancestor she couldn't afford to offend even in eight lifetimes!

Why didn't that woman say so? Why didn't she reveal her identity! Wait, she did seem to say she was a princess from the Western Regions, and she also mentioned having relatives in the capital. Who was it? It seemed she really did say the Ping family. At that time, she had even chuckled and said that if Yuekun was from the Ping family, then she must be the empress in the palace!

Damn it! The proprietress wanted to bang her head against the wall. That Zhang Qilang was going to be the death of her! It was over, all over. Forget Yexiao Pavilion, her life was now in jeopardy.

The proprietress's thoughts were buried in the future of her impending doom, so she didn't hear Huai'an's subsequent questions until Huai'an's stern shout brought her back to reality.

"I'll ask you one last time, where are the children?" Although the guards had just gone out to search, having the person in charge lead the way would definitely be faster.

"Children?" The proprietress raised her head blankly, meeting Huai'an's cold gaze. After a moment of dazedness, she finally reacted and said, "They... they are here, being well taken care of."

The waiter led a group of his men, wielding sticks, rushing in to help. Seeing that the group of subordinates looked menacing and were about to fight the nobles, the proprietress wished she were dead.

She shouted, "All of you, back down!"

Having seen their proprietress kneeling there, the subordinates' imposing manner had already weakened by half. Upon hearing her order, they immediately dejectedly put away their weapons and scattered in a flash.

The proprietress urged the waiter to quickly bring the children over. Seeing this, Huai'an sheathed her sword, afraid of frightening the children.

The proprietress remained kneeling on the ground, not daring to get up.

When the waiter reappeared at the door, the two children he held by the hand immediately ran towards Yuekun Lijing upon seeing her, opening their arms to embrace their mother.

Yuekun Lijing crouched down and hugged the children tightly. The boy's voice was choked with sobs, muffled in her embrace. "Mother!"

The girl hugged her mother tightly a few times before stepping back, raising her small head, half-trembling and half-proudly saying, "Mother, I didn't cry. I took good care of Jixi!"

Yuekun Lijing gently stroked the girl's head and said softly, "Weiyu is a good older sister."

Ping Weiyu looked up and saw Huai'an standing beside her. The aunt who had just been sternly glaring at the proprietress now lowered her head and met her gaze gently. Ping Weiyu looked up at her aunt, who stood by them like a deity, and asked, "Did Auntie save us?"

Huai'an ruffled the child's head without answering, then turned to Huan Sui, who had been silent all along, and asked, "Your Highness, this woman privately trafficked humans and detained the family members of court officials. The evidence is conclusive. I believe she should be immediately imprisoned and handed over to the capital authorities for judgment."

Huan Sui nodded slightly upon hearing this and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, "Imperial Guards."

The sound of colliding armor and weapons echoed from the floors below. In an instant, two rows of neatly armed guards stood before the door, kneeling and saluting Huan Sui in unison. "Your Highness!"

When the proprietress had just heard Huai'an address the young lord as "Your Highness," she had doubted her ears, but a sense of dread had already settled in her heart. Hearing the neatly uniformed guards loudly call out "Your Highness" confirmed her suspicion. She immediately kowtowed to the ground, not even daring to beg for mercy.

A member of the imperial family! Even if she had ten heads, she wouldn't be able to keep them now.

Huan Sui glanced at Huai'an, indicating that she could handle the matter.

Huai'an didn't stand on ceremony. She waved her hand at the guards. "Arrest everyone in Yexiao Pavilion, including the patrons, waiters, and courtesans. Don't let anyone escape."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The proprietress wanted to flee, but her legs had long since stopped obeying her commands. She could only silently be taken away by the imperial guards.

Once everything was settled, Yuekun Lijing stepped forward and bowed to Huan Sui. "This humble woman, along with her son and daughter, kowtows here to thank Your Highness for saving our lives." As she spoke, she was about to kneel.

Huan Sui quickly helped Yuekun Lijing up and returned the bow with cupped hands. "You are Ziran's and Huai'an's eldest sister-in-law, so you are also my eldest sister-in-law. Please don't stand on ceremony, you are embarrassing Yongci."

Ping Jixi watched the adults pushing and pulling each other, tugged at Huai'an's sleeve, and looked up at his aunt. "Auntie, who is this uncle?"

Huai'an pushed Ping Jixi's little head and chided, "What uncle? His Highness is so young."

Huan Sui crouched down, meeting little Jixi's gaze. "Jixi, I am your third uncle."

Ping Jixi furrowed his little brows and pouted. "Liar, I only have a second uncle and an aunt. Who are you, trying to impersonate my uncle?"

Upon hearing this, Yuekun Lijing quickly covered Jixi's mouth. "Little Xi, don't be rude. That is His Highness, Prince Heng."

Huan Sui smiled and waved his hand, indicating it was alright. He continued to introduce himself to the little boy, "You might not have met me before. My name is Huan Yongci, and I am your second uncle's good brother. You can call me Uncle Yongci in the future."

Little Jixi held tightly onto his aunt's and mother's hands, staring at the refined and composed man before him, who was as gentle as a piece of beautiful jade. After a long while, he nodded half-believingly. "Okay, Uncle Ci." Considering that this uncle had saved his mother and sister, he would believe him for now.

Ping Weiyu, standing beside them, mistakenly thought Ping Jixi had said "fourth uncle," so she smacked her younger brother on the back of the head. "Dummy, it's third uncle!"

Huan Sui ruffled Ping Weiyu's head. "Weiyu is clever, a good child." He scooped Ping Weiyu into his arms, stood up, and whispered in her ear, "Secretly telling you, your third uncle might become your uncle-in-law in the future."

Upon hearing this, Ping Weiyu's eyes widened as she looked at Huan Sui. "Really!" She turned her head and glanced at Huai'an, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them. Her aunt was so beautiful; indeed, only this newly recognized handsome third uncle was worthy of her aunt.

Huai'an smiled. "I heard that."

By the time they brought Yuekun Lijing and the two children back to the manor, it was already late at night. After a night of turmoil, the children had long since fallen asleep, leaning against Huai'an and Yuekun Lijing on the way. After settling them down, people from the palace arrived, ordering Huan Sui, Huai'an, Ping Yan, and others to enter the palace together to discuss countermeasures.

Upon receiving the news, Ping Yan quickly sent an urgent dispatch back to the Western Regions. He hadn't expected such a major incident to occur in the Western Regions during his short trip back to the capital for his duty report.

Huai'an made a trip to the capital yamen and gave some instructions on interrogation techniques. Then, she dragged Huan Sui to the official gazette distribution office in the capital to search for letters, wanting to find news about her eldest brother and Prince Duan, but there wasn't a single word.

At that time, Yuekun Lijing had said that the incident happened suddenly, so it was reasonable that news hadn't been transmitted for the time being. For now, they could only hope that Prince Duan's imperial guards had successfully broken through and sought help from the garrison troops around the Western Regions.

After two days of back-and-forth commotion, Ping Yan received orders and led three thousand light cavalry, traveling day and night, back to the Western Regions.

They must protect Prince Duan and Vice Minister Ping. That was the emperor's command.

Huai'an originally wanted to follow, but Huan Sui stopped her, simply saying, "The Crown Prince of Qi will be arriving for an audience soon."

Upon hearing this, Huai'an's heart sank. She had been so focused on the sudden events that she had completely forgotten about finding Ruo'cheng. Now, with the meeting between Zheng and Qi about to take place, finding Ruo'cheng would no longer help the overall situation, but how could she just ignore it?

Huai'an felt caught in a dilemma. On one side was her own elder brother, and on the other was her closest friend. She felt like a candle burning at both ends; no matter what she did, it wouldn't be right.

Seeing this, Huan Sui patted her arm and said softly, "Don't worry. Ziran has already gone to provide reinforcements. You don't need to worry about Qing for the time being. Finding Ruo'cheng is the top priority right now."

Huai'an nodded with difficulty. "At that time, the one in Xiao Ke's room should have been Ruo'cheng." On one hand, she wanted to blame Huan Sui for preventing her from finding Ruo'cheng, but on the other hand, she was grateful to him. Thanks to his misunderstanding, her eldest sister-in-law and the two children were rescued.

Thinking about it, it was also her own lack of clear thinking. If the people at Yexiao Pavilion really knew Ruo'cheng's identity, how could they have easily thrown her into a den of pleasure for others to bid on? If the imperial family found out, it would be strange if they weren't punished along with their nine generations.

It was only her momentary lapse in thought, her single-minded focus on finding Ruo'cheng, that prevented her from thinking more carefully.

Huan Sui lowered his eyelids, rubbing the jade ring on the little finger of his left hand. "We should have looked through the window first to confirm before leaving."

Huai'an shook her head. "No, fortunately, Your Highness saw through Yexiao Pavilion's human trafficking. Otherwise, my eldest sister-in-law's family would still be wandering somewhere unknown."

Huan Sui paused, a hint of regret in his voice. "Going back to Jiqing House now to search, I'm afraid it will be empty."

Huai'an sighed softly. "I will go and take another look."

Actually, she felt a faint sense of unease in her heart. Logically speaking, the person who kidnapped Ruo'cheng, even if it wasn't Xiao Ke, should have known Ruo'cheng's identity. But now that the Crown Prince of Qi had been in the capital for so many days, why hadn't that person made any move or revealed any information?

Huai'an felt that she must have overlooked something, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't figure it out.

Two days later, Huai'an went to Jiqing House again, deep in the alleys of Jinsha Lane. From afar, she saw several people dressed in Southern Qi clothing escorting a noble young man into the building. Her heart leaped with joy. She hurried forward, about to stop them, but saw that the noble young man was neither Xiao Yan nor Xiao Ke. He looked like just a merchant who had come to do business.

Huai'an was somewhat disappointed. She walked straight into the building and looked around for a while, but the waiters didn't respond to her greetings. After a long time, she finally found the waiter who had been entrusted by her to go into Xiao Ke's room to investigate that day. She strode over and called out to him.

The waiter grinned widely upon seeing her, wiped his hands on the cloth hanging from his waist, and bowed courteously. "This humble one is truly fortunate to see Madam again!"

It seemed that the amount of silver she had given him that day was substantial enough for the waiter to remember her.

So Huai'an took out another silver ingot from her sleeve and placed it in the waiter's hand. "There is something I would like to ask you, brother."

Feeling the silver in his hand, which was even heavier than the previous one, the waiter's smile widened even more. He bowed low and replied, "Please ask, Madam."

"The guest in the private room whom I asked you to check on that day, are they still in the building?"

The waiter straightened up slightly, his eyes shifting left and right as if recalling. After a moment, he replied, "They left about two days ago."

Huai'an nodded. That was what she had thought. She asked again, "Who accompanied them when they left?"

"Since Madam entrusted me to take a look into the room that day, this humble one paid attention. I remember that when the guest in that room left, they were only accompanied by a few servants, but the beautiful young woman who was in the room that day was not seen."

"Do you know the identity of the guest in the room?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter looked at Huai'an suspiciously, as if wondering why she would ask such a question. But in an instant, he understood, thinking that she didn't want her family affairs to be spread around. So he shook his head and said he didn't know.

Huai'an also roughly guessed the reason for the change in the waiter's expression, worried that news of her investigating the Southern Qi envoys would cause unnecessary trouble. She decided not to pursue the matter further and let the waiter continue to mistakenly believe that she was just catching a cheating husband.

She thought for a moment. If Ruo'cheng was indeed in the room, then Xiao Ke must have had her disguised as a servant and quietly taken her away. And the place they went to, needless to say, was—