Yu Wan played with the children in the carriage for a while. From time to time, cackling laughter came from inside the carriage. Although the sound of gongs and drums was deafening, Shadow Thirteen’s hearing was good. The Young Master Manor was cold and cheerless. After so many years, he had never seen the Young Master talk and laugh like a normal person. Perhaps with the four of them, he could live a normal life from now on. The premise was that the poison was removed. Of course, he was not worried about this. After all, the antidote was in the carriage.
The little munchkins woke up too early and fell asleep in Yu Wan’s arms after playing for a while. Yu Wan’s wedding dress was a little heavy, and it was inconvenient to carry the children. It was also hot. She was glad that she did not get married in summer. Otherwise, she would probably die of heat in the carriage before she passed Lotus Flower Town.
Yu Wan placed the three little fellows on the bed at the side and pulled the blanket over the three of them. Because they were escorting the bride, there were auspicious times. They could not be late or early. The time was very generous, so the carriage moved slower than usual. After swaying for a while, Yu Wan began to feel sleepy.
Yu Wan did not make things difficult for herself. She took a pillow and leaned her head against the wall of the carriage. In her daze, she heard a familiar commotion outside the carriage. She vaguely understood that they were passing through Lotus Flower Town. Not long after, she really fell asleep.
However, Shadow Thirteen was always vigilant. Before they set off, Young Master had instructed him to prioritize the overall situation. If he encountered something he shouldn’t have, he shouldn’t ask too much. If he encountered something troublesome, he should try his best to avoid it. He didn’t want to miss the auspicious time. Young Master didn’t care how others criticized him, but he didn’t want to let Miss Yu suffer.
The marriage of the Young Master of Yan City caused a stir in the Capital. No one dared to brazenly tamper with it, but they were afraid that someone would play dirty. After walking for another hour, they could enter the southern city gate in a few miles. At this moment, the sound of gongs and drums suddenly came from ahead. Shadow Thirteen gave the guard beside him a look. “Go take a look.”
“Yes!”
The guard rode his horse away and rushed back. “Someone is escorting the bride, just like us.”
Shadow Thirteen and Shadow Six exchanged glances. This was too much of a coincidence. It was fine if they escorted the bride on the same day, but they even escorted her on the same path? It wasn’t like they were all rushing to get married during the New Year and festivals?
Shadow Thirteen raised his hand, indicating for the musicians to stop.
The musicians understood and put down their instruments. The silence made the sound on the other end obvious.
Shadow Thirteen instructed the guard again, “Go and tell them that the Young Master of Yan City is getting married. Ask them to make way.”
“Yes!”
The guard rode off again.
Shadow Six frowned. “You think there’s a trap?”
Shadow Thirteen said indifferently, “It’s hard to say, but we have to be careful.”
Shadow Six nodded and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
The guard returned not long after with a bad expression. “They won’t let us. They said that the auspicious time is coming. If we let them go, they’ll miss the auspicious time, and ask the Young Master to forgive them.”
Shadow Six mocked, “Heh, ask forgiveness from a royal? How shameless is he?”
“Isn’t that so? I said the same!” The guard said. “Do you want me to warn him again?”
Shadow Thirteen gripped the reins tightly and looked in the direction of the team. His eyes were cold as he said, “There’s no need. They’re not here to escort the bride. It’s useless even if you warn them.”
Shadow Thirteen instructed the guards to surround Yu Wan’s carriage tightly. He took the lead and walked in front. Shadow Six guarded the back of the carriage. The bridal escort team quickly walked over with gongs and drums. When the two sides brushed past each other, an opposing musician suddenly shouted, “Why are you stepping on me!”
The musician who was wronged by him was confused. “When did I step on you?”
“You did step on me! You still don’t admit it! Look, you left shoe prints on my shoes!”
“Why are you so unreasonable? I’m so far away from you!”
The two sides quarreled, and it was unknown who pushed first. The people on both sides clashed, and the scene fell into chaos. Shadow Thirteen watched coldly. His first priority was to protect the carriage. As long as they did not approach the carriage, he could not kill.
The other party’s people were naturally unable to defeat the guards of the Young Master Manor. In the end, they left in exasperation. Shadow Six walked over on his horse, and Shadow Thirteen gestured for the team to continue forward.
Shadow Six took a deep breath. “It was a false alarm. I almost thought that they were really here to rob the bride.”
Although they had been delayed for a while, it was not a problem. They could catch up to the auspicious time by speeding up a little. However, Shadow Thirteen felt that something was wrong. He asked Shadow Six, “You were looking at the carriage just now. Are you sure no one approached?”
Shadow Six nodded and asked the guards around him, “Did you see anyone approaching?”
The guards shook their heads.
Shadow Thirteen was guarding the front. In fact, he did not see anyone have a chance to approach the carriage, but he still rode over and lifted the curtain. Seeing that the bride was sitting well and the three little fellows were sleeping sweetly, he lowered the curtain.
However, in the next second, his eyes turned sharp. That’s not right! He looked at the bride sitting upright and reached out to her veil.
“Hey! What are you doing!” Shadow Six shouted.
Shadow Thirteen lifted the bride’s veil. It was a face with exquisite makeup, but it did not belong to Yu Wan. The woman looked at Shadow Thirteen in fear.
“What’s wrong?” Shadow Six walked over.
Shadow Thirteen’s eyes darkened. “Young Madam is missing!”
… .
At dusk, on a winding path, the carriage was walking at a moderate speed. Suddenly, the right wheel hit a stone and shook heavily. Yu Wan’s head hit the door and she was instantly woken up.
The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was to touch the children beside her. In the end, she found nothing. She lifted the veil and realized that the children were no longer there. The sound of gongs and drums outside was also gone. The sky outside the carriage was gradually dimming, and there was a strong fragrance of the forest coming from the tip of her nose… This was not the way to the Young Master Manor, so it means that the guards and coachman outside don’t belong to the Young Master Manor.
So she had been kidnapped? What about the children?
Yu Wan clenched her fists and did not show any abnormalities, nor did she make a fuss. She just sat calmly in the carriage until the carriage drove out of the forest and into a hidden farmhouse.
When the coachman stopped the carriage and lifted the curtain to undo Yu Wan’s sleeping acupoint, he saw that Yu Wan was already awake and was sitting in the carriage with her eyes wide open. The coachman was so frightened that he took a few steps back and almost cried out.
Yu Wan glanced at him coldly. “Where’s the children?”
Before the coachman could recover from his shock, he was stunned. “What children?”
It seemed that she was the only one kidnapped. Yu Wan was relieved.
“Where’s your master?” Yu Wan asked again.
Yu Wan was shocked. He stammered, “Inside.”
Yu Wan alighted from the carriage.
She looked around but could not see where she was. She only knew that it was surrounded by mountains and the terrain was remote. Shadow Thirteen and the others probably would not be able to find this place so easily. She would not be able to make it in time for the auspicious time of the wedding. The bride would be gone at the wedding. She did not know how chaotic the Young Master Manor would be and if Yan Jiuchao would become a laughing stock in the Capital.
She did not consider her reputation. After all, she did not care much about that thing.
She entered the courtyard.
This farmhouse looked inconspicuous, but it was elegantly clean inside. The tables and chairs were all of high-grade yellow pear wood, and the roof beams were even made of golden cedar. A servant with a feminine temperament came out to welcome her. He bowed to her and said, “Miss, you must be tired from the journey. Please enter the house to rest.”
Yu Wan sneered and said, “If you didn’t kidnap me, wouldn’t I not have to be tired?”
The servant choked and did not dare to reply. He only led the way. “Miss, please.”
Yu Wan turned around and entered the house. There was a man sitting in the room. His back was facing the door. Yu Wan could not see his face, but she easily guessed his identity… through the guard standing beside him.
Yu Wan’s gaze swept across the tall and muscular Jun Chang’an and she said expressionlessly, “Long time no see, Your Highness.”
Yan Huaijing had long heard her movements, but after hearing her voice, he slowly stood up and looked at her.
“You’re here,” Yan Huaijing said.
“I was kidnapped by you,” Yu Wan corrected.
Yan Huaijing gave Jun Chang’an a look. Jun Chang’an nodded and left, closing the door for the two of them.
The oil lamp was lit in the room, and the shadow of the lamp swayed in the wind from the window lintel.
“You guessed it was me?” Yan Huaijing asked. He did not see any shock on her face.
Yu Wan shook her head. “I didn’t guess, but I’m not surprised.”
Although Yan Jiuchao had many enemies, there were not many who had the ability to mess around on the day of his wedding. Yan Huaijing was one of them. However, Yu Wan did not expect him to really have the guts to do this. Didn’t he think of the consequences for her if word got out? Did he think that she was very close to the position of Crown Prince? Or could it be that… she was already important enough in his heart to be on par with his throne?
Wasn’t this too strange? How many times had they met?
“It seems that the incident with the official ship didn’t teach His Highness much,” Yu Wan said with a faint smile.
How could Yan Huaijing not have learned his lesson about the official ship? The official ship was destroyed in his hands, and his goal was to chase after a woman. It was fine if Yan Jiuchao mobilized a navy, but Yu Wan was his son’s biological mother after all. But what about Yan Huaijing? On one hand, he was discussing marriage with the daughter of the Prime Minister, and on the other hand, he was snatching his cousin’s wife. If the Emperor didn’t think highly of him, he would have crippled him long ago.
Yan Huaijing also understood that he had angered his father. At this critical juncture, he could not challenge his father’s patience anymore. However, he could not watch Yu Wan marry Yan Jiuchao. He took the risk of losing the throne and snatched Yu Wan over.
This time, he would not let Yan Jiuchao snatch her back.
