Zhao Yunxiang was kneeling on the cold floor of Zhao Manor's ancestral hall, trembling.
Before he could even defend himself, Zhao Shaoqin had already rushed ahead of him and told their father everything.
Inwardly, he cursed her.
A sharp, thunderous PANG!
Zhao Jinming's palm struck his son's cheek, leaving a red imprint.
"USELESS child! BRAINLESS FOOL!" Zhao Jinming roared.
"I told you—behave until the wedding is done! JUST THAT. And yet you made another catastrophe! STUPID! IDIOT!"
Another slap. PANG!
Zhao Jinming's slap echoed across the hall.
"USELESS child! Idiot! Brainless!"
A servant rushed inside, bowing nervously.
"M–Master… a letter from Marquis Bai Longyuan."
Zhao Jinming snatched the letter, tore it open—and his expression turned even darker.
He flung the letter at Zhao Yunxiang's face.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"
He kicked Zhao Yunxiang, who fell sideways.
"The servant from Bai Residence is still waiting outside, Master," the servant whispered.
Zhao Jinming stormed to his desk, opened a drawer, grabbed a red pouch, and hurled it toward the servant.
"RETURN IT! I don't want it! Tell Marquis Bai he can choke on it for all I care!"
"But Father—!" Zhao Yunxiang pleaded.
"SHUT UP! You USELESS!"
The Bai Brothers Beg for Salvation
The next day, Bai Zhenhai and Bai Zhenglu came to Zhao Manor.
Zhao Zhenglu immediately knelt, tears flowing.
"Prime Minister Zhao, please… please allow my daughter Bai Yuxin to marry Young Master Zhao. Only you can salvage her honor."
Zhao Jinming kicked him away.
"Your daughter? Honor? Tell your daughter to stop seducing MY son!"
But Bai Zhenhai intervened diplomatically.
"Prime Minister, after all… the child in her belly is still the blood of the Zhao family."
That silenced the room.
After long discussion—filled with curses, frustration, and disdain—Zhao Jinming finally agreed.
"FINE. She may marry him… but as a second wife. Never the first."
Within three days, preparations were underway.
Bai Yuxin, despite her bruised cheek, smiled through tears.
Zhao Yunxiang, however, was furious.
His friends were all scolded and kicked out—especially Bai Zhenyu, who had the misfortune of being closest to the scandal.
A Dark Suggestion
Han Weifeng whispered privately to Zhao Yunxiang, "If Bai Rouyuan rejects you, take her by force. Let everyone think she's yours."
Zhao Yunxiang paused… then smiled.
A wicked plan formed.
That night, they began plotting the kidnapping.
Li Fangyu refused to join.
"I will not risk my family for your madness," he said, fleeing the group.
The Disappearance
On the night before Zhao Yunxiang's wedding, Bai Rouyuan, Wen Xianyi, Murong Qingshi, and Yan Doudou went strolling through Wuzhen City's busy night market.
They chatted, tasted street snacks, bought ornaments—just enjoying a rare moment of freedom.
But when Xianyi turned to speak to Rouyuan—
She was gone.
"Ah Yuan?"
"Ah Yuan??"
Panic erupted.
Qingshi quickly sent a servant to Great General Bai Yunchen.
Inside the Crown Prince's Hall
Meanwhile, in the Crown Prince's study, the atmosphere was tense.
Crown Prince Murong Yunqing, Prince Murong Yexuan, Prince Murong Yunxi, Deputy General Wei Shensu, Duke Lin Changyu, and Bai Yunchen gathered over documents concerning the Northern Frontier Ration Theft.
They knew how it was carried out.
This corruption was not a simple "steal and vanish."
It was a multi-layered network designed to cripple the empire's defences.
It was a carefully designed network.
Step-by-step Method by falsified military requests –
Marshal Prince Murong Yexuan submitted an 'emergency ration request' to the Imperial Treasury,
They then exaggerated the number of soldiers, adding non-existent battalions and claiming that the Snow Wolf Cavalry required double the usual amount of food and fodder.
The Treasury approved the inflated amount.
Then, redirect at the Transport Depot – the rations never left the capital.
Instead, the carts 'assigned to the Northern Frontier' were quietly redirected behind the Ministry of Trade depot.
There, the seals were broken and replaced with forged ones.
Then the rations were sold to Black Market Merchants.
Someone secretly contacted three large black-market grain dealers, where they bought the grain for triple price, then resold it across the empire.
They also done Cover-up falsified report stating, 'Blizzards destroyed the transport, Horses froze, Grain was lost in a ravine.'
Xue Qiwu was the one who stamped the report.
They also blame the Weather Any complaint from the Northern Frontier was dismissed with, 'The climate there is unpredictable. This is normal.'
Yexuan's jaw tightened with suppressed rage. "Follow Xue Qiwu. Every step."
Shadow Guards silently slipped away with his command.
Just then—a eunuch stumbled into the room, gasping for breath.
"Young Lady Bai Rouyuan… is… is missing!"
The room froze.
Yexuan's expression changed instantly—from composed strategist to a man on the edge of losing control.
Without a word, he ran out of the hall.
Bai Yunchen and Wei Shensu followed immediately.
The Search for Rouyuan
At the market, Yexuan interrogated everyone.
Until finally one boy finally spoke, "I saw a veiled girl… lifted into a carriage. It went toward the hill behind the market."
Yexuan didn't even wait—
He mounted his horse and raced uphill like a lightning bolt.
Bai Yunchen and the Snow Wolf Cavalry elites thundered behind him.
"Please… let her be safe," Yexuan repeated under his breath, again and again.
The Abandoned Temple
They followed carriage tracks leading to an old, moss-covered temple on the hill.
Guards were stationed outside.
Battle erupted immediately.
Snow Wolf elites fought fiercely.
Bai Yunchen knocked two guards unconscious with one strike.
Wei Shensu cut through another.
Yexuan grabbed one guard by the collar.
"Where. Is. She?"
Terrified, the guard pointed toward a room deeper inside.
Yexuan ran.
Rouyuan's Terror
Rouyuan woke up groggy, body weak.
A faint medicinal smell lingered—she had been drugged through a cloth pressed to her face.
She blinked.
Zhao Yunxiang was untying his clothes, approaching her with a twisted grin.
"No… stay away…" Rouyuan tried to push herself up despite her weak limbs.
He lunged.
She grabbed anything—a wooden tray, a loose tile—trying to defend herself, but her strength was fading.
Then—
BOOM!
The door was kicked open.
Yexuan entered like a raging storm.
His fist collided with Zhao Yunxiang's jaw before the man could react.
Another hit.
Another.
And another.
Zhao Yunxiang collapsed, blood dripping.
Yexuan grabbed his collar, voice low and dangerous,
"You dare touch her?"
Zhao spat out blood.
"She's… mine…"
That was the last straw.
With a swift, controlled strike of his blade—clean, precise, and devastating—
Yexuan ended Zhao Yunxiang's ability to harm any woman ever again.
Zhao Yunxiang howled, collapsing in agony.
Rouyuan curled into herself, trembling.
Yexuan immediately dropped the blade and rushed to her, covering her with his cloak and pulling her into his arms.
"It's over… you're safe… I'm here."
His voice shook.
Rouyuan finally broke down, sobbing against him.
Return to Bai Residence
At Bai Residence, Marquis Bai Longyuan, Bai Yanyu, Wen Xianyi, Murong Qingshi, Yan Doudou, and Xiaoya were pacing in anxiety.
Yan Doudou and Xiaoya cried nonstop, imagining the worst.
Then—
"Ah Yuan!!!"
They rushed forward as Rouyuan entered, supported by Yexuan on one side and Bai Yunchen on the other.
Xianyi hugged her first.
Qingshi and Doudou followed, tears streaming.
Xiaoya guided them to Rouyuan's room.
Rouyuan was bathed, soothed, and laid to rest.
She fell asleep instantly, exhaustion overwhelming her.
Xianyi remained by her bedside, refusing to leave.
Qingshi and Doudou quietly excused themselves.
Yexuan, after reporting everything to Marquis Bai, bowed and left with a dark aura—full of murder and guilt.
Zhao Yunxiang and his men were dragged to the Embroidery Uniform Guard office.
Not before Yexuan delivered a beating so severe that even the guards did not dare intervene.