Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Culprit (Part 1)
Ye Lingyue and Ye Lanxi subconsciously curled up even tighter.
They seemed to share a single brain cell at this moment, muttering the same sentence in their hearts: You can’t see me, you can’t see me.
"Madam Ye, your children..." The familiar voice of the masked men’s leader sounded again.
The siblings were just about to heave a sigh of relief when they suddenly tensed up again. The curtain was already closed again, but they could still feel the traces of the night breeze on their faces, so cold.
Just like their hearts right now.
They didn’t want them to notice their presence and expose what they had done.
"Oh, thank you, Your Excellency." Shen Jingyi took the unconscious Ye Shaoqin from him and thanked him profusely.
Commander Feng also showed his gratitude by inviting him over for a drink, but the person refused. His face showed confusion and surprise.
He just mentioned what happened to the Ninth Prince since they asked about it. He didn’t actually request their help.
They chatted briefly with Shen Jingyi before the people from the Ninth Prince’s forces left.
Only then Ye Lanxi and Ye Lingyue could finally heave a sigh of relief for real. They looked like fish being put in the water again.
"Second Brother and Yue’er had a great adventure, eh?" Ye Lingrui teased.
They both glared at him and let out a snort.
At this time, Shen Jingyi had already opened the curtain of the carriage. Ye Lingrui picked up Ye Shaoqin from her arms and began to examine the little boy.
After Ye Shaoyin was back in the carriage, she looked at her unconscious brother and subconsciously gripped the edge of her garment in worry.
Shen Jingyi climbed up, sending a meaningful look at her two rebellious children who were pretending they had just woken up. Ye Lanxi and Ye Lingyue’s movement of rubbing their eyes stopped before awkwardly them.
They had to continue to pretend even if they didn’t want to.
Shen Jingyi shook her head, truly helpless. Now, it wasn’t just Ye Lanxi who was so rebellious; another similar breed had appeared.
"Mother, he is alright. Just some scratches," Ye Lingrui explained.
"Why is he still unconscious?" Ye Lanxi asked.
His third brother immediately answered, "They put some drug in his food. The amount is controlled, but to avoid some negative effects, I will make medicine for him in the morning."
Ye Lanxi snorted.
"Don’t let the third branch take them away again. Isn’t it suspicious..." he trailed off when he saw the look on Shen Jingyi’s stern face. She was glaring at him.
Suddenly, he realized that Ye Shaoyin was in the carriage. She was also looking at him with her big, round eyes.
"Yin’er shall go back to sleep. Rest well just like your brother, alright?" Shen Jingyi coaxed the little girl.
Ye Shaoyin pursed her lip and turned to her brother. "Second Aunt, will brother really wake up?"
"He will. Don’t you believe in me?" Ye Lingrui smiled at her.
She nodded, seemingly much more relaxed. "I believe in my cousin."
With that, she obediently curled up beside her brother, leaning against the carriage’s wall, and began to close her eyes.
Since they were already awake anyway, Ye Lingyue proposed to make some roasted meat, her eyes shining with excitement.
Seeing her mother agreeing to the idea, she went out to make another ’lucky encounter’.
The imperial guards nearest to their carriage immediately went after her, their voices full of warning. And then, they fell silent as Ye Lingyue pulled a rabbit from the bushes.
Now, even without their harsh voice shouting for her to return, Ye Lingyue was already running in excitement to her family’s carriage.
Other imperial guards were also subconsciously looking their ways. Their mouths twitched when they saw what was happening. They tried to ignore it, keeping straight faces even when the mouthwatering smell wafted to their direction.
"Eldest Brother, be careful and don’t burn it," Ye Lanxi said arrogantly.
It was the rabbit he had personally caught after all, full of effort that he nearly fell face plant on the ground.
After Ye Lingyue returned, he pretended to be curious and went to check the place where she had found the rabbit. As a result, he was ’lucky’ enough to get another rabbit.
A few imperial guards also pretend to check the place. Alas, they returned with nothing but slight embarrassment.
"It’s suspicious that the kidnappers can accurately locate Shaoqin’s place." Ye Lanxi talked in a low voice.
Ye Changde frowned, and he began to analyze the case. "The third branch seems genuinely worried. After all, it’s their own child."
"Shaoqin wouldn’t go with unfamiliar people. It must have been someone he trusted enough that he was willing to go with them."
He directly made a conclusion. "The servants."
Ye Zhiqiu narrowed his eyes. "We have to lure out this servant... announce to the third branch that Shaoqin has returned."
It was nighttime and despite the commotion from the Ninth Prince’s people, most of them were still sound asleep.
Early in the morning, the second branch told the third branch about Ye Shaoqin’s return. The couple hurriedly went to the second branch’s carriage.
"Qin’er!" Pei Cuiyun seemed to be shaken, entering the carriage and hugging the little boy.
Ye Shaoqin was still unconscious even until now. The dose of the drug was a little high, and he was expected to wake up around noon.
"Why is Qin’er still asleep?" Ye Yaoting asked anxiously. He seemed to want to enter the carriage but also didn’t dare to and could only look at his son from afar.
Ye Chengde answered his younger brother’s question in a short answer. "He was drugged."
Then, they explained the process of Ye Shaoqin being found, leaving out the details of where he had been kidnapped.
The person who had schemed against such a little boy would definitely see an opportunity where they could salvage the situation by approaching Ye Shaoqin and coaxing him to keep it tightly as a secret.
Soon, the fish finally took the bait, and it was quite unexpected.
