I Became the Eye Candy: Four Bigshots Claimed to be My Dad?

Chapter 421: Your Words Seem... Not to Count

Ye Qianning nodded and followed Madam Zhan into the main hall.

"Alright, you’ve all been up all night. Go and get some rest," Zhan Yi said, then quickly turned to follow them.

Zhan Chi didn’t move. His eyes were fixed on the woman from Xi Yan.

"Let’s go, we should head back too," Huaihua said with a yawn.

The concubines had also been up for most of the night. Once the searching soldiers left, their frayed nerves could finally relax.

"You..." Peony began, looking at the woman.

The woman remained still, nodding and smiling at the concubines. "Thank you for your help today. I will be sure to thank you all properly when I have the chance."

"We were just helping the young girl of our family. If you want to thank someone, just remember our daughter if any good opportunities come up."

"That’s right. You owe our girl a huge favor, so don’t forget to repay it in the future."

The concubines rarely ever left the manor, so what use was a favor to them? But this woman was clearly no ordinary person. Perhaps she could be of help to their girl in the future.

The woman smiled and nodded. The concubines of the General’s manor were indeed different from any she had ever known.

’Could there really be concubines in this world who lived together in harmony and genuinely cared for the legal heir? She found it hard to believe.’

The concubines departed, and so did the servants and guards.

Only the woman and her Xi Yan guard, Zhan Chi, and Luo Wen remained at the main gate.

"No need to be so vigilant. We’re not going to run," the woman said coolly to Zhan Chi.

"I wish you would leave right now." Zhan Chi didn’t want the little girl to take such a risk.

"Leave? Is there any place in the Capital City safer than the General’s manor right now?" The woman wasn’t a fool. A house-by-house search of the entire Capital City would take several days.

The gates of the Capital City were closed. If they left now, they would have nowhere to hide.

Zhan Chi’s expression darkened. "Are you planning to freeload at the General’s manor?"

"Don’t put it so harshly. It’s a transaction, a transaction!"

"The little girl never promised to see you out of the Capital. The search party is gone, so you should disappear too."

"Young man, don’t be so hot-headed. Here..."

"Don’t try to get familiar with me," Zhan Chi cut her off.

"I was about to say that in this General’s manor, your words... don’t seem to count for much."

"You..."

"It’s far more productive to speak with the little one than to waste my breath on you." The woman gave a light laugh, raised an eyebrow, and turned around. "Let’s go. Time to find the girl and discuss our terms."

The Xi Yan guard followed her.

Zhan Chi was left standing there, stomping his foot in anger. He turned to Luo Wen. "Look at her! What kind of attitude is that for a fugitive? I’m going to talk to the little girl right now."

"Young Master Zhan, no one can change my young miss’s decisions. I’d advise you to save your breath and not upset her."

"What do you mean, ’your young miss’? She’s my daughter, the young miss of the Zhan family!"

"Young Master Zhan, you should stop being so stubborn. If the young miss heard you, you probably wouldn’t even be allowed to set foot in the General’s manor anymore," Luo Wen said, shaking his head.

"Who’s being stubborn? She is... Luo Wen, you’ve got some nerve."

Before Zhan Chi could finish his retort, Luo Wen had already zipped away, leaving him so furious his shoulder wound nearly split open again.

「In the main hall.」

Madam Zhan knelt, placing her hands on Ye Qianning’s shoulders with a grave expression. "Pangtuan, be honest with Grandma. Was that woman hidden among the concubines the person the soldiers were searching for?"

"Yes." Ye Qianning knew she had figured it out; there was no hiding it anymore.

Upon receiving confirmation, Madam Zhan’s expression grew even more solemn. "The city gates are closed, and the Emperor has ordered a house-by-house search, not even sparing the manors of court officials. How could you have the audacity to get involved in something like this?"

For the Emperor to take such drastic measures, one could only imagine how important that woman was to him. Whether it was a matter of love or hate, being caught hiding her would bring catastrophic disaster upon them.