Lu Yanlai avoided those inquisitive almond - shaped eyes and instructed Ye Yingfeng, "Take good care of her. I'll come again tomorrow."
Ye Zhinan watched the backs of the two leaving. The boulder in her heart grew heavier and heavier.
She seemed to have realized that something was wrong. There were so many scattered threads, and she just needed to patiently unravel them.
So she sat down quietly, letting Ye Yingfeng's words drift past her ears, and said nothing more.
The night was deep and the wind was cool. The temperature in the mountains seemed worlds apart from that in the village.
Ye Zhinan tightened her coat. Hearing Ye Yingfeng's even breathing next door, she tiptoed out of the room.
With Sister Hong arrested and Qin Yihuai missing, she couldn't help but think of what they had done together.
With this in mind, she decided to rush to the town that night to find someone and get to the bottom of it.
When she reached the entrance of the rabbit shop, she was stunned. Not only was the door tightly shut, but there was also a notice posted on it.
For Rent!
Had Su Daqiang left?
Was he arrested or had he fled?
Ye Zhinan's mind was in a complete mess.
Suddenly, a dark figure appeared behind her. With a swift movement, Ye Zhinan felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. Just as she was about to turn around, her vision went black, and she fell into the arms of the dark figure.
When she woke up, she saw a grim - faced man in front of her.
Ye Yingfeng was standing there with his hands on his hips and his brows knitted into a knot.
"Brother, is that you?"
Ye Zhinan rubbed the back of her neck.
The person who attacked her had really hit hard. Now the back of her neck felt as if it had been broken and then reattached, extremely uncomfortable.
Ye Yingfeng didn't answer but instead questioned her, "What were you doing running to the town in the middle of the night?"
"I went to ask Boss Su for clarification."
Ye Zhinan's willow - leaf eyebrows shot up as she glared back defiantly.
She wasn't afraid of her brother.
Ye Yingfeng suddenly softened, and his rough voice became much gentler.
"Everyone is doing this for your own good, but you just have to rush head - on. This won't help at all; it'll only cause trouble!"
"For my own good? What did I do wrong? I just sold some medicine to make money, and the money didn't just go into my pocket. I don't understand. Why can't we open up trade?"
Ye Zhinan said all this in a fit of passion, her face flushed.
Ye Yingfeng didn't understand either, but he had been told not to let Ye Zhinan go out.
He ignored his anxious sister and locked the door.
"You just rest inside properly!"
"Brother, open the door!"
Ye Zhinan's throat was sore from shouting and her hands hurt from knocking. Helplessly, she sat on the ground.
No, I have to get out.
Since the incident happened, Qin Yihuai hadn't shown up. She was worried...
So she held her breath, took out the all - purpose lock - picking tool from her space, knocked Ye Yingfeng out, and ran down the mountain again.
This time, she noticed a notice on the village bulletin board about the arrest warrant for Sister Hong for illegally selling medicinal materials, as well as a list of relevant search and seizure personnel.
She glanced at the date and then turned to run towards the county jail.
When Sister Hong saw Ye Zhinan, she was greatly surprised.
"How did you get in here? What are you doing here? Don't worry. I won't say a word!"
The moment Ye Zhinan saw Sister Hong, her heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a knife, aching sharply.
Sister Hong looked haggard, with no part of her body intact. The exposed wounds had all scabbed over.
Ye Zhinan took out some wound medicine and handed it to Sister Hong.
"Sister Hong, calm down first and listen to me."
As she was talking about her plan, she applied the medicine to Sister Hong through the prison bars.
Before she could finish, Sister Hong shook her head desperately.
"Silly girl, doing this will get you killed."
"Then aren't you not thinking about the consequences when you do this?"
Sister Hong's burning eyes suddenly dropped, and in an instant, her tear - filled eyes squinted into a thin line.
"Although I'm just a prison guard, I'm not heartless. If it weren't for you and Inspector Qin, I would have starved to death on the streets long ago. So it's time for me to repay the favor."
"There are so many ways to repay the favor. If you trust me, just do as I say."
"But..."
Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps, and both of them shut their mouths.
Ye Zhinan pointed at the window and patted her chest, then quickly climbed out.
As soon as she ran out and before she could even stand still, a dark figure followed closely behind.
"Who?"
Just as Ye Zhinan was about to turn around, she felt another blow on the back of her neck.
Can't they hit somewhere else?
With this thought in mind, she lost consciousness.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Ye Yingfeng standing in front of the bed again, with a grim face, hands on his hips, and knitted brows.
"This time I'd like to see how you can run away!"
As the words fell, Ye Zhinan realized that she was tied to a chair and couldn't move at all.
"I won't run away!"
As soon as the words came out, Ye Yingfeng was taken aback. His dark eyes scanned Ye Zhinan up and down, trying to judge the truth of her words from her expression.
Ye Zhinan rolled her big watery eyes and stared straight ahead, repeating again, "I said I won't run, and I won't."
After saying that, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Outside, the sun rose in the east. The morning sun peeked out from behind the clouds and gradually shed its light on the earth.
Ye Yingfeng was woken up by a chaotic sound of footsteps. In an instant, the small room was filled with a group of yamen runners.
"Ye Zhinan has colluded with a foreign country. We'll take you back to the yamen first. Ye Yingfeng, you've done a good job in assisting in the arrest of the criminal. This is from the prefect."
With that, a bag was thrown on the ground. Just as Ye Yingfeng was about to stand up and fight back to rescue his sister, he saw Ye Zhinan shaking her head at him when the yamen runners weren't paying attention, and then she glared at him fiercely.
"You heartless bastard! You've disliked me for a long time, haven't you? You even betrayed me! Your whole family favors sons over daughters. I didn't expect you to be so cruel!"
"I didn't..."
Ye Yingfeng opened his mouth to explain, but Ye Zhinan immediately interrupted him.
"You want to say you don't have a sister like me? Fine, I don't have a brother like you either!"
After saying that, she struggled desperately out of the yamen runners' hands and ran outside.
Seeing the person running away, the yamen runners didn't care about the situation in the room and immediately chased after her.
Ye Yingfeng also wanted to chase after her, but he was grabbed by a big hand.
He turned around and saw that it was Lu Yanlai.
"Why are you stopping me?"
Ye Yingfeng was so anxious that he forgot about etiquette and tried to push the other person away.
"Feilong has gone to find Inspector Qin. You go back quickly to take care of Minister Ye. I'm afraid..."
Lu Yanlai didn't finish his sentence, but the worry in his eyes said it all.
Ye Yingfeng's pupils suddenly constricted, and his eyebrows turned colder. Without saying a word, he turned and ran towards the Ye family.
After Ye Zhinan was arrested, she was locked in a cell next to Sister Hong's.
When Sister Hong saw her, she felt a mix of emotions. She didn't know where to start with all the things she wanted to say.
Ye Zhinan, however, looked fearless and joked, "I didn't expect that I'd end up in jail next to an acquaintance. That's not so bad."
"You really didn't have to come in here. I could..."
"Could die for me?"
A cold glint flashed in Ye Zhinan's eyes, and her voice dropped a bit, "This matter was originally aimed at me. Even if you die, they'll still find other reasons to arrest me. Instead of that, it's better to let you get out first."
"I'm just a commoner. My life isn't worth much. You're the daughter of a grand tutor. How can you endure such humiliation!"
Sister Hong gasped, gritting her teeth against the pain as her wounds were tugged.