There was no light in the dark guest room, so it was very quiet. Only the dim moonlight shone in. Cheng Yuanyuan saw Zhang Zhaozhong standing still by the door, but she couldn't see his expression, so she had no choice but to speak first.

"Lord Zhang …"

"Shh!" Zhang Zhaozhong raised his hand to stop her. He didn't turn around until the lights in the room went out.

Their eyes met, and his tall figure was cast on the ground. Cheng Yuanyuan's mind was racing. She didn't dare to relax at all, and she even felt a little nervous.

Since Zhang Zhaozhong could find this place and pay special attention to the movements outside, he must be very clear about the situation here.

Now that Chen Jialuo and the people from the Safflower Society had gathered together, he couldn't be planning to kill them all, right?

Thinking of this possibility, she swallowed and quickly adjusted her state of mind. She pretended to be very happy and greeted him. "I was just thinking about how to go back to the General's Residence when Lord Zhang came. It seems that we have the same idea."

"Gege …" Zhang Zhaozhong looked uncomfortably at his arm that she was holding. This action was really inappropriate. However, looking at Jianing Gege's innocent and naive behavior, he didn't want to say anything to her. He could only quietly avoid her and take a step back. "Gege, do you know that the people who saved you were from the Safflower Society? Did they suspect your identity?"

Cheng Yuanyuan: "I only said that I was a young lady from a rich family and was chased away by evil people. They said that they would help me find my family, so they didn't suspect me at first.

At first, they just thought that they were ordinary people, but later I found out that they were from the Safflower Society. "

After answering them one by one, she asked tentatively, "Did Lord Zhang come here tonight to save me or for something else?

I don't think that Chen Gongzi is a bad guy. "

Zhang Zhaozhong did not answer directly, only saying, "Gege does not understand the affairs of the imperial court, so there is no need to ask. This official has promised General Siu Hye that I will take Gege out of danger. Let's go."

"No, I can't go!" Cheng Yuanyuan was trying to think of an excuse to make him agree to let her stay for the time being.

After tonight, she could tell Safflower Society that this place was dangerous, and then they could leave Xining together. She didn't expect that he wouldn't even leave her any leeway.

Regardless of whether or not they wanted to deal with the Safflower Society, if they were taken away just like that, where would they find them in the future?

"Why?" Zhang Zhaozhong looked at her with a frown, thinking that Jianing Gege wanted to plead for mercy on behalf of the rebels because he had saved her life.

"What I mean is …" Cheng Yuanyuan felt pressured and couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "If you take me away, they will definitely be suspicious if they find out that I'm missing tomorrow. I can stay and help you keep them in check for the time being."

Zhang Zhaozhong relaxed his brows, relieved. "This official appreciates Gege's good intentions.

Time is of the essence, so I'm sorry to offend you. "As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed her wrist and in the blink of an eye, they were already outside the door and on the roof.

Cheng Yuanyuan was still in a state of shock. She clutched Zhang Zhaozhong's arm tightly. When she caught her breath and looked down, she immediately sucked in a breath of cold air. The inn was brightly lit and surrounded by soldiers.

She had guessed correctly. He really did want to wipe out the Safflower Society in one fell swoop.

What should she do? What if something happened to Chen Jialuo …

The night wind blew, and her back felt cold. She was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat.

Before she could react, Zhang Zhaozhong had already handed her over to two imperial bodyguards. Then, he led the other experts of the Imperial Palace and a group of soldiers into the inn.

Cheng Yuanyuan leaned against the window of the carriage and looked back. The inn was hidden in the quiet streets, and the sounds of fierce fighting were gradually fading away.

…

Cheng Yuanyuan slowly woke up and saw the green muslin curtain in front of her. She sat up with a start. The sun was already high in the sky outside the window.

When she returned to the General's Mansion last night, Siu Hui saw that she came back safe and sound. He was worried and only asked her to quickly go back to her room to rest. However, Zalantai was extremely worried. He called for a doctor and boiled medicine. Cheng Yuanyuan was tormented by him until she had a headache. She forced herself to stay awake until dawn, but there was still no news from outside the mansion.

"What time is it now?"

Cai Yue and Cai Huan, who were in charge of keeping watch, heard the noise and hurriedly ran around the screen. "Gege, what's wrong?"

"I'm asking you what time it is!" Cheng Yuanyuan put on her shoes and immediately stood up. She carelessly put on a piece of clothing.

The two maidservants followed her in a flurry and answered, "It's almost noon. Gege, do you want to eat?"

She was not in the mood to eat now. She shook them off and hurriedly walked out while fastening the toggle-and-loop button. She went straight to Zhang Zhaozhong's courtyard.

However, he was not there. Cheng Yuanyuan asked the housekeeper and found that he had not returned yet.

The people of the Safflower Society were not to be trifled with. They should not be easily caught. Zhang Zhaozhong had not returned yet. It was very likely that they did not catch him well.

If they ran away without a trace, in addition to finding a way to leave the General's Residence, she also had to look everywhere for them. What should she do then?

Thinking of this, she inevitably felt conflicted. She thought that it would be best to catch one or two so that the Safflower Society could come back to rescue them …

Cheng Yuanyuan, who had been wandering around the courtyard for half a day, had completely calmed down. She tidied up her hair and clothes and went to the main courtyard of the Siu Hui.

"Big Brother, is Amar inside?" She had just passed through a moon cave door when she saw Zalantai coming out of the study. She hurriedly walked forward.

Zalantai stretched out his arm to stop her. "Amar is in a meeting with the people in the army." According to the rules of the General's Residence, all military meetings were not to be disturbed.

"Jianing, what urgent matter do you have? Big Brother will do it for you."

"What can happen to me? It's just that I made Amar worry. I feel uneasy, so I want to apologize." Cheng Yuanyuan smiled to cover it up.

She couldn't let anyone notice anything strange. If she wanted to leave the General's Residence, she had to prepare for a rainy day.

"At least you're filial. These two days when you were missing, Amar and I were worried sick!"

Zalantai sighed as if his heart was broken. "Fortunately, that Zhang Zhaozhong is a man of his word. If he only cared about catching the rebels and taking credit, it would be bad if those people took you as a hostage!

That's right, tell me, did those people make things difficult for you? "

"Aiya, aren't I fine? Your sister is so smart, how could I make things difficult for others? They don't know my identity."

Cheng Yuanyuan explained the situation in a few words. Suddenly, she changed the topic and asked, "Why did Zhang Zhaozhong use our Xining troops to catch his rebels?

Amar is several ranks higher than him. Why would he help him for no reason? "She had seen the soldiers outside the inn last night.

Zalantai also thought the same. "Who said otherwise? But Amar said that Zhang Zhaozhong is a talent that His Majesty thinks highly of, so he has to give him some face." As he spoke, he lowered his voice and said, "He came to the northwest under a secret edict."

Cheng Yuanyuan's face was full of indifference. She began to dupe Zalantai. "You believe everything he says. Who knows if it's fake or not?

If he causes casualties in the army to catch the rebels, who will bear the responsibility?

Even if it's a great merit, when he returns to the capital to take credit, what does that have to do with us? Are you sure that Zhang Zhaozhong will report Amar's contributions as well? "

Zalantai thought for a moment. Wasn't this the case? This time, they were really screwed over by that guy surnamed Zhang!

"Then what do we do?

The soldiers have already been sent out. We can't take them back. "

Cheng Yuanyuan: "Then we have to send someone to keep an eye on them. Otherwise, we won't even know what's going on."

"Okay, I'll go now."

"Wait a moment."

She pulled him back. "Big Brother, you can't go. What if Zhang Zhaozhong doesn't catch the rebels and puts the blame on you? It's better to find someone else. Just say that you're going to help." In fact, Cheng Yuanyuan was afraid that Zalantai's martial arts were not good enough and would be in trouble if he went, so she changed the excuse.

Zalantai naturally believed his sister's words. After some consideration, he decided to let Ha Hetai take people to find Zhang Zhaozhong.

… …

Xining City was under martial law from last night until today. Zhang Zhaozhong had been sitting in the inn waiting for the rebels to be captured. However, more than half a day had passed and there was still no news.

He looked up at the sky and rubbed the teacup in his hand. After a moment, he suddenly stood up. "Pass down the order. Head to the Xining Barracks."

Outside the inn, Harcourt Terrace had been waiting for a long time. Now that he saw Zhang Zhaozhong come out, he stepped forward and asked, "Where is Lord Zhang going? Since you've caught the culprit, you should go back and report to General Siu Hye."

Zhang Zhaozhong cast a sidelong glance at him and mounted his horse. Then he looked down at him and said, "If you want to report, go ahead. This official still has important matters to attend to." Finished speaking, he turned his horse around.

Seeing him bring people out of the city, Harcourt Terrace first sent someone back to the General's Estate to report and then chased after him.

… …

From the inn to leaving the city, and then from outside the city, after going around in circles, they arrived at the dark dungeon.

Chen Jialuo had never thought that he would one day become a prisoner. In the twenty-odd years of his life, the first half was the Third Young Master of Chen Ge's family in Haining, and the second half was free to study martial arts in Tianshan.

Although he preferred the desert grasslands to living in a large family, it was only now that he looked at the shackles on his hands that he deeply felt that being the Young Master of Safflower Society was not compatible with his previous identity.

He had his own pride in studying and practicing the sword. He longed for the pleasure of Jianghu, but he never had the great ambition of ruling the country. Even though he knew that his adoptive father was the Young Master of Safflower Society, he never associated 'fighting the Qing' with himself. All he expected was to lie down and watch the clouds in the sky without moving, a gust of wind sweeping across ten thousand li.

At this moment, Chen Jialuo had an indescribably complex feeling in his heart. He felt that the current situation was absurd and laughable, but he also felt helpless and worried about what might happen later.

He did not wish for his capture to implicate the reputation of the Chen clan, nor did he wish for the people of Safflower Society to be injured or killed in order to save him.

Moreover, the Imperial Court's actions were too sudden. The Safflower Society had roamed the Jianghu for many years, so why did they make such a long journey to capture him when he was leaving Tianshan? Moreover, his adoptive father had suddenly died of a sudden illness. Was there a connection between the two?

From Tianshan to Xining, in the short span of a few days, he had heard many things, met many people, and developed many ideas. Yet he could only calm down and think about them when he was all alone.

He couldn't help but laugh at himself. Suddenly, he heard movement from above. It turned out that someone carrying a lantern was walking down with extremely light steps.

As the person approached the dungeon door, Chen Jialuo stared in surprise at the newcomer in the dim candlelight. "Miss Cheng, how could it be you?!"

"Chen Gongzi?" Cheng Yuanyuan was also stunned.

At night, after learning that Zhang Zhaozhong had escorted a criminal into the General's Estate, Cheng Yuanyuan finally could not suppress the anxiety in her heart. She had her personal maidservant draw away the guards so that she could see which member of the Safflower Society had been captured. However, she never expected that the one captured would be Chen Jialuo!