Dream of the Red Chamber: I can see the hidden labels of the beauties.

In the top-class room of the inn, Jia Can and Yu Hui sat facing each other. The table was full of food and wine, and the two chatted and ate in a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere.

Yu Hui finally took off his black straw hat, his face beaming with smiles. He seemed quite honored to be able to dine at the same table as Jia Can, and he frequently toasted Jia Can. Jia Can, maintaining the humility of a junior, also took the initiative to toast him in return.

At this moment, Yu Hui casually asked:

"What are your plans for the next few days, young master?"

Jia Can had confirmed that Yu Hui harbored no ill will towards him; on the contrary, he was being overly kind to him. Therefore, he frankly shared his upcoming itinerary and arrangements:

"I don't have any major plans for the rest of the time. I'll just focus on recruiting soldiers and training these new recruits so they can adapt to their new roles before heading south."

"That's all. We're just waiting for the Emperor to issue an edict ordering me to go south."

As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and added:

"By the way, I have to attend a banquet tomorrow. It's hosted by Xue Pan, the eldest son of the Xue family, and he's inviting me to drink."

Yu Hui listened attentively, and after Jia Can finished speaking, he asked:

"Xue Pan? The young master of the Xue family, one of the four great families of Jinling? Could he be the one who killed someone in Jinling over a maid?"

Jia Can listened with some surprise and doubt:

"Lord Yu actually knows him?"

Yu Hui waved his hand: "I've heard about it. Back then, the story of him killing someone in Jinling City was spread to the capital. A spy from the Longxiang Guard told me about it."

This made Jia Can even more suspicious. The fact that Xue Pan killed someone was not a big deal, so how did it get to the capital?

In other words, the powerful and influential people in the capital all knew that Xue Pan was currently an unregistered person, but no one said it out loud.

Or rather, the four families of Jinling still hold considerable power, especially Wang Ziteng, who, as the new generation of the four families' leader, is currently the second-rank commander of the Nine Border Garrisons, in charge of the Nine Border Garrison Camps. He wields considerable power, so no one dares to interfere with the four families of Jinling at present.

But Jia Can knew what the future held. Prince Teng seemed to be highly regarded by the emperor, and his official position rose again and again. In the end, he was even promoted to the position of Left Commander-in-Chief of the Commander-in-Chief's Office, reaching the highest official position for a military officer. But in the end, he fell from power just like that, which led to the complete collapse of the four families and the confiscation of all their property.

As a result, all sorts of past misdeeds committed by the four families, such as Xue Pan killing someone and Wang Xifeng harming others, were unearthed and became important evidence of their downfall.

Thinking of this, Jia Can secretly guessed that either someone had been eyeing the Xue family for a long time, or they had been eyeing the four families of Jinling, and were making arrangements in advance, just waiting for the right time to bring up the matter of Xue Pan killing someone.

If Jia Can didn't have the surname Jia and hadn't inherited the Ningguo Mansion, then Xue Pan's life or death would naturally be none of his concern. But now he is deeply bound to the Jia family and can't sever ties with the four families either.

If Xue Pan is not dealt with as soon as possible, he may very well be affected in the future.

Seeing Jia Can suddenly fall silent, his gaze sharpening and gleaming with a keen light, Yu Hui was startled and cautiously inquired:

"Young master, what are you thinking about?"

Jia Can snapped out of his reverie and smiled slightly:

"No...it's nothing, Lord Yu. Let's continue drinking. I'll toast you."

As they spoke, they raised their glasses in a toast.

Yu Hui quickly retorted. He could see clearly that the young master in front of him was plotting something again, but since Jia Can didn't say anything, he didn't press him.

The meal lasted about half an hour before it ended. The two men, having eaten and drunk their fill, paid the bill and left the inn together.

Throughout the entire process, Yu Hui deliberately lagged behind Jia Can by half a body length, while simultaneously checking for potential dangers in the surrounding area to ensure Jia Can's safety.

After leaving the inn, they hadn't walked far when Yu Hui suddenly lowered his voice and reminded them:

"Young master, someone is following us, starting from that inn."

Jia Can was startled, but instead of panicking and looking around, he remained calm and replied in a low voice:

"Lord Yu is indeed astute. Do you know how many people there are? What are they dressed like?"

Having witnessed Yu Hui's extraordinary skills on more than one occasion before, Jia Can naturally trusted Yu Hui's judgment.

Yu Hui glanced back out of the corner of his eye, but because he was wearing a straw hat, no one knew he was looking behind him.

After a long pause, he finally responded:

"Two women, dressed like wandering knights. Both were carrying swords and wearing bamboo hats. Although they were well hidden, they occasionally glanced at us, so we could still clearly spot them."

Upon hearing this, Jia Can was quite surprised and suspicious. He thought to himself that he had not had any dealings with people in the martial arts world recently. Could these two women be after Yu Hui?

After a moment of contemplation, he lowered his voice and said:

"Lord Yu, now that we've discovered it, why not capture them alive and question them about why they were following us, thus eliminating any potential threats?"

Yu Hui replied, "Young master and I have the same idea. We might as well take the side road. There are many people on the main road. If we fight, innocent people will inevitably be hurt. We can also avoid being impeached by the censor afterward."

Jia Can nodded slightly, and while talking with Yu Hui, they gradually moved away from the main road and into a sparsely populated side road.

Upon seeing this, one of the two young women following them said:

"Sister, they've gone down the side path! That's perfect for us. The fewer people there are, the easier it is for us to make our move!"

Upon hearing this, the older sister hesitated and said:

"Something's not right. Judging from their clothes, they must be powerful and wealthy people from the capital. Why would they turn into a side road instead of taking the main road? There's definitely something fishy going on. Sister, we'd better be careful."

My younger sister, however, was somewhat unconvinced:

"Sister, you just overthink things. Look at those two. One is a refined young gentleman, and the other, though he wears a bamboo hat and looks mysterious, is just an ordinary man. We sisters can definitely handle them easily!"

"Alright, sister, stop thinking about it. If we don't leave now, they'll be far away!"

As he spoke, he rode up to catch up with Jia Can and Yu Hui.

Seeing this, the older sister felt quite helpless and could only follow immediately, but still reminded him:

"Sister, you must know that there are always stronger forces out there. This is the capital, not Jiangnan. Under the emperor's nose, there are hidden dangers and countless experts. We must not let our guard down. If something happens, our parents are far away in Jiangnan, and no one will be there to rescue us sisters!"

The younger sister responded helplessly:

"I know, sister. I've heard this so many times since we went to the capital. You're even more nagging than Father and Mother."

"If those two hadn't mentioned that scoundrel who killed someone next door, I wouldn't have bothered following them. I could have just treated it as a sightseeing trip to the capital."

Hearing this, the older sister also felt somewhat helpless:

"Little sister, do you really think we've come to the capital for leisure? Father is hoping we can find that young lady, or at least find some clues about her. Otherwise, how are we going to explain this to him when we go back?"

The younger sister pouted:

"I understand, sister... But which salt smuggler in Jiangnan doesn't want to find that young lady? They've been searching for over a decade, and no one has a single clue. She was abducted when she was three years old, and I reckon she's probably no longer alive."

Hearing her say that, my sister suddenly became much more serious:

"Fangrui, you must not be disrespectful to that young lady. If it weren't for that young lady's ancestors, where would our Gu family be today? Not to mention you and me, even our grandfathers' generation would have starved to death long ago."

"Our Gu family is genuinely searching for that young lady to repay the kindness her ancestors showed us. Therefore, we cannot let go of even the slightest clue about her!"