Chapter 65 – Rebirth: The Poisonous Concubine (06)
Yu Chenyi knew that the young master was playful, which was why he had asked Fu Bo to escort Mo Mo home. He hadn’t expected that the moment he turned his back, Mo Mo would change into women’s clothing and sneak back onto the streets.
If Bai Mo were standing in front of him right now, Yu Chenyi would have half a mind to grab him and give his backside a light spanking. How could he be so disobedient?
“Madam Bai fainted from distress, and Minister Bai has taken his men to the prefecture office.”
Yu Chenyi steadied himself against a nearby pillar, forcing himself to stay calm.
The Lantern Festival was still ongoing, and the kidnappers were still searching for their next targets. The captives were likely gathered in a single location and, for now, should still be safe. It was crucial to locate their hideout quickly—but bringing soldiers onto the streets in a high-profile search would only create chaos and give the kidnappers a chance to escape.
“Report back to the prefect and inform him that we’ve found information on the old woman. Request an investigation into her household registry.” Yu Chenyi waved his hand.
The constables disguised in civilian clothing nodded and melted into the crowd, searching for the woman within her usual area.
…
A Small Courtyard
After leading Bai Mo out of the alley and ensuring that no one would suddenly appear to snatch her money, the old woman’s expression changed in an instant.
“Girl, hand over everything valuable you have.” Gone was her earlier kind and motherly demeanor—she now looked as vicious as a demoness from folklore.
Bai Mo seemed shocked by her sudden transformation. His pink lips parted slightly, and he stood there in a daze. But the old woman was growing impatient. She had originally not wanted to harm such a delicate beauty—leaving any injuries on him would reduce his selling price. However, if he refused to cooperate, she would have no choice but to take the valuables by force.
“Madam, you… you said you were taking me to find my maid…” Bai Mo sobbed softly, feigning panic and helplessness like a frightened noble lady caught in a dangerous situation. His act was so convincing that the old woman easily stripped him of all his gold and silver jewelry.
After warning him to keep quiet, the “terrified” Bai Mo nodded dumbly, tears still glistening in his eyes. His obedient behavior made the old woman let down her guard. She shoved him into a relatively clean room, where several other captives were being held—girls with either striking beauty or wealthy backgrounds. Among them was Madam Yu.
As someone who had seen the world, Madam Yu quickly regained her composure after waking up. Once she understood the situation, she began comforting the other crying young women. She was just contemplating a way to send out a call for help when the tightly shut door swung open. A girl in pink stepped in with her head drooped, moving sluggishly.
“Behave yourselves,” the old woman commanded, sweeping her gaze over the captives from her lofty position.
Those noble ladies and highborn women, whom she would normally never have the chance to even glimpse, were now like dough in her hands—free to be kneaded however she pleased.
Someone outside called out to the old woman, and she responded with a curt “Coming!” Dissatisfied with the pink-clad girl’s sluggishness, she reached out and gave her a shove. With a loud “bang,” the door was shut.
“Miss, are you alright?” Madam Yu helped up Bai Mo, who had just made close contact with the pile of straw, her worry deepening.
Another one.
The more hostages the kidnappers had, the harder the rescue would be.
Since Madam Yu regained consciousness, four young women, including Bai Mo, had been thrown into this room. She had no idea what was happening outside—was this the only room holding captives? Were there others in the next room? Were they separated simply because there were too many of them?
As the footsteps outside faded, Bai Mo lifted his gaze and playfully winked at Madam Yu. Then, he spoke words that left everyone in shock.
“Mother-in-law, it’s me, Mo Mo~”
Madam Yu: “?”
The other captive women: “?”
Madam Yu stared at Bai Mo for a long time, unable to process his words.
Mo Mo? She only knew one Mo Mo, but Mo Mo was a boy…
“Yes, it’s me! I’m here to rescue you~” Bai Mo declared without hesitation, revealing his true identity. He helped Madam Yu to her feet and politely greeted the other captive women. “Hello, sisters. I am Bai Mo, the second son of the Minister of Justice. Time is short, so please excuse my lack of formalities.”
Dressed as a young woman, Bai Mo looked delicate and beautiful, with not the slightest hint of incongruity. If he hadn’t identified himself, no one would have believed that this fragile-looking girl was actually a young man.
Among the captives were daughters of officials, while the others came from relatively wealthy families and were well-versed in etiquette. They returned Bai Mo’s greeting with a respectful bow and repeatedly expressed their gratitude.
“Mo Mo, since you’re here, does that mean…?” Madam Yu’s thoughts immediately turned to her own son, who had gone to find Bai Mo. Now that Bai Mo had infiltrated the kidnappers’ hideout, did that mean her eldest son and the others were waiting outside to launch a rescue?
The other women had the same thought. The sorrow on their faces disappeared instantly. This was wonderful—they were saved!
But in the very next moment, Bai Mo shattered their hopes.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I came alone.”
Their excitement froze on their faces. They couldn’t believe what they had just heard. What? Bai Mo came alone? He just put on a dress and dared to walk in here by himself?
Yet, standing before them was Bai Mo himself, proving that not only was he bold, but also incredibly daring. “Don’t worry,” he assured them.
“I’ve scouted the area carefully. I’ll definitely get all of you out safely. And before I came, I had someone notify Brother Chenyi. He should be on his way by now.” Bai Mo spoke with absolute confidence, trusting that the group of men who took his money and his plea for help would indeed report the situation to the authorities.
Since leaving with the old woman, Bai Mo had no way of knowing what happened afterward. Fortunately, a Xiao Bobao quickly provided an update.
“Rest assured, Mo Mo,” the messenger relayed. “Yu Chenyi already knows you’ve been taken. With old grudges and new ones combined, that little volcano is on the verge of eruption.”
Rescuing the hostages was certainly important, but Bai Mo wasn’t just focused on saving people. If the kidnappers managed to escape, more people would fall victim in the future. That was why he chose this method to notify the authorities. If the officials arrived directly to arrest them, the kidnappers might become desperate and harm the hostages.
In his plan, he would lead the hostages to escape first, and Yu Chenyi would arrive immediately after with the officers to capture the kidnappers before they had any chance to react.
The hideout was located in a bustling area, but it was still a residential neighborhood. There was no way every exit could be blocked. The back door was relatively quiet, and, conveniently, not far from it was a collection point for night soil and food waste—a perfect place for the kidnappers to transport their captives unnoticed.
When the noble young ladies heard Bai Mo’s plan, they were utterly dumbfounded. Stuffing them into barrels used for collecting night soil? Or loading them onto garbage carts? No—this was too horrifying! They would rather die than suffer such humiliation. Their emotions flared, and Madam Yu had to calm them down once more.
Meanwhile, the old woman, who had secretly pocketed valuables, had little interest in conversing with her accomplices. After a brief exchange, she paid no attention to their warnings and hurried off to the pawnshop with her pouch full of gold and silver jewelry.
The moment she stepped into the pawnshop—before she could even take out her goods—Yu Chenyi and his men subdued her.
“Help! Robbery! Is there no law anymore? Murder—!” the old woman shrieked, thrashing about. Her stolen gold and silver scattered across the floor as she was restrained, making her heart ache beyond measure.
These men had to be in cahoots with those people from the alley! They were after her silver!
Spewing foul curses, the old woman lashed out in protest. Meanwhile, the pawnshop owner cooperated by clearing out the store. The gleaming treasure on the floor was tempting, but no one dared to pick it up.
A pair of boots appeared in front of the old woman. She followed the long legs upward until her chin was suddenly gripped. Before her was an impossibly handsome face, yet those narrow phoenix eyes carried a bone-chilling coldness.
A shiver ran down the old woman’s spine. She had clearly messed with the wrong person. But no matter how hard she tried to recall, she couldn’t remember ever crossing paths with Yu Chenyi. When had she provoked him?
It didn’t matter if she couldn’t remember—someone else would remind her.
The moment the officers revealed their identities, the old woman’s legs gave out. If not for Yu Chenyi holding her up, she would have collapsed to the ground in terror. Her mind echoed with a single panicked thought:
What do I do? What do I do?
She had been so careful—how had she been discovered? And how had she ended up bringing the authorities right to her doorstep?
Back at the government office, the imperial censor, who had been waiting anxiously for hours, could no longer contain his worry and had come to the pawnshop himself.
The moment he arrived, he saw that someone had been captured. He rushed forward and demanded, “Where is my wife? Where did you take her?!”
Upon seeing the imperial censor, the old woman hesitated for a moment, instinctively scanning her surroundings.
That was when she caught a fleeting glimpse of a figure passing by the doorway. A sudden realization struck her—everything seemed to fall into place.
No wonder! No wonder that person had paid her to kidnap the imperial censor’s wife. He had claimed to have a grudge against the censor, and since it was a deal with no loss on her end, she had accepted it.
She never expected the censor and his people to find her so quickly. Now, the trouble that person had stirred up was falling entirely on her shoulders.
The old woman, who had always been selfish, was only concerned with saving herself. Her greed was evident from how she had plundered the jewelry from the captured women. Now, she only wanted to escape responsibility. This wasn’t her fault—she refused to take the fall for someone else.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” she shouted. “Someone ordered me to do this! That person is right there—by the door!”
Dressed in men’s clothing, Wei Yuyan heard the old woman’s accusation and inwardly cursed her for being utterly useless.
She couldn’t even handle a simple kidnapping without attracting the authorities!
Wei Yuyan had originally planned to use the excuse of inspecting the goods to make the old woman take her to the hostages’ hiding place so she could rescue Madam Yu. But now, thanks to this fool, everything was falling apart.
Wei Yuyan reacted quickly. The moment the old woman pointed her out, she turned and bolted. But Yu Chenyi was just as fast. As a trained martial artist, he caught sight of her fleeing figure the moment he stepped out of the doorway. Within a few breaths, he had already caught up with her.
“Let go of me! What are you doing?!” Wei Yuyan shrieked. She hadn’t disguised her voice, and her delicate, feminine tone instantly exposed her true gender.
Yu Chenyi hadn’t expected the suspect to be a woman. Realizing that he was still gripping her shoulder, he momentarily hesitated. Seizing the opportunity, Wei Yuyan twisted free. However, in the struggle, her hair tie came loose, and a cascade of long, dark locks tumbled down. Passersby gasped in awe at the sight.
“You—shameless scoundrel!” Wei Yuyan was beyond furious. She didn’t care that her captor was Yu Chenyi—she only knew that she had been manhandled in public. If word got out, she would have no face left to show in society. Tears welled up uncontrollably in her eyes.
But her beauty was no reason for Yu Chenyi to let her go. Soon enough, with the “help” of well-meaning female bystanders, Wei Yuyan was escorted back to the pawnshop, where she was forced to confront the old woman.
“It’s her! She’s the one who gave me the silver!” The old woman had no sense of sympathy. After seeing Bai Mo’s stunning appearance, she found Wei Yuyan’s looks unimpressive in comparison.
“You’re lying! I don’t even know you!” Wei Yuyan flatly denied the accusation. There were only two people involved in this matter—herself and the old woman. As long as she refused to admit anything, there was no evidence against her.
The officers were growing frustrated. The two women’s bickering escalated to the point where they looked ready to tear each other’s hair out.
Then—CRACK!
Yu Chenyi slammed his bare hand down, splitting a wooden table into pieces. The shattered wood scattered across the floor, successfully silencing both women.
His eyes were as dark as ink, his voice cold as steel.
“Take me to the hostages.”