After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 224 Entering the Demon's Den
At that moment, the shopkeeper and the manager, both dressed in black, climbed in through the window.

The shopkeeper reached out and nudged Lin Yunche, who was lying on the ground, and saw that Lin Yunche was indeed not moving and nodded to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper and the shop owner worked together to lift Lin Yunche up and place him on the shopkeeper's back. The shopkeeper's legs went weak and he almost lost his balance.

"I didn't expect this seemingly frail kid to have such a good weight to him," the shopkeeper said in a low voice, trying to sound confident.

The shopkeeper pursed his lips, outwardly agreeing, but inwardly he felt that the shopkeeper had entrusted him with everything, and his skills were no longer what they used to be.

If the shop owner hadn't insisted on claiming credit from his superiors, he probably would have been the one doing all the hard work.

The shopkeeper was unaware of the innkeeper's ulterior motives, but he was secretly overjoyed.

Now, as long as we deliver the person to his master, he'll probably be able to do whatever he wants in Xuancheng from now on.

Thinking of this, the shopkeeper revealed an extremely lewd smile.

The two of them quietly climbed out of the window again, and the shopkeeper carried Lin Yunche directly to the palace entrance where they had been during the day.

The shopkeeper wanted to accompany the shopkeeper inside, but the shopkeeper glared at him irritably.

"Are you out of your mind? How dare you come closer? Have you forgotten where you are?"

"Do you think you can just come and go as you please?"

The shopkeeper was indignant, but he still put on a smile: "Boss, I was just worried about you."

"When you came last time, you left covered in injuries. I'm worried about this time."

The shopkeeper's worried expression softened the shopkeeper's heart a little.

But the shop owner is a shrewd old fox; he knows very well what he can let go of and what he can't keep in mind.

"Alright! I won't get beaten up this time, you should go back now."

"Remember to destroy all traces so that no one can tell."

The shopkeeper was unwilling, but he couldn't disobey his boss, so he had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

The shopkeeper looked around to make sure no one was watching before knocking on the door of the Daytime Palace again.

The person guarding the gate seemed to be used to people knocking on the door in the middle of the night. He opened the door quickly, and seeing that the person had someone on their back, he didn't even ask any questions and just let the shopkeeper in.

"I was here during the day," the shopkeeper said, bowing to the person who had served him earlier that day, with his back to Lin Yunche.

The newcomer glanced at the person on the shopkeeper's back, smiled, and gave the shopkeeper a thumbs up.

"I knew Mr. Wang was no ordinary person."

"We just talked about it this morning, and the person was delivered tonight."

As the person spoke, they led the shopkeeper inside. It was still daytime, but for some reason, the shopkeeper felt a chill.

That's right, even though he had come here at night several times before, he still couldn't stand the atmosphere.

The shopkeeper kept his head down and followed behind the newcomer with his back to Lin Yunche.

This time, the visitor did not take the shopkeeper directly to the palace, but instead led him to a somewhat secluded courtyard.

There are five rooms in this side courtyard. At this moment, two of the rooms have lights on, while the remaining rooms are dark.

The visitor found a room without lights, went inside, and lit a candle.

"Boss Wang, thank you for letting the person in here!" the man said with a smile.

The smile appeared somewhat sinister in the candlelight.

However, the shopkeeper naturally dared not object, and he quickly carried Lin Yunche inside.

The room wasn't very big; besides a table, there was only a huge bed.

Needless to say, the shopkeeper knew this, so he simply placed the person on the bed and then casually wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The person carrying the candle approached the person on the bed, and when they saw the face clearly, they couldn't help but open their mouth wide.

"Mr. Wang, you've really struck gold this time."

"By the way, have you found out this person's identity?"

The shop owner is getting a little cocky now; he hasn't been praised in a long time.

"We've checked! This man is just a merchant who came from afar."

"I have no powerful background or connections, so please rest assured, Master."

The person smiled, pursing their lips. "That's for the best."

"Alright, Mr. Wang, the person has been delivered. You can go back now."

"As for the reward, the master will probably send someone to your shop tomorrow. Just keep an eye out for it."

The shopkeeper did not question what the visitor said, because his master had never mistreated capable people.

After the shopkeeper left, the newcomer immediately found several servants to help Lin Yunche wash up and change his clothes.

The courtyard was full of men, so the visitors reminded them as they entered.

"This newcomer is clearly destined to be favored."

"You must not hurt him, be careful."

"If anyone does anything to displease the master, I won't be able to save you then."

The servants held their breath, not daring to utter a single sound.

The visitor left first, satisfied, leaving the servants to attend to Lin Yunche.

Lin Yunche was still unconscious and completely unaware of his dangerous situation.

There were two rooms with lights on, one of which had its window open.

The one who peeked out was a handsome young man. Unlike Lin Yunche's alluring charm, this young man's brows revealed a calm and heroic spirit, but this heroic spirit was about to disappear because of his weakening.

"Wushuang, quickly close the window. The wind outside is too strong; your body can't withstand it."

A man dressed as a servant spoke to the boy by the window.

With a sorrowful look in his eyes, he gazed at the newly lit room across the way and coughed heavily twice. "I wonder what kind of person will come tonight."

As Wushuang spoke, his eyes were fixed on the house opposite, as if he wanted to see through everything inside, but of course he was in vain.

The man walked to the window and stubbornly closed it.

"Whoever comes is none of our business."

Wushuang lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Irrelevant? If it really is irrelevant, that would be great. I'm afraid it will make their time here even more difficult.

Compared to Wushuang's lament, the person in the other room merely peeked out from the doorway.

"Tch! Some ants that came from who-knows-where again." He crushed the fruit and pastries in front of him. "No matter who they are, they will all be trampled under his feet, just like Wushuang."

"He is the one the true master likes the most."

Yang Cong and the others only discovered Lin Yunche's disappearance early the next morning.

At this moment, Yang Cong, along with Pan Hu and Xu Long, were conducting a search in Lin Yunche's house.

"There are no traces here. Could it be that Lord Lin left first?" Xu Long asked with some resentment.

Pan Hu didn't speak, he just stood there with his brows furrowed.

Yang Cong shook his head, "No, it won't happen."

"Why not?" At some point, Cao Zhe also heard that Lin Yunche was gone, and he came here as well.

Yang Cong and Pan Hu disliked Cao Zhe from the start, so when Cao Zhe entered the room, everyone's expressions were not very pleasant.

Cao Zhe didn't care; he looked around the entire inn.

“Look, there are no traces at all. It’s obvious that Lord Lin left on his own.”

"If you ask me, why don't we go back too?"

Cao Zhe truly wanted to return to the Shang Kingdom as soon as possible. Ma Yu had already lost his heart, and if someone with ulterior motives spoke ill of him to the Prince of Huai, then his wife, children, and elderly parents would be doomed.

Xu Long held a neutral opinion; he couldn't decide whether or not to go back, so he simply remained silent.

Yang Cong looked at Pan Hu, who nodded slightly. Yang Cong said, "Lord Lin's luggage is still here, and none of the horses we brought are missing."

"This means that Lord Lin did not go back first."

Cao Zhe's face showed displeasure, "This doesn't prove anything!"

"In short, the leaders are all gone, so we can't just keep insisting on anything!"

Yang Cong clenched his fists. If this weren't the time to act impulsively, he would have really wanted to beat Cao Zhe up right now.

Pan Hu stepped forward at this moment, "Strategist Cao, we came here because we heard that you know where that person is."

"Whether Lord Lin is here or not, as long as Strategist Cao is here, we should continue our search."

"Strategist Cao, am I right?"

Cao Zhe pursed his lips and remained silent, while Yang Cong smiled with relief.

"Moreover, Lord Lin has disappeared; he must have encountered some danger."

"How can we just leave like that!"

Seeing this, the others echoed his sentiment. Xu Long also realized that Pan Hu was right. Even without Lin Yunche, as long as they could find Lin Sishu, they would have a chance to clear their name.

"Yes! Now that we're here, we have things to do."

"And shouldn't the most important thing right now be to find Lord Lin?"

The group quickly reached a consensus. Seeing that he couldn't persuade them, Cao Zhe had no choice but to compromise. Since they couldn't return to the Shang Kingdom, they could only try to bury these people in the Northern Dynasty.

For Cao Zhe, the best course of action now is to report them to the government of the Northern Dynasty.

However, while doing so would eliminate the Lin family, Lin Yunche, and his small force, it would leave him with no way to escape unscathed.

Cao Zhe dared not even think about the heinous crime of treason and spies, which would lead to the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his entire clan.

Yang Cong instructed Pan Hu to keep an eye on Cao Zhe while he led the others outside to gather information.

"Lord Lin is quite skilled and always alert; he's probably been tricked by something else."

"Let's split up and ask different people."

"We should not overlook any strange places."

Xu Long and the others nodded after hearing this, and then they split up to look for the person.

At this moment, Lin Yunche's poison effects had worn off, and he gradually regained consciousness.

He suddenly opened his eyes, immediately sat up, and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and the clothes he had been wearing at some point.

What is this!
Lin Yunche looked down at the clothes he was wearing.

The long, bright red robe had loose cuffs and leg openings, much like the clothes he had borrowed from a brothel.

He walked to the mirror on the table, his face evenly smeared with bright red rouge, and a touch of red on his lips. He was beautiful, but in Lin Yunche's eyes, it was a terrifying sight.

"I never imagined she was such a stunning beauty!"

"Possessing stunning beauty that rivals that of women."

A woman's voice suddenly rang out behind him, setting off alarm bells for Lin Yunche.

He turned around abruptly, looking warily at the newcomer. He saw a woman, also dressed in a bright red robe, standing outside the door, smiling at him inside.

But the smile lasted only a moment, and then the woman's eyes widened slightly.

She approached Lin Yunche step by step, her gaze shifting from initial inquiry to shock.

"Ah! So that's how it looks!" The woman suddenly looked away, a barely perceptible expression of pain on her face.

Lin Yunche did not want to get entangled with the woman in front of him any longer.

He first politely clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Young lady, we have never had any grudges before, please put my mind at ease and leave."

Upon hearing this, the woman in red threw her head back and laughed loudly, only stopping after a long time.

At this moment, her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at Lin Yunche.

"What's your name?" The woman didn't answer Lin Yunche's question, but instead asked something else.

Lin Yunche suppressed his temper and said, "Miss, you can call me Mr. Yun."

The woman murmured "Mr. Yun" twice, then looked at Lin Yunche with bright eyes.

“Mr. Yun, now that you’re on my turf, why not make the best of it?”

"Don't worry, I have everything here. You can have whatever you want, sir."

"Just tell me, and I can fulfill any request you make."

Lin Yunche knew that he had no way to get the woman to release him, so he had no choice but to force his way in.

But just as he was about to exert his strength, he discovered that he couldn't use his skills at all.

The woman seemed to have sensed something was amiss. She took another step closer to Lin Yunche, trying to hook her finger around his chin, but Lin Yunche turned his head slightly and avoided her.

The woman was not angry. Instead, she said in a soft voice, "Mr. Yun, you always resort to violence. It will frighten me."

"Does Mr. Yun not have even a shred of compassion for women?"

(End of this chapter)