After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

"I don't know. The person who came to us was always wearing a mask. He was a man, about seven feet tall, and rather plump. He had gray hair, so he must be quite old." To save his life, the big man spilled everything.

But what he said was as good as nothing.

There are too many people with these characteristics.

"Fool! You dared to accept a mission without knowing the other party's identity?" Gu Ce cursed. "Then do you know who I am?"

"I don't know," the big man replied, genuinely unaware.

"We've already identified ourselves, so why didn't we stop?" Rong Yingluo asked.

"That man said that no matter what identities you give, it's all fake; you're actually just female relatives of merchants." The big man already knew he had been tricked.

He was too greedy; for five thousand taels of silver, he led his brothers to their doom.

"This is the capital city. How come I didn't know there were bandits here? Where did you come from?" Gu Ce asked coldly.

"We came from a mountain a hundred miles away, intending to leave immediately after we finished our business, so the authorities couldn't catch us."

Rong Yingluo looked up at the sky speechlessly; it was too stupid.

How did these bandits rise to power? Perhaps they were just the lowest-ranking members of a bandit gang, taking on jobs on their own?

Unable to get any information from him, Gu Ce thrust out his long sword, and the burly man was instantly killed.

"Why not hand it over to the government?" Rong Yingluo was taken aback.

"You and Madam Qi are women, so it's best not to let this kind of thing get out. It will damage your reputation," Gu Ce explained.

It turns out it was for her and Sister Ke's reputation.

The guards finished off all the bandits who were still alive.

Gu Ce approached the two guards from the Gu family, his eyes turned cold, and he raised his sword to silence them.

"Stop!" Rong Yingluo stopped him. "Why do you want to kill them?"

The two guards were so frightened that they knelt down and begged for mercy: "Your Highness, spare our lives!"

The two thought the prince was blaming them for not protecting their master, but they had already done their best and were still injured.

"They saw what you did today, so you can't stay." Gu Ce was afraid that the two of them would go back and tell Su Shi or his second uncle what had happened today.

Upon hearing this, the two guards kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Highness, spare our lives! We won't say a word."

"I don't need to kill them. I have a way to control them." Rong Yingluo took out a porcelain bottle from her bosom and poured out two pills: "Each of you take one pill, and ask me for the antidote once a month. Then you'll be fine. From now on, when I go out, you two should ask the steward to let you accompany me as my bodyguards."

Rong Yingluo had made up her mind. As the wife of the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, she couldn't go out without guards. After controlling them with medicine, they would become her guards in public, which was just right.

The two ate it without hesitation.

It's better to live than to die now.

The guards of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion were all born into the household and trained to be guards.

The indentures of these people are all in the hands of the Duchess.

If Rong Yingluo wanted to control them, she could only threaten them with their lives.

"If the Duchess asks about what happened today, do you know what to say?" Seeing that the two had finished eating, Rong Yingluo nodded in satisfaction.

"We only said that we encountered bandits, and we fought with all our might to protect our master. Later, the prince came and saved us," one of them replied.

Rong Yingluo nodded in agreement with their explanation.

After dealing with the two, Rong Yingluo then approached the four people who had appeared first.

Two men who had lost an arm stood together, and two men who were able-bodied stood together.

It's obvious at a glance that they each have their own masters.

"You two go back and tell your master that I appreciate his kindness, and I will go see him again in a couple of days," Rong Yingluo said with a smile.

She could tell at a glance that these two people were sent by the Fourth Prince to protect her; only his subordinates would employ people with disabilities.

She felt a warmth in her heart; she hadn't expected the Fourth Prince to be so kind to her, always keeping an eye on her safety.

"Miss Rong, the master said that from now on we are your people and will be at your beck and call at any time," one of them replied.

"Are you doing this willingly?" Rong Yingluo asked.

If the suggestion she made to the Fourth Prince that day had been implemented, he would have had even more disabled people under his command.

It wouldn't be a problem for her to take over two things; she definitely needs to have her own people on hand.

In order to better control her, Su Jingyi allowed her to bring very few people into the mansion.

"It's voluntary. Please accept us, Master." The two knelt down together.

"Alright, get up. If you have families, you can bring them to the capital, and I can settle them in." Rong Yingluo wanted to use them, so she naturally had to consider their needs.

"Thank you, Master." The two kowtowed deeply before standing up and giving their names.

One was named Huo Hu, and the other was named Chen Qi. Both were only in their twenties, and coincidentally, both were strong young men who had lost their left arms.

"And who are you two working for?" Rong Yingluo turned to the two able-bodied men.

She really didn't guess whose people would be protecting her.

The Rong family has people in their ranks, but the skills of these two are beyond what the Rong family could cultivate, and they are far superior to those of two one-armed soldiers.

He looks like he's from a secret guard or assassin background.

"Miss Huirong, we were sent by Young Master Qin to protect you," one of them replied.

"Oh... he sent you." Upon hearing that they were Qin Yan's people, Rong Yingluo's face lit up with a bright smile. It must have been her elder sister's request.

She could already picture her older sister acting coquettishly in front of Young Master Qin, begging him to find a way to protect her younger sister.

"So, are you going to follow me temporarily, or will you follow me permanently?" Rong Yingluo asked.

"Our master ordered us to protect Miss Rong for three years."

"No need. I will protect my wife myself. You can go back to where you came from," Gu Ce said coldly.

How could his wife use a woman given to her by another man?

And it wasn't just one man who was given away; there were two one-armed men, and he guessed whose men they were.

Was he dead?

The fourth prince was one thing, but he claimed that he and Rong Liuli were sworn siblings.

But Young Master Qin, of course he knew who it was—Rong Liuli's ex-fiancé. What audacity! Rong Liuli is already married, yet he still hasn't given up.

"Then you can stay here." Rong Yingluo didn't care about Gu Ce's attitude.

This is my eldest sister's kind gesture, so of course she has to accept it.

She also needs to find out about her eldest sister through these two people.

With these two around, it's much easier to stay in touch.

"Thank you for taking us in, Master." The two bowed in unison, neither humble nor arrogant, and changed their form of address.

The two also gave their names: one was Ling Feng, and the other was Ling Yun.

"Hmph..." Gu Ce angrily flicked his sleeve, his face darkening further.

"What, you want me dead?" Rong Yingluo glared at him.

She has people on her side, which allows her to better deal with the schemes from all sides.

"No, I..." Gu Ce seemed unable to find a suitable reason for her to send the four away.

"Now that you four are mine, go back and buy a house nearby to live in. I will have Wu Dali notify you whenever I need you." Rong Yingluo did not intend to keep them in the mansion, otherwise Su would find a way to ask her for their indentures again.

She will only have a voice when she becomes the mistress of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

After everything was arranged, Rong Yingluo boarded the carriage, only to find Ke Miaoran and Qin'er unconscious, with Yinghong taking care of them.