Shí Buyu didn’t do anything extra, only quietly waited for time to pass little by little, responding as the situation changed, and every half an hour confirmed Yan Shian’s safety.

At the hour of Wei (around 1–3 PM), Yan Ze returned. Along with him came a few officials, including the judge and several constables.

With the involvement of the government, things began to change. Worried about getting into trouble, the rich young gentlemen gradually left one by one. Even Dou Yuancheng could no longer use words to persuade or retain them, since his family, upon hearing the news, was sternly ordering him to return home.

But no matter how they searched, there was no sign of Yan Shian.

In the emperor’s capital, a freshly minted imperial scholar—such a living person—had just vanished into thin air.

Rumors spread quickly throughout the capital, and even ghost stories emerged. Every family sent their relatives who had been out enjoying themselves back home. The usually crowded Fusheng Market became deserted.

“Add a chip to the rumor,” Shí Buyu looked up into the void. “Connect the recent corpse-dumping incident with Yan Shian’s disappearance now.”

Yan De diligently made arrangements.

Once this rumor spread, even wealthy young men were escorted back home. The large capital was filled with anxiety.

Only then did the city’s prefect begin to take the matter seriously and question it, dispatching more men to expand the search. Shí Buyu ordered servants of the Yan family to secretly take them to the area where Yan Shian was.

Yan Shian was still outside the city, some distance from Taosheng Residence, but if they kept searching in this direction, they would find him before nightfall!

The men guarding Yan Shian paced anxiously. Hearing the people outside still arguing, he angrily flung the door open and shouted, “If you don’t want to live, then we’ll all die together!”

The two arguing outside fell silent at his roar. Peeking inside, seeing Yan Shian unmoving, they pulled him out and closed the door.

Yan Shian squinted a slit with his eyes, making sure no one was about to ambush him before taking several deep breaths. His chest ached from the prolonged anxiety.

Since they were so frantic, the plan on the girl’s side must have been going smoothly.

Feeling the fragrance pouch, Yan Shian’s heart gradually calmed. With this pouch, Miss Shi would be able to find him. The medicine powder was sewn into one of the slender straps of the belt.

This belt was a gift from Miss Shi, each strap having a different function. The small beeswax-sealed pill was hidden inside.

The little round ball was hard to disguise, so the belt Miss Shi later gave him could shoot three needles when pressing the bottom ring of the first strap. It wasn’t as powerful as the little round ball but could protect him for a moment.

Along with the hairpin on his head, the shoes on his feet, and the hollow pendant—these were his confidence for facing danger.

Listening to the intermittent voices outside, calculating the time, Yan Shian roughly knew which stage Miss Shi’s plan had reached. She was forcing those people to move him to the place they were searching.

This was indeed Shí Buyu’s goal, but the emperor obviously was not completely unprepared.

“Miss, there’s a letter for you.” Zhai Zhi hurried in. “Yan De said it was placed directly on the doorstep of the main gate. No one saw who left it.”

“Then it must have been someone present.”

Shí Buyu quickly opened the letter. The words were bold and flowing:

If you want to ransom Yan Shian, prepare 50,000 taels of silver and deliver it to Guimen Pass by this time tomorrow. If there is any mistake, you will neither see him alive nor find his body dead.

Guimen Pass was a narrow stretch of road. In the past, when there were no other paths, common people had to pass through here. Countless people died there, hence the name. It is said that Emperor Qizong personally inspected the place and later had the mountain cut to open a new road. That road has been unused since, but unexpectedly, it was now used again for this.

Shí Buyu sneered. Scare her? As if she’d be scared to death! Trying to make Yan Shian vanish in the capital this way—dream on! As long as her aunt hasn’t passed any messages, Yan Shian is safe!

“Raise the ransom; make as much noise as possible.” Shí Buyu handed the letter to Yan De. “Report to the officials again and have Luo Qing spread this news.”

“Yes.”

The day’s excitement was mostly related to Yan Shian.

Yan Shian had often been the topic of conversation—his talent, looks, or passing the exams quickly, all good things. But today, the matter involving him was so grave.

It was almost dark when they finally learned where he was—kidnapped by bandits demanding 50,000 taels of silver.

A household might earn only a few dozen copper coins a month; saving even two taels a year was extraordinary. But the kidnappers demanded 50,000 taels—clearly not intending to let him live!

The atmosphere in Taosheng Residence was heavy.

Zhuang Nan slammed his chair arm in fury. “Fifty thousand taels! They obviously want him dead!”

“Don’t scare people!” Dou Yuancheng glared at him, then softened his gaze toward Shí Buyu. “Younger sister-in-law, what do you plan?”

“Of course, we have to save cousin!” Shí Buyu bit her lip, determined not to give up. “I’ve already asked Yan Manager to check the treasury to see how much silver we can get. Cousin still has many shops under him; it’s too late to send anything out. We’ll take all the valuable things first and exchange whatever silver we can. If it’s really not enough, I’ll plead with them when I deliver the ransom tomorrow, hoping they can give us more time. Even if we have to sell the house, shops, and fields, we must get cousin back!”

Dou Yuancheng thought she was naive but felt deeply touched by her efforts to save Yan Shian. Yan Shian was worth having such a person care so much.

“I’ll go back and gather the money.” Dou Yuancheng stood. “I’ll pay a visit to Mr. Qi Xin. You must hold on; Yan Shian will be safe.”

Shí Buyu wiped her eyes gently. “I won’t break down.”

Zhuang Nan stood as well. “I’ll also go gather money. The estate isn’t as safe as the city. Younger sister-in-law, why don’t you go back to the city first?”

Shí Buyu shook her head, her voice choking. “I want to wait here for cousin. Maybe… maybe he’ll come back?”

Zhuang Nan and Dou Yuancheng exchanged looks, feeling uneasy inside. But no matter what, they had to do their best, and as brothers, they couldn’t just leave their brother’s fiancée outside the city.

Dou Yuancheng advised, “It’s more convenient and safer to raise the money in the city. If we bring it up here now, the money might attract thieves. This money is life-saving; we can’t let anything happen.”

Convinced, Shí Buyu stopped insisting. After a little tidying, she followed the two back to the city.

Sitting back in the carriage, she thought: “I’m already tired after just pretending a little while. No wonder acting is so hard.”