"A group of a traveling merchant was found massacred a few days ago," Yan Zifu said. "The son of Minister of Personnel were traveling with the merchant. In the end, he was taken as a hostage. The Minister seeks for the Emperor's aid, and once His Majesty hears about it, he was furious."
Mingyue frowned. She wondered if the bandits were the reason why her elder brother was summoned into the palace these few days.
If the news were true, then it was possible that Yang Yun and his team will be sent to the mountain for the rescue mission soon.
Mingyue chatted with Yan Zifu and caught up with the latest gossips in town before she left and headed to her grandpa's place.
Just as Mingyue was about to reach her grandpa's residence, she stopped when she saw a familiar figure leaning on the wall.
She hastened her pace to greet him but paused when she saw two beautiful maidens coming from her opposite direction.
Judging from the way the girls acted, Mingyue could guess at what they were trying to do. Just as she had expected, one of the girls dropped her handkerchief as they walked past her fiance.
She bit her lower lips as she anticipated Yang Yun to pick up the handkerchief for the girls. In the end, he didn't.
Mingyue approached him and saw him smiling at her. She held up a hand, picked up the handkerchief and ran after the girls.
"Miss!" Mingyue called out the girls as she waved the handkerchief. "You dropped your handkerchief."
The two girls turned around with surprise on their face. Once they saw the handkerchief in Mingyue's hand, a flash of annoyance crossed the girls face. One of the maidens accepted the handkerchief with a forced smile. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Just as she turned around, Mingyue overheard the girls conversations. It seemed that the girl did not drop her handkerchief by accident. They were trying to attract Yang Yun's attention but failed when he did not spare them a glance.
It seemed that it was unnecessary for her to help them return the handkerchief. Mingyue's lips curved into a smile as she approached Yang Yun. "What are you doing here?"
He stood up straight when he heard her voice. "Waiting for you." He smiled. He held her wrist when she stood closer to him and kissed the inside of her palm.
She lowered her gaze in embarrassment and looked at him again. "I heard my brother assigned you and everyone else into intense training. I didn't expect you to get out of training so soon."
Yang Yun is a captain of an elite troop under her eldest brother, Jiang Xiao Xian's army. Because of that, he had to undergo intense training every day.
Mingyue had once sneaked in into the training ground and saw the way they trained. Her heart ached seeing how the members of elite troop covered in mud, with their clothes wet from both sweat and rain as they climbed a tall cliff with bare hands.
When she was a few years younger, she always dreamed of joining the army like her brothers. But watching the elite troop trained, she knew that that life would be too much for her.
"The General has been summoned into the palace early this morning. He gave us a day off from training. So I come to see you."
Mingyue nodded. She studied his expression and spoke again. "Did you not notice a maiden dropped a handkerchief when she walked past you?"
He meets her gaze. "I know."