Night Family Has a Daughter

Night Family Has a Daughter

"That's how things stand, Lord Bai."

Ye Youcai straightened, his eyes rimmed red:

"I'm entrusting my daughter to you. Please, my lord, be sure to keep her safe."

"As long as my daughter returns unharmed, this old man will reward all of you handsomely!"

With that, he bowed deeply to Bai Yan.

Bai Yan raised a hand and made a gesture of support without touching him, his tone steady:

"Family Head Ye, rest assured. When the Imperial Guard takes on a case, there hasn't been a criminal we couldn't catch."

"If that Flower Thief dares come, he certainly won't escape our grasp."

Ren Hong immediately chimed in from the side:

"The Brigade Leader is right! Across the whole of Yongtang City, no one has ever slipped through our lord's fingers. Once my lord takes action, Miss Ye will be absolutely safe!"

Only then did Ye Youcai seem to set down a burden weighing a thousand jin. He stroked his chest and let out a long sigh:

"With your word, my lord, this old man can rest easy."

Then he continued:

"For the next few days, please stay at Night Manor. Whatever food, clothing, or other necessities you require, just say the word. This old man will make sure everything is arranged properly!"

After speaking, Ye Youcai ordered the steward to make the arrangements.

The steward acknowledged him and withdrew to prepare the guest rooms, while Bai Yan rose and said:

"Family Head Ye, would you be so kind as to show us the layout of the manor?"

If they wanted to wait for the rabbit by the tree stump, they first had to understand the layout of Night Manor. Only then could they cast a Heavenly Net, leaving that Flower Thief with nowhere to flee.

Ye Youcai naturally agreed to everything and led Bai Yan and the others toward the rear residence.

The rear residence was normally where the women of the household lived, and by custom, unrelated men were forbidden to enter without permission. But with a life at stake, he had long since stopped caring about such things.

The moment they stepped through the moon gate into the rear residence, Bai Yan's gaze was drawn to a figure beside the pond.

She was a woman of about twenty, dressed in a luxurious pale-pink robe embroidered with magnolia blossoms, with a layer of translucent white gauze draped over it. As a breeze passed, the gauze fluttered lightly, revealing her graceful neck and clearly defined collarbones. Her skin, bathed in the morning light, was as white as exquisite porcelain.

She wore a pleated skirt of the same color below, its hem trailing more than three feet along the ground. When she turned, the skirt unfurled like flowing moonlight. Her bearing was graceful and gentle, like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting.

Her three thousand strands of raven hair were loosely tied with a pearl ribbon, and a kingfisher-feather butterfly hairpin nestled among them. The pearl at its tip swayed softly with her movements. A lock of hair fell across her chest, complementing the touch of pink and adding a few more traces of delicate charm.

Bai Yan's composure was formidable. After all, he was the sort of man who could remain calm while drinking and eating at Baiwei Tower, and in his previous life, he had been a fine young man who had seen plenty of the world. Faced with this scene, he did not find himself particularly dazzled. His gaze swept over her briefly before moving away.

But the Imperial Guards under his command were another matter entirely.

They had spent years rolling through the clash of blades and shadows, accustomed to seeing rough brutes and hardened bandits. How could they withstand the impact of such a delicate beauty?

More than twenty sturdy men all widened their eyes. Like cattle staring at her with bulging eyes, they fixed their gazes on the figure by the pond, their cheeks flushing crimson as their throats bobbed uncontrollably.

Their looks were just like hungry wolves spotting a fat sheep, or wild dogs fixing their eyes on a bone.

"Ahem."

Bai Yan's low cough cracked across the ground like a thunderclap, instantly dragging everyone back from their daze.

"Keep your eyes under control. If you shouldn't be looking, then don't look."

"Yes, my lord!"

Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao lowered their heads the furthest, so embarrassed they wished they could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

Her father was standing right beside them, yet they had stared at his daughter with such looks. If word got out, everyone in the Pacification Bureau would laugh at them. What kind of Imperial Guards were they? They were plainly a pack of lust-crazed starving ghosts. What kind of conduct was that?

Bai Yan turned to Ye Youcai and clasped his fists:

"Family Head Ye, these men under my command are crude fellows who don't understand proper etiquette. Please forgive their offense."

Though Bai Yan served as an Imperial Guard, he had his own bottom line. He disdained such vile behavior as bullying others with authority or peeping at the women of another household, and he would never allow his subordinates to cross that line.

Ye Youcai hurriedly waved his hands, a smile piling onto his face:

"Lord Bai, you're too serious. The lords have come to protect my daughter. It's only a small matter, hardly worth mentioning."

With that, Ye Youcai waved toward the pond and called the woman over.

"Lord Bai, allow this old man to introduce you. This is my daughter, Ye Lingdang."

He turned slightly to indicate her, his voice carrying a trace of a father's pride.

"Lingdang, this is Lord Bai Yan, an Imperial Guard Brigade Leader. We owe it to his willingness to help that we have him here today."

Ye Lingdang moved with lotus steps to Bai Yan and curtsied gracefully, her voice soft as spring water:

"This young woman greets Lord Bai. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Bai Yan returned the greeting with clasped fists. "The pleasure is mine, Miss. It is merely my duty; there's no need to thank me."

Only upon seeing her more closely did he realize that Ye Lingdang was not merely beautiful. A gentle, refined air filled her brows, carrying both a young girl's shyness and a well-bred grace. No wonder the Flower Thief had set his sights on her. Such beauty and bearing were indeed rare among the young ladies of Yongtang City.

After meeting Ye Lingdang, Ye Youcai led Bai Yan and the others onward to inspect the rear residence. They passed through covered corridors and wound around artificial hills and ponds, while Bai Yan committed every arrangement in the rear courtyard to memory.

What he failed to notice was that when they turned and left, Ye Lingdang remained standing beside the pond, gazing at Bai Yan's tall, straight back without looking away for a long while.

A young girl's feelings were always poetry.

Just as men could be captivated by beauty, women could also lose their hearts to a man's heroic bearing.

Bai Yan had no idea how lethal his charm was to women.

He was handsome to begin with, with sword-shaped brows and star-bright eyes. Wearing the Imperial Guard's Flying Fish Robe only added a touch of cold, martial grandeur.

Ye Lingdang had grown up within the deep courtyards of a wealthy household. Apart from her father, she had hardly seen any men throughout her life. When had she ever encountered someone like Bai Yan?

Now, seeing such a young and talented man, it was as though a pebble had fallen into the lake of her heart, sending circles of ripples outward and making her heartbeat quicken beyond her control.

"Miss! Miss! Wake up! Lord Bai has already left!"

"Huh?"

Her personal maid, Xiao Tao, gently shook her sleeve from the side, her voice carrying a teasing laugh.

Only then did Ye Lingdang return to her senses. She suddenly looked up and found that only she and her maid remained in the courtyard. Bai Yan and the others had long since turned past the covered corridor.

Remembering how she had just stared blankly at his back, her face instantly flushed crimson. She hurriedly lowered her head, her fingers twisting the hem of her skirt.

"Miss, you were staring at Lord Bai until your eyes went straight."

Xiao Tao leaned closer and teased her with a mischievous grin:

"Could it be that you've fallen for Lord Bai?"

"You cheeky girl, don't talk nonsense!"

Ye Lingdang's cheeks reddened even further. She raised a hand and lightly smacked the maid, scolding her coquettishly:

"I've only met Lord Bai for the first time. How could you speak of liking him?"

"Besides, the Flower Thief has me in his sights right now. How could I have the leisure to think about such nonsense?"

At the mention of the Flower Thief, worry appeared on Ye Lingdang's face.

Though she knew the Imperial Guards possessed extraordinary skill, and Bai Yan radiated an aura that put people at ease, as a woman, she still harbored an instinctive fear of the Flower Thief.

Seeing her brows knit with worry, Xiao Tao quickly changed her tone and comforted her:

"Don't be afraid, Miss. Lord Bai is here! Just look at his bearing—he must be incredibly capable. He'll definitely catch that Flower Thief!"

Her eyes rolled, and she leaned over again with a laugh:

"If we get through this ordeal safely, Lord Bai will have saved your life, Miss! And according to the stories told by storytellers, shouldn't a life-saving favor be repaid by... offering yourself to him?"

"Just think about it, Miss. You're breathtakingly beautiful and skilled in Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting. Lord Bai is so young yet already an Imperial Guard Brigade Leader, both civil and martial, young and promising."

"When the two of you stand together, you'll truly be a match made in heaven—an even better pairing than the gifted scholar and beautiful maiden in the storybooks!"

"You're asking for a beating!"

Ye Lingdang was both angry and amused. She reached out to tickle the maid.

"You wicked girl, you're becoming more and more ill-mannered! If you dare spout such nonsense again, I'll marry you off this very instant!"

"Oh, no, please!"

Xiao Tao hurriedly begged for mercy, waving her hands dramatically:

"I won't dare again, Xiao Tao promises! Please spare me this once, Miss!"

After mistress and maid laughed and played around for a while, the worry in Ye Lingdang's heart unknowingly faded quite a bit.

Watching Xiao Tao pull faces and wink at her, she understood that the girl had deliberately said those silly things to distract her.

Xiao Tao had been at her side for many years. She was the most perceptive and understood her thoughts best, always managing to come up with a way to cheer her whenever she was troubled.