Chapter 3 Panic! My Girlfriend Eloped?! Panic! My Girlfriend Eloped...

Xie Jiaoyue looked around. The surrounding area was bustling with noise and diners, but she still couldn't see Dao Yi.

It seems that this person has already secretly slipped away and gone back to report to his master.

She set her sights on the little girl in front of her.

"Hua Yi, weren't you my personal maid before? Do you want to be?"

Hua Yichao thought that seeing her mistress every day would make her eat an extra bowl of rice.

Xie Jiaoyue continued to coax her gently: "As you know, your young lady is not only beautiful but also quite wealthy, always attracting the covetous eyes of others, so she is even more concerned about her own safety. Therefore, if you want to become my personal maid, you must be absolutely loyal to me and need to pass a test. Would you like to try?"

Hua Yi patted her chest confidently, indicating that she would definitely pass the test.

She didn't see anything wrong with her mistress's praise. From the first moment she saw her mistress, she thought she was the most beautiful person in the world, and her goal was to become her mistress's personal maid.

With her goal within reach, how could she possibly let such a golden opportunity slip by?

"Miss, what is the test?"

"I feel so lonely traveling alone this time, and I regret not bringing you along. How about you pretend to be traveling with me? This trip to Fucheng has been wonderful and will be a shared memory for both of us. No matter who asks, you must say that we left home together."

Hua Yi understood; she was being asked to lie.

For a lady, I'd go through fire and water; what does lying matter!

Unless the First Madam asks...

"Even if the First Madam asks, you can't let it slip. Can you do that?" After saying that, Xie Jiaoyue smiled at Hua Yi, her bright eyes and white teeth making her look graceful and charming.

Hua Yi was dazzled and hesitated for only a second before abandoning her conscience to the void.

She nodded vigorously: "But Miss, what are we here for? Just sightseeing?"

This doesn't sound like something Miss Diana would do.

Looking at the modestly decorated, inexpensive restaurant behind her, Xie Jiaoyue recalled the description of her family's assets in the original book.

They're so rich they could buy the entire city of Fu without batting an eye.

So, isn't the reason of not having enough pocket money and wanting to find a good asset to invest in too lame?

Xie Jiaoyue recalled the key part of the system's mission requirements: [Leave Jinling City and go to Fucheng to find Chu Xingjin, rescue him from the diners, free him from his waiter status, and return to the Xie family with you.]

Perhaps she can find some loopholes here and complete the first task painlessly in the end.

There are also the rules she needs to follow as cannon fodder, especially the third one. So far, she has only managed to spend money on Chu Xingjin. The system has already reminded her that she has only managed to spend money on Chu Xingjin. Her "love-obsessed" persona is still a bit lacking. She needs to find a way to complete it.

Sigh, making money is not easy.

...

The Xie family of Jinling City.

"Oh no, Madam, something terrible has happened!"

"What kind of behavior is this, all flustered and panicked?" Madam Xie, the eldest daughter-in-law, slammed her teacup on the table and scolded in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.

The maid was still flustered: "Madam, the eldest young master said that Miss... Miss has eloped with her family! Now he is planning to bring people to capture Miss and then punish her according to family law!"

"What!" Gong Shirao, who was usually calm and collected, stood up in a panic. The gold-inlaid jade teacup was swept away by her sleeve and fell to the ground, shattering into several pieces.

The maidservant hurried forward: "Madam, please take care of your health. What will happen to Miss if you collapse now?"

Gong Shirao, supporting her maid, couldn't help but lower her voice and ask, "What did the eldest young master say?" even though there was no one else in the room.

"The eldest young master ordered a sedan chair, but when others asked him what he was going to do, he was vague and wouldn't say. As a result, his servant Dao accidentally let slip that he had discovered that the young lady had left home without permission and was having an affair with another man, and that they must have eloped. Now the news of the young lady's elopement has probably spread."

Where is Miss now?

"I don't know. Miss's door hasn't been opened all day, and no one has gone in yet."

Gong Shirao closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her mind racing. What if that unfilial daughter really eloped...?

Sigh, she dared not think any further. What did eloping really mean? Didn't Jiaoyue understand? All her years of hard work and scheming for Jiaoyue, were they all going to go to waste?

A maidservant cautiously asked, "Madam, shall we go and take a look?"

Gong Shirao said, "No, you send someone to stop the eldest young master, and then we'll go to the young lady's room first."

"What about the eldest young master?" We can't really let the eldest young master go and capture the young lady, otherwise the young lady's crime of eloping would be completely confirmed.

Although the maid didn't have much affection for Xie Jiaoyue, she was, after all, the lady's daughter. She had grown up with the lady and didn't want her to be sad.

"Don't worry, I'll go once I've confirmed it. I won't let anyone treat my daughter so casually."

At this moment, at the gate of the Xie family, next to a sedan chair, stood Xie Yuehua, the eldest son of the Xie family, and his attendants.

The attendant was none other than Dao Yi, who should have been following Xie Jiaoyue, but somehow returned to the Xie family from Fucheng.

Xie Yuehua, with her keen eyes and ears, heard footsteps approaching from a distance and began to scold Dao Yi: "Didn't I tell you long ago not to spread this matter? How could you be so unable to control your mouth? When the Madam arrives later, I will definitely ask her to teach you a lesson for your loose tongue."

Then, as if he had just noticed Gong Shirao, he cupped his hands in a respectful greeting: "Aunt, what brings you here?"

His demeanor was respectful, much like that of an obedient junior and a caring older cousin.

Gong Shirao didn't speak, but the maid behind her couldn't help but roll her eyes. What was she pretending to be stupid for? With such a commotion, how could they not come?

Upon seeing the person, Dao Yi trembled in fear: "Madam, spare my life! I... I was just concerned about Miss Jiaoyue, so I let it slip in my haste. Our ancestors can attest that our young master only wanted to protect Miss Jiaoyue's reputation by secretly bringing her back. He had absolutely no intention of publicizing this matter."

Xie Yuehua had planned all of this long ago. He didn't want to offend the First Madam too much, so he didn't report the matter to the elders immediately.

However, he was determined to pin the accusation of eloping on Xie Jiaoyue and wanted to prevent the First Madam from secretly suppressing the matter. Therefore, it would be most advantageous for him to spread the word through Dao Yi.

In general, the First Madam is an elder and wouldn't argue too much with the younger servants.

Gong Shirao lowered her eyes and stared at Dao Yi, who was bowing, and said in a light tone: "Since he is a servant who can't control his mouth, just kick him out."

Being kicked out means being cut off from the Xie family forever. None of the Xie family's businesses will be open to him anymore, and other powerful families may also refuse him entry, making it difficult for him to make a living in Jinling City.

With just a few words, Dao Yi was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground: "Madam, Madam, please forgive me. I will never do it again."

Xie Yuehua was stunned for a moment; this First Madam was truly vindictive.

He quickly pleaded for Dao Yi, "Madam, Dao Yi was just momentarily unsteady. Why not just remember this mistake and let him atone for it?"

"After all, right now, only Dao Yi knows where my cousin is."

At this point, Gong Shirao understood everything. Regardless of whether Xie Yuehua did it intentionally or accidentally, today she was determined to prove Jiaoyue's guilt of eloping.

That's eloping!

This is different from the romantic stories in folk tales. For aristocratic families, if harming fellow disciples is the greatest crime, then eloping must be the second greatest.

It's not that powerful families want to separate lovers, but if you really love each other, why not go through the proper procedures, get married, and become proper Daoist partners?

If your family doesn't agree, you can force them to agree by crying, making a scene, or even threatening suicide; or you can insist on marrying only her and have a proper relationship.

Even if they have an illegitimate child, at most their relationship with their parents and relatives will be a little strained. They will still be considered family members, and the family might even acknowledge the illegitimate child.

Elopement, on the other hand, means that one is unwilling to go through any of the above procedures, and is single-mindedly thinking about abandoning the entire family for a lover, severing all ties with the family from then on, and giving up the place that raised and nurtured them.

In fact, eloping means not caring about giving up one's surname.

The importance of loyalty to aristocratic families goes without saying. Even if someone so cold-hearted and disregards their family were to be found and brought back halfway through an elopement, which family would be willing to invest resources in them? Which family would dare to allow such a person to hold real power in their household?

Gong Shirao's palms were sweaty, but a gust of cold wind made them feel icy cold.

Xie Yuehua is so ruthless. She wants to completely eliminate any possibility of her daughter being valued in the family, so that their main branch will never have a chance to rise again.

Is the next step to gradually seize their family's assets?

The reason she has guarded these assets for so many years is because of Jiaoyue. Jiaoyue has not yet been given a spirit, and if she has exceptional talent, these assets will naturally be used to nurture her.

However, if Jiaoyue is completely abandoned by her family, or even loses her qualification to establish her spirit, sooner or later someone will force her to hand over her property, especially the precious cultivation resources left by her husband, to be used to cultivate other members of the Xie family!

Thinking of this, Gong Shirao almost wanted to kill the person in front of her with a single sword stroke.

But she couldn't; finding her daughter was the most urgent task.

She put her hands behind her back and looked down at Dao Yi: "You say Jiao Yue eloped, do you have any evidence?"

Perhaps fearing that Dao Yi might say something wrong again and anger Gong Shi Rao, Xie Yuehua answered for Dao Yi: "Dao Yi returned from Fucheng this morning and reported to Yuehua that he saw his cousin and a man being intimate in a restaurant in Fucheng. Yuehua thought that the First Madam's family was very strict and his cousin rarely went out, so why would she suddenly appear in Fucheng? So she went to the gatekeeper to inquire, and found that no one knew anything about his cousin going out."

He looked worried: "I remember my cousin is not yet engaged, and she has not told the family who she is in love with. So I guessed that my cousin is young, and maybe she made a mistake and eloped with someone?"

Young masters from noble families are required to report to their families before going out. Jiaoyue's actions this time are indeed strange, and it is understandable that some people are suspicious.

Gong Shirao was too lazy to argue with Xie Yuehua anymore; finding the person was the priority right now: "Lead the way quickly."

While Gong Shirao turned around, Xie Yuehua quickly sent a message to her second brother: "Quickly inform the others of this message and lead everyone to Fucheng."

A note from the author: