Chapter 55 Scar "Master, the lady just quietly left through the side door...

"Master, the lady just quietly left through a side door. Do you want someone to follow her?"

After waiting for a long time without hearing any response, the butler raised his head slightly and looked at Tuoba Xuan, who was bending his arms, supporting his forehead with his elbows on the desk.

His face was hidden by the shadow of his palm, his eyes closed, but the slight flutter of his eyelashes showed that he was not asleep. Judging from his appearance, it seemed that he had not slept all night, and his whole body was extremely tired.

"Master," the butler asked carefully again.

The atmosphere around them seemed frozen. After a long while, Tuoba Xuan slowly lowered his arm. His deep voice drifted into the housekeeper's ears: "No need."

No need? This is so strange. Hasn't the master always been very strict with Liu Yiyi? Why is he so abnormal today and letting her go out alone?

Although he was confused, the butler did not dare to ask any more questions. He just replied "yes" and quietly left.

Silence filled the room again.

Outside the door, the morning mist was thick, and the rock pines emitted a faint green morning light through the mist.

Tuoba Xuan's fingers slowly moved across the desk, which had also been covered in mist after a night. When his fingers finally stopped moving, the traces of mist on the desk revealed three words: Fang Buyu.

Forget it, Tuoba Xuan thought, if Yiyi has a way to save Fang Buyu, let her try, after all, he is their flesh and blood.

＊

"Hey, hey, hey, have you heard that the chief eunuch, Liu Mingzhong, actually has an illegitimate child?!"

"Is Liu Mingzhong the same Liu Mingzhong who took the knife for His Majesty many years ago?"

"Yes, it's him! Guess who this illegitimate child of his is?"

"Tell me quickly, who is it..."

"That's Fang Buyu, who came to our county to supervise the broken bridge case!"

"Fang Buyu, the head of the Sky Eagle Pavilion!"

"That's him! And I also heard that Fang Buyu was thrown into jail a while ago for instructing witnesses to frame the prime minister!"

"Why did he want to frame the Prime Minister?"

"Heh... what else could it be? If the Prime Minister is overthrown, wouldn't the father and son be able to run rampant in the court? It's hard to say who will rule the country in the future..."

…

Yiyi walked through the chattering crowd, turned into several quiet alleys, and finally stopped in front of a mansion with simple decoration and an ancient atmosphere.

In fact, she had already been to Fang's house before. But she knocked on the door for a long time, but there was no response from inside. After thinking it over, she decided to try her luck here.

This address was Zhao Hui's residence, which she had accidentally heard from the shop assistant when she went to return the clothes.

She briefly explained her purpose to the guard, and soon the person who went to inform her appeared in front of her again.

"Ma'am, please follow me."

When they were about to reach the main hall, Liu Yiyi saw Zhao Hui standing at the door waiting from a distance. When their eyes met, Zhao Hui came forward.

Zhao Hui was somewhat surprised by Liu Yiyi's visit, but more puzzled and puzzled, "Madam Liu, why are you here?"

Liu Yiyi stood in front of Zhao Hui and said, "Madam Zhao, I came here mainly to talk to you about Fang Buyu."

"Bu Yu" Zhao Hui was even more confused. Didn't Liu Yiyi say she didn't know Bu Yu the last time she asked? Why did she suddenly want to talk about Bu Yu today?

However, seeing Liu Yiyi's serious expression, Zhao Hui immediately realized that what Liu Yiyi was about to say was definitely not a trivial matter. So, she quickly restrained her expression, took Liu Yiyi's hand and said, "Let's go inside and talk."

After they both sat down, Zhao Hui could no longer suppress her inner confusion and asked, "Madam Liu, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?"

Zhao Hui was filled with anxiety. She had been hearing the rumors circulating on the streets for the past two days. Such malicious talk, spreading freely, would undoubtedly make things worse for Buyu and could even put Mingzhong in danger. Thinking of Buyu's current predicament, she was filled with worry, fearing that Liu Yiyi would tell her something unfavorable about him.

Liu Yiyi seemed to see what Zhao Hui was worried about. "Mrs. Zhao, I know who spread the rumor."

"Who is it?"

Zhao Hui actually had a vague guess as to who did it, but she didn't understand why Liu Yiyi knew about it, so she wanted to hear what she had to say.

"Someone instructed Tuoba Xuan to do this."

Zhao Hui didn't say anything, but just used her eyes to encourage Liu Yiyi to continue speaking.

"As for who is behind this, I am still unsure, but what is certain is that this person's status must be higher than Tuoba Xuan's."

Liu Yiyi's words surprised Zhao Hui. Although she and Liu Mingzhong had suspected that Tuoba Xuan was behind the recent rumors, they hadn't expected there was someone else behind him?!

Tuoba Xuan was already the prime minister, and there was someone with a higher status than him. Who was the real mastermind behind this? However, now was not the time to delve into this question, because Zhao Hui had more doubts to ask.

"Madam Liu, how do you know all this?"

"I... I currently live with Tuoba Xuan." Liu Yiyi said after hesitating for a moment.

Seeing that Zhao Hui still didn't seem to understand, Liu Yiyi felt a little embarrassed. She lowered her head, avoiding Zhao Hui's gaze, and further explained, "Or, you can understand it as, I am his concubine."

Zhao Hui was only slightly surprised, with no disdain on her face. She then asked, "Then... why did you tell me all this?"

After a long silence, Liu Yiyi, still with her head bowed, slowly replied, "Actually, I am Fang Buyu's biological mother."

"What?!" Liu Yiyi's voice was low, but Zhao Hui heard it clearly. She stood up suddenly and asked again in disbelief, "What did you just say?"

"I'm Fang Buyu's biological mother," Liu Yiyi's voice remained low. She felt a little guilty about revealing her identity to a son she had never cared for since birth. But she would never reveal this secret to anyone, especially Zhao Hui, unless it was absolutely necessary.

"How can I believe what you say?" After the shock just now, Zhao Hui gradually calmed down. She was half-believing and half-doubting what Liu Yiyi said. After all, Liu Yiyi was someone close to Tuoba Xuan, so she had to be on guard.

"You can send someone to investigate. Twenty-three years ago at Zuiyue Tower, when I was the most popular courtesan there, I knew Buyu was born one spring. You can send someone to question the former brothel owner and they'll be able to confirm it."

Zuiyue Tower... Yes, Buyu did grow up there. Zhao Hui already believed it to the point of 80%, but since Liu Yiyi had previously refused to admit that Buyu was her son, why did she do this today?

Liu Yiyi raised her head. Zhao Hui's scrutinizing gaze made her a little flustered. She hurriedly stood up and explained, "Mrs. Zhao, don't misunderstand me. I have never thought of recognizing him. From the moment I abandoned him, our fate as mother and son has come to an end. His mother will always be you."

As if to convince Zhao Hui, Liu Yiyi continued to explain, "I'm telling you this this time only because I feel guilty about him and want to know if there's anything I can do to help."

Zhao Hui continued to look at her, and after a long while she asked again, "Is Tuoba Xuan Bu Yu's biological father?"

"No!" Liu Yiyi denied immediately. Realizing she was a little emotional, she quickly calmed down and said, "Fang Buyu's biological father died before he was born."

When Bu Yu mentioned his father's death, the sadness on Liu Yiyi's face didn't seem fake, and Zhao Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, fortunately it wasn't true, otherwise, his biological father would have tried every possible means to kill him. What a cruel reality that would have been for Bu Yu...

"I understand, Madam Liu, you can go back first. I need to discuss this with my adoptive father. If I need you, I'll send someone to contact you. By the way, how should I contact you then?"

Yes, Liu Yiyi thought about it and realized that this was indeed a tricky situation. Tuoba Xuan had someone monitoring her, so how could Zhao Hui contact her?

Forget it. She would find another opportunity to sneak out like she did today. Even if Tuoba Xuan sent guards to follow her, she would find a way to get rid of him.

"Mrs. Zhao, I will come to you again tomorrow. If you can think of a plan to rescue Bu Yu, we can discuss how to do it then."

When she sent Liu Yiyi out, she warned Zhao Hui, "By the way, Madam Zhao, please never mention to Buyu that I am his biological mother."

＊

In the dim room, Lin Xiangli's breathing was even and gentle, as if she was asleep, but her hand was tightly wrapped around the sleeve of the person sitting beside the bed like a vine.

Ling An moved slowly and gently, pulling his sleeve out from her tightly clenched palm. When only the end of the sleeve was left, just when he thought he could get away, a voice of "Ling An, don't go!" came from his ear. The hand that was originally tightly clenched suddenly loosened and turned to grasp his arm tightly.

Ling An was startled, thinking Lin Xiangli had woken up. But when he looked closely, he found that her eyes were still tightly closed. She seemed to be trapped in a terrible nightmare. She kept shaking her head and muttering, "Ling An, don't go. Don't leave me..."

"Xiangli, don't be afraid, I'm here." His comfort worked, and Lin Xiangli's breathing gradually stabilized, but Ling An's mood became heavier.

Lin Xiangli's abnormal behavior these days must be because she knew that he was leaving. When did she know that? How much did she know?

Furthermore, Tang Suzi had never come to see him since that day. What had Lin Xiangli said to Tang Suzi that day? However, no matter how Lin Xiangli persuaded Tang Suzi, Tang Suzi had a mission on his shoulders, and if he returned alone, he would be punished.

Thinking of this, Ling An felt even more guilty towards Tang Suzi.

From time to time, he thought of Tang Suzi's tears that day. Those tears were hot, like burning flames, constantly burning his heart during these days, and at this moment, the burning feeling reached its peak.

This shouldn't be the case! He should repay a favor, but he shouldn't implicate innocent people.

What he cherishes and wants to protect should not be at the expense of others!

As the voice rang in his mind, almost at the same time, Ling An pulled out his hand that was being held by Lin Xiangli, stood up and strode out the door.

He's going to find Tang Suzi!

"Ling An!"

The moment he opened the door, a cry of surprise was heard from behind.

Ling An was so anxious that the thought of looking for Tang Suzi completely occupied his mind, so much so that he didn't even hear Lin Xiangli's call from behind him.

Just as he stepped out of the door, a force grabbed the tail of his clothes. He turned his head and saw Lin Xiangli tripped by the door railing and fell to his knees in front of him.

"Xiangli!" Ling An woke up as if from a dream and quickly squatted down to support Lin Xiangli. Seeing her hugging her knees, looking like she was in unbearable pain, Ling An felt annoyed.

What happened to him just now? It was as if something had taken over his mind and he was possessed by a demon. In order to find Tang Suzi, he didn't care about anything else.

"Xiang Li, how are you?!"

"My foot... seems to be sprained..." Lin Xiangli frowned and said in pain.

"Let me see."

Ling An carefully lifted up Lin Xiangli's trouser leg and took a closer look. Sure enough, he saw that the bone at her left ankle was protruding high and swollen.

"Let me help you in first."

Lin Xiangli raised her arm, put it around Ling An's neck, and slowly stood up with the help of his strength, letting him half-hold her as they walked into the house.

The swelling in her ankle was excruciatingly painful, but at that moment, she felt an inexplicable sense of peace. This time, she was truly injured, so Ling An wouldn't leave her again.

Just as I was thinking this, the person next to me suddenly stopped.

Lin Xiangli was puzzled and turned her head to look at him, but she saw that his face was also frozen. She couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Ling An, what's wrong?"

Ling An slowly turned his head to look at her, his eyes were so strange that they scared her.

Then she heard him say,

"Why don't you have a scar on your ankle?"