"You just stay here quietly and don't run around. When that young master returns, I'll come and get you myself."
The servant left the woman with these last words and then went into Ruyi Residence.
Only then did she slowly raise her head, gazing at the hazy, pale moonlight in the silent night sky. She then remembered her Erlang and everything that had happened in the Dream Garden during the day, and two sorrowful tears silently streamed down her face, carried away by the wind…
Suddenly, the woman seemed to sense that someone was approaching her from behind her in the dark night fog.
So she slowly turned around and glanced at them, only to see two male figures slowly walking out.
She opened her eyes wide and looked more closely. The two men were dressed in identical black night clothes, their heads completely covered except for two cold, sharp eyes. They looked like cold-blooded killers, each holding a gleaming sword. They were walking towards her menacingly, glaring fiercely.
The woman was immediately startled and panicked. She hurriedly turned around and looked around, but there was no one there and nowhere to hide.
In her desperation, she couldn't care less about anything else and had no choice but to run towards the entrance of Ruyi Residence.
Unexpectedly, when the two assassins in black saw that they had been discovered and that the target woman was running away, they immediately quickened their pace and gave chase.
Meanwhile, at the counter of Ruyiju Restaurant, the shopkeeper saw the servant return, glanced at him briefly, and asked, "Why were you gone for so long?"
The servant had just entered when he paused and stared blankly for a moment. Then, as he continued walking inside, he lied to the servant, saying, "Oh, that woman just now, I don't know what triggered her, she was shouting and yelling outside like a madwoman. I was afraid of disturbing the guests' rest, so I spent a long time trying to persuade her to calm down."
The shopkeeper remained engrossed in manipulating the abacus beads in his hands, making a "clattering" sound, and muttered to himself, "No wonder I thought I heard someone shouting outside just now? Where is that woman now? Have you dealt with her?"
The servant confidently assured him, "Don't worry, sir. I've already sent her away. She definitely won't come back to cause trouble again."
"Young man, you've done a good job." Hearing the shopkeeper's praise, the servant's face immediately showed a satisfied smile.
"Alright, it's getting late. I'll go upstairs now. Thank you all for your hard work tonight." The shopkeeper finally finished checking the ledgers, tidied up a bit, and slowly walked out from behind the counter, speaking politely to the few servants on night duty.
"Don't worry, see you tomorrow, shopkeeper." Hearing the servant's words, the shopkeeper smiled at him with satisfaction and went upstairs.
Just as the shopkeeper turned around, the woman rushed over in a hurry, stood at the bottom of the stone steps outside the door, swallowed hard, and stared longingly at the waiter. But the waiter stood by the counter inside, frowning and glaring at her, as if warning her that if she dared to come in, he would not let her off easily this time.
The woman turned around and saw the two black-clad assassins about to chase after her with their swords drawn, which made her even more anxious and nervous.
The servant had no idea what was happening outside. Fearing that the shopkeeper would turn around and scold him for not leaving, he quickly gave the woman a meaningful look.
Seeing this, the woman had no choice but to make other plans. Her back was blocked by the assassins in black, so she could only look anxiously at the paths on both sides, but they were both pitch black and there was not a single person in sight. She didn't know whether the road ahead was good or bad.
In her panic, she simply chose one of the routes and fled.
Just as the woman's figure disappeared from the servant's sight, the shopkeeper seemed to notice something amiss at the doorway. He suddenly turned around and glanced at the entrance, only to see a silent night. A look of suspicion crossed his face, and he turned back to continue upstairs.
The servant finally let out a long sigh of relief, truly feeling like a thief. He shook his head and let out a long sigh, "Alas, if I hadn't pitied you, if I hadn't received the young master's reward, I wouldn't have bothered doing something so nerve-wracking."
Shortly after the woman left, from the opposite direction, the faint sound of horses' hooves pounding the ground could be heard.
The sound grew closer, and gradually, a figure emerged from the night mist: a handsome man dressed in a purplish-red cotton robe, draped in a black cloak, and with a hood pulled up. Beneath the hood, a pair of slender, gentle peach blossom eyes, clearly visible even in the dim moonlight, appeared as he rode a tall white horse, galloping through the night.
This man was none other than Yi Junhao, the Valley Master of Baicao Valley, who had hurriedly finished dealing with all the business he had done in the south of the city and rushed back to Ruyi Residence overnight to meet up with his maid, preparing to return to the west of the city together.
Upon arriving at the entrance of Ruyi Residence, before the horse had even fully steadied itself, Yi Junhao hurriedly got up, leaped off the horse, and stepped onto the stone steps to enter the house.
The servant, who was dozing on the table, was suddenly awakened by the gust of wind stirred up by his quick steps. But when he looked up, he only saw his dashing back as he went upstairs.
So the servant slowly got up, rubbing his sleepy eyes, and slowly went out to lead the tall white horse to the stable to settle it down.
After going upstairs, Yi Junhao suddenly slowed down, carefully straightening his clothes. He then turned to look at the faint moonlight that was gradually setting in the west outside the window, thinking to himself, "It's so late, the girl should be asleep by now, right?"
Lost in thought, he unknowingly arrived at the entrance of Yishangyun and was pleasantly surprised to see that the candlelight inside was still on.
So he straightened his clothes again, immediately becoming extremely alert, putting on his best smile, and reached out to knock on the door, only to find that the door was half-open.
Immediately, the smile on his face dimmed slightly. After a moment's thought, he finally reached out with his large, bony hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, and slowly pushed the door open. Then, he exclaimed in great surprise, "What are you doing in the middle of the night, sitting in the maid's room?"
"In the dead of night, without even knocking before entering, you just barged in alone. Why would the Third Young Master be here at this hour?" Unexpectedly, the one with the candles lit inside was none other than Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan, who also asked the same question.
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao ignored him and hurriedly stepped inside, searching the inner room. Seeing him looking around Yi Shangyun's room, Xuan Yuanhan's displeasure made his already cold and handsome face even colder. "No need to look anymore, she's not here."
"Not here? What does that mean? Have you already sent her back to the Yi family mansion in the west of the city?" Yi Junhao asked anxiously, guessing.
Seeing that Xuan Yuanhan remained silent for a long time, Yi Junhao continued in an extremely arrogant tone, "I wonder what the Prince of Qin is doing here in the south of the city? It can't just be that simple—he can't just send your deputy to personally search for the girl in Wanjiao Pavilion and bring her back!"
As Yi Junhao spoke, he slowly walked over and sat down next to Xuan Yuanhan, picked up a teacup, and poured himself a drink of Xuan Yuanhan's tea.
Xuan Yuanhan didn't want to argue with him. He knew that Yi Junhao would come here to see Yi Shangyun as soon as he returned, so he stayed here day and night to wait for him to come back and ask him about what happened between him and Yi Shangyun in Wanjiao Pavilion.
Upon hearing Yi Junhao mention Wanjiao Pavilion in person, Xuan Yuanhan immediately recalled Cheng Liang's report that he and Yi Shangyun were naked together in a room in Wanjiao Pavilion.
So, he swiftly reached out and grabbed Yi Junhao by the collar, brought him close to his face, and angrily warned him, "I have already warned you, don't even think about making a move on Yun'er. She can only belong to me in this life. Are you deaf?"
Yi Junhao was initially caught off guard and bewildered by his words, but seeing his tense and angry expression, he seemed to realize that his deputy must have said something to him. He suddenly burst into laughter, "You say she's yours, so she's yours? How does Your Highness know you're not just being delusional?!"
Normally, he would never have let Yi Junhao off so easily for his provocation. But now was clearly not the time for them to fight over a girl. With that thought in mind, he slowly released his grip, suppressing his anger, and said calmly, "Young Master Yi, you're finally back. Do you know that I've been waiting for you here for a long time?"
"What? Did I hear that right? His Highness the King of Qin is waiting for me? Is the sun rising in the east?" Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao doubted his ears. When did the two of them end up together?
Xuanyuan Han, no longer paying attention to his feigned concern, exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "Do you know that if you hadn't caused trouble in Wanjiao Pavilion that night to cover for Yun'er, I would have already safely sent her back to the Yi Mansion in the west of the city. But now... Yun'er has disappeared without a trace?"
"What?" Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao's teacup, which he was about to drink from, slipped from his hand and shattered on the ground. He was completely stunned.
Once she came to her senses, she anxiously asked, "When did this happen?"
Xuan Yuanhan coldly replied to him, "So, after you met her that night, you never showed up again?"
Yi Junhao hurriedly recalled, puzzled, "How could that be? When we parted at Wanjiao Pavilion that night, she said she had something to take care of and asked me to wait for her at Ruyi Residence. Later, when I saw that she hadn't returned by late, I went back and asked the woman named Lanxiang who had asked her to talk. She said that the girl had already gone back. Could it be... that Lanxiang is lying? That bitch, I'll teach her a lesson."
Yi Junhao said fiercely, and was about to get up and leave when Xuan Yuanhan stopped him, saying urgently, "You don't need to go. I've already sent people to search Wanjiao Pavilion countless times. Now, even Lanxiang has disappeared. She said she was sick and asked for leave, but I'm afraid..."
"What can we do? We have to go to Wanjiao Pavilion to investigate. We'll find some clues eventually. We're just sitting here waiting, and there's no news at all. How could the girl come back? Maybe she's..." Yi Junhao became more and more anxious as he thought about it, and he didn't dare to think any further.
"No news is good news. I have already ordered people to surround Wanjiao Pavilion, and Cheng Liang has personally gone to investigate every inch of it. Tell me clearly what exactly happened in Wanjiao Pavilion back then."
Upon hearing this, Yi Junhao calmed down somewhat and began to recount his memories...
After taking a stroll outside and getting a bit chilly, the servant was shivering but had finally come to his senses.
Only then did he scratch his head and recall the young master who had just entered. Wasn't he the young master who had asked him to deliver a message to the girl in the top-tier room, but he still hadn't seen her yet? And wasn't that poor woman still waiting outside in the cold night, eagerly anticipating his return?
So the servant quickly took the letter out of his pocket and hurried upstairs...
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