◇ Chapter 89 (89) Zhulan’s Life Story (Part 2)
Yan Xi Niang disappeared after leaving the villa. Bo Kang recalled all the guards who had been assigned to follow her to inquire about the situation. However, the guards claimed that Miss Yan's carriage had indeed gone in the direction of Chang's residence, and that they had indeed seen the carriage enter the gate of Chang's residence.
"When Yuyao heard you were getting married, she mentioned some of the customs of the North Sea Territory to her. Perhaps because she wasn't very vocal, it reminded Miss Yan of her own family, leading to a few arguments. They've always had a good relationship, so they reconciled quickly." Lianzhi rubbed her temples. "Everyone in the other courtyard witnessed this. If Brother Chang doesn't believe me, you can go ask them."
"I can testify that Miss Yan and Princess Wang had reconciled when they left!" Liang Ye immediately agreed.
Chang Yuzhu knelt beside the coffee table, her eyes red and her expression dull, not knowing whether she had listened or not. Seeing this, Lianzhi and Baikang looked at each other and sighed in unison.
"Sir." Qing He walked in and said in a voice that everyone present could hear, "The person has been brought here."
It was already late, and the winter fog was thick, making the roads difficult to navigate at night. It was not convenient to mobilize a large force to search for someone. Furthermore, the missing person was a girl, a matter of concern for her reputation. Even the Chang residence dared not make it public, sending only a small group to search. When Yan Xi Niang's maid was brought in, she looked around tremblingly. Qing He had already told her the situation on the way there, and the moment she caught sight of Chang Yu Zhu, tears streamed down her face.
"Greetings, my lord, and my son-in-law." The maid finished her greetings and began to recount what had happened during the day. "Today, the princess invited our young lady to accompany her, and we dared not disobey the princess's orders. On the way, the young lady mentioned her marriage to the son-in-law to the princess, and the princess's face turned a little grim. After arriving at the villa, the princess kept chatting with Madam Bai about the affairs of the North Sea, and our young lady didn't dare to interrupt. Madam Bai saw that the princess and our young lady were in conflict, so she took the initiative to mediate. But after we left, the princess and our young lady had another dispute. How could our young lady dare to contradict the princess? She sent me away, saying that she wanted to relax on her own. After that, she never returned..."
"Do you have any basis for what you said?" Lianzhi said lightly.
The maid raised her head and glanced at him timidly, her expression mirroring her master's. "This servant dares not lie. Everything I say is true."
"Why didn't anyone in our courtyard see Miss Yan and the princess arguing again?" Lianzhi demanded loudly, "Besides, why didn't you report this to me or Young Master Chang sooner?"
"I was only following the young lady's orders!" the maid said in panic. "Madam Bai, I just told you the truth about what happened during the day. I haven't been biased. Even if you want to torture me, I'm not afraid!"
He was not biased, and even said that he helped mediate the situation, but every word pointed to Yuyao, and it was obvious that she was the mastermind behind the incident. Unfortunately, she was from the Chang Mansion and could not be interrogated at will, so she was naturally fearless. Lianzhi sneered, and Chang Yuzhu suddenly stood up, protecting the maid behind him: "You go down first."
The maid hurriedly left the place. Chang Yuzhu closed the door and bent his knees. Bai Kang was quick to support his arms: "Chang Yuzhu, tell me what you want to say."
Chang Yuzhu glanced at him, then looked past Bai Kang and spoke to Lianzhi. His voice was even hoarseer than before: "Sister-in-law, please take me to see the princess. Xi Niang's disappearance must be related to her. I want to ask her..."
"Did you believe what that maid said?" Bo Kang shook him vigorously and reminded him, "Her words are only one side of the story."
"The princess is close to Lianzhi, so of course you're on her side!" Chang Yuzhu suddenly shouted, pushing Bo Kang away. "No, you're concerned about your Ministry of Rites' affairs. You're afraid of offending the people of the North Sea! I understand what you mean. I have a brain, and I swear I won't do anything to her. I just want to know where Xi Niang went!"
"Brother Chang," Lianzhi finally spoke, her tone a little tired. "The most urgent thing now is to find Miss Yan. If you are really anxious, then spare no effort to find her. Just tell everyone that a maidservant in the mansion is missing. As for Yuyao, I am sure she has nothing to do with this matter."
Chang Yuzhu looked at him intently, then waved away and left. Bo Kang put on his cloak and said to Lianzhi, "I'll go take a look."
"He is angry with you now, why are you still following him?" Lianzhi asked.
"He's not in good condition, and I'm worried." Bai Kang replied.
Seeing that it was almost time to get up and go to court, Bai Kang simply prepared a carriage and followed Chang Yuzhu. Lianzhi couldn't sleep, so she followed him. Chang Yuzhu rode his horse in a panic, leading his men to search for someone in the city. A carriage stopped beside him, and Bai Kang poked his head out: "Get in, Yuzhu."
After a night, the people from the Shangshu Mansion and the Chang Mansion reunited, but there was no trace of Yan Xi Niang. If it was Yu Yao, she might have escaped from the city on her own, but it was impossible for so many people to find a weak woman like Yan Xi Niang. There were only two possibilities:
herself, or she was hidden by others.
"It must be Princess Ashina. She was jealous of Xi Niang marrying me, so she kidnapped her!"
Chang Yuzhu was no fool; he could sense Yuyao harboring special feelings for him. However, since she was the princess, he couldn't bring himself to make things clear. If he disobeyed the princess, it would damage the relationship between Daning and Beihai Territory. Since he'd noticed this, he hadn't met her again, doing his best to keep his distance.
If he had known this would happen, he would never have let Xi Niang meet the other party!
Seeing Chang Yuzhu stroking the knife in his hand, Bai Kang frowned and said, "Yuzhu, you don't know martial arts, why do you carry a knife?"
At the same time, he also made plans to stop them, fearing that Chang Yuzhu would go to the post house and do something stupid. Chang Yuzhu smiled bitterly: "I will exchange my life for Xi Niang's life. Please let us go, Princess."
What the hell is going on? Bai Kang subconsciously pounded his fist on the table. Lianzhi lowered her eyes and thought for a moment: "I have an idea. Let's say that Miss Yan's things were left at Yuyao's place. We will take people to get them, and then let Brother Chang pretend to be Miss Yan's maid. If you see it with your own eyes and confirm that she is not at the inn, can it dispel your suspicion?"
After much effort, Chang Yuzhu was finally persuaded. Bai Kang went to court, while Lianzhi and Chang Yuzhu went to the posthouse. Although Yuyao didn't know why Chang Yuzhu came, she was a little happy after not seeing her for a long time. But she didn't know why Chang Yuzhu was staring at her with his red eyes, like a ghost.
The final result, of course, was that no one was found in the inn.
Chang Yuzhu's suspicions were no longer valid. Lianzhi looked at him with pity and had him sent back to the Chang residence. For several days, word spread throughout the capital that a maid had escaped from the Chang residence and stolen a large sum of Young Master Chang's money. A large reward would be offered to anyone who found her.
Even many civilians, motivated by the bounty, helped to find the man. But after seven days, nothing was found. Chang Yuzhu finally figured out that the man had left on his own and gone into hiding.
"Chang Yuzhu has been drinking to drown his sorrows lately. It's said that even though Old Chang has scolded him several times, it's been useless." Bai Kang sighed and poured himself a glass of wine. "He also said that Princess Ashina must have said something that irritated Miss Yan, causing her to hide."
"You think so too?" Lianzhi said, tapping the rim of the cup with her chopsticks. "Drink a few less sips."
"I don't think so. But she wouldn't have hidden it herself." Bai Kang said slowly.
Where could an orphan girl, who could only live with her fiancée and had no connections in the capital, hide? The worst-case scenario was that something bad really happened. But he didn't dare tell Chang Yuzhu about this suspicion, fearing that it would only irritate her further.
Since the King of Longxi came to the capital, Bai Kang had much freer time. The King of Longxi had injured his leg on the battlefield, and Emperor Jianguang allowed him to stay in the capital for medical treatment and even assigned him an imperial physician as a token of his benevolence.
Before the King of Longxi left the capital, Emperor Jianguang probably had no time to take care of them.
With only one day left until his holiday, and with less to do, Bai Kang was even more relaxed than usual. Early in the morning, yawning, he was walking towards the Ministry of Rites when he caught a glimpse of a pharmacist from the Imperial Hospital seeing off a woman dressed as a court lady. On closer inspection, she didn't look like a palace maid. A closer look revealed her to be a court lady from the royal palace.
As he passed by, he overheard their conversation. The medicine boy mentioned His Royal Highness the Prince of Longxi, apparently treating the Prince. He didn't want to dwell on it, so he took a few quick steps, then suddenly slowed down.
……Um?
Bai Kang turned his head and looked at the other person's back in confusion.
He felt that the female official looked familiar, but was too embarrassed to look at her any longer. He asked the imperial physician Qin to write a prescription for him and prepared to send some tranquilizing incense to Chang Yuzhu as a token of his appreciation.
The next day, he called Chang Yuzhu out. Chang Yuzhu was still not in good spirits, with dull eyes and expression. He was no longer as crazy as he was then, but he seemed to have aged a few years.
"Sister-in-law, I lost my temper with you that day. It was my fault. I apologize to you today." Chang Yuzhu bowed to Lianzhi and looked at Bai Kang. "Xunrong, thank you very much."
During this period, Bai Kang had put in a lot of effort in finding the person. Even on his rare day off, he would go out with him to look for the person, all thanks to their brotherly friendship. If he still blamed Bai Kang, then he was being stubborn.
Bo Kang patted his shoulder, then fell into an unspeakable silence. The carriage swayed and drove out of the city. The cold fog filled the mountains and the forests outside the city were white. Everything was submerged in the white fog.
The weather in the capital is like this every winter. How easy is it to find someone? Chang Yuzhu also knew that the hope was slim and did not beg again.
"What will you do if you really can't find it?" Bai Kang walked over to Chang Yuzhu and sat down, asking in a low voice.
"If I really can't find her... I'll keep looking." Chang Yuzhu smiled bitterly, "How can I not look for her? If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have refused my father's proposal for me. Xi Niang is the person who understands me the most in this world. I can't lose her. Just like you like Lianzhi."
Chang Yuzhu patted Bai Kang on the shoulder in return.
After several days of sleeplessness, Chang Yuzhu's eyes were dark blue, and the carriage was so bumpy that he could no longer bear it and fell into a deep sleep leaning against the cushions. Lianzhi waved slightly to Bai Kang and leaned out the window to ask the driver to stop.
"Brother Kang, get out of the car." Lianzhi asked the servant to open the car door.
The carriage stopped under a tree, and they closed the door, letting Chang Yuzhu rest. After walking a few steps, Lianzhi asked, "Didn't you tell Chang Yuzhu that you were leaving the city on the orders of the Prime Minister? He must be very touched."
"Some things have been said and have hurt the harmony between brothers," said Bai Kang.
Lianzhi let out a long "oh" and tightly grasped the fur on Bokang's cloak. "You still have such a mind. Are you hiding something from me?"
"You are you, and brothers are brothers." Bo Kang grabbed his wrist.
Lianzhi uttered another "oh." Seeing the guards following behind him return, he stretched lazily. "It's cold outside. I'm going to get in the carriage. I'll help you keep an eye on Chang Yuzhu, so he doesn't get suspicious if he wakes up and doesn't see us."
Bai Kang ruffled his hair. After Lianzhi boarded the carriage, the guard said, "There are over 400 soldiers stationed nearby, the same number reported by the King of Longxi. Here is the map. Please give it to the Prime Minister."
Bo Kang hummed, but didn't answer. He turned to Qing He beside him and asked, "If you were the King of Longxi, wouldn't you have expected someone to suspect him?"
Why do adults always like to ask this kind of question lately? Although Qinghe was puzzled, she answered honestly: "Maybe?"
"Then tell me, why didn't the Madam react when she heard about this?" Bai Kang unconsciously touched the jade pendant around his waist.
Is this still suspicious? Qing He didn't dare to say more. Ever since the Madam moved to the other courtyard, the Master's suspicion seemed to have increased. Bo Kang waved his hand and laughed at himself: "Forget it, he never did anything to me. Let them look around to see if there is any trace of the woman."
After saying this, he jumped on his horse. Ignoring Qinghe's surprised look, he galloped down the mountain. But after a few miles, Bo Kang tightened his grip on the reins and stopped by the river.
The sky was gloomy and foggy. A figure loomed in the mist. Bo Kang said loudly, "Young lady, you invited me here. You must have something important to tell me. Please show yourself."
As he finished speaking, the woman in white came towards him, holding a lantern. Seeing the woman's face, Bo Kang was not surprised at all and dismounted.
It was Yan Xiniang. She bowed slightly to Bai Kang and said, "Master Bai, please follow me."
Bai Kang looked at her warily, unsure why he would be wary of such a delicate woman. Yan Xi Niang wasn't surprised at all and offered her bait: "I have something to tell you about your wife that I'm sure you'll be interested."
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