At the time, Jiang Yushan was extremely unhappy with her marriage and, in a fit of rage, she fled, risking her life by crossing the border to visit her sister. She had been plotting for days, turning in early at night and stealing away from home while everyone was asleep.
The next morning, several maids waited for the door to open, lingering for a long time. Even as the hot water for washing ran cold, the bedroom remained silent. They murmured and pushed each other, no one daring to knock. At daybreak, they all grew suspicious and ran to report to the housekeeper.
The housekeeper arrived and knocked softly on the door. She frowned and asked, "Xiao Li, Xiao Xi, it's already dawn, why are you two still not awake?"
"Little Pear"
"Little Happy Girl"
"Is the second girl still not awake?"
After a long while without any response, they became suspicious and gradually panicked. A timid question came from the crowd: "Could something have happened?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" The housekeeper glared and tried to push the door. However, it didn't budge, apparently bolted from the inside. She got anxious and started banging on the door, but no one answered.
The next moment, there was a creaking sound, and a maid said, "Auntie, look, the window is open."
The housekeeper ignored the rules and hurriedly ordered, "Quick, crawl in and open the door to see what's going on in the room."
"yes."
After a moment, the door opened and they rushed in to check. There should have been three people in the room, namely Jiang Yushan and her two personal maids. However, although the curtains were drawn, there was no one in the bed.
"The quilt is cold." The housekeeper opened the quilt, fumbled for a moment, frowned, straightened up and ordered, "The second young lady is missing, and Xiaoli and Xiaoli, two maids, are also missing. This is a serious matter. Report it to the lady immediately."
So, not long after, Xu hurriedly made a plan. She first ordered her servants to search the Jiang Mansion inside and out. She personally interrogated the relatives of the missing maids. After a long time of busy work, she failed to find the three girls and did not get any useful confessions.
"You are a bunch of useless people. There is only one girl in the mansion, and you actually lost her." Xu paced anxiously in the hall, scolding the other servants who served her daughter. "If anything happens to Shan'er, I will spare any of you."
At this time, Jiang Shisen's eldest son rushed into the hall. Jiang Mingcheng was out of breath and handed over a piece of letter. While wiping the sweat off his face, he said, "Mother, please read this. I just found it in the mirror box. My second sister left a letter and ran away. She said she was going to Xicang to visit my eldest sister. Xiaoli and Xiaoxi followed my second sister to visit relatives in the frontier."
"What's the point of leaving a letter and running away?"
Xu was horrified. She took the letter and read it quickly. After reading it, she sat down dejectedly, her eyes reddened. She slammed her hand on the table and sighed in worry.
"Alas, silly girl is really silly girl"
"Zhenyun is obviously quite good, but she's always finding fault with him. To avoid marriage, she even left home secretly to visit relatives in the outer frontier." Xu was extremely worried and fidgeted. She sighed and said, "This is terrible. What should I do? If your father knew about this, he would be furious."
Jiang Mingcheng had already dismissed the servants, wiped his sweat, and said with a wry smile, "Don't even mention father, who wouldn't be angry if they heard that? The situation is urgent right now, and we can't care about anything else. The most urgent thing is to quickly send someone to stop my second sister and bring her back."
"Yes, yes, the most urgent thing is to find someone," Mrs. Xu nodded vigorously. "Mother saw her go to bed last night. Even if they left home overnight, I don't think they can get far. Maybe they haven't left the city yet."
Jiang Mingcheng was seventeen years old, tall and thin, with a refined demeanor and a scholarly air. Since his father was the breadwinner and his mother was the homemaker, he usually only needed to study hard. So, when things got tough, he would get anxious and ask, "Well, without further delay, I'll try to tell my father right away so he can figure out how to arrange the manpower and search."
"Yes, yes." Xu was panicking and urging her eldest son. "Your sister was angry and confused for a moment. She only took two maids with her. How can three girls protect themselves? Please God, you must let her return home safely. Cheng'er, go ahead and ask your father to find a solution. There is no time to waste. If you delay, something unexpected will happen."
"Okay." Jiang Mingcheng was very worried about his sister, but he was unable to do anything, so he had to report to his father and ask the head of the family to make the decision.
He walked out of the second gate quickly under the midday summer sun, only to hear the housekeeper inform him, "The young master has just returned."
"Ah," Jiang Mingcheng was stunned, "Why is it so early today?"
The old housekeeper wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and answered breathlessly, "I heard that the Holy Emperor has appointed you as imperial envoys. The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue, a total of two imperial envoys, have been ordered to go to the frontier and inspect Yongzhou."
Imperial Envoy Inspects Yongzhou
Jiang Mingcheng's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands crisply, muttering, "Great, it's on the way, let's ask my second sister to go home." Thinking of this, he hurriedly asked, "Where are they?"
The old housekeeper lowered his head and said, "As soon as the master returned home, he went to the west courtyard to visit Aunt Huang."
Jiang Mingcheng frowned, opened his mouth, and finally urged, "Go and ask my mother and I to wait and discuss important matters with him immediately."
"Yes." The old butler took the order and hurried to the west courtyard.
A moment later, the main hall
With a "bang", Xu gnashed her teeth and slammed the table. She clutched her chest in anger and cursed, "That bitch Huang Yingying is becoming even more unruly. She's taking advantage of her pregnancy to seduce men into her room day and night. If I had known this would happen, I would never have asked her to serve your father."
"Flirtatious and lowly, not worthy of being lifted up"
Jiang Mingcheng made a bitter face and kept persuading her, "It's already this time. No matter whether Aunt Huang or Aunt Hei, no matter how many months pregnant she is, is it more important than the safety of my second sister?"
“Of course not.”
"Then calm down. Don't let your father come later and you start arguing over trivial matters before you settle the main business." Jiang Mingcheng was caught between his parents, feeling torn and his headache was getting worse every year.
Xu's eyes were red and she held her chest for a long time before she managed to calm down.
soon
Jiang Shisen rushed over after hearing the news, stepped into the hall with a dark face, and asked bluntly, "How did you discipline your daughter Yushan? She keeps misbehaving again and again. You only know how to indulge her, and she has become a disaster, causing no peace in our family."
"No, no," Mrs. Xu gasped. Her heart was pounding when she was scolded by her husband. The anger that she had just barely suppressed suddenly burned. Her face turned pale and she retorted, "Is it all the mother's fault that the child is disobedient? As a father, why didn't you discipline the child strictly when you found something wrong?"
Jiang Shisen was also furious, his eyes like torches, and he answered sternly, "When the children were young, I disciplined them all strictly. But my daughter is growing up, and it is inconvenient for her to be a father. Shouldn't her be taught by her mother? You are not only incompetent, but also stubborn. No wonder you can't educate your children well."
"I, I..." Xu's right hand clenched the armrest of the chair, the knuckles turned white, and the fingertips of his left hand trembled.
There were only three people in the hall. Jiang Mingcheng was extremely worried. He tried to persuade them, but to no avail. In desperation, he handed over a letter and pleaded, "Please stop arguing. This is the letter my second sister left before she left home. Please take a look, father. The most urgent thing is to find her back as soon as possible."
"Hmph!" Jiang Shisen sat down, took the letter, read it quickly, and flew into a rage. He slammed the letter on the table, stared at his step-wife, and said coldly:
"Look, look at your spoiled daughter, who has no idea how high the heavens are and how deep the earth is. She disregards the worries of her family. Just because she is not satisfied with her marriage, she becomes willful and mischievous, secretly leaving a letter and running away from home. She doesn't care about her elders at all. What's the point of raising such a daughter?"
Jiang Mingcheng was shocked when he heard this and begged, "Father, calm down. My second sister was indeed a little willful, but she said she was going to Xicang to visit my eldest sister. I think she was just angry. We are thousands of miles apart. I think she regretted it as soon as she left the capital. Now, what do you think, how can we find her?"
"There's no need to look for anything. Just pretend you don't have that daughter."
Jiang Shisen was furious and gritted his teeth, saying, "Thanks to the emperor's trust, I have been appointed as an imperial envoy. I will be leaving soon for Yongzhou to inspect the post-war reconstruction of the border town. I am busy with official duties and have no time to discipline my unfilial daughter. I will just let her make trouble. If she has the guts, she will never come home again."
"W-what?"
"Yushan is your biological daughter."
Xu was extremely worried. She stood up in tears and choked up, saying, "Shan'er is confused. It's all because of your mother's poor discipline. You can take your anger out on me. After you calm down, find a way to find the child. When you do, I will punish her severely and break her legs."
"No matter how bad Shan'er is, she's still surnamed Jiang. If she embarrasses herself outside, it's the Jiang family's fault." Mrs. Xu knew her husband valued his reputation. "As the saying goes, don't air dirty laundry in public. If you want to punish her or scold her, you have to find her first."
Jiang Shisen raised his head, closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and finally said tiredly, "Alas, my family is unfortunate. I raised an unfilial daughter. I have lost all my face."
Xu sobbed and wiped her tears, not daring to say a word, fearing to anger her husband. Jiang Mingcheng cautiously reminded her, "There is no time to lose. While the second sister is still here, shouldn't we arrange for someone to go out and search for her?"
Jiang Shisen was extremely upset and annoyed. He ordered, "Call the housekeeper first. To prevent the family scandal from being exposed, we must search quietly."
"Yes." Jiang Mingcheng hurried to do it.
Unexpectedly, the people sent by Jiang Mansion searched secretly for several days but failed to "capture" Jiang Yushan. They returned to the mansion to report
"Your Excellency, we have investigated and discovered that the Second Young Lady hired a team of escorts while she was out on a pilgrimage at the beginning of the month. Early in the morning of her departure, as soon as the city gates opened, she left the city and headed north to Xicang. We have been tracking her for three hundred miles and have gradually learned where she is staying in an inn, but we have been unable to catch up."
There was a crisp clang, and Jiang Shisen slammed the teacup down, angrily saying, "I guess she hired a bodyguard to escort her. He's familiar with the route and can walk fast."
Mrs. Xu felt a little relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thankfully, Shan'er was smart. She was not only brave enough to reveal her identity, but also knew how to hire an escort. Now that we have tracked down the escort agency, as long as we continue to follow the clues, we will find our daughter sooner or later."
Jiang Shisen was extremely disappointed with his second daughter and interrupted impatiently, "I have to leave tomorrow morning to inspect Yongzhou before the deadline. As an imperial envoy, I dare not betray the emperor's trust. You should discuss Yushan's matter with Mingcheng."
"This, this..." Xu was about to say something but stopped herself, watching her husband throw his sleeves and stride away.
Early the next morning, Jiang Shisen, dressed in his official robe, boarded a car surrounded by his entourage and set off on a long journey.
A few days later, news arrived that the second daughter had been stopped at an inn six hundred miles from the capital, but she refused to return home. Furious, Xu decided to personally persuade her daughter to return, leaving Jiang Mingcheng helpless and forced to escort his mother.
However, the mother and son were disappointed. Jiang Yushan learned that the Xia family had not yet canceled the engagement, and she was furious. She tried every possible means to escape and continued to head north.
Xu's mother and son gritted their teeth and chased after him.
So, except for Jiang Yushu's younger brother, her father, stepmother, older brother and younger sister went north one after another.
In early July, it hadn't rained in Heqin for a long time, the sun was scorching, and the heat was oppressive.
In the afternoon, cicadas chirped in the trees in the courtyard and the room was very stuffy.
"It's so hot and stuffy, it's probably going to rain. I hope it's going to rain heavily next time." After Jiang Yushu returned to Xicang from Yongzhou, she only rested at home for three days while passing through, and then rushed to the capital to do business. She just returned home a few days ago. She sat on the edge of the couch, holding a round fan in her left hand, bent over, holding her breath and looking at
On the couch, a five-month-old baby was lying flat on his back. He was white and chubby, wearing a red jacket and pants that reached his ankles. Only a corner of a thin silk quilt covered his chest and abdomen. His chubby hands were clenched into fists, his arms were raised and bent, and placed beside his ears. He was sleeping soundly.
The weather was hot and humid, and he was sweating in his sleep.
"Oh, Ye'er is so hot," Jiang Yushu sighed, quickly took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the sweat off the child, whispering in distress, "I'm afraid he'll catch a cold, but I don't dare to fan him."
"It's been too hot lately, so we just have to bear it." Nanny Pan and wet nurse Qiu buried their heads in their needlework, whispering, "Fortunately, autumn is almost here, so we just have to bear it."
Jiang Yushu nodded helplessly, her eyes fixed on him. After countless times, she still wanted to laugh. She quietly left the bed and said with emotion, "Ye'er's hands and feet have finally become longer. When he was just born, he could barely touch his head with his hands raised. Hahahaha."
Just as the laughter died down, a "click" sound suddenly came from the couch.
Pan Ma and the wet nurse immediately put down their needlework. The old madam said happily, "Look, the young master heard his wife laughing at him in his sleep, and he woke up."
"Ah!" Jiang Yushu turned around and looked at
The baby woke up.
He yawned, first waving his arms, his chubby fists unconsciously pounding the mat, then kicking his legs and stamping his heels on the mat. Then, with a quick roll, he rolled over, his elbows firmly supporting his body, raised his head, looked out, his eyelashes thick and long, and babbled in a baby voice, asking to be held.
Jiang Yushu quickly returned, dropped her fan, picked up the child, kissed and rubbed him, and asked happily, "Are you awake? Your back is a little sweaty. You need to change clothes."
"Change quickly, be careful not to catch a cold."
The three of them circled around the child, changing his clothes, wiping his sweat, feeding him rice porridge, and chatting about everything. The baby didn't cry or fuss, and no matter what he ate, he drank it all in one gulp, pushing his hand away or turning his face away, indicating that he was full.
"Good boy, Ye'er is so good." Jiang Yushu came closer, rubbing her face against his. Then she carried him to the couch and said softly, "It's too hot to hold him. You should stay on the cool mat." She found several cloth tigers with exquisite embroidery and various styles and stuffed them into the child's pockets. "Come, let's play together. You can pick the one you like first."
The baby blinked his eyes, their black and white eyes clear and bright, and picked up a cloth tiger to play with. In a moment, he was giggling at his mother's amusement, sometimes turning over, sometimes subconsciously trying to crawl, very agile and adorable.
At the same time, outside Heqin County
"Miss, the escort said that this place is less than ten miles away from Heqin County."
The two maids were terrified. Xiaoxi reported, "If nothing unexpected happens, we will definitely be able to enter the city before dark."
Xiaoli replied, "But I don't know where the Guo family lives."
After nearly two months of traveling, Jiang Yushan had lost a lot of weight and looked haggard, but her eyes were bright. She raised her head and answered, "I don't know the details, but I learned from a letter from home that the Guo family has bought a house in the county. I'll go to the city later and ask around, and I'll find out."
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