Merlin
Zhao Mingyan instantly understood his implication. After carefully recalling the situation, she slowly spoke, "It seems... I don't know much. At least, I don't know much about Mr. Mei."
"What impressed me most was probably when he learned about our marriage, he strongly opposed it, which surprised my mother and me."
"Especially me, the first person to see anger on his face."
"Mr. Mei has always been a gentle and polite person. Even when he encountered naughty children, he never showed any displeasure."
"However, his anger was fleeting, and I didn't take it seriously at the time. But now I think about it..."
"Did he tell me the reason for his opposition?" Tan Linshuang asked hurriedly.
Zhao Mingyan frowned and shook her head. "No, he just asked my mother to think it over carefully and get to know your Tan family first. My mother said she already knew that our two families were a good match, so he didn't say anything else."
Tan Linshuang pursed his lips again, full of suspicion, and then he asked, "Has Mr. Mei always been a private school teacher? Has he ever done anything else for a living?"
Zhao Mingyan said: "Before he became a private school teacher, he had been studying for the imperial examination. After failing the examination three times, he finally became a teacher at the private school in our town."
"I heard Nanny Li mention that Mr. Mei was not only my grandfather's student, but also my mother's childhood sweetheart, and he had been infatuated with her for many years."
"Unfortunately, while he was taking the imperial examination, my mother married my father. Not long after, he gave up the imperial examination and returned to his hometown to teach."
"Later, through a matchmaker, he married an orphan from an orphanage. However, she had been frail since childhood and died young without leaving him any children. From then on, he was alone."
"He's an only son in the family, with few relatives and friends. He only keeps close contact with our family. After my father passed away, he took good care of us orphans and widows. He also wanted to rekindle his relationship with my mother, but my mother values chastity and is worried that remarrying would lead to criticism, so she played dumb with his advances."
"I think my mother is not without feelings for Mr. Mei. Especially in the past two years, she has been a little shaken... I'm getting off topic."
Zhao Mingyan stopped talking abruptly, then frowned. "Due to her status, Nanny Li hasn't reported this to the authorities yet. My husband, could you please go to the authorities as Mr. Mei's relative?"
"Don't report to the police for now." Tan Linshuang said seriously.
"Why?" Zhao Mingyan was puzzled.
Tan Linshuang, as an outsider, saw things more clearly, "because it's unclear why he disappeared."
"My guess is that there are only a few reasons for his disappearance. He might have been kidnapped, or he's hiding from his enemies, or there are other reasons why he must be missing."
"If he wasn't kidnapped, but was caught in one of the two aforementioned situations, we would be putting him in danger if we rashly reported him to the police."
"Until I find out the reason for his disappearance, I will send someone to secretly search for his whereabouts."
"And his servant Uncle Lin." Zhao Mingyan reminded.
Tan Linshuang speculated: "No matter which situation it is, the master and servant must not have been separated."
"I really don't know what happened to Mr. Mei? Why didn't he come to us for help?" Zhao Mingyan frowned and was worried.
Of course I’m afraid of implicating you.
Tan Linshuang thought.
He held Zhao Mingyan's hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, I will definitely find them, the master and the servant."
"My lady, just rest assured and take care of your baby."
"Look at you..."
He released one hand and gently pinched Zhao Mingyan's chin. "Your face has become a little thinner. If you continue like this, the doctor will probably let you stay in bed to take care of the baby, and you will scream even more."
"How could that be? It's obviously because you've gained weight that you think I've lost weight." Zhao Mingyan said angrily.
"I'm fat?" Tan Linshuang was surprised, then she let go of her chin and pinched her cheeks, "I'm not fat..."
Zhao Mingyan leaned forward, raised her chin slightly, and whispered into his ear, "Your butt is getting rounder."
Tan Linshuang's eyes widened and her face turned red.
"My lady, you are bad!"
After a while, he lowered his head and rested it against Zhao Mingyan's forehead, whispering, "How did you find out?"
Zhao Mingyan said shyly, "I found it by feeling it out."
"My wife..." Tan Linshuang was amused and a little embarrassed. His lips slowly moved down, from Zhao Mingyan's forehead to the tip of her nose, and then...
"The doctor is here!" the doorman shouted, interrupting the two people's whispering.
Tan Linshuang quickly said, "I'll teach you a lesson tonight," and then took Zhao Mingyan's hand and walked towards the doctor who was rushing over.
Zhao Mingyan's face flushed, and her face was as delicate as clouds and rain.
Ayun has regained consciousness. After examining him, the doctor discovered that he had a minor fracture in his lumbar spine and needed to rest in bed. He also had multiple bruises on his legs and an obvious mass on the back of his head, which was the cause of his fainting. It was speculated that there was blood stasis inside, which could lead to dizziness, headaches and other symptoms.
In short, it is not a big deal, but it should not be taken lightly.
This made everyone hesitate.
After the doctor finished giving him the injection, he asked Tan Linshuang to stay alone because he had something to say.
"Master, it's not an accident."
Although he was very weak, his eyes were still sharp.
"The moment I was hit, the driver and I locked eyes. I clearly sensed his murderous intent. He must have been coming for you!"
Tan Linshuang nodded in understanding and patted his hand gently. "Just focus on recovering from your injuries. I'll leave the rest to Ari and Aye."
"That's right."
Before leaving, he suddenly remembered something and smiled brightly at Ayun, "When she saw you being carried back, Xiaozhu was like a little wife whose husband had died, even more anxious than Atao."
Ayun's mouth twitched, "Master, you could have said it another way."
Tan Linshuang didn't care, "During this period of time, I will arrange for Xiaozhu to take care of you personally."
"What about the young lady? Who will take care of her?" Ayun asked.
"Your sister." Tan Linshuang said without turning his head.
Ah Yun smiled and whispered to Tan Linshuang as she opened the door and left, "Thank you, Master."
After finding Xiaozhu and Atao and having a brief negotiation with them, Tan Linshuang ignored their shy and confused expressions and went straight to the pigeon house.
He took out a blue pigeon from inside and grabbed a handful of millet. He went to the study, scattered the millet on the desk, and let the blue pigeon peck at the rice. He then found a piece of paper, wrote the words "come back soon", tied it to the blue pigeon's leg, and let it fly out the window.
In the evening, when Tan Linshuang returned to the study after dinner, A Ri had been waiting inside for a long time.
A Ri was a tall and strong man. He stood in a corner where the candlelight could not reach. He did not even have a shadow. At first glance, he looked like a ghost messenger crawling out of the underworld.
In particular, the scar on his left cheek, which meanders from his cheekbone to above the corner of his mouth, is dark brown in color, with a slightly raised surface, making it particularly eye-catching and making him look even more ferocious.
He was about the same age as Ayun, but when he spoke, his voice was hoarse and low, with a grainy texture, making him feel like a middle-aged man.
"What are your orders, Master?"
Seeing Tan Linshuang pushing the door open, he bowed his hands and lowered his head, but did not come out from the corner.
He is the shadow of Tan Linshuang, and he will not easily expose himself no matter when or where.
Tan Linshuang closed the doors and windows, came to the antique display cabinet next to him, put her hands behind her back, and told him about the attack she had suffered during the day.
After listening, Ari bowed his head again and said, "I will find the driver as soon as possible."
"In addition to this matter, please help me find another person. His name is Meilin. He is a teacher at the Huadengfang private school in Zhaohua Town. He and his servant Uncle Lin mysteriously disappeared half a month ago. His home was ransacked. It is not clear whether he was kidnapped or was hiding from someone." Tan Linshuang continued.
"Yes!" Ah Ri nodded, and then said, "Master, I also have something to tell you."
"Tan Mozhu's goods are lost."
Tan Linshuang's eyes suddenly widened, and her pupils shrank, like the alert eyes of a cat in the dark night. "The goods from the workhouse?"
"Well, three young girls suddenly disappeared on the way to Yunlian." Ari nodded.
"Has he been sent on his way, or did he disappear before departure?" Tan Linshuang asked carefully.
Ah Ri said: "Before departure."
Tan Linshuang stroked his chin and murmured, "Did he escape on his own?"
"Not like that." Ah Ri shook his head. "Although they are not as weak and incompetent as the children, they are still fragile girls... I guess someone might have rescued them."
Tan Linshuang immediately changed her mind. "I'll let Aye take care of finding Mr. Mei and the driver. You go find the three girls first. We can't let them fall into the hands of Tan Mozhu and his gang."
A Ri took the order and left quietly, just as he came.
Tan Linshuang immediately brought a white pigeon from the pigeon house, wrote the words "come back soon" on a piece of paper, and then released it.
Half an hour later, A Ye appeared in Tan Linshuang's study.
Tan Linshuang entrusted her with the task of finding Merlin and the coachman, and mentioned A Ri's discovery.
"Wow! He actually ran away?"
Ah Ye was shocked, and then he began to gloat, "Is this the first time Blackheart Bamboo has failed?"
Hearing this, Tan Linshuang curled her lips in joy, "When a person is struck by bad luck, it often explodes like a string of cannonballs, one after another."
Ah Ye said, "I also think someone helped them, but they didn't report it to the authorities or return to the orphanage. They probably saw clearly that all the forces were colluding, so they chose to hide."
"They are already in their teens, not as ignorant as children. Otherwise, they would not follow and escape when they see someone coming to rescue them." Tan Linshuang continued.
"But the Black Heart Bamboo gang has always been cautious in their actions. Even if someone sees injustice, they may not be able to see through their tricks." Aye said.
Tan Linshuang analyzed: "The kind-hearted person who rescued the three girls was either an insider or someone who knew about their activities."
"Besides us, who else would know about this?" Aye frowned.
Tan Linshuang couldn't think of anything for a moment, so she just said, "If you often walk by the river, you will get your shoes wet."
"If you do too many bad things, people will find out."
When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Tan Linshuang returned to the bedroom and found that Zhao Mingyan was already fast asleep.
He was afraid of waking her up, so he took off his clothes quietly, got into bed, and then lay down slowly.
"Well?"
Unexpectedly, just as he got into the quilt, a soft hand reached out and hugged his waist.
"Did it wake you?"
He turned his head to look at his lovely wife beside him, and met a pair of eyes full of spring water. He smiled dotingly, held the jade hand on her waist, and moved down inch by inch.
After a while, both of them were breathing rapidly and the air in the room became scorching hot.
Tan Linshuang turned around, held Zhao Mingyan's cheeks and kissed her. The kisses were like raindrops, from her lips and teeth to her chin, and then to her neck, moisturizing Zhao Mingyan bit by bit.
"Aren't you going to make me look bad?" Zhao Mingyan tilted her neck and murmured.
Tan Linshuang smiled, carefully untied her belt, and restrainedly made love with her.
He transformed into a spring breeze, caressing the petals until the stamens spit out nectar. He also released himself and fell into a deep sleep.
Looking at his tired yet satisfied sleeping face, Zhao Mingyan felt complicated.
"How did Mother feel when she asked Madam Li to serve my father?"
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