Chapter 254 Missing (Two chapters in one)
Before Master Wei and his entourage arrived in the capital, there were only two masters in the Wei Mansion in the capital, Wei Yaer and Wei Wubing. Although Wei Wubing was a male, Wei Yaer had the title of County Lord. Therefore, the largest and best courtyard in the mansion was where Wei Yaer lived, followed by Wei Wubing.
Although Master Wei threw Wei Yaer into the dungeon, the Wei family did not want to give up the title of County Lady. Therefore, Wei Yaer's yard was retained, and all the things in the yard were also retained, of course, except for those that were secretly sent out of the mansion by Nanny Guan.
Although there were two sturdy women guarding the yard outside, this did not pose a problem for Xiao Yao and Dapang. The two cats entered the yard without any effort.
This was a small, three-story courtyard. The first was planted with flowers and plants, and the second had no side rooms. The main room contained a bedroom and a study, with a side room on one side serving as a toilet and a storeroom on the other. The third room was the back room, where the maids and servants all lived.
Wei Yaer's maids either died or escaped. Nanny Guan didn't want to live in a house where a dead person had lived, so she moved from the back room to the back room at the entrance.
When Xiao Yao and Dapang entered the yard, they saw two little maids, about seven or eight years old, watering the flowers. Dapang meowed, and the sugar content was very high.
The two maids were indeed attracted to him: "Hey, there are cats, two at that. So fat and cute!"
The little demon jumped to a high place, but the big fat man walked over and rubbed the little maid's skirt, and the little maid was very happy.
At this moment, a maidservant in pink, about fifteen or sixteen years old, came out from the second courtyard. Seeing the little maidservant playing with the cat, the pink-dressed maidservant frowned and said, "I told you to work, but you slacked off and played with the cat. You have no manners at all. I don't know how Madam Guan taught you."
The two little maids were startled and hurriedly continued watering the flowers.
The maid in pink looked at Dapang with disdain and turned away.
Seeing that the pink-dressed maid had gone far away, the two maids dared to whisper: "Sister Lanlan is so fierce, much fiercer than Sister Mengqing and the others."
"Shh, stop talking. Sister Lanlan is from our family. The county lady thinks highly of her. Haven't you seen that the county lady only lets her serve her now?"
"Yes, the county lady used to have such a grand ceremony, and the sisters each had their own duties, some to help with hair, some to help with washing, and some to help with clothes. But now all these things are done by Sister Lanlan alone."
"The county lady doesn't even need Nanny Guan anymore. Nanny Guan wanted to see the county lady this morning, but the county lady refused to see her."
After listening to this, Xiao Yao went to the second courtyard. The maid named Lanlan in pink was collecting clothes hanging on the rope. This was originally the job of the maids, but now she was doing it alone.
Lanlan put away her clothes and went into the east room.
The second courtyard is very large, three or four times the size of the first courtyard, but it is empty. After Lanlan entered the house, there was no one else in the courtyard.
The little demon went around to the back of the house. The front and back windows of the east room were all open. The little demon jumped onto the windowsill of the back window. The window was covered with soft smoke screen. Cats were born with good ears and could hear the woman's soft whispers clearly.
"Lanlan, you have to do all the work by yourself. Thank you for your hard work."
"This servant is not tired. As long as I think that from now on, the young lady will be the county lady, this servant is happy from the bottom of her heart. No matter how tired I am, it is worth it."
The woman's voice lacked joy. She sighed, "Father said yesterday that I couldn't save my face. I'm afraid it will definitely leave scars. I'm afraid the second young master of Prince Liang's mansion will dislike me."
Lan Lan advised, "Miss, there's nothing to be afraid of. Think about it, as long as you can endure it, you'll be the Princess of the County. Compared to a lifetime of wealth and glory, a few scars are nothing. Besides, the eldest master said that the people in the Liang Palace are sick and weak, and your sisters-in-law are from humble backgrounds. And you have Concubine Li behind you. If you marry into the palace, the entire palace will be at your mercy. That Second Young Master has nothing to ask for, and he's marrying you because he's above his station. And you still despise him? Is he worthy?"
The woman was still very nervous: "But it will hurt a lot, I am most afraid of pain."
"The pain will only last for a while. The master loves you so much, he will definitely ask the imperial physician to treat you." Lanlan counseled.
The woman sighed again, and Lan Lan said, "Let me help you get some sleep. Regain your energy and strength. We have a tough battle tonight."
There was a rustling sound coming from the room, probably the woman lying down on the bed.
Xiao Yao leaped a few times and returned to the first entrance, asking Xiao Pang to stay there while she left Wei Mansion and met up with Zhao Shiqing.
Xiao Yao seemed to understand what she heard, but Zhao Shiqing understood it clearly.
Wei Qianer arrived quite quickly and had already arrived in the capital.
To be on the safe side, after she arrived in the capital, she did not allow anyone else in the Wei Mansion to serve her except Lanlan, and those people did not see her.
All the maids and servants in the mansion thought she was still Wei Yaer.
Tonight, a planned accident will happen. In this so-called accident, Wei Qianer will be disfigured, completely dispelling other people's doubts and turning her into Wei Yaer.
As long as she was disfigured, those who had seen Wei Yaer in the capital would not be suspicious. They could only think that the county lady was unlucky and her beauty was ruined at such a beautiful age.
Among all the maids and old women who had served Wei Yaer since she was a child, only Nanny Guan is left.
In all likelihood, the Wei family wants to silence you.
They could even sacrifice or kill Wei Yaer at will, let alone that she was just an old nanny.
Zhao Shiqing turned around twice on the spot. On the third circle, she thought of Xiao Zhen.
The Wei Mansion was not far from the Ruyi Boat, so Zhao Shiqing took Xiao Yao to the Ruyi Boat.
Xiao Zhen was discussing something with Fatty Si. When he saw Zhao Shiqing coming, he was delighted and sent Fatty Si away with a few words.
Zhao Shiqing told the two cats exactly what they had heard. Xiao Zhen frowned. He was raising money and food for the Tongzhou flood. After hearing this, he naturally thought of the Tongzhou flood again.
......
That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Suddenly, a flood broke out in the Wei Mansion, and the source of the flood was the courtyard of the Princess of Changling County!
Wei Wubing's coffin is still in the mansion. Master Wei and the Wei family have been exhausted these days and sleep very soundly at night. After being released from the Ministry of Justice prison last time, more than half of the servants in the Wei mansion escaped. The rest are all old, weak and sick. It is difficult for them to even fetch water, let alone put out a fire.
By the time the Five Cities Division heard the news and rushed over, the Changling County Lady's yard had almost been burned down.
Fortunately, the people from Wuchengsi were experienced and quickly brought the fire under control, preventing it from spreading to other courtyards.
Master Wei cried bitterly because Wei Qian'er did not run away as planned.
After the plan was completed, Wei Qian'er was hit in the face by a burning beam and her face was burned, but she was protected by a maid and escaped.
Master Wei had been waiting outside, but only two little maids ran out.
Wei Qianer didn’t come out!
The people from the Five Cities Administration did not find any bodies in the ruins. Neither Wei Qian'er nor her maid Lanlan, nor Nanny Guan, whose leg injury had not yet healed, were found alive or dead.
After Mr. Wei was sure that the body was not found, he could no longer cry.
He was originally crying for the people from the Five Cities Division to see. In his opinion, since Wei Qian'er couldn't escape, she must have been burned to death. But now, no body was found, so there was only one possibility: Wei Qian'er and the other two were not in the yard when the fire broke out.
The two little maids knew nothing about anything. When they noticed the fire, they ran out. They lived in the back room, which was closest to the door, so it was easy for them to get out. They didn't notice whether Nanny Guan was still there.
One of Master Wei's confidants hurried over and said, "Master, Master, please don't worry. The county lady went to Zizhu Temple yesterday to pray for the eldest young master. It was too late and she didn't come back. She stayed overnight at the temple."
Master Wei breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, how could he be called a confidant? This confidant must be rewarded with a chicken leg, no, with silver.
He slapped his head and said, "Oh, I'm so worried that I'm confused. Ya'er took her maid and wet nurse to Zizhu Monastery. I forgot in my haste. I'm sorry to have made you laugh."
The people in the Five Cities Administration were not surprised. They had heard of the reputation of the Wei siblings long ago. They relied on the favor of Concubine Li and became arrogant. Wei Wubing died a while ago and Wei Yaer was thrown into jail. Their reputation had long been spread everywhere. Who knew whether they went to Zizhu Temple or to meet their lover? Anyway, no one knew. Zizhu Temple was not a place that everyone could go to, and there was no place to investigate.
The people from the Five Cities Division smiled wryly: "Okay, okay, we'll take our leave then."
Master Wei asked someone to bring out a tray of silver ingots and invited the brothers from the Five City Office to have a midnight snack.
After sending away the people from the Five Cities Administration, Master Wei looked at the ruins and fell into deep thought.
Only the Five City Officials and the onlookers believed what the confidant had just said.
Of course, it can also be hidden from the people in the clan.
But he knew very well that it was he who arranged the fire today, and he had discussed it with Wei Qianer. Wei Qianer was in the yard and did not go to Zizhu Temple at all.
But now, where are the people?
Where did the people go?
And that Nanny Guan was also missing.
Nanny Guan is Wei Yaer's wet nurse. Even if Wei Qianer is disfigured, it cannot be hidden from Nanny Guan's eyes.
So in this fire, Nanny Guan must die. If she died, no one would know that Wei Qian'er was not Wei Ya'er.
But Nanny Guan’s body was never found.
The more Master Wei thought about it, the more scared he became. Could it be that Nanny Guan noticed something was wrong and knew she was going to be silenced, so she kidnapped Wei Qian'er?
But Nanny Guan still needs to use crutches to walk. Can an old woman like her kidnap Wei Qianer?
Oh, and there’s Lanlan too. If Nanny Guan and Lanlan work together, it won’t be difficult to kidnap Wei Qianer.
And this evening, several large boxes were indeed moved out of the mansion. They were all Wei Wubing's old things. According to the customs of his hometown, after a person dies, personal belongings such as bedding and clothes cannot be kept and must be taken to the intersection to be burned.
Master Wei was reluctant to burn these things, but they were about to return home, so he didn't ask someone to deal with them until yesterday.
Could it be that Nanny Guan and the other two hid in those big boxes and left the house?
Master Wei went to check immediately and found out that none of the people who carried the boxes out of the house yesterday had returned.
In fact, ever since Wei Wubing died, the Wei Mansion in the capital has been like a sieve. Although Master Wei came to the capital, he has always been a hands-off boss and has no idea how to manage the household. Therefore, he only found out now that those people had left the mansion yesterday and have not returned yet.
Master Wei was struck by lightning!
It’s over, something big has happened!
When Wei Yaer disappeared, although he was also looking for her, he still felt confident.
His confidence comes from Wei Qianer, who is somewhat similar to Wei Yaer, otherwise he would not have asked Wei Qianer to come to the capital so early.
But now, even Wei Qian'er is missing, and Master Wei is in tears.
Is it true that the Wei family will lose the title of County Lord?
And there is the marriage with Prince Liang’s Mansion, what a good marriage!
He hated himself for not having a third daughter.
She has quite a few nieces and cousins, but firstly, those nieces don’t look like Wei Yaer, and secondly, why should she give her daughter’s title to them?
"Master, the most urgent thing is to find the county lady. She cannot be lost. This concerns the reputation of the Wei Mansion."
The voice of his confidant sounded in his ears, and Master Wei shuddered. He was really confused. What title was he thinking about now? Of course, he had to find someone, find Wei Qianer!
Nanny Guan dared to do this, she must have someone backing her up. It would be fine if Wei Qian'er died, but if she fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it would not only endanger the Wei family, but also Concubine Li in the palace.
"Look for it, go find it quickly!"
Master Wei secretly sent people to search for three days. They found Liushu Hutong and learned that Nanny Guan's son had moved away. As for where he had moved to, no one knew.
Nanny Guan's husband died many years ago, and she has no other relatives except her son's family.
Master Wei even had people search all the brothels and hotels in the capital, but there was no trace of Wei Qian'er.
At this time, the Liang Palace in the capital came with people from the Ministry of Rites. The second young master would be ending his mourning period next year. The chief secretary of the Liang Palace, following the orders of the Liang Princess, took advantage of the fact that Master Wei was still in the capital to discuss the wedding arrangements.
Master Wei's heart sank.
If the Liang Palace knew that Wei Yaer was missing at this time...
No, absolutely not.
What's more, it's not just the Prince of Liang's Mansion, there's also the Ministry of Rites.
The marriage between Wei Yaer and Zhao Tingxuan was arranged by the emperor, and people from the Ministry of Rites had to be present at every stage of the marriage discussion.
Master Wei had no choice but to say that he was too busy these days and asked them to come back later. The people from the Ministry of Rites didn't want to make another wasted trip, so they asked them to set a specific time. Master Wei said seven days later. The Chief Secretary of the Prince of Liang's Mansion felt that the Wei family was too insincere and insisted on three days at the latest. After some tug-of-war between the two sides, they finally decided to set a time five days later.
Although Wei Yaer did not need to appear in person when discussing the marriage with Prince Liang's Mansion, this five-day appointment was of great importance to Master Wei.
This is just the Prince Liang's Mansion, there is also the Queen. Now we have to discuss the specific details of the marriage, and it is inevitable that we have to report it to the Queen. What if the Queen suddenly decides to let Wei Yaer enter the palace?
Master Wei was restless and even regretted throwing Wei Yaer into the dungeon.
No, he regretted silencing that crazy woman even more.
Couldn't he wait until Wei Qian'er married into Liangdi before killing that crazy woman?
Why is he in such a hurry?
"Master, Master, here is a letter!"
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