During the reign of Emperor Wei, it was fashionable for upper-class families to keep secret guards. Wang Hezhan also privately kept a group of secret guards whose whereabouts were uncertain.
He stayed in the Jihe area for two days, and then news came back.
"On that day, Miss Xie was locked in the woodshed. It was Madam who asked Chang Biao to send her out of the mansion, taking the Yunshui Lake in the Western Hills."
“Our people found out that Chang Biao did come to Jihe and encountered bandits, but his subordinates said they didn’t see any women with him.”
Chang Biao insisted that Miss Xie was dead. Even if she wasn't eaten by wild animals, she must have met with some misfortune on the way. Otherwise, she wouldn't risk her life to spout nonsense.
"I have already sent people to search everywhere."
Wang Hezhan stayed in the house in the villa for two days without going out.
The room was dimly lit, with wine jars scattered on the floor. The darkness enveloped the surroundings, making the figure leaning against the couch appear even more oppressive and somber.
Hearing the guard's words, he opened his bloodshot eyes, his voice hoarse.
"She is not dead."
Dark "---"
"Is it right?"
He considered his words carefully before speaking slowly, "Miss Xie is blessed with good fortune."
The air remained silent for a long while.
Wang Hezhan chuckled, his expression a half-smile, "You also think she's dead?"
In chaotic times, even a weak woman would find it difficult to protect herself if she encountered bandits.
An Yi thought this to herself, but didn't dare to say it aloud, and lowered her head even further.
He didn't seem to expect him to speak, and lay down on the soft pillow behind him with his eyes closed, his voice frighteningly low.
"How painful it must feel to be devoured by wild beasts---"
Wang Hezhan had been drunk for several days and refused to leave Jizhou, so the secret guards could only search for his whereabouts everywhere.
When Xie Xuan learned of this, he sent his privately-trained bodyguards to help, but the person seemed to have vanished into thin air. They searched for more than a month, and the only information they found was that he had disappeared in Xishan.
An Yi brought back another message a few days later.
It is said that Miss Xie fell into the lake and died. Her body was soaked and rotten, and only her jewelry could be recognized. The body was found by the local people who saw it on the riverbank and reported it to the authorities.
Wang Hezhan rushed back to Yandu and saw the coffin that was to be buried.
It had rained in Yandu recently, and the area behind Xishan was covered in mud. The once proud young master of a noble family knelt down in the rain in such a sorry state, clutching the corpse in his arms, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The rain poured down relentlessly, and a sound that was neither laughter nor crying echoed from the back mountain, creating an eerie atmosphere.
The guards and servants around them all knelt on the ground, bowing their heads respectfully, not daring to say a word.
When Yan Yuan heard that the body had been found, she rushed over in a carriage.
After she climbed the mountain with her umbrella, she was slightly startled when she saw the familiar clothes and jewelry in the rain.
He's dead---
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and torrential rain swept across the land.
The figure in the rain seemed to have gone mad, kneeling there motionless, clutching the corpse.
Yan Yuan tightened her grip on the umbrella, about to step forward, but then paused and stopped.
"lady."
The old woman behind her gestured for her to take the umbrella and go over.
She shook her head, glanced at the pavilion next to her, and walked over.
The old woman stood beside her, looking at that aloof figure in the rain, and swallowed hard in slight shock.
"Is the master crying?"
Yan Yuan watched quietly, her voice so faint it seemed to drift away with the wind.
"It's just that he lost a woman he would never marry. He'll be sad for a few days, and then he'll go back to being that frivolous and dissolute young master, thinking it was all a deep affection."
The difference in their social status is a chasm that they can never cross in this lifetime.
The rain continued to fall. After Wang Hezhan fainted from the rain, Yan Yuan instructed the nanny to put the body in a coffin and take him back.
He remained unconscious for several days, alarming everyone in the family. The old lady sat by the bedside crying every day, and doctors came and went in batches, administering herbal medicine for several days, but he still didn't wake up.
That day, when Yan Yuan came to Qingfeng Garden as usual, she found that the person lying on the bed was gone.
She was slightly startled and went to look for him in the courtyard, but couldn't find him. After thinking for a while, she asked someone to prepare a carriage and went to the Western Hills.
As soon as she reached the mountain, she saw the usually arrogant young master, who couldn't even tolerate a speck of mud on his shoes, frantically digging the body out of the mud pit in the rain.
A cold wind blew from all sides, and the rain poured down as if it were about to collapse and tear apart. She watched helplessly as he went mad with a blank expression, his hands and body covered in blood and mud.
"Wang San, are you crazy?!"
She cried out in shock, threw down her umbrella, lifted her skirt, and rushed over to free his hand.
Wang Hezhan stared intently at the person in front of him, then swung his hand and flung her away.
Yan Yuan was thrown to the ground by him, and anger, pain and bitterness surged up all at once. She angrily rebuked him.
"What are you trying to do now? The person is dead, why are you pretending to be so sentimental?"
He didn't speak, as if he were obsessed with the coffin, his hands covered in blood.
The heavy rain pattered against the ground, soaking the two of them. The mountain wind howled, and the whole mountain seemed to be screaming mournfully.
Yan Yuan wiped the rain off her face, stood up, and sneered at him.
“You are the legitimate son of the Langya Wang clan, yet you look down on her, a girl born of a concubine, and refuse to marry her. But you are also greedy for her body, beauty, and personality, and refuse to let her go.”
"Hahaha, how ridiculous! You, my husband, hold a high official position and marry a lady from a prestigious family, yet you still try to make her your concubine and imprison her in the mansion. Her current state is all thanks to you."
"If you hadn't insisted on bringing her back, how could she have gotten into trouble with your cousin and ended up dying a tragic death in the lake---"
Before she could finish speaking, she was suddenly pulled, and a blood-soaked hand grabbed her neck.
She was pinned to the ground, in so much pain she could hardly breathe. Looking at his bloodshot eyes, tears silently welled up in her own.
The suffocating pain in her throat made her face turn deathly pale. She wanted to hurt him, to hurt him with every single word.
"You—don't love her, you've always loved—yourself!"
A young master from a wealthy family, born with a strong sense of profit, would not abandon his family for a girl, nor would he give up everything within his grasp for her. What does his current pain and sorrow matter? Before long, he will be back to his dissolute life of having women on both sides. What is love? Does he really love her?
"If you love her, would you never have thought about marrying her?"
Torrential rain and howling winds.
Wang Hezhan's eyes turned bloodshot from her words. "Shut up!"
The hand around her neck tightened, choking her until she felt like she was suffocating. Her eyes were red as she let the rain lash her face, looking at him in anguish.
Wang Hezhan looked at the tears streaming freely from her eyes and shoved her away.
Yan Yuan fell to the ground, clutching her neck with both hands, coughing hysterically.
Lightning ripped through the sky, and torrential rain poured down.
She glanced at his back, wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes, and after some time, she slowly reached out and hugged his back from behind.
"She's dead. Let's live a good life together. You are my husband."
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