The Moonlight Island Coast Guard conducted a thorough search of the waters surrounding the island throughout the night, and also deployed unmanned submersibles to scan the seabed around the pier, but found no trace of the target.
The sensors on the shark nets surrounding the island did not receive any electromagnetic signals from any creatures crossing the nets, and the sonar monitoring and anti-frogman systems covering the surrounding seabed also did not record any abnormalities.
Zhang Fan seemed to have vanished into the ocean.
As daytime approached, the search area began to extend from the coast into the island...
"Madam, have you seen anyone suspicious today?" The Moonlight Island Coast Guard began searching each room in the Marquis's mansion.
The search focused on the servants' living quarters and workrooms. They dared not search rooms like the Marquis's; they would simply knock on the door and stand respectfully at the entrance to inquire.
"No," Madam Qiu replied. "Is there a problem? Has someone broken in?"
"No, we're just doing this as a precaution, in case someone sneaks into the princess's birthday banquet. It's just a routine check as a preventative measure." This was the standard explanation Ralph gave to the guards. "If the lady sees anyone suspicious, remember to report it to us immediately."
"Yes, I will." Mrs. Qiu nodded.
"Then we won't disturb Madam's rest any longer." The guard saluted and left respectfully.
Mrs. Qiu gently closed the door and returned to her room.
How long do you plan to stay here?
Inside the Marquis's room, the suspicious man was half-reclining on the sofa in the living room, his legs crossed and resting on the armrest, while he used a toothpick to eat strawberries from the fruit bowl on the coffee table.
"There's no other way; it's safest here with Madam."
Zhang Fan had changed into a dry bathrobe.
"I spent several hours in the seawater, soaking wet, and then hid outside all night. I was almost frozen to death."
"Then go find Alice! You're wearing my bathrobe and eating my food in my room. What kind of impression would that make if word got out?"
"You're saying I'm a weak woman and you're a hot-blooded young man, don't you know how to avoid suspicion?"
"What's there to avoid? Your room is bigger than everyone else's. And you're not a weak woman." Zhang Fan stared into Madam Qiu's eyes. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? You deliberately kept me after the banquet last night, dragging things out past midnight, didn't you?"
“You’re wronging me.” Mrs. Qiu sat opposite Zhang Fan, looking somewhat aggrieved. “How was I supposed to know that Alice would break her word?”
"Is that so?" Zhang Fan glanced at her sideways. "No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Who said that again?"
Madam Qiu burst out laughing.
"I just think that since you're already here, you should stay a few more days so you can spend more time together and build a relationship."
"No! Stop!" Zhang Fan quickly made a crossed hand gesture. "It's best for Princess Alice and me to have less contact, lest we end up fighting to the death."
He can be a couple with anyone, but if he gets involved in something ambiguous and unclear with his future princess, you can imagine what the outcome will be.
Although Princess Alice and Prince Reinhardt have never officially announced their engagement, neither family has ever denied the rumors.
To outsiders, given the relationship between Marquis Charles and Prince Reinhardt, this was already a done deal; all that was left was for Princess Alice to turn 20.
"And did you even consider the Marquis's feelings when you did this?" Zhang Fan was somewhat confused. Madam Qiu's actions were practically undermining Marquis Charles.
Although it was obvious to anyone with eyes to see that the marriage to Prince Reinhard was a political alliance, this was a common practice among the nobility, and no one would criticize it.
Moreover, the higher the status of the person you marry into, the more capable others will think you are; age and feelings are never considered in aristocratic marriages.
"I only consider my daughter's feelings; I don't care about anything else," Madam Qiu said bluntly. "Even if others think it's perfectly suitable, if my daughter doesn't like it, then it's not suitable!"
Zhang Fan sat on the sofa, peeling an orange in his hand, without saying a word. This Mrs. Qiu was different from the wealthy women in Ryan he knew who spent all day discussing clothes and perfumes and indulging in gossip and comparisons.
Moreover, he noticed something unusual as soon as he entered the room. The Marquis's room was at least 300 square meters, several times larger than other people's homes, and fully functional, with a living room, study, bedroom, and even a small indoor swimming pool.
However, in such a large room, there was no trace of men's clothing. Zhang Fan was wearing a bathrobe that belonged to Mrs. Qiu, and his slippers were so small that only half of his foot could fit inside. There was also no razor or similar item in the bathroom.
When a couple lives together, they will always leave some traces of each other in the room. If there are no slippers a size too big, can it be interpreted that Marquis Charles has never entered this room at all?
It seems that the relationship between the Marquis Charles and the Marquis de Chapelle is not as simple as it appears on the surface.
Zhang Fan only found it strange, but didn't ask, since it was someone else's privacy.
"Find me a small boat." Zhang Fan felt that it was not safe to stay here any longer. "I originally wanted to swim back by myself, but the shark nets also had anti-frogman systems installed. I almost lost my life."
"Is Alice really not here?" Mrs. Qiu asked, somewhat disappointed.
“Okay, sure.” Zhang Fan lay back down on the sofa. “Call her over here and tell her I hid in your room all night.”
Madam Qiu glared at Zhang Fan. Although the innocent are innocent, a man and a woman alone in a room for a night makes things complicated. Moreover, she was a marquis's wife, and the gossip of the noblewomen in her circle could drown her.
“It’s too obvious to be seen during the day. A supply ship will leave Moonlight Island tonight,” Madam Qiu said. “I will arrange for you to go to the dock then.”
"Thanks!" Zhang Fan said without any hesitation. "Can I borrow your bed? I've been running away all night and haven't slept at all."
"You really don't stand on ceremony at all!" Madam Qiu glared at Zhang Fan. "That's my bed!"
"So what? If Madam is a clean freak, she can just have the servants change the whole bed tonight, right?" In Zhang Fan's opinion, the Marquis's mansion had plenty of money, so changing a bed was no big deal at all.
And if you can trick me, why can't I trick you back?
Mrs. Qiu frowned slightly: "It seems I need to reconsider whether or not to hand Alice over to you."
"Hey, good afternoon, Mrs. Afternoon."
This was exactly the effect Zhang Fan wanted—to make the other party give up on the idea as soon as possible; he didn't want to get involved in this mess.
Zhang Fan deliberately acted like a thug, kicking off his slippers as he entered the bedroom and jumping onto the bed.
The bed was covered with a silk quilt, which was soft and comfortable and had a faint fragrance of orchids.
With Madam Qiu in the outer study acting as the best bodyguard, Zhang Fan didn't need to worry about his safety and quickly drifted off to sleep...
Knock knock knock!
Zhang Fan didn't know how long he had slept, but in a half-awake state, he heard a knock on the door.
"Mother, it's me."
Then came the sound of the living room door being pushed open, and Alice walked in carrying her pajamas.
"Mom, I want to sleep with you tonight."
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