Qiao'er ran frantically with the fish food to the small pond where Hongshi had said he would wait, but there was no sign of him. Qiao'er froze, her hand tightened, and her heart pounded.
"Fourth Prince! Fourth Prince!" Qiao'er hurriedly spun around in the garden, calling out her name.
She searched the entire garden but still couldn't find Hongshi.
Qiao'er turned pale with fright. She couldn't believe where Hongshi had gone. They had agreed to wait by the pond, but now she had searched the entire garden and couldn't find him anywhere.
Could something have happened to the Fourth Prince? Qiao'er was so frightened that her face turned pale. She hurriedly ran to Song Shi's side. If she didn't report it soon, the punishment would be more than just a beating.
"Granny Xia, Granny Xia!" Qiao'er wasn't originally a maidservant of Madam Song, but rather a maidservant specifically serving Hongshi, who had come with her from there. Therefore, she didn't go to Madam Song first, but instead went to find Hongshi's wet nurse, Granny Xia.
"What's wrong?" Granny Xia was resting in her room. Now that Hongshi was older, he no longer needed her milk. Her main tasks now were managing the maids who served Hongshi and taking care of his daily needs. Madam Song also helped, but she kept a close eye on Granny Xia at all times.
"Granny Xia, what should we do? The Fourth Prince is missing!" Qiao'er cried, having already thrown away the fish food in her hand.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't the Fourth Prince go to Song Gege's place for breakfast with you? He hasn't come back all day. I thought he was staying there for some reason!" Granny Xia exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes, yes, we went to Consort Song’s for breakfast. But after we finished, the Fourth Prince said he wanted to take a walk in the front garden, so I went with him. When we got to the small pond where the red carp are kept, the Fourth Prince said he wanted to feed the fish and asked me to come back and get some fish food. I thought it would only take a quarter of an hour, so I agreed. The Fourth Prince also agreed to wait for me by the pond. But when I went back, the Fourth Prince was gone. I searched the whole garden, but I couldn’t find him!” Qiao’er’s makeup was already ruined from crying.
"What? Fourth Prince has disappeared by the pond?" Granny Xia exclaimed in shock. Hongshi is only five years old; what if he accidentally falls into that pond?
"Granny, why don't we hurry and tell Song Gege? What if the Fourth Prince falls into the pool?" Qiao'er was already pale with fright. If something happened to the Fourth Prince, she wouldn't be able to keep him alive.
"Slap! Slap!" Granny Xia swung her arm and slapped Qiao'er twice across the face. For a moment, she was so badly beaten that she forgot to cry!
"You idiot! You left the Fourth Prince alone by the pool. I won't even settle the score with you for that now, but you're going to go and talk to Consort Song? Aren't you afraid of what might happen to you?" Granny Xia scolded sternly.
"But Granny, if we don't send someone to retrieve him soon, what if the Fourth Prince really falls into the water?" Qiao'er understood Xia's meaning. Now, Song couldn't find a reason to dismiss those who had originally come from the Fujin's household. If she went to report that the Fourth Prince was missing, she would face not only punishment.
"The Fourth Prince is always clever; maybe he's gone somewhere. Don't cry anymore, give me Zheng Jing. We haven't even figured out where he is yet, and you're already rushing off to find Song Gege. Isn't that like walking into a trap?" Granny Xia glared at Qiao'er fiercely.
"Yes, yes, I panicked for a moment and lost my composure. Please, Granny, think of a way quickly. How can we find the Fourth Prince?" Qiao'er said hurriedly.
"Go and call Yu Fen over, let's go look for her together. Don't tell anyone from Song Gege's side. Let's look for her ourselves first." Granny Xia was older after all, but she wasn't as distraught as Qiao'er.
The three of them discussed it for a while and concluded that Hongshi might have left the garden and gone somewhere else. Xia Mama immediately split up with Qiao'er and Yufen into three groups, each heading in a different direction to search for the Fourth Prince.
After the three left, Mulan and Haitang, who had been sent by Song, were at a loss. However, seeing that the three had left anxiously and that the Fourth Prince had not returned, they also became suspicious.
"Why don't we go and talk to Gege? These three people must have something going on," Mu Jin suggested first.
"Yes, I think so too. Looking at Qiao'er's appearance, it seems like something happened. Wasn't she supposed to go to Song Gege's place with the Fourth Prince today? Why do we only see her and not the Fourth Prince?" Haitang added.
After the two had been away for a while, they went together to Song's place. Song was picking out fabric with Qingping, who was making cotton cloth for the Fourth Prince.
"This servant greets Princess Song!" Mu Jin and Hai Tang bowed to Madam Song.
"Why did you come here? Where is the Fourth Prince? He went back after having breakfast here." All of Song's attention was focused on the fabrics suitable for making clothes for men.
“Your Highness, just now, Granny Xia took Qiao’er and Yu Fen out looking flustered. We servants don’t know what happened, and we found it quite strange, so we came to tell Your Highness,” Mu Jin said.
Only then did Madam Song raise her head from the pile of fabric in surprise, looking at the two of them and saying, "Didn't Qiao'er go to the garden with the Fourth Prince? Didn't you see the Fourth Prince?"
Mulan and Haitang exchanged a glance and both shook their heads. Because of Granny Xia, they could hardly serve the Fourth Prince personally. They were mainly responsible for the charcoal fire and furniture arrangement in the Fourth Prince's room, and had no opportunity to serve him alone.
"What happened? Where is the Fourth Prince?" Madam Song frowned immediately. Although she didn't know what had happened, Mu Jin and Hai Tang had both sensed that something was wrong, so it must be something.
"Princess, why don't we maids go and look for her in the garden?" Haitang suggested.
“Alright, you all go, and Qingping, you take Zhuier with you to look for it too.” Madam Song suddenly became a little anxious. “Once you find it, tell them to come to my place for lunch.”
Upon receiving Song's order, Mu Jin and Hai Tang immediately curtsied and went out to find the Fourth Prince.
Meanwhile, Granny Xia searched towards the main courtyard; Qiao'er searched towards the south courtyard; and Yu Fen searched towards the west courtyard. They searched silently for a long time, but still couldn't find the Fourth Prince.
Qiao'er slumped onto a roadside stone to catch her breath, and she began to suspect again that the Fourth Prince had actually fallen into the pond. Only then could a perfectly healthy person disappear without a trace!
"Why are you sitting here, you maid! Where are you from?" a hurried voice asked.
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