Chapter 54 054 There were traces of lipstick on his neck...
The next day, Lin Wan woke up at the crack of dawn.
She felt hot and stuffy all over and could hardly breathe. When she opened her blurry eyes, she saw that she was in Xie Huaiyuan's arms, with her hands folded on his broad chest.
In the silent scene, the beating of those chests sounded so clear.
Lin Wan blinked, silently withdrew her hands from his body, and slowly moved her body to lie down on the inside.
Thinking she hadn't been discovered, Lin Wan was startled by a low chuckle from above, which made her chest vibrate. She quickly looked up.
"...Your Highness, you're awake?"
Xie Huaiyuan raised his hand and stroked her slightly disheveled hair, his eyes filled with a hint of ambiguity. "Wanwan, don't you want to hold me while we sleep?"
Knowing full well the answer, she was naturally unwilling. However, Lin Wan wasn't so straightforward. She quickly glanced at Xie Huaiyuan and said awkwardly, "Don't overthink it, it's just so stuffy leaning against here."
He leaned closer and smiled, "I see. It seems it was my fault."
Xie Huaiyuan glanced at the sky outside the window, but didn't make things too difficult for her. He lifted the covers and got up, not forgetting to turn around and lower the bed curtains.
When Lin Wan saw him move, her heart skipped a beat, fearing he would pounce on her again. She knew that when she moved away, she had accidentally touched his erect penis, and the tips of her ears had gradually turned red.
Before long, they heard him making rustling noises in the inner room. The maids and servants guarding outside the room heard the noise of him getting up and soon someone pushed open the door, lit a lamp, and helped Xie Huaiyuan wash up and change his clothes.
Hearing the soft noises, Lin Wan closed her eyes, thinking of continuing to sleep, but Xie Huaiyuan turned around and came over, lifting the bed curtains and entering.
Before she could react, his hot, wet lips descended, caressing her lightly or heavily before opening his mouth to meet hers. Their lips and teeth intertwined, and Lin Wan instinctively shivered, but the next moment, she was firmly restrained and obediently leaned against him.
After the kiss, Lin Wan felt her cheeks flush and burn, and she couldn't open her eyes to look at him.
"I have a lot to do today, so I might be back a little late." It seemed that her initiative and lack of refusal pleased Xie Huaiyuan, and his tone became much lighter, losing its frightening chill.
Lin Wan clenched her hand hidden under the blanket, nodded slightly, and whispered "Okay."
-
The Su residence.
Su Furong suddenly opened her eyes, hurriedly got up and walked out of the dormitory. She looked at the slightly white sky, her forehead covered with fine sweat, and her face full of anxiety and worry.
"Girl, be careful not to catch a cold."
The maidservant hurriedly came out of the room with a cloak, carefully draped it over Su Furong's shoulders, and straightened the hem to make sure she wouldn't catch a chill in the morning air. Looking at Su Furong's expression, she asked with concern, "Did you have a nightmare, Miss?"
Su Furong calmed herself down a bit, looked into the distance, and whispered, "I dreamt of Lin Wan. She was trapped in a sea of fire and couldn't escape no matter how hard she struggled... She was calling for me to save her."
Lin Wan has been missing for over a month. Although the city patrol has been ordered to intensify the search, with so many people searching, almost every corner of the capital has been searched, but no trace of Lin Wan has been found.
The maidservant, who had often advised her otherwise, said as well: "Perhaps Miss Lin has suddenly had an urgent matter to attend to at home?"
"How could that be? She just came from Jiangnan. How could she leave so quickly, and without saying goodbye? There's no sign of her clothes or belongings being packed in the room. It's impossible that she left on her own. Besides, she's always been very polite. Since she's stayed at my house for so long, why would she leave without saying goodbye!"
Su Furong thought of Xie Huaiyuan again.
Ever since that day I went to Pear Blossom Lane to look for him, I thought he would know about Lin Wan's disappearance, but his response that day was so calm, as if he knew nothing at all...
wrong!
This shouldn't be happening!
As soon as the thought crossed Su Furong's mind, she seemed to realize that she had overlooked something important, and hurriedly asked, "Have you ever seen the Crown Prince give Lin Wan a guqin?"
The maidservant pondered for a while, "Yes, that is true. Once, when Miss Lin was ill, the young master did send someone to deliver a zither to her."
Where is the zither kept?
The maid was startled by Su Furong's anxious appearance and said awkwardly, "No one has packed up Miss Lin's belongings. They should all still be in her room?"
Su Furong was eager to confirm something, so she didn't bother to wash up or get ready. She wrapped her cloak tightly around herself and hurriedly ran to the courtyard where Lin Wan lived.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, the place still seemed lifeless despite the daily tidying up by maids. The maid Shiliu heard the sound of the gate and ran out of the house with great joy, but when she saw that it was Su Furong, her expression instantly turned dejected.
Pomegranate: "So it's Miss Su. I thought..."
Upon hearing this, Su Furong knew who the unfinished words were referring to. She pushed open the door and entered Lin Wan's room. All the items seemed to be free of dust, but the presence of a living person was missing.
She looked around and asked, "Have you seen a guqin here?"
“My young lady didn’t know how to play the zither before, nor did she own a guqin. However,” Shi Liu led Su Furong into the inner room, where a guqin was indeed placed on the table in the corner. “The young lady tried to return the zither to the young master, but he was unwilling to take it back, saying that he would teach the young lady to play the zither.”
He had said he wouldn't give the zither away easily, especially since Lin Wan didn't know how to play it. Since he had given her the zither, he even offered to teach her to play it himself.
Su Furong would never believe that Xie Huaiyuan hadn't had any ulterior motives.
Su Furong, who had been hesitant, was incredulous when she saw the zither in Lin Wan's room. She said, "This was a gift from the young master. You know, the young master never pays attention to any woman in private. So, he is not innocent. This is not just a one-woman show by Lin Wan."
He lied that day!
He knew Lin Wan's whereabouts, and even...
Su Furong was suddenly terrified by her own thoughts. If Lin Wan's disappearance was really his doing, it would really overturn the impression of the prince in her mind. How could such an upright and proper person be like this?
Various speculations grew wildly in her mind, and she desperately needed to find the Crown Prince to verify them.
Su Furong turned and left; she was going to Pear Blossom Lane again.
-
As dawn broke, the streets were crowded with people.
At the entrance to the secluded alley next to Pear Blossom Lane, a crowd had gathered early in the morning, so dense that it blocked the entire street intersection. Su Furong's carriage couldn't get through at all, so she got out of the carriage and walked across by herself.
"Hey, isn't this Miss Su? What brings you to the street so early in the morning?"
Su Furong turned her head upon hearing the voice and saw that it was Lord Li from the City Patrol Division.
"Lord Li, what are you doing here so early in the morning? Are you handling a case?" Su Furong was in a hurry to get to Pear Blossom Lane and didn't have the mind to continue the conversation.
At this moment, a coroner rushed out from the alley, "Reporting to Your Honor, we have verified the identity. The female corpse is from the palace, and she hanged herself."
Upon hearing about the female corpse, Su Furong panicked and turned her head to look, her face turning pale. Fortunately, what she heard was not what she feared.
Lord Li gave a brief explanation, then turned to Su Furong and reminded her, "The capital has been rather unsettled lately. If Miss Su is going out, it would be best to bring a few attendants with you for safety. As for Miss Lin, there is still no news. However, no news might just be good news."
Su Furong nodded blankly in response. With a heavy heart, she walked through the crowded street corner until she reached the gate of the courtyard in Pear Blossom Lane.
Compared to the hustle and bustle just now, this place was surprisingly quiet.
She calmed herself down a bit and was about to knock on the door when...
"Su Furong?"
Looking up, Xie Huaiyuan, dressed in official robes, was about to leave. He greeted Su Furong in a generous manner.
"Young Master." Su Furong had many questions she wanted to ask, but when she saw Xie Huaiyuan's calm and unwavering gaze, she frowned slightly, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
From the other side gate of the courtyard, several servants were cleaning up items destroyed by the fire. The charred black items were all being moved out, and naturally, these did not escape Su Furong's eyes.
"These were all burned?"
"Unfortunately, a fire broke out yesterday, destroying some things. Today is the perfect time to clean it up."
Xie Huaiyuan seemed unaware of her purpose in asking, and instead generously opened the door, saying apologetically, "I didn't expect you to come today. I have to go to the palace soon, so I can't accompany you."
After saying that, he hurriedly stepped over the threshold and walked toward the carriage where he was listening.
Su Furong glanced guiltily into the courtyard, but couldn't see anything. However, just as Xie Huaiyuan passed by her, she smelled an extremely faint, familiar, sweet incense scent.
She stared wide-eyed in surprise as she turned to look at Xie Huaiyuan.
That smell was exactly like the incense Lin Wan usually used!
Xie Huaiyuan seemed to notice the scrutinizing gaze, stopped, looked up and smiled, but there was no trace of a smile in his eyes: "What is it? Is something urgent?"
She was about to ask a direct question, but the moment Xie Huaiyuan turned his head to look at her, Su Furong saw something incredulous and hurriedly stopped herself from saying anything. She covered her mouth and said, "No, nothing. I just heard that there was a fire in Pear Blossom Alley and was worried about you, so I came to check. It's nothing urgent. It's getting late, so don't delay your trip to the palace. You should go now. I won't go in yet. I'll come to visit you again when you have a day off."
The gate to Pear Blossom Lane closed. After watching Xie Huaiyuan's carriage leave, Su Furong walked back along the same route to her own carriage parked by the roadside.
Her maid was full of questions. She had said she was coming over early in the morning and was even clamoring to go in and find someone, but why did she leave when she got to the door?
It wasn't until Su Furong boarded her own carriage and headed home that she finally let out a deep sigh.
Just now, she caught a glimpse of faint traces of lip rouge on the side of his neck, along with the same fragrance as Lin Wan.
At that moment, her mind went blank, and she remained silent for a long time, as if she could not accept the fact she had guessed.
So, Lin Wan really was hidden away by him?
-
Pear Blossom Lane was no different from any other day. The sudden appearance of the city patrol officers investigating the case that day was just a coincidence, and Su Furong did not come over after arriving at the courtyard gate.
Lin Wan, who had been staying in the courtyard, was unaware of all this.
Ever since Lin Wan failed to escape that night and was caught by Xie Huaiyuan, she was terrified by his mad state and secretly suppressed her thoughts of taking the opportunity to escape. She was really scared and thought about finding another suitable opportunity.
However, several days passed without Xie Huaiyuan appearing. Like a fisherman fishing, he kept Lin Wan's thoughts lingering, making her wonder if this was actually a trap set by Xie Huaiyuan, waiting for her to fall into it.
During Xie Huaiyuan's absence, the number of servants in the Pear Blossom Lane villa actually increased significantly, with servants visible guarding the corridors and doors almost everywhere one entered or exited.
Pear Blossom Lane was no different from any other day. No matter how many more guards and servants were added, they remained as respectful as ever.
But she remained uneasy, as if feathers were constantly stirring within her heart. She thought of Xie Huaiyuan every moment, yet she never saw him return. So much so that when she looked towards the courtyard gate many times, she was horrified to recall the night she tried to escape and the terrifying sight of Xie Huaiyuan standing outside the door.
She was anxious and had no good solution, so she could only pace back and forth in the small courtyard, gazing restlessly at the covered walkway leading to the gate.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com