Chapter 323 A Things That Can't Be Seen by Others, Beloved Items
Zhao Mingyan could have left, but he stopped because of those three soft words and went along with her wishes.
This was the first time he had ever felt so ashamed to be seen by others, and he had to hide in the closet.
The cabinet was fairly tidy, but it was a bit short. With his height, he had to bend over to stand up.
Su Xiang's footsteps were right at the door. Ji Qingwu couldn't think of a better way for the time being, so she clasped her hands together and bowed to him, having no choice but to make this big shot suffer for now.
A dark current flashed in Zhao Mingyan's eyes.
Just as she was about to close the cabinet door, an arm reached out from outside and pulled her inside as well.
Ji Qingwu saw the cabinet door in front of him, and he closed it lightly, plunging the surroundings into darkness.
At that moment, the door was pushed open.
Recalling the short maid's words and actions, Wei Tongyou thought she must be lively and talkative, so she greeted her loudly and then, imitating the mannerisms of the maids in the house, bowed her head and opened the door for Su Fengyue.
The door was open, and Su Fengyue stood at the doorway, stopping as if he had noticed something amiss.
Wei Tongyou's heart tightened.
Su Fengyue asked, "Where is Hanzhang?"
Wei Tongyou looked up through the door and saw that Ji Qingwu was indeed not inside.
She was taken away? She lowered her head to hide the panic in her eyes.
"...Master's stew is missing an ingredient, so Sister Hanzhang went to the back kitchen to supervise the cook in making it again."
Su Fengyue nodded with a stern face, not having time to ask about the maids' whereabouts.
From the moment he stepped off the carriage and into the mansion, he looked preoccupied, unlike his composed demeanor in front of others.
It is unclear whether it was because of the early death of his beloved daughter or some other reason.
Su Fengyue was followed by a middle-aged man in a dark blue coat.
The middle-aged man glanced at Wei Tongyou, and Su Fengyue waved his hand and said, "Nongying, you can go down first."
Wei Tongyou had seen this kind of scene many times in the Wei family. The man's attire and the shrewdness and mercenary nature revealed in his eyes suggested that he was the steward of the household.
When the two were about to discuss something secret, all the servants would give way.
Wei Tongyou lowered her head and agreed, then quickly left and walked to the courtyard gate.
The middle-aged man glanced outside, closed the door, and followed Su Fengyue into the main hall of the house.
As they passed through the flower hall, the side lockers looked normal, and no one would have guessed that there were two people hiding inside.
Su Fengyue took a scroll from the scroll container, but did not open it; he simply placed it beside him.
He asked, "Shang Rong, how's the matter I assigned you going?"
The middle-aged man's identity was correct as Wei Tongyou had guessed; he was the steward of the mansion, named Shang Rong.
Because he hadn't done the job well, he dared not look Su Fengyue in the eye.
He lowered his head and said, "Master, I have sent people to search the entire mansion and the places you frequent, but we have not found it."
Su Fengyue said in a gloomy tone, "I always carry that thing with me. I've thought about it many times. The only unexpected thing that day was that the horses in the carriage I was riding in suddenly got startled."
Shang Rong said, "I investigated and found that the horse was bitten by a stray dog on the roadside while waiting at the Song family's gate. On the way back to the mansion, it suddenly developed rabies and went berserk, almost injuring you. The horse has been disposed of."
Su Fengyue squeezed the scroll so hard it became deformed, and said, "I don't believe such a coincidence. Someone must be trying to harm me."
Having navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for so many years, Su Fengyue did not believe in mere coincidences, but only in the power of human effort.
"Send people to investigate again, and make sure to find out who is behind this."
Shang Rong lowered his head in embarrassment. He had already questioned the nearby residents and found no suspicious people.
Su Fengyue continued, "You know how important that thing is to me. If we can't find it within three days..."
Shang Rong was so frightened that his face turned ashen. He replied, "I know, I will definitely find your beloved item for you, sir."
Su Fengyue then asked, "Has anyone suspicious gone to the woodshed these past few days?"
Shang Rong immediately replied, "No, no one has approached the woodshed. Don't worry, that place is secluded and won't be discovered."
Su Fengyue let out a long breath, then opened the deformed scroll he had grabbed, revealing a portrait of a woman.
The portraits in this scroll were all painted by Su Fengyue himself.
But this portrait was painted recently by him. The woman wears a blue veil and a thin gauze of the same color, and has a seductive figure.
His facial expression was unclear, only a pair of affectionate eyes were visible.
Shang Rong said in a low voice, "A few days ago, Lord Liu heard that you had a new favorite, so he sent over some new goods based on that person's appearance. Would you like to enjoy them, sir, to relieve your fatigue?"
Su Fengyue stared at the eyes in the portrait, a sharp glint appearing in his murky eyes.
“He’s a sensible guy. There’s no rush. Prince Yong will be coming over in a little while.”
Shang Rong asked in surprise, "Is Prince Yong going to surrender to you?"
He thought of something and said, "But didn't you agree with the fourth prince of Xijin that after the emperor dies, the young prince will ascend the throne, and then take the opportunity to create a great upheaval, and cooperate with Xijin from the inside to let Xijin's army enter the city and wipe the royal family clean?"
Su Fengyue said, "There's no reason to put all your eggs in one basket."
This was just their previous plan, or rather, Yuwen Tianqing's wishful thinking.
Now, in Su Fengyue's position, there are many sycophants who want to curry favor with him.
Su Fengyue wanted Yuwen Tianqing to understand that he had plenty of other options besides him.
Shang Rong said, "Master is right. Yuwen Tianqing has been hiding in the old house these days, and his food and supplies are all provided by our Su family. But he is ungrateful and even dares to threaten you to hurry up and take action. He doesn't know how hard you work day and night in the court. He is an ungrateful wretch."
When Su Fengyue heard the steward speak ill of Yuwen Tianqing, his gray eyebrows furrowed and his face darkened as he rebuked him.
"No matter how bad he is, he is still her son. Don't let me hear you say these things again."
Shang Rong murmured, knowing that whenever it came to Yuwen Tianqing's mother, the master would change completely, so he said nothing more.
Su Fengyue said, "You must treat finding this item as your top priority. If you don't find it within three days, I will hold you responsible. You may leave now."
Shang Rong walked out of the house and didn't notice anything wrong with the cabinet by the door.
However, there was something very wrong with Ji Qingwu in the cabinet.
This cabinet contains some miscellaneous items such as flower pots and jars, and there isn't much room to move around.
After being pulled in, Ji Qingwu was already unsteady and falling forward. She could only hold onto the emperor's chest with both hands to keep herself upright.
She was afraid of making a noise if she moved, so she kept in this position.
The height of the cabinet was just right for her size, so she didn't have to bend over.
After the cabinet door closed, Su Fengyue and the other person entered the room, and Ji Qingwu was so nervous that she dared not move.
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