His murmurs were very soft, but Su Ruanruan could still hear them clearly.
She chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Su Ruanruan, Su Ruanruan."
Even if you only clung to this man to protect yourself.
But you interfered in someone else's purest feelings.
How ironic, you really did become the kind of person you hate the most.
She once said that she would leave Huo Yan if another woman appeared in his life.
She would no longer be Huo Yan's concubine, nor would she use that identity to seek Huo Yan's protection.
Without protection, she naturally wouldn't go to the capital or Jiangnan, where Prince Zhennan's heir, Chu Ran, was known to frequent.
Seeing Su Ruanruan lower her eyes and remain silent, Niu Mang scratched his head and said, "Although my brother left in a bit of a hurry, he told me that after I finished dealing with things here, he would bring you to the capital with him and also told me to take good care of you."
"Don't worry, my elder brother is a man of great loyalty and righteousness. He will take good care of you when we get to the capital. You don't need to be so sad."
Su Ruanruan looked up at Niu Mang, who was much taller than her but had a touch of naivety.
Do you like Yuan'er?
Niu Mang was taken aback, not expecting her to suddenly ask this question.
He's been dragged into this again for no reason.
"No, don't talk nonsense. I only see her as a younger sister."
Su Ruanruan shook her head slightly. His hesitation showed that he was not being honest, and perhaps he himself did not even realize it.
Su Ruanruan obediently followed the two guards who were protecting her back.
Wrapped in the soft bedding, she stared intently at the ceiling, pondering her future.
The next day, before dawn, the tofu shop's employees rushed to find her, but were stopped by the guards standing outside the door.
Su Ruanruan hadn't slept all night, and when she heard the noise, she had already put on her cloak and gone to open the door.
Upon seeing Su Ruanruan, the little girl named Xiuer instantly became excited.
Su Ruanruan's alarm bells rang, knowing that something serious must have happened. If it were something trivial, Ziwu would have handled it herself and wouldn't have sent anyone else to find her.
"Come in and let's talk." Su Ruanruan welcomed Xiuer into the house.
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"
Xiuer looked anxious. "Master, Sister Ziwu is missing."
"Before dawn today, a few of us went to buy goods. Sister Ziwu said she was going to the outhouse and told us to wait for her in front, but we waited for a long time and she didn't come back."
"When they went to look for her, they found that Sister Ziwu's hairpin, along with a letter, was stuck into the thatched roof outside the outhouse..."
"The letter was addressed to you, sir."
Xiuer quickly took out the letter from her sleeve and handed it to Su Ruanruan.
Su Ruanruan quickly pulled out the paper from the envelope and looked at the contents of the letter with a serious expression.
It took her a long time to recover from the shock.
"Go back now and tell all the men and girls not to spread the word about the disappearance of the purple mist. Just continue with what you were doing and keep everything as usual!"
Xiuer said worriedly, "But Sister Ziwu, she..."
Su Ruanruan frowned and interrupted her, "Just do as I say. Don't say what you shouldn't say, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Sometimes knowing too much... isn't necessarily a good thing."
Looking at Xiuer's innocent and adorable appearance, Su Ruanruan was extremely envious. How she wished she could live a simple life like them.
Xiuer lowered her head, "Yes..."
After Xiuer left, Su Ruanruan placed the letter in her hand into the charcoal brazier and watched it being slowly consumed by the fire snake.
She slumped weakly in her chair, staring at the ashes in the charcoal brazier. Her palm slowly opened, revealing half of her little finger. She hadn't let Xiu'er see it earlier, for fear of frightening her.
Su Ruanruan knew that this was Ziwu's finger, so she put the severed finger down.
Suddenly, in a fit of anger, he pushed the teacup on the table to the ground, shouting, "I just want to live a simple and peaceful life, why is it so difficult!"
"Why, why!! Why is everyone against me, why..."
Su Ruanruan's eyes welled up with tears, making her look pitiful.
After a long while, she finally came to her senses, stood up, and took out a dagger hidden in her clothes, placing it on the table.
She changed her clothes and took a bath.
Gazing at her beautiful face in the bronze mirror, she looked sorrowful.
After opening the door, Su Ruanruan went to the teahouse closest to the city gate.
Two guards stood watch at the door of the private room, and they couldn't shake them off no matter what they did.
Su Ruanruan leaned against the window, looking at the city gate in the distance.
In recent days, Qingshan County has strengthened security at the city gates, and everyone entering or leaving the city is thoroughly checked.
Today, Niu Mang is still personally supervising his subordinates' inspections.
Under these circumstances, Zi Wu was abducted from the city by a mysterious person.
The mysterious person was not afraid of Huo Yan and his group. Even though he knew their identities and that she was Huo Yan's concubine, he still reached out to her.
Unable to reach her, he reached out to Zi Wu.
But what made him so sure that she would bravely venture into a wolf's den to save a maid?
The letter said that she should go to the appointment alone, and that he would kill Ziwu if anyone else knew the contents of the letter. The severed finger was a warning.
He was betting on how much Ziwu meant to her. If she were a pure, innocent ancient person, she would never risk her life for a mere servant.
But she couldn't. She had long regarded Ziwu as her own family and couldn't abandon her.
Su Ruanruan took a sip of tea, just then, the waiter's voice rang out from outside, indicating that he had come to deliver pastries to her.
The waiter placed down several plates of pastries, added some tea for Su Ruanruan, and then left.
Su Ruanruan ate a piece of mung bean cake, and when she picked up another delicate chestnut pastry and took a bite, she found a small note hidden inside.
She unfolded the rolled-up paper and felt a headache coming on when she saw what was inside.
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