Shao Qing furrowed his brows and asked the servant boy tidying up the inner chamber, "Where is the young master?"
The servant boy hunched his shoulders anxiously, "I, I also don’t know. I was on duty in the main room. When I arrived, the young master was already not in the room."
Shao Qing felt suffocated with frustration, turned, and walked out of the main room. He stood in the middle of the courtyard and called out, prompting all the maids and servant boys who served there to run out.
He asked, "Does any of you know where the young master has gone? There is a handsome reward."
Everyone shook their heads.
One of them cleverly said, "Lord Shao, not long after you left, the young master also left."
"The young master rode out on a horse."
"It was that green-maned horse which our master brought from the Capital City, it runs very fast, and vanished in a puff of smoke."
Not a single piece of useful information.
Shao Qing went to the front County Yamen and inquired with several Government Officials on duty, only to learn that Yuan Yunzhong had left the County Yamen and headed south.
He stamped his foot in frustration, "The young master’s illness hasn’t gotten better yet, and none of you stopped him."
The Government Officials responded with obsequious nods, "Who is the young master, and what are we? Even if we wanted to stop him, we wouldn’t dare to."
Shao Qing could only fume in silence.
He didn’t know what kind of letter the young master had received that made him send him away and take off on his own.
After returning, he would certainly complain about the young master to Master Jinghu.
As this thought crossed his mind, he was disheartened.
Nowadays, with the young master held in high esteem by the Emperor, sometimes even Master Jinghu would seek advice from the young master, so even if he complained to Master Jinghu, Master Jinghu would probably be powerless against the young master and instead become worried. By then, his grandfather would definitely scold him.
Yet, he was truly worried about Yuan Yunzhong, fearing that he might lose his way and encounter some serious danger.
If only he knew what was written in that letter!
A thought struck Shao Qing.
Even if the Emperor himself made an incognito visit to see the young master, encountering a bathing day, the young master would pretend to be absent.
Only an affair concerning the life and death of the common people that was of utmost importance could have prompted the sick young master to leave the house.
Magistrate Jiang, as the parent official of Liang County, would definitely know if such a significant incident had occurred.
Like seeing a beacon in the darkness, Shao Qing grabbed a Government Official on duty and asked, "When will your County Magistrate return?"
The Government Official shook his head, saying, "I don’t know. There doesn’t seem to be any cases to judge today, no need for a court session."
Shao Qing suspected that Magistrate Jiang, for the sake of something good to eat, would linger at Xu Guangzeng’s place and not come back.
He then made his way to the Inspection Division where the Inspector General was temporarily residing.
Magistrate Jiang was gobbling up a spicy Chongqing hot pot, his mouth slick with red oil, along with Xu Guangzeng, Deng Chen, and a few others.
As the wine warmed him and reddened his ears, upon seeing Shao Qing, Deng Chen happily offered his seat, "Lord Xu’s chef makes a soup base for the spicy hot pot that I’ve never tasted before in my life, so delicious. No wonder Noble Consort Wan’s nephew, Wan Shen, often runs to your house for meals!"
Xu Guangzeng laughed heartily and ordered the servant boy beside him, "Go and slaughter another cow and a pig. Serve Lord Shao with a plate of tripe, a plate of throat cartilage, and a plate of liver slices." He also told him, "Don’t judge by the rough appearance of these ingredients, once you try them, you’ll certainly want to eat them again."
Shao Qing, thinking of the missing Yuan Yunzhong and looking at the pile of lavish food, couldn’t contain his frustration and said sternly, "The young master is missing!"
The vice envoy from the Inspection Division was pouring wine for Magistrate Jiang and added, "This is the finest Jinhua Wine, buried by my great-grandfather the year my grand-aunt was born. I specially unearthed it to honor the dignitaries..." Shao Qing’s words fell on his ears, and he asked in confusion, "Young master, what young master? Which family’s young master?"
Unfortunately, Magistrate Jiang and the others had drunk quite a bit and none reacted to the news.
Deng Chen continued, "Really, Lord Xu is telling the truth. I never used to eat these pickled goods, but now I’m even planning to try the pig brain that Lord Xu recommended. There’s only one set of pig brains in a whole pig."
Shao Qing, keeping a straight face, dragged Magistrate Jiang away from the pot, "The young master is missing, and I’m worried to death while you’re still in the mood to drink and dine. If anything happens to the young master, I’d like to see how you explain it to Lord Yuan and Madam Wang. They treat you like their own son."
Magistrate Jiang sobered up instantly and asked, "What do you mean? Xiao Si is missing? What happened?"
Seeing his reaction, Shao Qing felt somewhat relieved and recounted the events, then asked, "Has anything significant happened recently in the Imperial Court or Liang County?"
Magistrate Jiang found the letter quite peculiar, but he trusted Yuan Yunzhong’s judgment more, saying, "Nothing significant has occurred in the Imperial Court or Liang County. Xiao Si holds the rank of a third-grade official at the Imperial Court; you shouldn’t always treat him like a child. Although he doesn’t know the way and is currently sick, his mind is sharper than several others combined. If he doesn’t want to tell you, you wouldn’t know what he’s up to even if you were by his side." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
He then comforted him, "Don’t worry, perhaps by the time we return, he will have come back."
Shao Qing couldn’t be as open-minded as Magistrate Jiang and asked, "When shall we return then?"
Caught off guard and feeling guilty, Magistrate Jiang replied, "Let’s at least have dinner before going back, shall we?"
Shao Qing glared at him.
Magistrate Jiang quickly added, "Alright, alright, alright. I’ll go back with you right away. But you have to let me finish my meal before we leave."
Shao Qing could only accompany Magistrate Jiang back to the table. He didn’t dare to eat tripe or throat cartilage, so he just blanched some beef and pork, which turned out to be quite tasty. He thought about recommending it to Yuan Yunzhong next time. However, he guessed that Yuan Yunzhong probably wouldn’t eat it. But Boss Song would definitely like it.
He waited patiently for nearly a whole Shichen Chinese Time and finally managed to pull Magistrate Jiang away to leave.
Yuan Yunzhong still hadn’t returned.
After a full meal, Magistrate Jiang lay on an Arhat bed, sipping on Biluochun tea, and watched as Shao Qing paced restlessly. Languidly, he said, "At worst, I’ll just take the constables and government officials from the County Yamen to look for him. Can’t you just sit down and enjoy a cup of tea?"
Shao Qing, deeply doubting Magistrate Jiang’s reliability, couldn’t help but regret, "Had I known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have listened to the young master and gone to thank Boss Song."
Magistrate Jiang picked a piece of candied fruit from the candy box and absentmindedly responded, "What does this have to do with Boss Song? What did Xiao Si do after I left?"
Shao Qing couldn’t be bothered with Magistrate Jiang’s lack of concern and continued to mumble, "Today has been nothing but trouble. I went to thank Boss Song, and it took me half of Jingde Town to find him... Out of nowhere, a classmate appeared, I have no idea if he’s real or fake... The young master is the Inspector General of Jiangxi, and all sorts of riffraff have come looking for him... Last time, someone claimed to be from the Bai Family in Jingzhou; the young master held him off from meeting, and then the man started crying and shouting, saying he was from Wuchang..."
Magistrate Jiang, however, froze, the piece of candy before his lips not making it into his mouth for a long time.
"What did you say?" he asked Shao Qing, his expression suddenly becoming serious and solemn, "Was the letter written by Xiao Si’s classmate? And then the young master sent you to see Boss Song?"
Shao Qing nodded.
Magistrate Jiang sank into deep thought.
Unaware of the change in Magistrate Jiang, Shao Qing muttered, "Even if he really is a classmate, why would there be things he needs to hide from me?"
But Magistrate Jiang’s complexion turned ashen, and he urgently summoned Jiang Xiaosi, "Take my name card and find Deng Chen immediately—no, find Xu Guangzeng. Xu Guangzeng is a nitwit; tell him to have men ready for me at any time. Shao Qing, you come with me to Song Mansion."
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