Su Xi-er came out of the rice store and looked towards Feng Changqing. “Investigate all the eminent families that have a woman with the surname ‘Rong’. It’s possible that we’re looking for a Madame, or perhaps even a maidservant with a higher status.”
“We will need to check the household registry and records of the various provinces. This subordinate doesn’t have the power to do so; we’ll need to ask Prince Hao.”
Su Xi-er nodded. “I’ll let him know.” She then boarded the horse carriage and headed straight for the Prince Hao Residence.
When she arrived, she was informed that Pei Qianhao had left for the Dragon Heaven Palace due to some commotion that had come up. She initially decided to wait for his return, but ordered the guards to prepare a horse carriage when he had yet to return upon nightfall.
~~~
Meanwhile, Xie Yun was sitting in the Commandery Prince and reading a book, his arm already bandaged. The peculiar thing was that this book wasn’t about military stratagems or classical philosophy; it was a common play script from the general populace. There were various stories of men and women’s joys and sorrows, as well as their partings and reunions.
One of the stories was about a wealthy young miss and an impoverished man. After reading a bit more, Xie Yun’s gaze landed on a particular passage, and his fingers stiffened. The man resorted to doing things by force, and the woman subsequently committed suicide, leaving the man to grieve in his sorrow.
Xie Yun’s breathing hitched. Silly Zhen Yu, could she have…
At that thought, he could no longer remain seated. He immediately called for a horse carriage and avoided Pei Qianhao’s covert guards as he rushed into the mountains.
Inside the wooden house, Zhen Yu was lying in bed and fast asleep. The nourishment from the past few days had resulted in her cheeks becoming much rosier. However, her eyebrows were scrunched up as she slept.
Xie Yun stood beside the bed for a long while, his heart feeling a twinge of pain when he saw her furrowed brows. He moved to help her relax them when she began to call out in her sleep.
“Brother Hu, Brother Hu…”
The person standing before her is me, yet she’s calling another man’s name. Zhen Yu, why can’t you let Brother Hu go? I have already found out that after Brother Hu left Peach Blossom Village, he came to the capital and worked as a temporary worker at a rice store.
As long as we go to that rice store, we’ll be able to discover some traces about Brother Hu. I even know that Su Xi-er went to that rice store. I could have stopped her, but I didn’t.
“Zhen Yu, what’s so bad about following this Prince? This Prince will give anything you want.” Xie Yun sat beside the bed and took her hand, kissing it very gently, afraid that he would hurt her again.
A noise came from outside the door, prompting Xie Yun to furrow his brow and carefully tuck Zhen Yu’s hand back under the quilt.
He softly closed the door behind him as he walked out, asking the physician, “How has nourishing her body been going these past few days?”
“Commandery Prince, things have been going quite well. These few days will be the best period for the young lady to get pregnant.”
Xie Yun immediately knew what he meant. “This Prince understands.”
Then, he instructed the guards, “Pass down this Prince’s verbal edict that I haven’t been feeling well, and will not be attending the morning court assembly so that I can recuperate in my residence. You’re not allowed to let anything leak to the Commandery Princess. Guard the Li Courtyard and don’t allow her to leave.”
“This subordinate obeys the order.” The guard acknowledged the order and turned to leave.
Not long after, Xie Yun entered the wooden house and sat at the edge of the bed, silently watching Zhen Yu for the whole night before leaning against the bed pillar and falling asleep himself.
When Zhen Yu woke up the next morning, she didn’t expect to see Xie Yun sleeping against the bed pillar right after she opened her eyes.
Zhen Yu immediately picked up her dress from the inner side of the bed and put it on. It’s very dangerous for me to be lying in bed.
