“What do you mean the young mistress is missing?”
Zhang Mama was stunned on the spot, her head buzzing.
“Mama, what should we do?”
The two maids, inexperienced in such grave matters, burst into tears immediately.
They would surely be beaten to death for losing the young mistress!
Zhang Mama snapped out of her daze at the sound of their crying, realizing only then that her entire body was trembling. Her legs wobbled, the world spinning around her, darkness clouding her vision, but she fought hard to remain conscious.
“What good is crying?” she snapped. “Have you already looked for her?”
The two maids nodded through their tears. “We waited for a long time but she didn’t return, so we went to look. But the main hall was completely empty, not a soul in sight…”
They had called out in every direction, too. Even if Tian Shu had wandered elsewhere, she should have heard them.
Zhang Mama staggered forward a few steps and stomped her foot. “I’ll go tell the young master!”
But as she turned to leave, she froze.
The young master had left quite some time ago. He was probably already off the mountain by now. How could she possibly catch up on foot?
Moreover, the master was ill. Could she really ask him to abandon his father to search for his sister?
It was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly, with everything going wrong all at once!
What should she do?
Zhang Mama was at a complete loss.
After thinking for a while, she gritted her teeth and said, “We can’t waste any time. First, we’ll send a page back to inform the young master of the situation.”
The mistress had been convalescing for years, and such a matter couldn’t be rashly brought to her attention.
The maids looked terrified. “But… this…”
The young master ruled the household with strict severity. If he found out, they would surely be beaten to death!
Zhang Mama scolded, “We’re already as good as dead for losing the young mistress. Do you think we can get away with hiding it?”
Informing the young master at least ensured they wouldn’t be punished for concealing the matter. If the young mistress was found, it would just be a false alarm, and the young master would recognize their loyalty and perhaps deal with them leniently.
If she couldn’t be found… well, they were doomed anyway. What was there to fear?
After this scolding, she miraculously calmed down.
That’s right, with the young master gone, she, as the nursemaid, had to be the pillar of strength and remain composed.
With this thought, Zhang Mama immediately rushed back to Tian Bin’s courtyard, found a servant who was still on duty, explained the situation, and sent him back to deliver the message.
Meanwhile, in another part of the compound, Lady Zhao was introducing to Ma Bing the social interactions of recent visitors to Fuyun Temple when suddenly a commotion broke out next door.
At first, the two assumed it was Tian Shu acting up again after a brief period of calm, and both looked somewhat resigned.
However, after a while, a maid came to report that someone from the Tian household had come to visit and insisted on seeing them.
Lady Zhao and Ma Bing felt something was amiss and ordered the visitor to be brought in.
It was indeed Zhang Mama.
Her usually meticulously combed bun was disheveled, and her eyes were wide with anxiety. She forced herself to perform a bow and asked in a trembling voice, “Please forgive my rudeness. May I ask the lady and miss if you have seen our young mistress this afternoon?”
Lady Zhao and Ma Bing exchanged glances. “Your young mistress hasn’t returned?”
Zhang Mama nodded, lips quivering, trying hard not to lose her composure further, and then kowtowed before turning to leave.
“Wait,” Lady Zhao called out to her, sighing. “It’s almost dark. How can you manage with just a few people?”
She then summoned all the servants in the courtyard, leaving only two maids to attend to her.
“Go inform Master Xie and the others to help with the search. You go ask the abbot for assistance—they are more familiar with the area. The rest of you should form groups of two, take torches, and search the area. Remember, always stay in pairs and don’t separate.”
Fuyun Temple was deep in the mountains, with a complex and perilous terrain. Searching at night was very risky, so Lady Zhao insisted on pairs to avoid further casualties.
As the lady of the house, even though she wasn’t familiar with Fuyun Temple, she had considered every aspect of the situation in an instant.
Seeing this, Zhang Mama was overwhelmed with gratitude, knelt down, and kowtowed several times. When she stood up again, her forehead was bleeding.
Seeing her like this, Ma Bing was deeply moved.
She certainly didn’t like the Tian siblings, but seeing Zhang Mama reminded her of her own nursemaid from the past.
Regardless of how the young masters and mistresses behaved, these caretakers gave their all unconditionally.
“I’ll go too,” Ma Bing stood up.
Seeing Lady Zhao’s concern, Ma Bing smiled. “It’s fine. I’ve often gone into the mountains at night before. I’m not afraid. Besides, I’ve been collecting herbs here for the past few days and am more familiar with the terrain than others. You can stay here and wait without worrying.”
Zhang Mama knew of Ma Bing’s previous disagreements with her young mistress. Seeing her willingness to help despite this made her both ashamed and touched. If time had permitted, she would have even offered her own head in gratitude.
Ma Bing quickly organized her clothes, took a torch, a fire starter, and a simple medical kit. In case Tian Shu had fallen off a cliff, she might still be alive, and Ma Bing could at least stabilize her condition temporarily.
“Oh, by the way, have you informed your young master?” Ma Bing asked casually.
Zhang Mama, now frantic and grateful for Ma Bing’s help, didn’t hide the truth. “The master is ill, and the young master just went home to take care of him…”
“Oh, I see,” Ma Bing nodded and stepped out the door.
Ill, huh? Then he should rest well.
When will the illness be cured? When the person is gone.
As the group stepped out, they met Xie Yu and the others head-on.
Fuyun Temple fell under the jurisdiction of the Kaifeng Prefecture, and the disappearance of a person was a matter for which Xie Yu had both the authority and responsibility to inquire.
Seeing that the servants accompanying Lady Zhao had already mobilized, Xie Yu declared loudly, “Don’t scatter around aimlessly. Listen to my instructions.”
Such a chaotic search would be ineffective and likely result in more losses.
At the sound of the words “this official,” everyone felt a sense of leadership and turned their gazes toward him.
Upon receiving the news earlier, Xie Yu had already sent Yuan Pei to find the abbot of Fuyun Temple. He himself had come to the women’s quarters first to prevent them from acting recklessly.
Meanwhile, Yuan Pei went to find the abbot, who, upon hearing the news, immediately demonstrated what it meant to be filled with regret.
The abbot immediately dispatched his disciples to gather the monks while chanting sutras incessantly.
“What a sin, what a sin! This humble monk knew we shouldn’t have announced the lecture. If we hadn’t announced it, we wouldn’t have attracted so many believers. If we hadn’t attracted believers, this kind of incident wouldn’t have happened. And if this incident hadn’t occurred, the Fuyun Temple wouldn’t have incurred such karma…”
Yuan Pei was almost dizzy from this long string of words.
He had long known that Fuyun Temple was known for being cautious to the point of timidity, but he hadn’t realized it had reached such an extent!
At the sound of the bell for assembly, the adult monks of Fuyun Temple quickly gathered in the courtyard. And in just a few short moments, the abbot had already made a decision:
Indeed, monks should stick to reciting scriptures. Once this matter was resolved, he would close the mountain gates and never hold such large events again.
Before long, Xie Yu met with the abbot after selecting and organizing the search teams.
He had originally wanted to obtain a map of Fuyun Temple to understand the situation in detail before deploying the search, but to his dismay, the temple had been so reclusive for years that it didn’t even have a proper map.
Fortunately, the monks went to the back mountains daily to fetch water, gather herbs, and farm, so they were all familiar with the terrain.
With no choice, Xie Yu reorganized the two groups, centering the search around the main hall where Tian Shu was last seen, dividing them into groups of three to spread out in all directions, ensuring that each group included at least one monk familiar with the local terrain.
In the end, only he, Yuan Pei, and Ma Bing remained.
Xie Yu said to Yuan Pei, “You and the abbot should question the monks guarding the mountain gate. If Tian Shu hasn’t been seen descending the mountain, find out if there were any suspicious individuals today. If there’s an emergency, you have my permission to act as you see fit.”
Yuan Pei saluted and accepted the mission. “Understood!”
Xie Yu turned to Ma Bing. “You and I will be a team.”
With limited personnel, they couldn’t form another group of three. Fortunately, they had been going into the mountains frequently over the past few days, giving them an advantage, so one fewer person wouldn’t be a problem.
Ma Bing had wanted to say she could go alone, but seeing Xie Yu’s firm resolve, she didn’t argue.
“Stay within sight of each other’s torches and within hearing distance of each other’s voices. If you find the person, return immediately and use the bell as a signal,” Xie Yu instructed everyone. “Remember, your own safety comes first!”
Finding the person was important, but they also needed to prevent additional casualties.
Everyone responded in unison and scattered in their assigned directions, blending into the endless night like a gray tide.
Meanwhile, at the Tian household.
“Doctor, how is my father?” Tian Bin anxiously asked the physician who had just finished taking his father’s pulse.
The family’s private physician was unavailable, and over the past few days, they had already replaced two external physicians. If there was still no result…
The physician stroked his beard, pondered for a while, and cautiously said, “The pulse at the inch opening is active and weak. Activity indicates shock, and weakness indicates palpitation. The pulse at the foot’s yang is subtle and floating. Floating indicates weakness of the stomach qi, and subtlety indicates loss of appetite. This is the pulse of fear, caused by worry and pressure.”
Tian Bin frowned, patiently listening. “So it’s caused by fear and anxiety?”
The physician nodded, struggling to find a way to explain the cause tactfully yet clearly.
“In my humble opinion, the master has had a lingering heart condition for many years, likely due to excessive worry about the country and its people, leading to overthinking. Recently, he was frightened, which triggered his old ailment, causing it to flare up all at once.”
Putting aside the nonsense about worrying for the country and its people for now, the latter part—being frightened…
It must be that letter again!
Tian Bin fell into thought. What had happened in Liangzhou? What had frightened his father so badly?
But just now, he had already searched thoroughly and found no trace of the letter. It must have been burned by his father, leaving no way to investigate.
Never mind that for now. The priority was to cure his father.
As long as his father recovered, everything else would be fine.
Tian Bin bowed deeply to the physician. “Please, prescribe whatever medicine you think necessary.”
The physician hurriedly stepped aside, looking extremely distressed. “To be honest, this is a psychological illness, and psychological illnesses are difficult to cure.”
Tian Bin’s heart sank, half of him turning cold.
Seeing his expression, the physician couldn’t help but feel sympathy.
Besides… the Tian family had paid him too much.
He hesitated for a while with his medicine case in hand and finally decided to speak frankly.
“With all due respect, the old master’s illness seems suspicious, coming on very suddenly. I suspect he may have consumed something inappropriate. May I ask if the old master has recently been ill or taken any tonics?”
Old Master Tian’s symptoms seemed to stem from paranoia, but the physician had seen similar cases before. Most of them developed gradually, taking anywhere from half a month to several years.
Moreover, most patients had some basis for their suspicions, leading them to indulge in endless speculation. But Old Master Tian’s case… it was as if he had seen something terrifying, bordering on hallucinations.
But judging solely from the pulse, there had been no warning signs at all, as if it had come out of nowhere.
But he dared not say this.
There were many unspeakable things in noble families. If he accidentally said something he shouldn’t, even more money wouldn’t save his life.
Tian Bin was startled, unable to believe it. “Are you saying… poisoning?”
Could someone have poisoned his father?
That was unlikely.
His father had always been cautious, sticking to the same menu for decades to avoid any tampering. The taste of his tea, snacks, and dishes had remained unchanged for years, and the water he drank came from the same spring, never changing. If there had been even the slightest anomaly, he would have noticed.
Could it be the food from Fuyun Temple?
But they served communal meals, and everyone had eaten them. Why had no one else fallen ill?
Was it that letter again?
But he himself had handled it, even touching and reading it longer than his father had. Why had he not been affected?
The physician dared not continue, quickly writing out a prescription. “I’m useless, but I’ll draft a formula to calm the nerves and soothe the mind. If it works, there’s no need to thank me. If it doesn’t, please forgive my uselessness and don’t call me again.”
With that, he stuffed the silver into his pocket, grabbed his medicine case, and fled in a flash.
Out of the city, out of the city—he would leave with his wife and children as soon as the city gates opened at dawn. He would stay away for a year or two until things calmed down before returning…
At least with this silver, he could live comfortably for several years without doing anything.
Tian Bin didn’t bother chasing him, standing there lost in thought.
Inside, Old Master Tian was acting up again, shouting about ghosts and monsters, smashing things around. Despite being an old man, when he lost his temper, it took five or six strong servants to hold him down… It was a complete mess.
Tian Bin had never felt such a headache before.
He had always known that one day his father would fall, but not now, and certainly not in this way!
It was too early.
Not the right time.
“Come here!” Tian Bin shouted outward.
A servant entered at once. “Master.”
Tian Bin glanced inside again. Through the pearl curtain, he saw shadows moving about in chaos.
He furrowed his brow and let out a heavy sigh. “Take the master’s visiting card to the Prince Su residence and ask them to lend us one of their imperial physicians. The master has suddenly fallen ill.”
There were imperial physicians permanently stationed at Prince Su’s residence.
The servant was startled. “But… what if they refuse?”
Tian Bin had another motive.
“Just pay attention to the reaction of the people at Prince Su’s residence when you mention the master’s illness. If the opportunity arises, find out whether Prince Su is in good health. Now go!”
If his suspicions were correct, then Prince Su would not have escaped unscathed either!
If that were truly the case, the connection between his father and Prince Su must run deeper than he could imagine!
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