Mei Qing felt a surge of anger welling up inside him. Although he knew it had happened many years ago, he still couldn’t let go of what had happened to his mother.
In the past, he had harbored some doubts about Bi Zhen’s stubborn refusal to forgive Lu Bing. But now, having experienced a similar situation involving his own mother, he finally understood Bi Zhen’s feelings.
Although the Prince Xian, who had not yet ascended the throne, had quickly forgotten Chen Fei, the woman chosen by the old princess to become empress, after his wedding night, and although he had never mistreated Mei Qing’s mother in any way, even going so far as to stubbornly insist on keeping her in the mansion despite clashing with others, Mei Qing still couldn’t forgive him.
He wanted the throne, and he wanted Mei’s beauty and devotion, but he was unwilling to give anything in return.
This wasn’t love—it was merely selfishness.
Mei Qing felt a surge of anger within him. Although he knew it was something that had happened many years ago, he still couldn’t let go of the pain his mother had endured.
In the past, he had some reservations about Bi Zhen’s stubborn refusal to forgive Lu Bing. But when a similar situation befell his own mother, he finally truly understood Bi Zhen’s feelings.
Even though the then Prince Xingxian, who had not yet become emperor, had cast aside the Chen consort, who was destined to be the empress, chosen by the old princess consort for him, on the night of their wedding, and though he had indeed treated Miss Mei with no wrong, even going so far as to defy conventions to keep her in his residence, Mei Qing still couldn’t forgive him.
He desired the throne, and he also desired Miss Mei’s beauty and her heart, yet he was unwilling to offer anything in return.
This wasn’t love; it was merely selfishness.
The Sixth Master also spoke with a tinge of melancholy, saying in a low voice, “In the blink of an eye, it was already April, and the imperial edict from the capital was already on its way. At that time, the eunuchs Gu Dayong, Wei Bin, Zhang Jin, the Grand Secretary Liang Chu, the Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo, the Imperial Son-in-law Cui Yuan, and the Minister of Rites Mao Cheng personally came to escort him. At that time, Miss Mei couldn’t show her face, and His Majesty, fearing that Miss Mei would be wronged after he left, left Lu Zhong behind, arranged a residence outside, and moved Miss Mei there.”
“At that time, I was also about to have a child, so I requested His Majesty to let me stay and take care of Miss Mei, and also to wait for my own child to be born. But His Majesty said that since Maoyang Zhenren had already left, if I didn’t accompany him to the capital, who else could he rely on? He also earnestly said that there was no one else in the world he could trust. Once he became emperor, he would be alone, with no one close to him. If I were to abandon him as well, he would be left alone in the capital, at the mercy of others, and it would be worse than death.”
“At that time, I was torn between two choices. If it were about my devotion to the Dao, it wasn’t that strong, but because of my bond with my Dao companion, I couldn’t bear to leave, and with a child on the way, how could I travel far? But His Majesty’s words at that time deeply moved me. We had grown up together, shared good times and bad, and were indeed like brothers. If I were to refuse him so resolutely, wouldn’t our brotherhood and the duty between ruler and subject become empty words? At that moment, I acted on impulse, disregarding my Dao companion’s objections, and followed His Majesty to the capital.”
Hearing this, Mei Qing couldn’t help but open his mouth wide, staring at the Sixth Master, and stammered, “Ah… isn’t this… could it be that you are… Commander Lu?”
“Did you just figure it out?” the Sixth Master snorted, “Exactly, the Sixth Master is Lu Bing, and Lu Bing is the Sixth Master. If it weren’t for that girl A Bi, do you think I’d be in the mood to invite you here and tell you the whole story?”
Mei Qing was at a loss for words. Now that he thought about it, there were indeed many inconsistencies in the story. Whether it was the Sixth Master’s strange attitude towards him or the hints in his words, he should have made the connection earlier. But perhaps because of his preconceived notions about Lu Bing, he had always felt an inexplicable fondness for the Sixth Master, which is why he hadn’t thought of this before. Now that he knew, he felt incredibly foolish.
“Then… then… what about Zhen’er…” Mei Qing struggled to say.
“That girl A Bi has always been stubborn. My affairs, she must have told you about them. Anyway, today’s words are here: if you want to marry my daughter, you have to make her acknowledge me as her father. If she doesn’t acknowledge me as her father, you can forget about marrying my daughter!” the Sixth Master said angrily.
“Ah… this… what you say seems reasonable… but… by the way, what happened to my mother later?” Seeing the Sixth Master suddenly transform into his prospective father-in-law, Mei Qing felt a bit intimidated and stammered as he changed the subject.
“What do you mean ‘seems reasonable’?! Is there any son-in-law in the world who doesn’t acknowledge his father-in-law? Do you dare say it’s not so?” the Sixth Master glared, “As for what happened later, you can ask your Uncle Zhong. Didn’t I just say that he was the one left behind to take care of things?”
Uncle Zhong was the “Lu Zhong” mentioned by the Sixth Master, which was not surprising. But why he later stopped serving and came to take care of him, and how he came to be a descendant of the Mei family, was a strange matter.
Seeing Mei Qing turn to him, Uncle Zhong couldn’t help but sigh deeply, “This matter, for so many years, I’ve been thinking about it every day. If one day I were to tell the young master, how should I begin?”
As he spoke, he shook his head, “Actually, there are many questions from the young master that I don’t know how to answer. Because this matter, I’ve also been trying to figure out what exactly happened back then. All these years, I’ve been afraid every day. Afraid that I would grow old, and before I die, I wouldn’t have time to find the answers, and would have to take these regrets to my grave.”
At this point, Uncle Zhong’s eyes also showed a hint of confusion, and he sighed, “When the local prince went to the capital and became the emperor, he left me behind to take care of the lady, and I was actually very happy. To be honest, in my eyes, only Miss Mei was the true lady. That later princess consort, I doubt anyone in our residence thought she could compare to the lady, right?”
“So after the emperor entrusted the lady to me, I carefully arranged that residence and selected dozens of trusted guards and servants from the family. As for maids and old women, apart from the lady’s own two maids, Duo Yun and Wu Er, I didn’t use any old staff from the residence, but bought them all from outside. These people were all personally selected by me for their honesty and reliability. In my heart, I also roughly understood that since the emperor didn’t take the lady to the capital this time, it probably meant that she wouldn’t have a chance to go to the capital in the future.”
“Not long after, the second group of people prepared to go to the capital. Besides the princess consort, the old princess consort was also to accompany them. Thus, our Xingxian Prince’s residence in Anlu would lose a large number of people. Watching them all happily preparing to go to the capital, I didn’t feel envious at all. I just thought to remind the staff at home not to gossip and tell the lady about these things, lest she feel upset.”
“Strangely enough, the lady seemed completely indifferent to all this, staying in that residence every day. I remember when buying this house, because I thought the lady liked plum blossoms, I spent a long time looking for a house with a backyard full of plum trees. The lady liked it very much and didn’t live in the main house, but in a small courtyard in the backyard. Those days, she stayed in the courtyard all day without coming out. Occasionally, when I had something to report to her, she would ask about some things, but mostly out of curiosity rather than to manage affairs.”
At this point, Uncle Zhong couldn’t help but smile, “The lady seemed completely untouched by worldly affairs, and many things she didn’t know at all. When I told her some outside gossip, her face would light up with a childlike smile.”
“But more often when I saw the lady, I felt she seemed preoccupied, as if worried about something. There was no particular reason, but I always had this feeling. Indeed—”
“I remember that day very clearly, it was the sixth day of the fifth month. The day before was the Dragon Boat Festival, and everyone in the residence was in a festive mood. I had a few extra drinks that night. The next day, I woke up late. Because of the hangover, my head was heavy, and I didn’t eat breakfast. Just as I was lying in my room, I suddenly heard someone running in, an old woman from the backyard, urgently saying that the lady was missing.”
“At that moment, I was startled, but also thought it couldn’t be true. Maybe the lady had gone for an early morning walk and hadn’t returned yet? But the old woman insisted it wasn’t so. Although the lady would take walks, it was always after breakfast. That day, when breakfast was prepared and sent to the backyard, the lady was nowhere to be found. Everyone searched everywhere, almost turning the garden upside down, but still couldn’t find her.”
“Only then did I start to worry and hurriedly got up to run to the garden. There were no men in the backyard, only maids and old women, all in chaos. I shouted in a hurry, asking them how they had been taking care of the lady’s daily life. Finally, the old woman reminded me that usually, the lady’s daily life was managed by Duo Yun and Wu Er, and others didn’t interfere.”
“I had someone look for Duo Yun and Wu Er. Then the old woman and others said that Duo Yun and Wu Er were also missing.”
“At that moment, I was so anxious and furious that I didn’t care about anything else. First, I ordered everyone in the backyard to gather and not let anyone leave. Then I called the guards and family members, disregarding any rules, and had them search every corner of the backyard for any abnormalities. I myself interrogated several of the old women and maids in charge.”
“Unfortunately, all this still yielded no results. The lady and her two maids seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving not a single trace. I even used some of my old connections, but whether in the underworld or the official world, there was no news about the lady at all.”
“I was also very puzzled. If it were kidnappers or flower thieves, not only was our residence quite secure, but even if there were some extraordinary person, there would be no reason to take two maids along. If the lady had left on her own, then why? But at this point, someone around me thought of the princess consort going to the capital. They said maybe the lady had found out and left in anger?”
“This theory seemed very plausible to others, but I felt that the lady’s nature wouldn’t lead her to act this way. But later, I thought, it’s hard to say there wasn’t a chance. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so we decided to try our luck and first go to the Plum Valley where the lady used to live.”
“The lady had always lived in that Plum Valley before. And from what the lady said, it seemed she had little experience with the world. If she had left on her own, there was a ninety percent chance she had returned to the Plum Valley. But when we reached the cliff that led into the Plum Valley, we were shocked.”
“At that time, since I was about to have a child, I asked the Emperor if I could stay behind to take care of Mei girl, and also wait for the birth of my own child. But the Emperor said that since the Taoist Master Mao Yang had already departed, if I didn’t accompany him to the capital, who else could he rely on? He pleaded bitterly, saying that he had no one else he could trust in the world anymore. Once he became emperor and started calling himself ‘I alone,’ he naturally had no more close companions. If I left him too, he would be all alone in the capital, at everyone’s mercy, and life wouldn’t be worth living.”
“At that time, I was caught between two difficult choices. If I considered my Taoist cultivation, I wasn’t that attached to it anyway; it was just because of my deep affection for my Taoist companion that I couldn’t bear to part with her. Besides, now that I was about to become a father, how could I go on a long journey? But the Emperor’s words really moved me. We had grown up together since childhood, sharing both good and bad times, just like real brothers. How could I refuse his heartfelt plea without turning our brotherly bond and loyalty between sovereign and subject into empty words? At that moment, I acted impulsively, ignoring my Taoist companion’s objections, and followed the Emperor to the capital.”
When Mei Qing heard this, he couldn’t help but open his mouth wide and stare at Sixth Master in disbelief, stammering, “Ah… this… could it be… are you… the Commander?”
“You’ve just figured it out?” Sixth Master snorted, “That’s right, Sixth Master is Lu Bing, and Lu Bing is Sixth Master. Do you think I’d go out of my way to invite you here and explain everything unless it was because of that girl Bi?”
Mei Qing was momentarily speechless. Thinking back now, indeed there had been many inconsistencies all along. Whether it was Sixth Master’s strange attitude toward him or the meanings subtly implied in his words, they should have led him to this realization earlier. But perhaps because of his preconceived prejudice against Lu Bing, and his inexplicable fondness for Sixth Master from the beginning, he had never considered the possibility. Now that he realized this, he truly felt he had been stupid beyond belief.
“Then… then… Zhen…?” Mei Qing stammered with difficulty.
“That girl Bi has always been stubborn. I suppose she must have already told you about my story. Anyway, I’m saying it straight now—if you want to marry my daughter, you must first acknowledge me as her father. If you don’t recognize me as her father, there’s no way you’re marrying my daughter!” Sixth Master said angrily.
“Ah… well… you do have a point… but… by the way, what happened to my mother later?” Mei Qing, suddenly realizing that Sixth Master had now become his prospective father-in-law, felt a bit intimidated and stammered, trying to change the subject.
“What do you mean, ‘some point’?! How could there be a situation where a nephew refuses to recognize his uncle? You dare to say otherwise?!” Sixth Master snapped back, eyes flashing.
“As for what happened afterward, just ask your Uncle Zhong. Didn’t I just say he was the one left behind to manage things?”
It wasn’t surprising that Uncle Zhong was the “Lu Zhong” mentioned by Sixth Master. But why he had later stopped serving in the palace and instead come to take care of him, and how Mei Qing had come to bear the identity of a descendant of the Mei family, was indeed a strange matter.
Seeing that Mei Qing had turned to him, Uncle Zhong sighed deeply and said, “It’s been so many years now. Every day I’ve been thinking, what if the day really came when I had to tell my young master about this, how should I begin?”
Shaking his head as he spoke, he continued, “In fact, many of the questions you have, I myself don’t know how to answer. Because I’ve been trying to understand what really happened back then. All these years, I’ve been afraid every day, afraid that before I die, I won’t have time to find the answers and will carry these regrets with me into the grave.”
At this point, a trace of bewilderment appeared in Uncle Zhong’s eyes as he sighed, “When the Prince went to the capital and became the Emperor, he left me behind to take care of the Lady. To be honest, I was actually quite happy. In my eyes, only Mei girl was the true Lady. As for the later Princess, I doubt anyone in our mansion thought she could compare to the Lady.”
“So after the Emperor entrusted the Lady to me, I carefully arranged that residence, selecting dozens of trustworthy guards and servants from our household. As for the maids and nannies, aside from the Lady’s two personal maids, Duoyun and Wu’er, I didn’t use any of the old household staff, but instead bought new ones from outside. All of them were personally chosen by me for their loyalty and diligence. In fact, I more or less understood the implication—since the Emperor was not taking the Lady with him to the capital this time, it probably meant she would never go there in the future either.”
Mei Qing felt a surge of anger in his heart. Although he knew it was something that had happened many years ago, he still couldn’t let go of what his mother had endured.
In the past, he had some reservations about Bi Zhen’s stubborn refusal to forgive Lu Bing. But when a similar situation befell his own mother, he finally truly understood Bi Zhen’s feelings.
Although the then Prince Xingxian, who had not yet become the emperor, had cast aside the Chen consort chosen by the old princess consort to be his empress on their wedding night, and although he had indeed treated Miss Mei with no ill will, even going so far as to defy convention to keep her in his residence, Mei Qing still couldn’t forgive him.
He wanted the throne, and he also wanted Miss Mei’s beauty and her heart, yet he was unwilling to make any sacrifices.
This wasn’t love; it was merely selfishness.
Sixth Master’s words also carried a hint of melancholy as he softly said, “In the blink of an eye, it was already April, and the imperial edict from the capital was already on its way. At that time, the eunuchs Gu Dayong, Wei Bin, and Zhang Jin, along with Grand Secretary Liang Chu, Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo, Consort Cui Yuan, and Minister of Rites Mao Cheng, personally came to escort him. At that time, Miss Mei couldn’t show her face, and His Majesty, fearing that Miss Mei would be mistreated after he left, left Lu Zhong behind and set up a separate residence outside, arranging for people to move Miss Mei there.”
“At that time, I was also expecting a child, so I requested His Majesty to let me stay and take care of Miss Mei while waiting for my own child to be born. But His Majesty said that since Master Maoyang had already left, if I didn’t accompany him to the capital, who else could he rely on? He even lamented that there was no one left in the world he could trust. Once he became emperor, he would be all alone, with no one close to him. If I were to abandon him as well, he would be left alone in the capital, at the mercy of others, and it would be worse than death.”
“At that time, I was torn between two difficult choices. If it were about my devotion to the Dao, it wasn’t that strong, but because of my bond with my Dao companion, I couldn’t bear to leave, and with the impending birth of my child, how could I travel far? But His Majesty’s words moved me deeply. We had grown up together, sharing both good and bad times. We were indeed like brothers. If I were to refuse him outright, wouldn’t our brotherhood and the bond between ruler and subject become meaningless? In a moment of impulsiveness, I ignored my Dao companion’s objections and followed His Majesty to the capital.”
Hearing this, Mei Qing couldn’t help but open his mouth wide, staring at Sixth Master. He stammered, “Ah… isn’t this… could it be that you are… Commander Lu?”
“Just figured it out?” Sixth Master snorted. “Exactly, Sixth Master is Lu Bing, and Lu Bing is Sixth Master. If it weren’t for that girl A’Bi, do you think I’d be in the mood to invite you here and explain everything to you?”
Mei Qing was left speechless. Now that he thought about it, there had indeed been many clues along the way. Whether it was Sixth Master’s strange attitude towards him or the hints in his words, he should have made the connection earlier. But perhaps because of his preconceived notions about Lu Bing and his inexplicable fondness for Sixth Master from the start, he had never considered this possibility. Now that he knew, he felt incredibly foolish.
“Then… then… what about Zhen’er…” Mei Qing struggled to say.
“That girl A’Bi has always been stubborn. She must have told you about my affairs. Anyway, I’ll say this now: if you want to marry my daughter, she has to acknowledge me as her father. If she doesn’t acknowledge me, you can forget about marrying my daughter!” Sixth Master said angrily.
“Ah… that… what you say makes some sense… but… by the way, what happened to my mother later?” Seeing Sixth Master suddenly transform into his prospective father-in-law, Mei Qing felt a bit intimidated and stammered as he changed the subject.
“Some sense?! What do you mean ‘some sense’? Is there any son-in-law in the world who doesn’t acknowledge his father-in-law? You dare say otherwise?” Sixth Master glared at him. “As for what happened later, you can ask your Uncle Zhong. Didn’t I just say that he was the one left behind to take care of things?”
Uncle Zhong was the “Lu Zhong” Sixth Master had mentioned, which was no surprise. But why he later stopped serving and came to take care of him, and how he ended up with the identity of a descendant of the Mei family, was indeed a strange matter.
Seeing Mei Qing turn to him, Uncle Zhong couldn’t help but sigh deeply. “This matter has been on my mind for so many years. Every day I’ve been thinking about how I would start if I ever had to tell the young master about it.”
As he spoke, he shook his head. “Actually, I don’t know how to answer many of the young master’s questions. Because this matter, I’ve also been trying to figure out what exactly happened back then. All these years, I’ve been afraid. Afraid that I would grow old and die before I could find the answers, and that I would take these regrets with me to the grave.”
At this point, a hint of confusion appeared in Uncle Zhong’s eyes, and he sighed, “When His Highness went to the capital and became His Majesty, he left me behind to take care of Madam. I was actually quite happy about it. To be honest, in my eyes, only Miss Mei was the true Madam. That later princess consort, I doubt anyone in our residence thought she could compare to Madam.”
“So after His Majesty entrusted Madam to me, I carefully arranged that residence and selected dozens of trustworthy guards and servants from our household. As for the maids and old women, apart from Madam’s own two maids, Duo Yun and Wu’er, I didn’t use any of the old staff from the residence but instead bought them all from outside. These people were all personally chosen by me for their honesty and reliability. In my heart, I also roughly understood that since His Majesty didn’t bring Madam to the capital this time, it likely meant that she would never have the chance to go to the capital in the future.”
“Not long after, the second group prepared to go to the capital. Besides the princess consort, the old princess consort was also going along. This meant that our Prince Xingxian’s residence in Anlu would lose a large number of people. Watching them all happily preparing to go to the capital, I didn’t feel the slightest bit envious. I just thought to myself that I should remind the household staff not to gossip and tell Madam about these things, lest it upset her.”
“Strangely enough, Madam seemed completely indifferent to all of this, staying in that residence every day. I remember when we bought this house, because I knew Madam liked plum blossoms, I spent a long time looking for a house with a backyard full of plum trees. Madam was very pleased with it and didn’t stay in the main house but instead moved into a small courtyard in the backyard. During those days, she rarely left the courtyard. Occasionally, when I had something to report to her, she would ask about things, but mostly out of curiosity rather than to manage affairs.”
At this point, Uncle Zhong couldn’t help but smile. “Madam seemed as if she had never been touched by the world, knowing almost nothing about many things. When I told her about the outside world, she would smile like a child.”
“But more often, when I saw Madam, I felt that she seemed to have something on her mind, as if she was worried about something. There was no particular reason, but I always had this feeling. And indeed—”
“I remember that day very clearly. It was the sixth day of the fifth month. The day before was the Dragon Boat Festival, and the household was in a festive mood. I had a few extra drinks that night. The next day, I woke up late. Because I was still feeling the effects of the alcohol, my head was heavy, and I didn’t eat breakfast. As I was lying in my room, I suddenly heard someone running in. It was an old woman from the backyard, urgently saying that Madam had disappeared.”
“I was shocked and thought it couldn’t be possible. Maybe Madam had gone for an early morning walk and hadn’t returned yet? But the old woman insisted that wasn’t the case. Although Madam did take walks, it was always after breakfast. That day, when they prepared breakfast and brought it to the backyard, they couldn’t find Madam. They searched everywhere, turning the garden upside down, but still couldn’t find her.”
“Only then did I start to panic. I quickly got up and ran to the garden. There were no men in the backyard, only maids and old women, all in chaos. I shouted in a hurry, asking them how they had been taking care of Madam’s daily needs. Finally, the old woman reminded me that Madam’s daily needs were usually taken care of by Duo Yun and Wu’er, and no one else was involved.”
“I had them look for Duo Yun and Wu’er. Then the old woman and others said that Duo Yun and Wu’er had also disappeared.”
“At that moment, I was so frantic and angry that I didn’t care about anything else. I first ordered everyone in the backyard to gather and not let anyone leave. Then I called the guards and household servants, ignoring all rules, and had them search every corner of the backyard for any signs of disturbance. I personally interrogated several of the maids and old women in charge.”
“Unfortunately, all of this yielded no results. Madam and her two maids seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving not a single trace. I even used some of my old connections, but neither the black nor the white world had any information about Madam.”
“I was also very puzzled. If it were human traffickers or flower thieves, not only was our residence well-guarded, but even if there were some extraordinary master, there would be no reason to take two maids along. If Madam had left on her own, then why? But at this point, someone around me thought of the princess consort going to the capital. They suggested that perhaps Madam had found out and left in anger?”
“This explanation seemed plausible to everyone else, but I felt that Madam’s nature wouldn’t lead her to act this way. But later, I thought, it wasn’t impossible. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so we decided to try our luck and first go to the Plum Valley where Madam had originally lived.”
“Madam had always lived in that Plum Valley before. And from what Madam had said, it seemed she had little experience with the outside world. If she had left on her own, there was a ninety percent chance she had returned to the Plum Valley. But when we reached the cliff that led into the Plum Valley, we were in for a shock.”
“Strange as it may seem, the Lady appeared completely indifferent to all of this. Every day she remained in that residence. I still remember when I bought that house, because I thought of her love for plum blossoms, I had deliberately searched for a long time before finding a residence with a backyard full of plum trees. The Lady liked it very much and chose not to live in the main house but in a small courtyard at the back of the garden. During those days, she stayed in the courtyard all day long. Occasionally, when I had matters to report to her, she would ask some questions, but mostly out of curiosity rather than concern for management.”
As Uncle Zhong spoke, a smile involuntarily appeared on his face, “The Lady seemed untouched by worldly matters; she was surprisingly ignorant about many things. When she listened to me talk about trivial matters from the outside world, her face would light up with a childlike smile.”
“But more often than not, when I saw the Lady, I felt she had something on her mind, as if she were worried about something. I couldn’t explain it, but I always had this feeling. And indeed—”
“I remember that day very clearly—it was the sixth day of May. The day before had been the Dragon Boat Festival, and there was a festive atmosphere in the mansion. That night, I had even drunk a bit too much. The next morning, I woke up rather late, still a little hungover, with a heavy head, and hadn’t even eaten breakfast. As I was lying in my room, suddenly I heard someone running in—it was an old servant from the back garden, saying in a hurry that the Lady was missing.”
“At that moment, I was startled, thinking it couldn’t be true. Maybe the Lady had just gone for an early morning walk and had been gone a bit too long? But the servant insisted it wasn’t the case. Although the Lady did sometimes go walking, she always did so after breakfast. That morning, when breakfast was prepared and delivered to the back garden, the Lady was already nowhere to be seen. They searched everywhere, almost turning the entire garden upside down, but still couldn’t find any trace of her.”
“It was only then that I started to get really worried and rushed to the garden. The back garden had no men, only maids and servants, all in a state of panic. I shouted anxiously, asking how they had taken care of the Lady’s daily routine. Later, it was the same servant who reminded me that normally, the Lady’s daily affairs were managed by Duoyun and Wu’er, and no one else was involved.”
“I ordered people to look for Duoyun and Wu’er, but then the servants told me that both Duoyun and Wu’er were also missing.”
“At that point, I was nearly driven mad with worry. I didn’t care about anything else anymore. First, I ordered everyone in the back garden to gather in one place and forbade anyone from leaving. Then I summoned the guards and household staff, disregarding all etiquette, and we searched the entire back garden inch by inch. I personally questioned several senior maids and servants one by one.”
“Unfortunately, all of this yielded no results at all. The Lady and her two maids seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving not a single trace behind. I even used some of my old contacts, but neither the underworld nor the official channels had any information about the Lady.”
“I was extremely puzzled. If it were kidnappers or flower bandits, let alone the fact that our mansion was heavily guarded, even if it were a master martial artist, it would be impossible to take both maids at the same time. If the Lady had left on her own, then why would she do that? But then someone around me suggested the matter of the Princess going to the capital, speculating that perhaps the Lady had found out and left in anger.”
“Everyone else thought this explanation was very likely, but I felt that the Lady’s character made such an action unlikely. Still, after thinking about it, I couldn’t entirely rule out the possibility. In desperation, we decided to try checking the plum blossom valley where the Lady had previously lived in the mountains.”
“Before, the Lady had always lived in that plum blossom valley. From what she had said, she seemed to have little worldly experience. If she had indeed run away, there was a ninety percent chance she would have returned there. But when we arrived at the cliff near the valley where she had once lived, we were greatly shocked.”
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