4 Li Minghua (1/2)

Duke Li followed his servant towards the edge of the forest. With each passing step, he felt his heart suddenly go uneasy. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt antsy and nervous, as if something was wrong.

He tried to brush the thoughts aside, but it would come back to him every few seconds. He tried to focus on the steps of the servants who were guiding him to the spot that they mentioned.

Just when he was caught in his daydream, the group had reached the spot that the female servant had pointed out. Surely enough, there was an enormous fallen tree blocking their path.

Duke Li climbed over the tree and was surprised when he nearly stepped on top of an enormous object covered with leaves. At a closer glance, he saw the shape of a human body...more specifically, he saw the foot of a girl.

Duke Li raised a brow. Why hadn't the servant removed the leaves from the body? Duke Li sighed. It was probably because they were too scared to touch a lifeless body.

When Duke Li bent down and walked closer to the girl, he felt the same uneasy gut-feeling come back. He frowned as he pushed the thoughts away.

Duke Li breathed in and prepared himself for the sight he was about to see. But never in a million years would he think he'd ever witness the sight before him. When he pulled the leaves back, he felt his breath caught in his throat. His eyes went wide and his hands shook.

A girl with her eyes closed, and blood staining her eyelids, pale blue lips, and ghostly white skin greets him. But that wasn't the most startling thing about her. It was her stark resemblance to his daughter.

The servants besides him gasped. A few covered their mouth in shock and everyone shared the same surprised expression. They had also seen the resemblance between the girl and their Young Miss.

”M-M-Minghua?” He shakily breathed out the forbidden name of his daughter. He never dared to mention the name in front of his wife, in fear of breaking the woman further.

'N-no...this isn't possible. She was declared dead. I watched her lifeless body being buried with my own eyes!' Duke Li told himself.

He felt as if he had gone insane. Was this an effect of painful remorse? Was his own eyes playing tricks on him?

Duke Li raised his head and saw the surprised and shocked faces of his servants. He realized he wasn't the only one who saw the striking similarity.

”Master Li, the girl is still breathing!” A servant immediately called out. With shaky fingers, he pointed towards Xueyue's chest. It was barely moving, but upon closer inspection, she was steadily and slowly breathing.

Duke Li observed the dried blood path that began from her forehead down her face and then the bruises that covered her face. He didn't know what happened to the girl, but one glance at her was enough for him to guess the girl must've done something wrong. To have been beaten to such a horrible extent, he couldn't help but wonder what she had done.

”Bring her back to the Manor and immediately call fourth the best doctor in town!” Duke Li commanded his servants.

At the stern voice of their Master, the servants immediately snapped out of their shock and got to work. A few servants ran towards the city of Lanbei to fetch the best doctor in town, and a few other servants carefully carried Xueyue back to the Li Manor.

The entire time, Duke Li was nervously biting his nails. He didn't know what he would tell his wife when she brought the girl back home, but he hoped she would have a good reaction towards the girl.