Chapter 729: Proclaiming it across the city on purpose Original and most updated translations are from volare. If read elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft. (1/2)
Lady Helian spoke a few more words with the man in the shadows, then went with him into the alleyway. Su Xiaoyu quietly tailed them from behind, her figure slipping quickly into the darkness. No matter how mature she acted, Su Xiaoyu was still a child. She didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary until she was deep into the alleyway, where a group of black-robed figures appeared to block the way behind her.
Alarmed, she realized that she’d long been found out.
“Lady Helian, just who are you?” Su Xiaoyu demanded.
Unfortunately, neither Lady Helian nor the man beside her ever turned back. They kept walking forward while the team of black-robed figures surrounded Su Xiaoyu. She wanted to leap for the roofs, but there were figures perched up there as well. Then she shouted for help, but had hardly cried twice before they gagged her. As she watched Lady Helian’s figure fade into the distance, she slowly lost consciousness.
“Why make things difficult for a little child? Even if she recognized me, what can she know?” Lady Helian’s tone sounded rather helpless.
The man replied in a low voice, “Better to kill the wrong person than lose the chance later. Don’t see me again during this time.”
“The Duke of Qin’s estate will definitely investigate if that child suddenly disappears with no reason!” Lady Helian reminded him.
“Don’t worry. As long as you’re good and listen to me, it won’t lead back to you or your son,” the man laughed coldly.
Lady Helian was already preparing to leave when she looked back one more time. “Must you kill that child?”
“That’s not for us to decide. Whether or not her life is worth it is all up to the master,” the man had already grown impatient. “Go back already.”
Lady Helian sighed before lowering her head to hurry away. Once she emerged from the alleyway, she acted as if nothing had happened and left.
When Su Xiaoyu didn’t return by nightfall, Zhao mama sent people to ask for her at Pill Fiend Pharmacy. Only then did she discover that the girl hadn’t been seen there all day. Anxious, Zhao mama went to the ancestral hall to report the news to Chu Xifeng.
“Little Chu, little Yu’er isn’t a child who hankers after fun and games. Ever since we’ve moved to South Ning, that girl’s either at the Duke of Qin’s estate or Pill Fiend Pharmacy. She’s never gone anywhere else. Something must have happened to her!”
Chu Xifeng’s gaze flickered with complex emotions before he immediately issued orders. “Someone come, search the entire city!”
“Head Guard, should we do it secretly first?” one of his subordinates asked.
“Why keep a secret when she’s already missing?” Chu Xifeng said coldly. “Send someone to the commander-in-chief’s estate at the capital to tell General Baili. Have him send reinforcements. Everyone will split up and search together! Su Xiaoyu is currently esteemed wangfei’s favorite, so you lot better watch your heads if you can’t bring her back!”
“Head Guard, what if the culprits kill little Yu’er if things get too big?” the guard asked anxiously.
Zhao mama was frightened by those words. “That’s right, that’s right! Search in secret first!”
“What are you worried about?” Chu Xifeng grew irritated. “How could a citywide search scare the likes of anyone like them? It’d only scare you lot!”
Although his subordinate didn’t agree, he didn’t dare to defy Chu Xifeng. Meanwhile, Zhao mama didn’t understand these cases at all and wholly believed the man.
“Hurry and go! That’s right, send someone to ask around the Han Estate first, maybe she went there!” Chu Xifeng said.
“She wouldn’t!” Zhao mama was convinced. “Unless it’s with esteemed wangfei, little Yu’er won’t go. This old woman’s already asked, she’s really not there.”
Chu Xifeng nodded without a word. Once Zhao mama left the scene, Gu Beiyue strolled over while leaning on a cane. His legs had all but recovered, so now he was rehabilitating himself with help from his walking stick. Despite this, his back was straight. Even crippled, his spirit had never submitted. Beneath the faint clouds and light breeze, he gave off a magnanimous air.
“You’re making it the talk of the town on purpose?” he asked simply.
Chu Xifeng avoided the question and asked, “How is the grand imperial concubine doing? I need to send a letter to Celestial Mountain in a few days, so I’ll include that in the report.”
Gu Beiyue was a perceptive man. Since Chu Xifeng wouldn’t answer, he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he took out a letter and handed it over to the man. “Details on the grand imperial concubine are all inside.”
As Gu Beiyue predicted, news of the Duke of Qin estate’s missing servant girl would raise a ruckus within the entire city overnight. All of the families in the town, commoners and nobles alike, would find out. Unfortunately, the Duke of Qin’s guards and the commander-in-chief’s soldiers searched the city for three days and three nights without ever finding a trace.
Three days later, the news reached Han Yunxi. She had been cultivating for many days, but the news of Su Xiaoyu going missing raised waves within her heart. Why would she have disappeared? Did Su Xiaoyu leave on her own, or was she kidnapped? After losing her memories, Su Xiaoyu had been nothing but loyal and steadfast. Why would she wander off on her own? And if someone had kidnapped her, who could that be? Why did they only kidnap Su Xiaoyu?
While she was worrying over the child, she grew more apprehensive about the hidden implications. If Su Xiaoyu had truly been stolen away, then there was something fishy going on. She immediately penned a letter to Chu Xifeng, asking him to probe for Chu Tianyin’s tone. Soon enough, the reply revealed that Chu Tianyin had no idea about the missing girl.
The two Chu elders are still in Long Feiye’s hands. Chu Tianyin’s busy on the warfront, so there’s no need for him to steal a servant girl for any schemes.