Xue Rui went to the Supreme Court early in the morning. Thinking that there was nothing important, he excused himself and went back home to change into his official clothes. He took out a wooden box from the secret compartment at the head of the bed and hid it in his clothes. Then he asked Lao Chui to drive the carriage to the west of the city to find Yu Shu.
Xue Rui knew that Yu Shu would not go out today and would stay at home to avoid trouble. So when they went out for a walk yesterday, he didn't tell Yu Shu that he would come to find her today.
But when he arrived at He Mansion, he didn't see her.
"Mr. Xue, our young miss is not here. She went out." Yun Dou, Yu Shu's maid, stood at the door and told him.
Xue Rui was surprised. He hurriedly asked about Yu Shu's whereabouts, "Do you know where she went?"
"It's the young miss who came with Young Master Jing. She came to give something to young miss. The two of them went out together. I don't know where they went."
With Jing Chen? Shui Yun?
Xue Rui was very confused. He couldn't figure out why Jing Chen's junior sister was looking for Yu Shu. He also couldn't figure out why Yu Shu went out with someone on such a dangerous day.
"How long have they been gone? Is there anyone with them? " Worried, Xue Rui asked a few more questions. When he knew that Shui Yun brought some guards with her, he was more or less relieved. He thought that they might not be gone for long, so he went to the door and waited for Yu Shu to come back.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye, yet Yu Shu still hadn't returned. As he watched the sun rise higher and higher, Xue Rui grew more and more impatient as he waited. Right at this moment, a crow descended outside the living room and cawed a few times, and it was extremely unlucky. Xue Rui couldn't help but feel a wave of palpitation in his heart, and he couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up and bid his farewells before hastily rushing to the Princess Estate.
When he arrived at the Princess Mansion, he happened to encounter a mess in front of the gate. Seven or eight guards were gathered together like headless flies, all of them looking nervous.
Xue Rui got out of the car and vaguely heard the words' disappeared 'and' can't be found '. His intuition told him that something was wrong. He quickly stepped forward and asked with a straight face, "What are you all crowding around here for!"
Some of the guards in the Princess Mansion recognized the eldest son of the Xue family. One of them immediately stepped forward and answered, "Reporting, reporting to Mister Xue, Miss Shui from our mansion has disappeared. Daoist Child has yet to return from the palace, and there is no one to take charge of the situation. Everyone is discussing how to split up and look for him. "
Hearing this, Xue Rui's heart skipped a beat. Shui Yun is missing, then what about Yu Shu?
Vaguely guessing a possibility, Xue Rui's face immediately darkened, "Who followed Miss Shui out today? Come out and tell me! "
Xue Rui was now working in the Supreme Court. He was an experienced person, so he asked the whole story in a few sentences. It turned out that after Shui Yun and Yu Shu left the He family, they went to a teahouse in the downtown of the city. After dismissing the servants, they went upstairs to talk. Two guards were waiting downstairs, but they didn't come down even after a long time. When they went upstairs to look for them, they didn't expect that the two girls seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
Xue Rui's face turned gloomy and clear. With a hint of anger, his pitch-black eyes swept over the faces of the two Imperial Bodyguards on duty. Immediately, the back of their necks turned cold and their heads swelled up. They regretted leaving Shui Yun's side and repeatedly begged for forgiveness.
If Yu Shu disappeared alone, it would be fine. However, it was Shui Yun who disappeared with her. Xue Rui couldn't help but think that it was bad. Last night, he had advised Liu Tan that a tall tree would attract the wind and let him avoid the sharp edge for the time being. Today, something happened to them. They were said to have disappeared. There was an eighty percent chance that they were kidnapped by one of the masters of Qiongyu Tower!
Xue Rui was burning with anxiety. He knew that it was not the time to act up. With a cold face, he quickly arranged for them to act separately. "You, quickly go to Qiongyu Tower and ask the Ninth Prince to come back. Don't alarm others. Wait in the mansion for Daozi to come back and tell him what happened. Old Cui, take the token back to the mansion and bring a few experts out. The two of you, and the rest of the people, follow me to that teahouse! "
Worried about Yu Shu's safety, Xue Rui felt that the carriage was too slow. He pulled a guard over and mounted a horse. Then, he brought four or five people and galloped to the downtown area.
*
*
*
Xue Rui found the teahouse with his men and showed them the Supreme Court's token. Without saying anything, he ordered his men to seal the teahouse. He also sent two men to guard the front and back doors. He flashed a few shiny sabers. He didn't let any of the guests and odd-job workers in the teahouse escape. He led the guard who had followed Shui Yun this morning into the teahouse. The shopkeeper nodded and bowed as he led the way up to the second floor.
The two guards were not stupid. When they realized that the two people had disappeared, they asked the shopkeeper to lock the teahouse. No one was allowed to enter. Therefore, the teahouse was still the same as when Shui Yun and Yu Shu had left.
Xue Rui had investigated many cases, so he had a lot of means. After checking the teahouse for a week, he found that there was something wrong with the cold tea on the table. He immediately asked someone to catch a rooster from the kitchen and drink it. After drinking the cold tea, the rooster staggered for two steps, then fell to the ground and fainted. Xue Rui's face was as ugly as it could be. He slammed his palm on the teahouse heavily, showing his official power. The shopkeeper and the waiter were so scared that they immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.
"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, please investigate clearly. How, how could there be something wrong with the tea? Our teahouse is clean and has never done anything against reason and nature. Someone must have framed us …"
The guard kicked the waiter to the ground. Xue Rui ignored him. He pressed his hand on the table and stared at the two cups of tea. From the position of the tea set, he found some clues —
The tea was poured by the person sitting on the right. Only one cup of water was missing from the teapot. The cup on the right on the table was empty. However, the cup he fed the rooster just now was not much empty. The cup was clean and there were no tea stains on the rim.
Obviously, the person who poured the tea knew the tea etiquette very well. It must not be Yu Shu.
Xue Rui racked his brains, and it wasn't long before he came to a conclusion that he didn't know whether he should be happy or angry — That little girl, Yu Shu, has never drunk this tea that was drugged!
Xue Rui looked around the room and didn't find any traces of struggle. He frowned in confusion. While speculating, he slowly walked to the door and squatted down. With the light coming in from the skylight, he wiped the floor in front of the door and found that a layer of dust was gone. He then turned around and looked at the high windows in the room. A sharp light flashed in his eyes. He had a general idea in his mind. He gritted his teeth and cursed secretly: This troublesome girl, when did she learn to be so kind?
"Young master, I have brought some people here." Lao Chui stood at the door and reported to Xue Rui.
Xue Rui stood up and pointed at the shopkeeper and the waiter on the ground. He said in a deep voice: "Take them away and interrogate them. Leave some people in the teahouse to check the customers. Send some people to the back door to see where it leads to. Ask if there are any carriages or sedans passing by. Go now."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
*
*
*
Yu Shu and Shui Yun were taken away, tied up, put in a sack, and sent away from the back door of the teahouse.
Unlike Shui Yun, who was unconscious, Yu Shu fainted when she bumped into the two strange men at the door. She knew that she was no match for them, so she bit the tip of her tongue all the way to a carriage. She smelled the stench, but obviously she didn't throw up.
The sack couldn't see the light, so Yu Shu didn't dare to move. She touched Kim Bao, who was curled up in her sleeve, and pricked up her ears to listen to the movements outside. However, the driver was very cautious and didn't talk, so she couldn't pry.
In this current situation, after the panic, Yu Shu became much more clear-headed due to the stench. She calmed down a little and was able to think. Drugging the tea, it was obvious that the other party had planned this beforehand and was well prepared. They were definitely not human traffickers. So, the other party didn't come for her, but for Shui Yun.
The first thing that came to Yu Shu's mind was that she had offended the Eleventh Prince at the Princess Residence's banquet. However, she wasn't so sure after thinking about it. Xue Rui had once guaranteed her that Liu Hao and Liu Yi wouldn't do anything to her. Why would they want to capture her out of nowhere? Moreover, they even dragged Shui Yun along.
Capturing her was not a big deal. After all, she was just a prostitute, and it was pointless to kill her. But Shui Yun was different. She was a disciple of Mount Longhu's Taiyi Sect. She was Jing Chen's Junior Sister and the Ninth Prince Liu Tan's Martial Aunt. Recently, she had been in the limelight at the Double Suns Meeting. Capturing her was like poking the hornet's nest.
If the target was her from the beginning, they should have picked a time when she was alone. Why did they have to catch her with Shui Yun?
Yu Shu thought about it and still felt that it was more likely that the other party was targeting Shui Yun, and she was just the unlucky one incidentally.
The carriage didn't move smoothly, swaying back and forth. Behind her, she could bump into another sack, knowing that Shui Yun was inside. She was angry and hateful. It was really a blessing, not a curse, and if it was a curse, she couldn't avoid it. She could only blame her curiosity. She didn't hide at home and actually ran into the muzzle of a gun.
But fortunately, Shui Yun was caught, and someone would be anxious to find her. Presumably, by now, Jing Chen and Liu Tan already knew that they were missing and would definitely send people to rescue them.
Yu Shu's heart calmed down a little, but the back of her head hurt. She closed her eyes for a while, then opened them again. She blamed herself for entrusting her own safety to others. The more she lived, the more she regressed.
Immediately, he mustered all of his energy and thought of a way to escape.
*
*
*
On the thirteenth day of the second month, the wind was gentle and the sun was bright. In Qiongyu Tower, the princes were all seated. Looking around, only the ninth prince, Liu Tan, was missing a seat.
When someone asked in the morning, Liu Tan only said that Kun Xi had caught a cold yesterday and was bedridden. When the other princes heard this, they said a few words of concern on the surface, but in reality, they were sneering behind their backs, secretly thinking that Liu Tan was still tactful.
When it was almost noon, the competition below the stage temporarily stopped. Everyone was planning to enter the tower to eat when a guard holding a waist token walked to the corridor with his head lowered. He moved in front of Liu Tan and whispered a few words. Liu Tan's expression changed instantly.
Excellent Prince Liu Si was walking beside him and asked when he saw him: "What happened to Eleventh Younger Brother?"
Hearing this, Ning Wang, Liu Du and the others also turned to look at Liu Tan.
Liu Tan forced a smile and held his forehead: "I had a cold wind in the morning and now have a headache. I don't think there will be anything interesting in the afternoon. I will go back and rest first."
The princes who were older than him said a few symbolic words of concern and let him go.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
