Lu Yanbin returned ho, and that night his wound beca inflad and led to a high fever. The young servant was frightened and rushed to call the household doctor overnight. After forcing down a bowl of dicinal soup, Lu Yanbin barely woke up the next day. He took all his savings, along with a few items that could be pawned, and quietly slipped out through the side door early, before Lu Pingzhou could notice.
He first pawned the items for cash, then went to make inquiries with the guards at the four city gates, asking if they had seen the Duke Mansion’s carriage leave.
At the ti when Mrs. Xiao Liu was sent to the family temple, the carriage bore the Duke Mansion’s emblem.
The guard at the West City Gate told him that they indeed saw the Duke Mansion’s carriage leave yesterday and it hadn’t returned since.
To the west... Could she have gone to her maternal ho?
Without much thought, Lu Yanbin mounted his horse and headed towards Shuo State. He inquired about the exact location of Mrs. Xiao Liu’s family all along the way, but when he arrived, her parents told him Mrs. Xiao Liu had not co back at all.
Father Liu kept frowning and asked if Mrs. Xiao Liu was causing trouble at the Lu Family, also warning that if she dared act out, he would teach her a harsh lesson if caught.
Mrs. Liu could only wipe away tears silently on the side.
Lu Yanbin remained silent.
No wonder she didn’t dare return ho, because if she did, her father would surely beat her to death.
He didn’t reveal the truth and only told Father Liu that he had just returned from out of town and stopped by Shuo State while passing through.
Liu Nan, however, felt it was not that simple. Having visited his sister in the Capital before, he’d known she rely had a seemingly glamorous life at the Lu Family but was actually living poorly.
This ti, with Lu Yanbin coming in person, sothing surely must have happened.
So after Lu Yanbin left, Liu Nan chased after him to ask for the truth.
Lu Yanbin refused to speak, so Liu Nan angrily pinned Lu Yanbin to the ground and gave him a brutal beating.
Lu Yanbin, who had co to Shuo State bearing a wound on his back and high fever, fainted directly into the grass after Liu Nan’s beating.
Despite his anger, Liu Nan was frightened by Lu Yanbin’s state and struggled to carry him to a dical clinic, then left him there.
In a daze, Lu Yanbin seed to feel soone feeding him dicine. The exhaustion from the journey over the past days made his eyes swell with soreness. He grasped the person’s hand and blurted out, "Shuyuan..."
When he woke up, he saw it was another woman, the daughter of the doctor at that clinic.
"Sir, your injuries are severe. You need to rest well."
The woman continued to feed him the dicine.
Lu Yanbin refused, propping himself up to sit and taking the dicine bowl to drink by himself. He then asked her, "Have you seen a young lady?"
The woman asked, "What kind of young lady?"
"She..."
Lu Yanbin struggled to recall, realizing he couldn’t rember the bright and charming appearance of Mrs. Xiao Liu when she first married into the Lu Family. All he rembered was her pitiful deanor, trembling with fear and tears the last they t days ago.
"She is very timid." Lu Yanbin’s throat tightened as he slowly swallowed the bitter dicine, then lowered his lashes, "She doesn’t dare do anything, doesn’t dare raise her voice even when bullied. Even when pregnant, she foolishly prepared a feast for the person who bullied her, only to be forced to drink until she lost the baby. She was so frightened, she went into hiding."
At this point, Lu Yanbin let out a bitter laugh.
The woman smiled gently, "Perhaps you’re not trying to find soone but just looking for soone to open up to."
Lu Yanbin raised his eyes, "Have you seen her?"
The woman answered, "If she’s brave enough to hide, then she’s not as timid as you describe. So perhaps you’ve defined her incorrectly. Why not describe her appearance?"
Lu Yanbin pondered for quite a while before suddenly clutching his head in anguish.
They had been married for three years, and yet he had neglected her to the point where he couldn’t even describe her appearance.
Before leaving the clinic, the woman told him that many people and things in this world cannot be forced. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, and no matter how great your abilities, you can’t repair the wounds once inflicted.
With determination in his voice, Lu Yanbin said, "Others maybe can’t, but I can. Others may be unable, but I am able!"
He went everywhere, to temples, to the nunneries, to any place she might have gone, yet it seed she vanished into thin air. No one had seen her, and no one knew where she had gone.
He fantasized that perhaps she was just playing a prank on him, just trying to scare him, and while he was searching everywhere, she secretly returned ho. So, filled with hope, he returned to the Capital, back to that ho, but the old woman still told him that Mrs. Xiao Liu went to the family temple.
He couldn’t know if the old woman genuinely didn’t know or was just pretending.
Before leaving the Capital, he had visited once, and once more before returning, yet Mrs. Xiao Liu was never at that place.
After searching endlessly with no result, Lu Yanbin was both physically and ntally exhausted. Finally, he knelt before the old woman and broke down in tears, "Grandmother, I beg you, give Shuyuan back to , please?"
The old woman scolded, "What nonsense are you speaking, child?"
"Shuyuan isn’t at the family temple, nor has she returned to her maternal ho. She’s gone." Lu Yanbin paid no heed to his disheveled state, "But she’s so timid, where could she possibly go? Soone must be hiding her."
"Nonsense!" the old woman glared at him, "I sent her to the family temple myself. How could she possibly have grown wings and flown away?"
"She is not there." Lu Yanbin stated with certainty, "I have been there several tis, and never once have I seen her."
The old lady said, "That’s because you haven’t been looking with your heart."
Lu Yanbin was dumbfounded, "Grandmother, what do you an by that?"
The old lady just responded with a cold snort.
Lu Yanbin returned to his room, feeling lost and dejected, tossing and turning all night before he finally thought of a possibility.
The next day, at dawn, he got up early and went to the family temple again.
Jing’an did not expect him to co again, and was sowhat surprised, muttering "Amitabha Buddha."
Lu Yanbin repeated his words, "Tell , where is Shuyuan?"
Jing’an, unable to help but look at him helplessly, said, "Young Master..."
"She must be inside, let go in and look for her."
Jing’an said, "You have already searched several tis."
"I will definitely find her this ti!" Lu Yanbin pushed her aside and walked in with long strides. Instead of persistently searching the courtyard rooms, he stared at the nuns guarding the temple, scrutinizing each one. Whenever he saw soone coming, he would run over to take a look.
Afterwards, he asked Jing’an to gather all the nuns inside. A total of twenty-eight nuns stood in two rows. Lu Yanbin walked up to each of them, examining them closely for a long ti.
However, after looking at all of them, he still couldn’t find Mrs. Xiao Liu.
Exhausted, he returned to the Duke Mansion, didn’t go to the old lady, and locked himself in his room.
Not long after, a servant from Lu Pingzhou’s courtyard ca to ask, "Young Master, have you finished the accounts for today? The Young Master wants to personally review them."
Unable to rest, Lu Yanbin hurriedly completed the accounts and personally went to the outer study to see Lu Pingzhou.
While Lu Pingzhou was going through the account book, Lu Yanbin carefully asked, "Father, do you know about Shu going to the family temple?"
Lu Pingzhou didn’t look at him, only asked, "Is there a problem?"
The indifferent tone made Lu Yanbin inexplicably fearful. He shook his head, "No, nothing, I was just casually asking."
With a loud snap, Lu Pingzhou slamd the account book onto the table.
Lu Yanbin was startled.
"Didn’t you leave the mansion a few days ago to look for her?" Lu Pingzhou’s eyes mockingly glanced over, making Lu Yanbin feel as if he was sitting on pins and needles.
He lowered his head, "I went to bring her so clothes, she didn’t take much when she left."
Lu Pingzhou didn’t listen to his lies, only asked, "When you went to Shuo State, did you bring any gifts to honor your father-in-law and mother-in-law?"
"I did." Lu Yanbin replied.
Although he was in a hurry to find soone, at that ti he bought many supplents, but ended up being severely beaten by Liu Nan.
Thinking of that brother-in-law, Lu Yanbin suddenly said, "Father, why don’t I bring Liu Nan to the Capital?"
If Shuyuan hasn’t gone far, she will surely appear if she knows Liu Nan has co to the Lu Family.
"For what?" Lu Pingzhou asked.
"To prepare for his exams here." Lu Yanbin said, "The Lu Family has better conditions, we can arrange a quiet courtyard for him."
Afraid that Lu Pingzhou would disagree, he quickly added, "Once Nan arrives, all expenses will be on my account."
Lu Pingzhou imdiately saw through Lu Yanbin’s plan to use Liu Nan to force out Mrs. Xiao Liu, but he didn’t stop him, "You handle it yourself."
When Lu Yanbin sent soone to invite Liu Nan from Shuo State, he was refused.
He had no choice but to make a trip himself.
Liu Nan directly told him, "If you dare to abuse my sister, I’ll take her from the Lu Family once I earn a title, then sever all ties with you for life!"
Lu Yanbin frowned, "Do you know where she is?"
Liu Nan, full of anger, said, "Even if I do, why should I tell you?"
After searching for so long, there was finally a clue. Lu Yanbin was full of excitent, "Tell where she is, and I will apologize to her."
"Kneel to apologize?"
Without hesitation, Lu Yanbin said, "I will kneel."
Liu Nan said, "I an, you must kneel and kowtow from the foot of the mountain to the top."
Reviews
All reviews (0)