Time ticked by, and Zhao Jiaqi, awaiting news, remained anxious.
Xueyao had eloped, Yumeng had gone to search for her, and Fan Zehao had sent her a letter. These cascading events were a constant headache. For now, she could only focus on her mother-in-law's health; that would be her greatest accomplishment.
The following night, the people investigating Yanluo returned.
As soon as Su Ya finished speaking, Zhao Jiaqi got up, dressed, and left the inner chambers. Reaching the outer room, she heard Shi He reporting.
"Yanluo's family, about ten years ago, was wiped out in a great fire. Yanluo was fortunate to be staying with relatives at the time, otherwise..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Zhao Jiaqi understood the unspoken meaning. She didn't press him for details.
"The Yan family had only Yanluo left alive. My subordinates found the matter suspicious and examined the case files from that time. It was revealed that the fire was caused by arson, leading to the annihilation of his entire family. However, when Yanluo returned to handle the funeral, he withdrew the pursuit of the arsonist from the yamen."
Shi He frowned at this point and continued, "Coincidentally, everyone in the town and village who knew Yanluo has either died or disappeared over the past decade. Even if we find someone who knew Yanluo, they only recognize him from his childhood; they don't recognize the grown man."
This news was startling. "So, no one has seen Yanluo since he came of age?"
Shi He nodded with difficulty. Anyone who had known Yanluo after he came of age had also vanished, not even a speck of bone dust remaining.
What was once a suspicion now gave Zhao Jiaqi a ninety percent certainty that Yanluo was no ordinary person, perhaps even the mastermind behind everything.
But Qi Xuan doted on Yanluo. Had he seen Yanluo in his youth?
Seeing that his madam had fallen into deep thought, Shi He remained silent, standing to the side and waiting patiently.
After a while, Zhao Jiaqi looked up. "You may go and rest. Tomorrow, take some men and wait outside the city for the Prince's return."
Hearing that the Prince was returning, Shi He's eyes lit up with joy.
He cupped his hands towards the person seated at the main seat and soon retreated.
As Su Ya watched the door close, she stepped forward and whispered, "Wangfei, it is late. Please rest. We can think about it again in the morning."
How could she possibly sleep? Her mind was filled with Yanluo, with the issue of Qi Xuan, and she didn't even know if Xueyao was alive or dead.
"Has Yumeng sent anyone back with a message?"
Su Ya's face fell, and she shook her head. "Not yet. However, the guards from the manor have gone to search. We expect a result tomorrow."
Tomorrow, again tomorrow!
Even a moment's delay could mean life or death, let alone an entire night.
She rubbed her forehead in frustration, waving with her other hand towards Su Ya. "You may go and rest. I will sit here a while longer."
Seeing her madam so worried, Su Ya did not linger to disturb her and went to the side room to keep watch. Gazing at the bright moonlight outside the window, her heart also followed Xiao Ce.
Tonight, she had heard her madam instructing Shi He to wait for the Prince outside the city. Perhaps Xiao Ce would return in a day or two.
Thinking of her own marriage to him, it had been fraught with twists and turns. She wondered if heaven was deliberately tormenting them, or if fate was simply meant to be this way.
Dawn arrived. After breakfast, Zhao Jiaqi still had no news from Yumeng. She decided to probe Qi Xuan first.
She didn't believe Qi Xuan was a spy, but she couldn't be certain.
In the woods behind the graveyard, a small, warm cottage stood. Qi Xuan was meticulously inserting needles into his mother-in-law, placing them in her head, arms, and ankles. He occasionally rotated the silver needles.
Upon seeing her arrive, Qi Xuan glanced at her and got straight to the point. "I heard Yanluo eloped with that girl Xueyao? Is this true?"
His directness surprised Zhao Jiaqi. After a moment, she replied, "Yes, it happened yesterday, near noon. Yumeng led people out to search, and even the guards from the manor have gone out. There has been no trace of them yet."
Qi Xuan's face darkened, and he merely nodded without speaking. After he sat up and stretched his back, he spoke again. "Yanluo is such a quiet child. I never expected him to do something like this. It goes against my careful teachings over the years."
Zhao Jiaqi did not respond to this. Teachings or not, the people were gone now; what was the use of talking about it?
After a long pause, Qi Xuan gave her an address. "Since the inner city search yielded nothing, why not go to his hometown?"
Zhao Jiaqi looked up at Qi Xuan and calmly replied, "My people just returned from his hometown. He wasn't there."
"Furthermore, everyone who knew Yanluo in his youth is now dead."
As she spoke, Qi Xuan was utterly shocked. The situation seemed incredibly bizarre. His mouth hung open for a long time before he slowly closed it.
"You came so early today not to ask about Xueyao and Yanluo, but for another matter, didn't you?"
Qi Xuan wasn't asking; he was stating it as a fact. Before she could reply, Qi Xuan waved his hand, stopping her words.
He spoke directly to her. "Ask away. I will tell you everything I know without holding anything back."
"Have you ever seen Yanluo when he was young?"
Qi Xuan shook his head. "No, I only returned when Yanluo was twenty years old."
Twenty years old!
That meant thirteen years ago, around the time Qi Xuan resigned from his official post.
It was around then that Yanluo's family had just been wiped out. So how did Qi Xuan recognize Yanluo?
"Then how did you recognize Yanluo as your friend's son?"
Even if it were a father-son relationship, one couldn't rely solely on appearance for identification.
However, she had clearly forgotten that in this era, kinship wasn't determined by DNA but by heirlooms.
Coincidentally, the jade pendant Yanluo wore was the one Qi Xuan had carried since childhood. When he learned that his friend had a son, he sent the jade pendant he had worn for years back to them.
It served as a token of their bond.
Recalling the past, a flicker of light appeared in Qi Xuan's cloudy eyes. He said gravely, "We agreed that if I had a daughter, she would be betrothed to Yanluo. If I had a son, we would become sworn brothers. But who would have thought..."
Who would have thought that Qi Xuan's wife died in childbirth, and they couldn't even deliver the baby. One life and two deaths. Since then, he had never remarried.
After his grief, Qi Xuan continued, "So when I went back and saw my jade pendant, I recognized him. At that time, he was alone and destitute, as was I. Furthermore, his medical skills and character were good, so I took him in and taught him diligently. But who knew he would do such a thing?"
Seeing his anguish and heartbreak, Zhao Jiaqi sighed deeply.
Yanluo had done far more than this, but she couldn't tell Qi Xuan these things yet. She genuinely feared that if Qi Xuan became too agitated, he might not be able to bear it.
Zhao Jiaqi, in turn, comforted him a few times and cautioned him, "Don't worry. Perhaps they just went out to play and encountered some trouble that delayed their return."
She didn't believe this excuse herself, let alone someone who had experienced far more than she had.
"If Yanluo comes looking for you, you must absolutely not tell him that my mother-in-law is alive. And please, Uncle Qi, secretly send word to me."
Qi Xuan looked up, somewhat confused about her latter request. Why would she need to be told secretly?
"Don't worry. If Yanluo comes to find me, I will tie him up and make him kowtow and apologize to you."
Now, Zhao Jiaqi grew a little anxious. She quickly made an excuse. "Let's not make a big fuss. After all, people outside don't know about these two's affair. If it spreads, Xueyao and Yanluo will have no reputation left. Don't you think so?"
Qi Xuan considered this and nodded repeatedly, even blaming himself. "You're right, you're right. I'm getting old and didn't think of that for a moment. A girl's reputation must not be tarnished, or it will harm Xueyao."
Hearing his straightforward logic, Zhao Jiaqi breathed a sigh of relief.