Chapter 534 - 536: What’s going on with Wu Wanqing?
Xu Huilin, who was wearing a mask, hurriedly entered the contact point of Tianshan Town’s Tongzheng Department. Despite the mask on his face, others could easily perceive his anxiety.
"How’s it going? Have you found the person?" Xu Huilin asked in a deep voice.
A squad captain under the Tongzheng Department saluted him and replied, "We found some traces. He went into a secret manor set up by the Tongzheng Department, but it appears he was kidnapped. We couldn’t catch up and they escaped."
Xu Huilin slapped the nearby table in anger. The red lacquered wooden table immediately sank under the imprint of his palm, showing how furious he was.
"Who exactly is it? Don’t you have any clues?" Xu Huilin asked indignantly.
At this point, a man in his thirties walked in from outside. He was dressed sharply, his hair coiled on top of his head and fastened with a jade belt, giving off an air of ruthless efficiency.
The angles of the man’s face were distinct, not the typical handsome look of a man from Danliang Country. However, his stern face, coupled with an aura of mature masculinity, made him hard to ignore.
Xu Huilin quickly paid his respect to the newcomer, "Subordinate greets the Right Tongzheng, Master Li."
Right Tongzheng Li Yi nodded and said, "No need for formalities. I am already investigating Jiang Yichun’s whereabouts. It seems that he was held hostage by a woman. Do you know who might bear a grudge against him?"
A woman? Xu Huilin’s eyelid twitched. Could it be that she’s really here! His gaze darkened immediately. He blamed himself for being unable to restrain his words, causing the woman to take such a great risk. If anything happened to her, his sworn brother would skin him alive.
"Did you think of any clues?" Li Yi, with his sharp observational skills, noticed the subtle changes in Xu Huilin even with a mask covering most of his face.
Not daring to mention Bai Ruozhu, Xu Huilin hurriedly said, "No, I’m just wondering what woman my senior brother could have offended."
Li Yi squinted slightly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. He knew Xu Huilin was hiding something, but couldn’t force him to confess. With no other option, he simply instructed people to closely monitor Xu Huilin. If there was any contact between him and Jiang Yichun, they were to act first.
...
Bai Ruozhu was exhausted, but her restless mind kept her from sleeping soundly. She only managed to doze off for about two hours. When she opened her eyes, she found herself leaning against Jiang Yichun’s shoulder. He was dirty and smelly, but his side profile was as handsome as ever.
She couldn’t help but gaze at him in infatuation, but Jiang Yichun suddenly opened his eyes and lazily said, "I didn’t say I was THIS dirty, did I?"
Bai Ruozhu glared at him and said, "So you were pretending to sleep all along?"
"I just saw how infatuated you were with me and felt too embarrassed to expose your little secret," Jiang Yichun winked at her, giving her a flirty look. Bai Ruozhu felt her bones melt at his glance, and remembered the situation in the dark room. Her face immediately reddened.
Jiang Yichun sniffed disdainfully and said, "I can’t believe you can stand me. If we were in Beiyu City, we could go to the Hot Spring Mansion and take a bath together." He said this with a malicious smile on his face.
Bai Ruozhu ground her teeth at him, reminding him of the Hot Spring Mansion only served to remind her that she had a score to settle with him!
She slapped him on the head and said, "Stop grinning at me! Didn’t you give the Hot Spring Mansion to me? Why is it that other women can enter, and their servants even blocked me from going in? Afterwards, I asked Fubo, but he wouldn’t say much."
She didn’t ask Jiang Yichun directly whether or not he still had feelings for Wu Wanqing; she wanted to hear him mention Wu Wanqing first.
Jiang Yichun’s face changed in an instant, becoming somewhat embarrassed and even a little guilty. There was also some anger in it. It was rare for Bai Ruozhu to see him express so many emotions at once.
"What’s wrong, trying to distract me with stories? Do you still have room in your heart for other women?" Bai Ruozhu raised her eyebrows as she asked him.
"How could that be? The Hot Spring Mansion is indeed a gift for you. I’ve never brought anyone else there, let alone other women. The woman you mentioned should be my master’s daughter, Wu Wanqing, she probably heard about the mansion somewhere and wanted to have a look," Jiang Yichun explained.
Bai Ruozhu pouted, "Is it as simple as your master’s daughter? You better confess honestly. I hate it when people deceive and hide things from me."
The expression on Jiang Yichun’s face froze, thinking to himself that he must have let something slip, as Ruozhu seemed to know something.
He gritted his teeth, somewhat awkwardly admitted, "I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I did have feelings for her back in the day, but I was afraid that you might get upset when you found out."
As he spoke, his head drooped slightly, like a child who had done something wrong. Bai Ruozhu almost laughed at his awkwardness, but she had to keep a serious face as she was interrogating him, she couldn’t let him off the hook that easy, after all, she had been worried and troubled about this for days.
"The three of us grew up with our junior sister. Our master had hoped that one of us would marry her, but she chose the senior brother back then," Jiang Yichun said, his face falling again.
Bai Ruozhu stared at him, feeling frustrated. She moved further away from him and said, "Look at you, you resent not being able to marry your junior sister back then. If she ever changes her mind, you’d probably die of happiness, right?"
Jiang Yichun also moved closer, sat next to Bai Ruozhu, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and said, "Back then, I hadn’t met you yet. I just wanted to repay my master’s kindness and take good care of the junior sister. However, now I have you and there’s no room in my heart for other women."
Bai Ruozhu’s heart was as sweet as honey, but she restrained her laugh and continued to interrogate him with a stern face, "So you’re not going to repay your master’s kindness by taking care of your junior sister anymore? I’ve heard your senior brother is no longer around."
Jiang Yichun’s eyes flashed dangerously, "I knew it was that Xu Huilin who spilled the beans! He always loves to stir up trouble." After saying that, he pulled Bai Ruozhu into his arms and looked at her seriously, "Silly girl, I love you and I can’t spare my heart to take care of others anymore. Besides, there’s still Xu Huilin, isn’t there?"
Only then did Bai Ruozhu realize that the man she knew as Senior Fox was Xu Huilin. His birth father was Meng Liangshen, so his surname Xu must be his mother’s surname.
She finally let a sweet smile appear on her face. He said he loved her, such a straightforward confession.
Seeing her laugh, Jiang Yichun let out a huge sigh of relief. As he hugged her, he asked, "So you found out about my danger from Xu Huilin too?"
Bai Ruozhu nodded. She thought to herself, Senior Fox, good luck to you. No matter what she said, Jiang Yichun could guess the truth. She didn’t want to deceive him.
"What about your home and Dengdeng? What happens to them if you just run off like this?" Jiang Yichun asked, concerned.
Bai Ruozhu briefly explained how she had arranged everything in advance, stocked up on milk for Dengdeng, and then rushed over to draw him out by doing a free clinic.
After hearing her explanation, Jiang Yichun held her even closer, "You should head back to Beiyu City tomorrow."
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A recommendation for my friend Lantern Core’s novel "Exorcist Baby: My Mommy is a Daoist".
Synopsis: A Feng Shui-knowing Daoist mommy with Yin Yang eyes, and a black-hearted son that also has them. Meeting ghosts? Capture them. Encountering demons? Exorcise them. The Maoshan Taoist Magic, truly a name well deserved!
An Zimo: "Mommy, there’s this really handsome man who insists on becoming my dad..."
"Don’t just recognize anyone as family... wait, wait! Did you say he’s a super-rich tycoon?" An Ruoxin’s eyes lit up: "An 8 billion-dollar dowry?"