Seeing their appearance, Ren Yaoqi immediately knew something must have happened earlier, so she spoke up: “Uncle, where are you staying? Is it close to here?”

Li Tianyou looked around: “It should not be far, right? From where I’m resting, I can also see this mountain peak.” He pointed to the mountain path ahead.

Ren Yaoqi followed Li Tianyou’s gesture and could only sigh. She wondered whether she should remind him that this alone couldn’t prove the two places were close to each other.

Fortunately, Xia Sheng said, “It’s about two quarters of an hour’s journey from here.”

Ren Yaoqi looked at herself, then at Ren Yaohua who was in a disheveled state, and said to Xiangqin and Sangshen behind her: “You two go back and find clean clothes and shoes for me and Third Sister.”

The two maids responded and left. Ren Yaohua then said to Xia Sheng, “I remember there’s a place not far ahead that rents donkey carts. Go hire one. The road is muddy and difficult to walk on.”

Li Tianyou waved his hand, letting Xia Sheng go.

Before long, Xia Sheng had rented a donkey cart and brought it back. Li Tianyou stroked his chin and examined the donkey cart for a long time, asking Ren Yaoqi, “Have you ever ridden in this thing? Can it pull the cart? It doesn’t look very strong.” This drew disapproving glances from the cart driver.

Although Yan Bei had more horses than the south, common people still preferred to use donkey carts because the fodder needed to feed a donkey cost much less than feeding a horse. Moreover, donkeys had excellent endurance and weren’t as prone to illness as horses.

However, noble families never used donkey carts when traveling. Li Tianyou asked this because he had never ridden in a donkey cart—he had only eaten donkey meat. But overall, Li Tianyou could distinguish between horses and donkeys without mistaking it for an ox, dragon, or something else, which was already praiseworthy.

Ren Yaoqi instructed Xia Sheng to wait here for the two maids, Xiangqin and Sangshen, then take them to hire a cart to return. She and Ren Yaohua got into the donkey cart. Li Tianyou also climbed up, while Dong Sheng sat outside the cart with the driver.

Soon, the donkey cart stopped in front of a small courtyard with a single entrance. The courtyards rented out by the temple all looked quite simple from the outside. However, once inside, they found the courtyard was kept very clean, obviously maintained and cleaned regularly.

“Uncle, how long have you been at White Dragon Temple?” Ren Yaoqi asked as she followed him into the courtyard.

“I arrived yesterday. Someone invited me here for cockfighting. Unexpectedly, someone stole my rooster in the middle of the night. Fortunately, I just came to have a casual look this time and brought an ordinary bird, so it doesn’t matter if it’s lost. I was planning to leave today, but then I encountered… cough, well, an acquaintance.” Li Tianyou touched his nose.

After entering the house and everyone had sat down, Ren Yaoqi looked at Dong Sheng, whose expression had been poor all along: “Where are the people who were with my Third Sister?”

Ren Yaohua’s eyes pierced Dong Sheng’s face like sharp blades, but she pressed her lips tightly and said nothing.

Dong Sheng glanced at Ren Yaoqi and lowered his head: “I knocked them unconscious.”

“…”

“Why didn’t you knock me unconscious, too, and throw me in a cave?” Ren Yaohua said mockingly, also glancing at Li Tianyou.

Li Tianyou said with a bitter face: “I didn’t tell him to do that. Dong Sheng has always been obedient and well-behaved. Maybe the people around you did something excessive that made him angry! Isn’t that right, Dong Sheng?” Li Tianyou secretly winked at Dong Sheng.

But Dong Sheng shook his head: “This subordinate was rash.”

Ren Yaohua snorted coldly: “Just an actor, what subordinate? When the master has no rules, it spoils the servants so they all lose their manners!”

Li Tianyou didn’t like hearing this. He put his hand on Dong Sheng’s shoulder and glanced sideways at Ren Yaohua: “He’s my man. If I say he’s a subordinate, he’s a subordinate. If I say he’s my older brother, he’s my older brother! You’re not surnamed Li, so what business is it of yours?”

Dong Sheng was startled and quickly said, “Master, this subordinate doesn’t dare.”

Li Tianyou pushed his head heavily with his palm: “You’re right, I should say you’re my younger brother. Making you my older brother, you don’t have the guts.”

Watching the master and servant fooling around, Ren Yaohua couldn’t stand it anymore: “Are you going to bring back my maids or not! If something happens to them, do you think you can escape responsibility?”

Only then did Li Tianyou remember. He coughed lightly and quietly asked Dong Sheng, “Where did you hide them? Just give them back to her. A good man doesn’t fight with women.”

Dong Sheng lowered his head: “In a cave. I was careful with my strength when I knocked them unconscious. They should be waking up soon.”

Ren Yaoqi frowned: “We should quickly send someone to check. If they wake up and don’t see Third Sister, they might go back and report to the Eldest Madam, which would be troublesome.”

Dong Sheng nodded: “I was careless. I’ll go bring them over right away.”

At this moment, someone else entered from outside. Ren Yaoqi heard Xiangqin’s voice and said to Dong Sheng, “Does Xia Sheng know about that cave? If he does, let him take my two maids there. That way, they won’t see you and start another conflict.”

She had many more questions she wanted to ask Dong Sheng.

Just then, Xia Sheng walked in with two maids carrying bundles. Ren Yaoqi had Dong Sheng go explain things to them, while she took Ren Yaohua to change out of their wet clothes and shoes.

When they traveled, they always prepared several sets of clothes for emergencies.

Generally, for convenience, these clothes were all similar in color and style. This way, if clothes got dirty and needed changing, it avoided unnecessary embarrassment.

For example, if an eleven or twelve-year-old girl suddenly got her first period, having similar clothes would make it easier to handle such embarrassing situations without causing a scene.

The jade-green skirt Ren Yaoqi changed into was extremely similar to the one she had worn before. Although the embroidered shoes had slightly different patterns, the style and color were the same—you couldn’t tell the difference without looking carefully.

Ren Yaohua also changed into a pale pink dress.

When they came out, Xia Sheng had already gone to help Ren Yaohua find her people.

Only then did Ren Yaoqi ask what had happened to Xia Sheng after he left White Cloud Harbor.

But Dong Sheng just shook his head and said dully, “I was just chased all the way, then I discovered Third Miss’s people were following me. I thought they had caught up, so I decided to strike first and knocked them unconscious.”

But Ren Yaohua sneered from the side: “Others might be one thing, but don’t tell me you don’t recognize my Wujing. Telling lies in front of your master, who taught you such manners? Or did no one ever teach you manners at all!”

Wujing had been by Ren Yaohua’s side for some years and had accompanied her to their maternal grandmother’s house in Yunyang City several times. Dong Sheng should recognize her.

Even Li Tianyou looked at Dong Sheng with disbelief, but he was smart enough not to interfere. Instead, he seriously stared at the ordinary white porcelain teacup in his hand as if examining an antique, clearly not wanting to get involved.

Hearing Ren Yaohua’s rebuttal, Dong Sheng lowered his head further, looking like he was admitting his mistake, but refused to explain what had happened earlier.

This made Ren Yaohua even more certain that Li Tianyou was deliberately retaliating against her, since she had mentioned many times wanting to drive away the theater troupe people from her maternal grandmother’s house.

But Ren Yaoqi had different thoughts. She knew Dong Sheng hadn’t finished speaking. But there were only four of them here, no outsiders, so why was Dong Sheng still unwilling to speak?

Did he only want to speak privately with Li Tianyou later, or did he not plan to tell anyone? If it were the latter, then this matter must be serious.

Thinking of her previous life, when Dong Sheng very likely disappeared because of this incident, Ren Yaoqi felt somewhat worried.

She carefully recalled what had happened today, trying to connect the events. But no matter how she thought about it, it always seemed like something was missing.

Finally, she could only look at Dong Sheng seriously and say, “I have something I want to discuss with you. Come with me.” After speaking, Ren Yaoqi stood up and pointed to the room next door.

Li Tianyou thought Ren Yaoqi wanted to scold Dong Sheng. After struggling for a while, he patted his shoulder and quietly comforted him: “Fortunately, this one isn’t very fierce. Just endure it and it’ll pass.”

Although he spoke in a whisper, clearly Li Tianyou had no concept of what a whisper meant, so Ren Yaoqi still heard it and could only pretend she hadn’t.

Ren Yaohua glared fiercely in their direction.

Dong Sheng still didn’t dare disobey his master’s wishes and followed Ren Yaoqi to the adjacent room.

Ren Yaoqi slowly walked into the room without looking for a place to sit. She walked to the window and pushed open one of the shutters. A fragrance of fresh grass mixed with moist earth rushed into the room, immediately making the originally stagnant air fresh and lively. It also helped relax people’s tense spirits.

After thinking for a moment, Ren Yaoqi said directly: “I know you must have encountered something serious this time, and this serious matter isn’t a good thing. I think you don’t want to tell us because you don’t want to implicate us. Am I right?”

Dong Sheng looked at Ren Yaoqi with great surprise: “Miss Cousin, you—”

Ren Yaoqi turned around and gently interrupted him: “I understand your loyalty to my uncle, and because of this, you even show us extra tolerance out of love for him. But have you considered that if you encountered something bad, you’ve already had contact with my Third Sister, uncle, and me? Can you avoid implicating us? If you had left immediately, perhaps you could have avoided bringing trouble back. But you brought my sister back and encountered us. Your good intentions might lead to bad results.”

Hearing this, Dong Sheng’s face became even paler, and his bloodless lips trembled.

Seeing that he was already wavering, Ren Yaoqi continued slowly: “Since things have come to this, even if you tell others we’re not involved, they won’t believe it. Rather than this, you might as well tell me the truth. We’ll find a way to resolve the matter.”

Unexpectedly, Dong Sheng smiled bitterly and shook his head, his expression showing deep helplessness: “It’s no use. I’ve gotten into huge trouble. Miss Cousin, you’re right—I should have left quietly.”

Ren Yaoqi listened quietly, then shook her head: “You knocked those servants unconscious because they saw something? And you brought my Third Sister back because you were afraid she’d be in danger without anyone around her?”

Dong Sheng smiled embarrassedly: “They probably didn’t see anything. I was just being cautious.”

Ren Yaoqi looked at him without speaking.

Looking at Ren Yaoqi’s calm expression and thinking of her earlier reasonable words, Dong Sheng somehow found himself mysteriously pulling out a letter from his sleeve: “Earlier, to lead away the people chasing Master, I took a mountain path. Unexpectedly, I saw someone lying on the path. When I went over to look, the person had died. I saw this letter on the ground beside him and picked it up to examine it. Seeing it had no signature, I knew something was suspicious.”

He paused, then continued: “I was about to put the letter back when I heard someone coming. After hesitating for a moment, I still kept the letter, then went forward to investigate. I saw the Third Miss bringing several people searching in this direction. Afraid they would encounter the dead person, I secretly led them elsewhere. When we were finally far from that place, I was about to show myself when Third Miss suddenly realized I had been leading them in circles to cover for someone else. So she ordered those servants and maids to return to the original way. Seeing this, I found an opportunity to lead Third Miss away, then knocked those servants and maids unconscious and hid them.”

“Then I wanted to bring Third Miss back. But Third Miss was somewhat hostile toward me, thinking I had some ulterior motive. She… the letter I had in my chest was accidentally pulled out by Third Miss and fell to the ground. I was startled and wanted to retrieve it, but Third Miss was quicker and tore open the letter’s seal.”

Speaking of this, Dong Sheng pressed his lips together: “I could only say the letter was one I wrote to a girl I liked, so Third Miss returned it to me. Seeing that the letter’s seal was already opened, I simply opened it and read it through. This reading gave me quite a shock. The envelope had no markings, but the letter inside… couldn’t see the light of day…”

When the letter was snatched by Ren Yaohua, he finally understood why Xia Sheng and the others always said his martial arts were too weak.

Unlike Xia Sheng and the others, he wasn’t from a secret guard or regular guard background. He was originally just an ordinary servant. Learning martial arts was only due to circumstances, as a precaution, so he wouldn’t drag down his masters at critical moments.

Because of this, although his martial arts were mediocre, his running and jumping skills were first-rate—even Xia Sheng couldn’t outrun him.

“Oh?” Ren Yaoqi frowned thoughtfully. If possible, she felt she shouldn’t ask further, but now this matter probably wasn’t that simple. Covering one’s ears while stealing bells wasn’t a good solution. No matter what, Ren Yaohua was already implicated.

Dong Sheng was silent for a long time, then suddenly said in a low voice: “It was a secret report from the court to Governor Zhao Ming.”

Dong Sheng still spoke out.

He had no choice. If he hadn’t encountered Li Tianyou just now, he wouldn’t have said anything.

But he had already dragged his master into this and couldn’t think of a way to resolve it. He also didn’t know if anyone was secretly following him.

He didn’t know who to discuss this matter with. Of the three masters present, the other two weren’t suitable.

He was, after all, just a servant and couldn’t do much. But Ren Yaoqi didn’t rush to ask what the court’s letter to Governor Zhao said. She thought for a moment, was silent briefly, then suddenly looked at Dong Sheng: “Is there something else you haven’t told me? If only these things happened, it wouldn’t have delayed you this long.”

Hearing this, Dong Sheng lowered his head, looking somewhat ashamed.

Ren Yaoqi smiled slightly, but her gaze toward him was somewhat cold: “If I’m not mistaken, the reason you delayed so long before bringing my sister back was because you were considering whether to kill her to silence her, to prevent her from implicating my mother and maternal grandmother’s family.”

This occurred to her when she heard Dong Sheng say the letter was a court secret report.

She would never doubt this group’s loyalty to Prince Xian’s mansion.

Dong Sheng’s face went white as paper, and he suddenly fell to his knees before Ren Yaoqi with weak legs. He didn’t argue—there was nothing to argue about.

Earlier, he had indeed struggled in his heart for a long time. If he killed Ren Yaohua and then left, it wouldn’t implicate Prince Xian’s lineage.

So he had led Ren Yaoqi in circles for a long time, hesitating about where to commit murder. But he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to kill, because Ren Yaohua was Prince Xian’s granddaughter, half his master.

Since he could remember, he had been taught to be loyal to Prince Xian’s mansion and to die for his masters without hesitation. He couldn’t bring himself to commit regicide.

In the end, somehow, he had led them near White Dragon Temple’s gates and encountered Li Tianyou and Ren Yaoqi, who were looking for her.

At that time, his only thought was that his womanly kindness would harm his master, and if so, he would die a thousand deaths without being able to atone.

Even now, if given another chance, he would kill Ren Yaohua without hesitation.

Ren Yaoqi looked at his expression and sighed softly: “Get up. You weren’t wrong. You’re a servant of the Li family, not the Ren family, so naturally you should prioritize the Li family’s interests. No one can blame you for that.”

Dong Sheng stood up with an ashen face, never daring to raise his head. Although he knew he had done nothing wrong, he couldn’t face Ren Yaoqi’s clear, understanding gaze.

“Did you return to where you found the letter afterward?” Ren Yaoqi asked.

Dong Sheng nodded.

“And the person was gone?”

Dong Sheng looked up in shock, stammering: “Miss Cousin, how did you know?”

Ren Yaoqi sighed: “If he were still there, you wouldn’t be so worried and afraid.”

The person being gone meant someone had appeared after Dong Sheng left, which meant someone might have been secretly watching that person all along. This also meant Dong Sheng was in danger of being exposed. Otherwise, he could have buried the person and destroyed the evidence, making the trouble much smaller.

“Earlier, I saw there were no signs of struggle around where he fell. He must have been injured elsewhere and was being chased to that location. After I took the letter and left, someone found him and took the body away. So my every move might have been observed by others. I’ve heard Qiu Sheng and the others mention that when the court handles affairs, they never ask about reasons, only results. That letter was extremely confidential. Those who had contact with it would probably all be…”

Ren Yaoqi also felt heavy-hearted. She couldn’t help wondering whether, in her previous life, Dong Sheng had disappeared because he secretly left to avoid implicating uncle and the others, or because he was killed to silence him.