Ren Yaoqi looked toward Zhu Ruoju, who had just finished performing her greeting and was rising to her feet.

The young girl before her had thick eyebrows and large eyes. Though she was far from the delicate and refined beauty popular at the time, she was still pleasant to look at. Her eyes, in particular, appeared very lively, suggesting she normally had a spirited personality.

However, today those lively eyes contained traces of anxiety and worry.

Seeing that Ren Yaoqi was still accompanied by several matrons and maids, Zhu Ruoju did not immediately speak. Only after Ren Yaoqi had dismissed all the maids and matrons around her did Zhu Ruoju urgently say: “Fifth Miss, do you know my brother’s whereabouts?”

Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoqi’s heart also sank halfway.

“How long has your brother been missing?”

Zhu Ruoju’s face turned pale as she murmured, “Fifth Miss, you also don’t know his whereabouts? That day, after he returned from White Crane Town, he told my mother and me that he had business to attend to and needed to go out for a few days. He originally promised to return within three days at the latest, but it’s already been six days and there’s still no sign of him.”

So he indeed hadn’t returned since that trip to Jizhou? But where could he have gone?

“Fifth Miss, do you know what business he went to handle? We were afraid Sister-in-Law Zhu would worry, so we just told her that Zhu Ruomei had taken on a short-term job and would be back in a few days. But you can’t hide fire with paper – if Ruomei never returns, then…” Sister-in-Law Yuan also had a face full of worried clouds.

Ren Yaoqi sighed softly and still said to Sister-in-Law Yuan and Zhu Ruoju: “Zhu Ruomei went to handle something for me. It was indeed supposed to take only two or three days originally. How about this – I’ll immediately send people to look for him and will give you an explanation.”

Sister-in-Law Yuan said, “Why don’t we let my Dayong go look for him? He and Ruomei have known each other for many years and are very familiar with each other. If Ruomei encountered some difficulty on the road, he might have left some kind of mark.”

Ren Yaoqi was just thinking about whom to send to search for him when Sister-in-Law Yuan mentioned Yuan Dayong. Ren Yaoqi recalled Yuan Dayong’s appearance in her mind and nodded: “If that’s the case, it would be even better. Have Yuan Dayong come to the residence, and I’ll give him instructions.”

“Yes, I’ll have my husband go call him right away.” Sister-in-Law Yuan performed a courtesy and hurried off.

Seeing Zhu Ruoju standing there in a daze, Ren Yaoqi walked over and said softly: “I’m very sorry. I originally thought he had finished his business and returned to Yunyang City. These past few days, when I saw he hadn’t sent any messages, I felt something was wrong and was just about to send someone to Yunyang City to inquire.”

Though Zhu Ruoju’s expression was dim, she shook her head and said clearly: “My brother often says that a drop of kindness requires a spring of gratitude in return. Fifth Miss, you saved my mother’s life. If it’s to handle business for you, even if he has to risk his life, we have no complaints.”

Upon hearing these words, Ren Yaoqi felt even more guilty.

Not knowing when Yuan Dayong would arrive, Ren Yaoqi invited Zhu Ruoju to sit together and ordered the maids to bring tea and refreshments.

Both were worried about Zhu Ruomei’s whereabouts, so their conversation was somewhat absent-minded.

When someone came in to report that Sister-in-Law Yuan had brought Yuan Dayong and they were waiting at Yiran Pavilion, Ren Yaoqi immediately got up and walked out, with Zhu Ruoju following behind her.

Upon reaching Yiran Pavilion outside the second gate, Sister-in-Law Yuan and Yuan Dayong were indeed already there.

Ren Yaoqi dismissed all the maids and matrons to a distance and said to Yuan Dayong, “This time, Zhu Ruomei went to Jizhou to help me handle a private matter. You should go in the direction of Jizhou to look for traces of him.”

“Fifth Miss, may I ask if this matter… involves any danger?” Yuan Dayong hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively, “Oh, I’m not asking this because I’m afraid of death. Zhu Ruomei and I are like brothers – if he’s missing, I must go look for him. It’s just that if this matter is dangerous, I’ll be more careful and on guard.”

Sister-in-Law Yuan and Zhu Ruoju also looked over nervously. It seemed they all thought Zhu Ruomei had gone to handle some dangerous business.

Even so, the Yuan family was still willing to help look for Zhu Ruomei, which was truly touching.

Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment and shook her head: “Though what I asked him to do was somewhat secretive and required keeping secrets, it wasn’t dangerous. Moreover, from the looks of things, he should have completed what I entrusted him with.”

Yuan Dayong nodded thoughtfully: “This servant understands. Then this servant will also be more discreet on the way to look for him.”

Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “Finding him is the most important thing. When the time comes, judge the situation yourself. If you encounter any difficulties, don’t try to be brave – return immediately to tell me, and I’ll think of a solution.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Dayong looked at Ren Yaoqi and bowed even more respectfully: “Yes, Fifth Miss. This servant understands. Does Fifth Miss have any other instructions?”

Ren Yaoqi told him some more clues before letting him leave the residence to search.

“Fifth Miss, I’ll return to Yunyang City first as well. My mother is still there, and I’m worried about leaving her alone.” Zhu Ruoju came forward and said.

Ren Yaoqi nodded and said warmly, “Take good care of your mother. I’ll keep watching for news about your brother. When there’s any information, I’ll have someone go tell you.”

Zhu Ruoju expressed her thanks and left together with Sister-in-Law Yuan.

The joy Ren Yaoqi had originally felt from successfully scheming against the Han family completely disappeared. She worried about Zhu Ruomei but really couldn’t think of where he might have gone.

Logically, he had already completed the task she gave him, and from the looks of things, the Han family still hadn’t caught anyone.

White Crane Town was at least a day and a night’s journey from Jizhou, so news wouldn’t travel that quickly. Thus, there was nothing to discuss that day.

By the third day, Yuan Dayong finally returned. As soon as Ren Yaoqi heard the news, she walked outside.

When Ren Yaoqi was almost at Yiran Pavilion, she saw Yuan Dayong with his arms crossed, head lowered, pacing back and forth in the pavilion, appearing somewhat anxious and restless.

Ren Yaoqi hurried over and dismissed the maids to the outside of the pavilion.

Yuan Dayong quickly came forward to bow.

“Is there any news?” Ren Yaoqi asked directly.

Yuan Dayong shook his head somewhat dejectedly, but then, after thinking, he nodded again, looking very conflicted and troubled.

Ren Yaoqi frowned: “What does this mean?”

Yuan Dayong said: “This servant followed Fifth Miss’s instructions and searched in Jizhou, but didn’t discover any trace of Zhu Ruomei along the route. It wasn’t until I reached Jizhou, near that Han Family Village you mentioned, that this servant discovered someone else was also looking for Zhu Ruomei like me. Though they had altered Zhu Ruomei’s appearance considerably in the portrait they carried, and others might not recognize him, this servant had known him for many years and had seen his disguised appearance, so I recognized at a glance that the person they were looking for was Zhu Ruomei. This servant found a way to get information from those people and learned they were sent by the Han family, looking for a petty thief who had stolen something from their village.”

Ren Yaoqi wasn’t surprised to hear this.

The Han family must be doing everything possible now to find the person who had stirred up this dispute, or else Han Dongshan would never be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

This also showed that Zhu Ruomei hadn’t fallen into the Han family’s hands.

“Then this servant felt something was wrong, so I didn’t continue asking and turned back to return to the residence to hear Fifth Miss’s thoughts,” Yuan Dayong said. “But I don’t know why, when this servant was about to enter the town, I discovered someone seemed to be following me. This servant was startled at the time and deliberately led that person through many small streets and alleys in the town, and indeed managed to shake him off this time.”

Ren Yaoqi frowned, wondering if the person following Yuan Dayong could be from the Han family. Because Yuan Dayong had previously asked about Zhu Ruomei, he had attracted attention?

At this time, Yuan Dayong continued: “But when this servant had shaken off the pursuer and was about to enter the Ren residence, this thing was thrown from somewhere and landed right at this servant’s feet.”

As he spoke, Yuan Dayong took out from his sleeve an ordinary brown hair ribbon used by men to tie their hair, with a three-inch-wide strip of paper tied to it.

This brown hair ribbon looked somewhat similar to the fabric of the brown short jacket Zhu Ruomei had worn when he came last time. Ren Yaoqi’s expression also turned unpleasant.

The person who would do this wasn’t Zhu Ruomei himself.

It seemed Yuan Dayong had very likely truly been followed, and Zhu Ruomei’s disappearance was very possibly related to this person. But wasn’t this person from the Han family?

“What’s written on the paper strip?” Ren Yaoqi asked, her voice very calm.

Things had come to this point – they could only meet soldiers with generals and water with earth.

As long as Zhu Ruomei was still alive, everything still had room for resolution.

Yuan Dayong carefully untied the hair ribbon while replying: “This servant was just startled and afraid someone was watching nearby, so I picked up this thing and ran without opening it to look.”

As he spoke, Yuan Dayong had already unfolded the paper strip. Before handing it to Ren Yaoqi, he glanced at it: “Eh? It’s a line of poetry?”

Ren Yaoqi reached out to take it.

Indeed, on the paper strip was written in neat, regular script a line of poetry: “You are now in the net.” Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but read it aloud softly.