Chen Guang hurriedly explained: “This old uncle was someone this subordinate encountered on the way into the city. He was leading an old horse and crying in the rain. When this subordinate went over to ask, he said his carriage had overturned, and he went to chase after the horse. After catching the horse, he couldn’t find their carriage anymore. This subordinate thought about it and realized he must be talking about Miss Li, so I asked, and sure enough, it was correct, so I brought him along.”
The old coachman looked ashamed, wiping away tears as he asked Binglu: “What happened to Third Miss?”
Binglu glared at the old coachman and scolded: “Old Uncle Qian, you still have the nerve to ask! How could you abandon the miss to chase after a horse? If we hadn’t encountered General Shao, the miss would have been in terrible trouble.”
Well, she seemed to be in quite terrible trouble now, too, but if General Shao hadn’t woven a grass hat for the miss, helped her take shelter from the rain, and even cooked rice porridge for her, it would have been much worse.
Old Uncle Qian cried even harder: “I, I forgot for a moment. After catching up with the horse and coming back, I couldn’t find our carriage anywhere.”
“You’re muddle-headed!” Binglu stamped her foot in anger.
Chen Guang lowered his head, thinking to himself: This old man made an even bigger mistake than I did. It looks like he won’t be able to continue as a coachman when we return. Sigh, I wonder how the general will deal with him later?
“Big sister, I don’t know what’s been wrong with me lately. I often forget things here and there. Sometimes I even forget that I’ve just eaten and will eat again. My wife scolds me before I remember I’ve already eaten.” The old coachman knew he had made no small mistake today and explained pitifully.
Binglu spat: “Eating another meal after you’ve already eaten? Every time you forget something, at least you don’t shortchange yourself.”
The little maid followed Shao Mingyuan with a stern face as they helped Qiao Zhao into the carriage.
The carriage interior was clean and comfortable, immediately giving one the feeling of coming back to life.
“I’ve prepared clothes for you to wear, as well as hot water and other necessities. First, help Miss Li get cleaned up. If there’s anything you need, just call for me.” After giving these instructions, Shao Mingyuan withdrew.
Chen Guang held the whip and asked for instructions: “General, shall we depart?”
“Give me the whip. You get down.”
“Eh?” Chen Guang got down from the carriage in confusion.
Wasn’t he supposed to be the coachman?
“Take this old uncle to Chunfeng Tavern and wait there.” After dropping this instruction, Shao Mingyuan cracked the whip, and the carriage slowly began to move.
This left Chen Guang dumbfounded: The general was personally serving as Miss Li’s coachman!
After the rain stopped, the official road became much easier to travel. Shao Mingyuan drove the carriage at great speed, yet there wasn’t the slightest bit of bumping. They finally reached Chunfeng Tavern before evening fell.
The carriage entered directly through the back door of Chunfeng Tavern and didn’t stop until it reached the courtyard.
Shao Mingyuan carried Qiao Zhao into the room and ordered the personal guard stationed there: “Quickly go and bring the physician.”
The personal guard received the order and left. Another reported: “General, Young Master Chi and the others are drinking in the front. They said if you returned, they would like you to join them.”
Shao Mingyuan was worried about Qiao Zhao’s condition and said, “Go tell them I’ve returned, but I have some matters to attend to right now. I’ll go over a bit later.”
“Yes.”
Because of the heavy rain, Chunfeng Tavern, which should have been bustling, had few carriages and horses in front and was quiet and peaceful.
On the second floor in a private room by the window, Zhu Yàn and Yang Houcheng sat facing each other, casually playing with their wine cups, while Chi Can stood outside leaning against the railing, gazing at the street surface that gleamed from being washed by the heavy rain, lost in thought.
Yang Houcheng glanced at Chi Can’s back, took a sip of wine, and muttered: “What’s wrong with Shixi today? He’s been looking absent-minded all along.”
Zhu Yàn smiled: “Who knows?”
He thought for a moment, then suddenly sighed: “Today seems to be the day Miss Li goes to Sparse Shadow Nunnery.”
Yang Houcheng counted on his fingers and nodded: “Right, it’s today. Miss Li mentioned it before – she goes to Sparse Shadow Nunnery once every seven days.”
After saying this, he slapped the table: “Oh my! With such heavy rain, wouldn’t Miss Li have been caught in it?”
Yang Houcheng’s table-slapping made quite a commotion. Chi Can turned around with a dark expression and said, “What are you randomly slapping for?”
“I’m just worried about Miss Li! Such heavy rain lasted so long and only just stopped. Don’t you think Miss Li might be trapped on the road? Could she have encountered some danger?”
“Shut up!” Chi Can strode back over, sat down heavily, picked up his wine cup, and drained it in one gulp.
Yang Houcheng stared at Chi Can and blinked, suddenly understanding: “I get it now! Shixi, you’ve been looking preoccupied this whole time because you’re worried about Miss Li!”
Hearing this, Chi Can’s face grew even darker. He glanced at Yang Houcheng: “Nonsense! Why would I care about her? I just find you annoying – your chattering is so loud I can’t even drink properly!”
After saying this, he poured himself another cup of wine and drank it all in one go.
Yang Houcheng pursed his lips: “If you’re worried about Miss Li, just say so directly. Don’t be so stubborn. I only just thought of it, otherwise, I would have been worried this whole time, too. She’s just a young girl who looks so delicate – what if she got blown away by the strong wind? No, I should go look for her along the road.”
Chi Can gripped his wine cup, his knuckles faintly turning white.
Zhu Yàn quickly held back Yang Houcheng, who was ready to act on his words: “Yang Er, you forgot – someone else went to Great Fortune Temple today too.”
“Someone else?” Yang Houcheng looked confused.
“Tingquan?” Chi Can had already realized.
“Yes, Tingquan has a generous and kind nature. If Miss Li encountered any trouble and he came across her, he would help. So you don’t need to worry.”
Yang Houcheng sat down and breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good then.”
Chi Can’s fingers relaxed slightly. He set down his wine cup and said coldly: “Who’s worried? Only Yang Er is being unnecessarily kind-hearted. I don’t know what kind of spell Third Miss Li cast on him.”
His two good friends looked at him together.
“What are you staring at me for?”
Zhu Yàn smiled: “Hehe.”
Yang Houcheng directly pursed his lips: “Alright, alright, I’m the only one worried. Our Young Master Chi isn’t worried at all – he just happened to stand outside, blowing in the cold wind for most of the day. We all know you’re not worried.”
Chi Can: “…” What did these two guys mean? He wasn’t worried!
Not worried!
“Three young masters, the general has returned.”
“Where is he? Did he go directly through the back door?” Chi Can asked.
“Yes, the general went directly to the back courtyard. Please wait a moment, three young masters. The general will come over a bit later.”
“What could he be busy with at this time?” Yang Houcheng asked in confusion.
“The general said he has some matters to attend to.”
The three of Chi Can looked at each other.
“Could it be that he lit an eternal flame at the temple and is now in a bad mood, hiding somewhere to cry?” Yang Houcheng speculated.
This unreliable guess earned him an eye roll from Young Master Chi. Chi Can set down his wine cup and stand up: “Let’s go take a look.”
Wasn’t it possible he encountered that girl? What did it mean to come back and immediately hide in the back by himself?
Knowing these three were close friends of the general, and since the general had given no other instructions, the personal guard didn’t stop them and followed along.
From a distance, Chi Can saw Shao Mingyuan standing under the corridor eaves, quietly gazing at the rose bushes in the corner of the wall, lost in thought. The clothes on his body were so disheveled that their original appearance was unrecognizable.
“Tingquan.” He called out.