Jiang Si looked at the angry boy, her expression softening. She leaned forward slightly and asked, “Yesterday when you came here to play, did you encounter anyone?”
Seeing that the chubby boy had quite a strong sense of pride, Jiang Si no longer mentioned the incident of falling and changed to a more tactful approach.
The boy indeed became less resistant and said, “We met an aunt and an uncle.”
“Can you remember what that aunt looked like?”
Jiang Si’s question stumped the boy. The little chubby one glanced at his playmates.
Jiang Si looked at A Qiao.
A Qiao immediately took out many sugar cubes from her pouch and smiled as she distributed them to the children.
For children from ordinary families, eating a piece of candy was only possible during festivals. They rarely saw it on regular days. The children who received the sugar cubes cheered with joy, and the atmosphere immediately became lively.
When Jiang Si asked again, a little girl timidly said, “I remember—”
Jiang Si immediately turned to the girl.
“That aunt wore a white jacket with blue flowers, a black cloth skirt, had curved eyebrows, a pointed chin, and was—” the girl hesitated for a moment, then mustered up the courage to say, “even prettier than my mother.”
The woman holding the girl’s hand immediately looked displeased and glared at her daughter.
After hearing the girl’s words, Jiang Si looked at Lu Chuchu.
Lu Chuchu nodded with a grim expression, “Yesterday, Xiu Niang indeed wore that outfit.”
The owner of the plum garden nearby finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped his forehead, and bowed, saying, “Honored guest, this humble one did not lie to you. Yesterday, Xiu Niang and the worker truly didn’t stay here long and left early…”
Jiang Si lowered her gaze to look at the innocent children, then at the respectful plum garden owner. She temporarily set aside her suspicions about the owner and said to Long Dan, “Send some people to carefully search along the road from the plum garden back to the city. See if there are any clues left behind.”
It wouldn’t take too long to get from the suburban plum garden to Lu Sheng Xiang. Two living adults couldn’t just vanish… Even if something happened, where were the bodies?
Jiang Si didn’t want to think negatively. Xiu Niang had already lived half her life in misery; she only hoped that the latter half of her life would be peaceful and happy, not meeting an untimely end.
Jiang Si thought for a moment and added, “Xiu Niang and her companion left around the hour of Shen. If they reached the city gate smoothly, it would have been close to the time when the gates were closing. There probably weren’t many people entering or leaving the city. Long Dan, remember to ask the gate guards if they have any recollection.”
Long Dan nodded, “Rest assured, this subordinate will order people to investigate. Let me escort you back first, and I’ll report to you immediately if we find anything.”
Compared to Xiu Niang’s whereabouts, he was more concerned about Jiang Si’s safety. Before the master went south, he had instructed that if the Princess Consort lost even a single hair, his head would be used as a ball to kick. He couldn’t let the Princess Consort have even the slightest mishap.
Moreover, the Princess Consort was Miss Dou’s niece, and he was Miss Dou’s fiancé. Come to think of it, ahem, he was also the Princess Consort’s aunt’s future husband, so taking care of the younger generation was also appropriate — as soon as this thought flashed through his mind, Long Dan secretly let out a sigh. He had been getting a bit cocky lately, daring to think about anything. If the master knew about his thoughts, he would surely skin him alive.
Jiang Si didn’t refuse Long Dan’s suggestion and nodded lightly.
Finding people wasn’t a task that could be accomplished quickly. She couldn’t stay here for long, not to mention the many affairs at home and her daughter whom she missed.
“Miss Chuchu, let’s go back first.”
Lu Chuchu, who had been spending day and night with Xiu Niang and had a different kind of emotional bond, frowned and said, “I want to search with them. I don’t want to go back and just wait.”
Jiang Si pondered briefly and then nodded, “That’s fine. With Miss Chuchu together, we might get news about Xiu Niang sooner.”
A Qiao bid farewell to the plum garden owner on behalf of Jiang Si, and the group prepared to leave.
The plum garden owner secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that he had finally sent these important people away. They were truly not to be trifled with.
Just as he was thinking this, A Man suddenly turned back and warned with a stern face, “Don’t go anywhere. We might come back to investigate again. The fact that the people disappeared after leaving your place can’t be changed.”
The plum garden owner nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, this humble one will be waiting respectfully at any time.”
As the group walked about a hundred paces away, the plum garden owner finally relaxed: this time they were gone.
Just then, the chubby boy suddenly ran after them, shouting, “Wait—”
The plum garden owner immediately felt faint, wishing he could hang that little fatty up and give him a beating.
The boy’s mother, who had long realized that Jiang Si and the others were not ordinary people, became anxious when she saw her son chasing after them. She chased after him, shouting, “Er Pang, come back here!”
But the little chubby boy’s shouts had already reached Jiang Si’s ears.
Just as the woman was dragging Er Pang back by his ear, Jiang Si returned and called out, “Sister, don’t be hard on the child.”
The woman had no choice but to let go, sheepishly saying, “Forgive me, honored guest. This brat just needs a beating.”
The chubby boy, with tears in his eyes, looked pitifully at Jiang Si.
Jiang Si stepped forward, leaned down, and asked, “Did you call me for something?”
She tried her best not to pressure the boy, keeping a slight smile on her lips. Her good looks undoubtedly gave the little chubby one some reassurance, and he became bolder.
The chubby boy sniffled and said, “Yes—”
“Well, what is it?”
Although she didn’t think this seven or eight-year-old boy could say anything significant, Jiang Si was still very patient. Today’s search had surely brought a lot of tension to these children, and Xiu Niang’s matter had nothing to do with them in the first place.
However, the little chubby one’s next words were earth-shattering: “There’s a letter for you—”
Jiang Si’s eyes suddenly narrowed, “What letter? Where is it?”
Countless gazes immediately fell on the boy, making him squirm uncomfortably.
Seeing this, Jiang Si took A Qiao’s pouch of sugar cubes and handed the entire pouch to the boy, saying gently, “Don’t be afraid. Auntie is treating you to candy. Will you give me the letter?”
The chubby boy looked at the pouch full of sugar cubes, his nervousness instantly disappearing. He swallowed and took out a crumpled letter from his pocket, handing it to Jiang Si.
Jiang Si reached out to take it, glancing at it briefly, and immediately noticed something strange: there was no writing on the envelope.
If so, why did the boy say this letter was for her? It should be noted that her coming here was just a coincidence.
Jiang Si voiced her question.
The chubby boy, with a sugar cube in his mouth, said, “That person said if we saw a lady as beautiful as a fairy, we should give this to her. If we don’t see anyone like that in three days, we should throw the letter into the kitchen fire.”
The sister in front of him was beautiful and gave him candy, so he must not have mistaken her.
Jiang Si’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly pulled out the letter to look at it, but there were only three characters on the paper: San Shi Temple.
“San Shi Temple—” Jiang Si murmured.
The boy’s mother exclaimed, “San Shi Temple?”
Jiang Si immediately looked at her, “Sister, do you know this place?”
The boy’s mother nodded, “We all know San Shi Temple. It’s on the mountain not far from here. It’s an abandoned, dilapidated temple that no one ever visits…”