At this time, the Marchioness of Wuning was spinning around in circles with anxiety.

“They said they haven’t seen Wei’er?” The Marchioness of Wuning asked severely of the maid who had returned from Lin Shi’s place.

The maid was nearly scared to tears: “They said they didn’t see her.”

The Marchioness of Wuning strode forward and slapped the maid across the face: “Useless thing! You’re the one who personally attends the young lady, yet you actually managed to lose her?”

The maid dropped to her knees with a thump: “Marchioness, spare my life! Marchioness, spare my life!”

Even now, the maid was still confused.

The young lady, angry that those several men had spoken up for the two young ladies from the General’s household, had chased after them to reason with them. She and Qinghong had hurriedly followed, but in the blink of an eye the young lady had disappeared, and Qinghong had also vanished.

She had scrambled about the maple forest like a headless fly, searching for a long time without seeing anyone. Truly having no other options, she returned to report to the Marchioness.

“Go search again, all of you go!” The Marchioness of Wuning sent all the servants she had brought to search for Tang Wei.

Watching the sky about to darken with still no shadow of her daughter, the Marchioness of Wuning finally couldn’t hold back.

She first went to see the steward of the temple grounds and told him about her daughter’s disappearance.

The steward monk was greatly shocked.

For a temple like Green Deer Temple that frequently hosted high officials and nobles, the disappearance of a noble young lady would have too great an impact—moreover, Prince Wei had come today.

“Marchioness, please don’t worry. This humble monk will immediately arrange for the temple’s disciples to search for your beloved daughter.”

“Please, Master, instruct the disciples not to make a commotion.” The Marchioness of Wuning reminded him.

For a noble young lady from a great family to disappear outside, naturally it wouldn’t be a good thing if people knew—this was also why she had initially only sent the household servants to search.

But as the sky grew darker and darker, the Marchioness of Wuning’s hopeful thinking was completely replaced by worry.

Lamps were lit throughout the temple, and hurried footsteps approached.

The steward monk pressed his palms together in salutation to the Marchioness of Wuning and chanted a Buddhist invocation: “Marchioness, several disciples discovered a female corpse in the forest—”

The Marchioness of Wuning’s eyes rolled back as she collapsed.

“Marchioness!” The maid beside her hurriedly supported her.

The Marchioness of Wuning recovered slightly and looked at the steward monk with a pale face: “That female corpse… is… is…”

“It’s a young woman dressed as a maid. Could the Marchioness send someone to identify her?”

Hearing it was dressed as a maid, the Marchioness of Wuning’s heart, which had sunk to the bottom, jumped, and she said through gritted teeth: “I’ll go look.”

The female corpse had already been carried over. The Marchioness of Wuning steeled herself to glance at it and cried out: “It’s Qinghong!”

What made her lose composure was naturally not the life or death of a maid, but her daughter’s safety.

“Where is my daughter? Haven’t you found her?”

The steward monk shook his head: “We haven’t discovered your beloved daughter yet.”

The Marchioness of Wuning staggered back half a step, then looked again at the female corpse lying on the wooden plank frame.

The corpse was covered with cloth, the pale blue face bearing congealed dark red.

“She… how did she die?” the Marchioness of Wuning asked in a trembling voice.

The steward monk’s expression was grave: “Her throat was cut.”

This indicated the missing young lady from the Marquis’s household was in great danger.

The Marchioness of Wuning gasped: “How can this be! How does your esteemed temple manage things? Why are there such vicious people here?”

“Amitabha. Besides monks, there are also many pilgrims in the temple—the personnel are inevitably mixed. Please, Marchioness, stay calm. We’ve already increased the manpower searching for your beloved daughter.”

Tears fell from the Marchioness of Wuning’s eyes: “My daughter’s maid had her throat cut, and my daughter is still missing without a trace. How can I stay calm?”

She suddenly thought of something and strode toward the guest room where Lin Shi was staying.

Lin Shi loved gossip and was currently standing outside the door listening to the commotion. Seeing the Marchioness of Wuning striding over, she immediately gathered her spirits to respond.

“Marchioness, has your beloved daughter returned?”

The Marchioness of Wuning turned a deaf ear to Lin Shi’s concerned inquiry and stared intently at the Lin Hao sisters: “Have you truly not seen Wei’er?”

Lin Chan grasped Lin Hao’s hand, her expression calm: “We only encountered Second Miss Tang by chance in the maple forest. Later, Second Miss Tang left first.”

The Marchioness of Wuning gave a cold laugh: “According to Wei’er’s personal maid Ningcui, you had words with my daughter!”

“We did speak a few words with Second Miss Tang. Then several men came. Second Miss Tang knew one of the men. They spoke a few words and left one after another. My younger sister and I also left the maple forest.” Facing the Marchioness of Wuning’s angry glare, Lin Chan calmly explained.

“Who can prove you weren’t together with my daughter afterward?”

Lin Shi was upset: “Marchioness, are my daughters criminals that you interrogate them like this?”

“One of Wei’er’s personal maids was just discovered dead in the forest.” The Marchioness of Wuning’s face was so dark it could drip water. “Her throat was cut! And your two daughters are the last known people to have seen her. Can’t I ask questions?”

Both being mothers, Lin Shi actually felt some sympathy for the Marchioness of Wuning’s beloved daughter going missing, but the other party’s aggressive manner successfully angered her.

No one should try to frame her daughters!

“Marchioness, those words aren’t right. The last to see your beloved daughter were clearly also several young men, and your beloved daughter left in their direction. Why don’t you go ask those men?” Lin Shi pointed at the Lin Hao sisters. “Compared to my two delicate daughters, the danger several young men could potentially cause is undoubtedly much greater, isn’t it?”

The Marchioness of Wuning pressed her lips tightly together.

She had learned early on from Ningcui that besides the Lin family sisters, Wei’er had also encountered several young men, among them a young master from Minister Han’s household and also the new Top Scholar.

According to Ningcui’s account, Wei’er went to chase after these several people but didn’t catch up.

Thinking of her daughter’s reputation, she hadn’t yet gone to ask these several young men.

But now, with one maid dead and Wei’er’s fate unknown, she couldn’t care about such things anymore.

“I will naturally go ask. Lady Lin shouldn’t feel this doesn’t concern your two daughters. As long as Wei’er isn’t found, anyone who saw her can’t escape suspicion!”

Lin Shi laughed coldly: “It doesn’t concern my two daughters in the first place. Rather than waste time here, Marchioness, you’d better quickly go ask those several young men.”

What a fool—her daughter had an incident and she didn’t suspect several young men, but ran here to pester her unreasonably.

The Marchioness of Wuning swept her sleeves and left. Lin Shi cursed about bad luck and took her two daughters back inside.

“How unreasonable! Her daughter goes missing and she indiscriminately blames others without distinguishing right from wrong. Why doesn’t she blame herself for not accumulating virtue?”

Lin Chan hurriedly tried to calm her: “Mother, the Marchioness of Wuning is confused from worry. There’s no need for you to haggle with her.”

Just now she was truly afraid Mother and the Marchioness of Wuning would come to blows.

Lin Shi waved her hand: “You don’t understand her. She’s the type who thinks you’re guilty and in the wrong the more you yield, and bullies even more fiercely.”

When she was young, Tian Chunhua had mocked her as a little bandit quite a bit. At first she had endured it, but finally unable to bear it anymore, she had pulled out a handful of Tian Chunhua’s hair, and her ears had finally been clean.

“Who did her younger daughter offend that her personal maid actually had her throat cut?”

As Lin Shi continued to send people to inquire about news, the Marchioness of Wuning rushed to where Yang Zhe and the others were.