Liang Jingchen had been silent for quite some time, his head bowed, perfectly concealing the unspoken thoughts he held for Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi couldn't tell. How could Shen Yun, so sensitive and a man himself, not see? A flicker of displeasure crossed his mind, and his expression turned a touch colder.
It wasn't quite at the point of "I consider you a brother, yet you wish to snatch my wife."
But it wasn't far off.
The atmosphere between them gradually became tense.
Su Xiaoqi, unaware of Zhao Ye's intentions towards her, felt a bit bewildered. Looking at the two of them, she wondered how things had suddenly become like this.
"Uh, would you like some more wine and dishes?"
Su Xiaoqi attempted to break the unspoken awkwardness.
Liang Jingchen shook his head, "The Emperor has assigned me the duty of guarding Gan Quan Temple and ensuring the safety of the religious ceremony and temple fair. I cannot get away."
In truth, it had taken him considerable effort to sneak out and see her.
He couldn't stay long.
Su Xiaoqi nodded, indicating her understanding.
But as Liang Jingchen prepared to leave, he proposed taking Shen Yun with him.
"My father wishes to see you," Liang Jingchen finally revealed the true reason for his presence.
This assignment had originally belonged to his elder half-brother, Liang Jingning, the Crown Prince's heir. He had used some means to secure it.
It was precisely because he knew Su Xiaoqi was with Shen Yun that he came to deliver a message, hoping to see Xiaoqi.
Shen Yun looked on with understanding. He had anticipated this day ever since accepting the four individuals, Feng, Yu, Lei, and Dian, from Mr. Gu.
He just hadn't expected it to arrive so soon.
Perhaps his talent as a top scholar had prompted them to decide to push him into the spotlight, rather than keeping him as a hidden pawn as previously planned.
"I'll send my wife back first!" Shen Yun was unwilling to leave Su Xiaoqi alone at the foot of the mountain.
There were too many people here, and it gave him an unsettling feeling.
"There's no time. I'll have someone escort Xiaoqi up." Liang Jingchen had already delayed for too long. He spoke only after his subordinates urged him, otherwise, he too would have wished to stay a little longer.
"No, no, Zhang Yu is with me, she'll take me back."
Zhang Yu, who was outside the door, was called out and immediately appeared, nodding.
She mentioned that she often came to this mountain and knew the way well.
But Shen Yun was still uneasy. For some reason, his heart felt inexplicably flustered, fearing that Su Xiaoqi might be in danger after leaving his side.
This feeling was difficult to describe, purely instinctual. He didn't even know how such a feeling arose.
Seeing his worry, Su Xiaoqi quickly waved her hand, assuring him she was fine.
She was truly fine; she wouldn't cause trouble. She planned to sit here for a while, then wander through the temple fair, buy some things, and head back.
Shen Yun remained uneasy, but the guards Liang Jingchen brought were pressing him.
That was the Prince of Duan, and he couldn't be kept waiting long.
In the end, he left with Liang Jingchen.
Su Xiaoqi leaned by the window, watching them depart. She asked the waiter to bring some dishes and called Zhang Yu, who hadn't eaten yet, to join her.
Since she had come down the mountain with Shen Yun, she had only brought Zhang Yu with her.
She had left Madam Zhao to guard the courtyard with Guo'er and Zicao.
As for Ziyu, who had the most complicated thoughts, Madam Zhao hadn't allowed her to come out at all, causing Ziyu to have quite a scene with Madam Zhao before they left.
The servants below dared not bother Su Xiaoqi with these matters, but the well-informed Zhang Yu still relayed them to Su Xiaoqi as if they were jokes.
Su Xiaoqi didn't take it to heart upon hearing them. After all, everyone had their tempers, and since no one caused trouble in front of her, she pretended not to know and let it pass.
If they dared to make too much of a fuss, she wouldn't be so easy to deal with.
She found it rather nice to have only Zhang Yu with her this time, as she hadn't yet grown accustomed to a large entourage.
The two of them ordered ten dishes in total.
Su Xiaoqi had only watched Daoist Zhang eat when she was with him earlier, and now she was truly hungry.
She had a normal appetite, but Zhang Yu was a big eater.
She finished four-fifths of the remaining dishes by herself.
And then she ate three large bowls of rice before being satisfied.
After settling the bill, the two headed downstairs, planning to go for a stroll.
The temple fair in front was still lively.
However, after only a short while, a delicate-looking young maid rushed towards them, and as soon as she saw Su Xiaoqi, she grabbed her sleeve and started crying loudly.
Su Xiaoqi was utterly baffled. When she recognized the maid's appearance, she realized she was one of Du Yiyi's personal maids, reportedly a second-tier one named Yao'er.
She usually seemed quiet and honest, following behind Du Yiyi, a well-behaved and submissive girl who didn't like to stand out or compete for attention.
"Yao'er, what's wrong?" Su Xiaoqi held her hand and asked gently.
Yao'er was startled and quickly looked around, whispering, "Mistress Shen, Mistress Shen, help me! My young lady is gone."
"What do you mean gone?" Su Xiaoqi's brow furrowed upon hearing this.
"I-I don't know. Anyway, anyway, there's no one in the Zen courtyard..." Yao'er cried.
"It's normal for there to be no one in the Zen courtyard," Su Xiaoqi said dismissively.
She had initially thought Du Yiyi had been abducted, but if she wasn't in the Zen courtyard, she must have gone out to play.
After all, Du Yiyi was quite fond of having fun.
"No, no, that's not it. Miss, Miss was initially in the Zen courtyard accompanying Madam to copy scriptures and chant. But Miss found it boring, so she took a few of us out to look for you, Mistress Shen.
We couldn't find you, and instead, she disappeared.
We thought Miss was playing a prank on us like before, intentionally leaving us on the street and then running back to the Zen courtyard herself.
But, but Ying Xiu went back to check, and there was no one in the Zen courtyard..."
Yao'er had been frantic and her thoughts jumbled, speaking incoherently and not knowing what she was saying.
Seeing Su Xiaoqi's calm and composed face now, she managed to steady her nerves and speak more coherently.
Su Xiaoqi finally understood. Du Yiyi wanted to come out and find her to play, but she ended up leaving her maids behind, and then she disappeared.
"Where did she go missing? In the town?" Su Xiaoqi felt a little anxious, but she forced herself to stay calm.
After all, Du Yiyi was not an ordinary woman; she had some martial arts skills.
Even two or three strong men were no match for her.
"Mistress Shen, Sister Yao'er, I've found out. Not far from this town, there's a stone forest.
Inside, there's something like a maze, and our young lady went there," a less familiar young maid came closer and said.
Su Xiaoqi glanced at her, finding this maid's demeanor rather unsettling.
She frowned but remained silent, looking at Yao'er instead.
Between the two of them, it was clear she trusted Yao'er more.
"Yes, yes, yes, that's possible. When we came down the mountain, Miss mentioned something about a Miss Nini wanting to have a competition with her, to see who could get out of the stone forest maze first..."
Su Xiaoqi asked, "Then why didn't you think of that just now?"
"Your maidservant, your maidservant... I was just too anxious, and also, also, Miss said she wouldn't go first, that she would wait until she found you."
"Oh, Mistress Shen, Sister Yao'er, stop discussing. That Miss Nini has over a dozen stout women with her.
Could she be planning to deal with our young lady?" the young maid's eyes flickered as she hastily reminded them.
Upon hearing that this matter was related to the girl named Nini from that day, Su Xiaoqi immediately felt a sense of danger.
She then hurried to follow the young maid.
She left in such haste that she didn't notice the peculiar smile that flickered across the young maid's face in front of her.