The Double-Chapter 632 - 189: Seeking Help

In the Jiang Residence, a complete mess was unfolding at this moment.

Tonger had been brought back to the residence, that one stab from the assassin was indeed horrendous. A doctor came to redress her wounds and prescribed medicine, the kitchen was busy brewing the concoction.

Jiang Yuanbai had already gone out to find government officers to thoroughly investigate Yanjing City. When Madam Jiang the Elder heard the news, she fainted on the spot. Lady Lu was busy taking care of Madam Jiang the Elder, and Jiang Jingrui and Jiang Jingyou were ordered not to leave the residence. The whole Yanjing City was in a state of panic, as seemingly random acts of murder by a ruthless killer looked like a conspiracy. The emperor was also informed about the incident and flew into a rage, ordering his officials to locate the murderer at all costs.

At this time, no one was paying attention to Bai Xue.

Bai Xue sat helplessly beside Tonger’s bed, unsure of what to do. After she had taken Tonger back to the residence, Bai Xue, unwilling to give up, searched the street multiple times and even checked all the shops along the street to no avail.

She was certain that she had lost Jiang Li, and was riddled with self-blame. Many were surprised when Jiang Li first kept Bai Xue by her side. Bai Xue was not pretty, nor was she eloquent, but her strength was notable. She thought her physical strength would be enough to protect Jiang Li, but Bai Xue realized when real danger came, she couldn’t protect Jiang Li at all. She couldn’t even outmatch the slight Tonger who, at least, had managed to block a stab for Jiang Li.

She should have run away with Jiang Li. If the assassin caught up, she could have taken the stab for her, which would have been better than the current scenario of Jiang Li missing and whereabouts unknown.

Caught up in these thoughts, the person in the bed stirred, and Tonger slowly came to.

Upon waking, Tonger’s face was still very pale, and it seemed her hand wound was incredibly painful, for she bit her lip. The first thing she asked when she saw Bai Xue was, "How is Miss? Miss is all right, isn’t she?"

Bai Xue couldn’t find the words to speak. How could she say that she had lost her young mistress and that her life or death was now unknown?

"Why aren’t you speaking?" Tonger, seeing Bai Xue’s silence, became anxious and asked, "Miss is all right, isn’t she?" Perhaps the act of speaking agitated her wound, and Tonger let out a hiss of pain, sharply inhaling.

Bai Xue quickly responded, "The doctor said that your wound hasn’t healed and you need a few days of rest. Don’t get agitated."

"Hurry and tell me, is Miss injured?" Tonger persisted.

Bai Xue shook her head, speaking softly, "I don’t know... Miss has gone missing."

Tonger was taken aback, "What do you mean Miss has gone missing?"

"After you took a stab for Miss, the assassin was still coming. I pushed Miss off the carriage and told her to run. Miss ran into the crowd... and then the City Garrison Army arrived, and the assassins fled. I looked around the area for a long time but didn’t find any trace of Miss. The master knows and has already sent people to search for Miss’s whereabouts."

"How could you let Miss run off alone!" Tonger said angrily.

Bai Xue mumbled and her lips quivered, "I’m sorry..."

Seeing Bai Xue so full of guilt, Tonger’s heart softened, she knew Bai Xue must be suffering inside, so she said, "Never mind, it’s not your fault. If you hadn’t pushed Miss off the carriage, the assassin would have eventually caught up and killed Miss." Tonger was still shaken by the close call, "The master is searching for both the assassins and Miss. He will surely find them. Yanjing City can only be so big..." It seemed like she was comforting herself as much as she was comforting Bai Xue, babbling on and on.

But both women couldn’t help but think about the past, when Jiang Youyao suddenly disappeared. Jiang Yuanbai had sent people to look for her, but they couldn’t find her anywhere. When they finally found her in Princess Yongning’s Private Prison, only one eye was left.

Princess Yongning’s Private Prison may no longer exist, but who could guarantee that in so many households of Yanjing City, no other person had secretly set up a private jail within their residence? If Jiang Li had been imprisoned in a private jail... they couldn’t bear to imagine.

"It will be alright," Tonger said softly, "Miss is blessed with good fortune and will certainly turn danger into safety."

On the other side of the Jiang Residence, inside the third chamber, Lady Yang and Jiang Yuanxing had received the news as well.

After sending Jiang Yuyan away, Lady Yang and Jiang Yuanxing returned to the room. In a lowered voice, Lady Yang said, "It must have been His Highness Prince Cheng who made the move, right?"

Jiang Yuanxing replied, "I don’t know."

Lady Yang, having learned in advance that Jiang Li was going out on that day, had found a way to inform the Right Chancellor. She knew that recently, Li Zhongnan and Prince Cheng were probably somewhat displeased with each other, and it was Li Lian who relayed the message on her behalf. She didn’t expect that on the day Jiang Li went out, she would disappear, and Lady Yang certainly didn’t believe it was a coincidence. It was clear to her that Prince Cheng, having received the news, had made his move.

"Now that Prince Cheng has succeeded, we have fulfilled one of his wishes. Compared to the Right Chancellor, Prince Cheng is much more generous in his rewards. Husband, I think from now on, you are likely to rise rapidly in status, leaving the main branch and the second branch far behind."

Jiang Yuanxing, however, didn’t share Lady Yang’s joy and instead seemed somewhat irritable, responding only perfunctorily.

Lady Yang noticed his distraction and grew dissatisfied. "What’s with that dead look on your face? What, have you grown soft? Or are you scared? I am doing all this for your sake!"

"After all, she is our niece, and a young girl at that," said Jiang Yuanxing.

"Your daughter is also a young girl!" Lady Yang snapped, "Even if you feel sorry for Jiang Li, you must think of Yuer, of the feelings of being a concubine! And there’s Yu Yan, she also needs to find a match. Do you hope that she ends up like Yuer, a concubine, or marries some penniless scholar, struggling day after day just to get by, living in fear in her husband’s house?"

Jiang Yuanxing fell silent.

Lady Yang looked at him, disheartened and unable to speak, and finally softened her voice, "You must understand, I am doing all this for our best interests. The Jiang family isn’t on our side; we can only rely on ourselves."

Jiang Yuanxing let out a long sigh, "I know."

...

From daylight to night, the entire Yanjing City was in a state of panic, everyone feeling insecure. No one knew when those fierce assassins might suddenly appear, and almost no pedestrians could be seen on the streets, except for the officers thrown into the search for Miss Jiang the Second.

Jiang Yuanbai returned home, looking extremely weary, his eyes red, whether from exhaustion or anxiety. Madam Jiang the Elder, who had managed to come to her senses, asked if Jiang Li had been found, and Jiang Yuanbai shook his head.

Ming Yue and Qingfeng received the news and immediately returned to Fangfei Garden. Bai Xue, who was standing by Tonger’s window, heard this and couldn’t say a word.

Tonger couldn’t help crying. She said, "What will we do about Miss? She has never been apart from me, and those people who have taken her certainly won’t treat her well. It’s all my fault, if I had been more careful, Miss wouldn’t have been lost."

"Don’t blame yourself, blame me," Bai Xue choked up as well.

Ming Yue and Qingfeng were mournful, and everyone in Fangfei Garden was in low spirits. When Jiang Li was there, everyone seemed to have a backbone; although she didn’t talk much, Fangfei Garden without Jiang Li felt drearily strange.

"Do you think Miss is scared now?" Tonger said blankly.

"No," Bai Xue replied. "Miss is very brave."

As Tonger was about to speak, her gaze suddenly fell on a white porcelain whistle on the windowsill. She knew that every time Jiang Li blew that whistle, that baby-faced guard would appear. Then one day, Jiang Li had placed the whistle on the window, saying it was no longer needed.

Tonger recalled presumably the guard was no longer with the Jiang family since she had not seen him for a long time. But looking at the whistle, an idea suddenly came to her: Zhao Ke belonged to the Duke Residence.

She grabbed Bai Xue’s sleeve with her right hand and leaned in, "Bai Xue, go quickly to the Duke Residence and ask Duke Su to find Miss."

Bai Xue was astonished. freewēbnoveℓ.com

"The master could not find the person, but Duke Su found her instantly. I heard from Miss that it was he who found the Third Miss. For the things others can’t do, Duke Su must have a way," Tonger’s tone unusually calm.

"But Duke Su might not be willing to help Miss, and Miss also doesn’t know about this," said Bai Xue.

"Listen, Miss trusts Duke Su," Tonger said. "From the moment we returned to Yanjing City, I understood that Miss doesn’t easily trust anyone, but Duke Su is an exception. Miss trusts him, and I trust the person whom Miss trusts."