HCB Chapter 216 Wan Yuru has disappeared
Chapter 216 Wan Yuru has disappeared
Wang Ling was furious.
He slammed the teacup down hard, splashing tea that wet the stone table.
Seeing this, the junior official serving nearby fell silent, not daring to make a sound.
Wang Ling, his face grim, pondered for a moment before saying to Zhao Qi:
"Keep a close eye on Yun Shang. If he makes even the slightest mistake, report to me immediately. I refuse to believe that a newcomer to the Ministry of Rites can be so meticulous in everything he does!"
Zhao Qi nodded in agreement, then asked hesitantly, "What if he really made no mistakes..."
Wang Ling raised his eyes, his gaze sharp and menacing. "If he doesn't make a mistake, then you must find a way to make him make a mistake, understand?"
Seeing Wang Ling's fury, Zhao Qi quickly replied, "Yes, yes, I understand."
Meanwhile, Yun Shang spent the entire day immersed in the documents from the Ministry of Rites.
There are many taboos to be aware of when serving in the Ministry of Rites. Yun Shang had learned about them before, but not comprehensively enough.
Now that I'm a new employee, I not only have to handle administrative tasks, but I also have to constantly study the complicated and trivial matters of the Ministry of Rites.
For almost half a month, he didn't return home until dark.
He could have stayed at the Ministry of Rites.
But Yu Wan insisted that he come home every day.
Her reasoning was that if he frequently stayed out all night, the Duke and Duchess of Anguo would definitely become even more dissatisfied with him.
Yun Shang, however, felt that the real reason was not like that.
Yu Wan clearly couldn't bear to part with him.
Yu Wan was unaware that Yun Shang had imagined all of this. She made Yun Shang come home every day, but she was worried that if she didn't make her presence felt by Yun Shang, Yun Shang would be affected by that bastard's 'plot line' again.
Otherwise, wouldn't she be back to square one?
Yu Wan is also always busy.
Although the Duchess of Anguo would give her some pocket money, she preferred the feeling of earning money on her own.
Therefore, she often took Xizhu with her when she went out.
Lady Anguo assumed that she was simply curious about the prosperity of Shengjing City.
Considering that she had rarely seen such novel sights since childhood, no restrictions were imposed.
As dusk fell, Yu Wancai and Xizhu dragged their weary bodies back to the mansion.
Neither the master nor the servant knew what they were doing. When the people in the manor asked, they both said they had gone out to play.
But everyone was puzzled: what could they possibly do that could turn out like this?
Yu Wan and Xi Zhu didn't say a word more.
Yu Wan collapsed onto the soft couch, just as she was drifting off to sleep, when a commotion broke out outside.
A maidservant announced from outside that Aunt Lian from the Li family had arrived.
They arrived still crying and sobbing.
Yu Wan barely managed to open her eyes a crack and glance at the sky outside.
It was already pitch black.
"Young lady, the man from the Li family says he wants to see you."
Aunt Lian is not one to meddle; something serious must have happened for her to come to the Duke's mansion so late.
Thinking of this, Yu Wan struggled to get up despite her exhaustion.
She splashed cold water on her face, which sobered her up a bit.
After tidying his clothes, he quickly walked towards the front hall.
As soon as I reached the entrance to the front hall, I heard Aunt Lian's choked sobs.
"Third sister... what should I do? Yu Ru isn't familiar with Shengjing, where can she go?"
"It's so dark outside, it's so dangerous for her to run out alone. She's my only daughter, what would I do if something happened to her..."
Yu Wan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly walked into the front hall.
Lady Anguo and Li Molian, who were in the hall, turned their heads to look at the noise.
When Li Molian saw her, her eyes lit up, and she stumbled over to Xiang Yuwan.
"Wan'er, Yu Ru is missing! Where could she have gone?! What if something happened to her?!"
Li Molian said, completely bewildered, "Wan'er, your cousin Yu Ru often comes to visit you. Can you help your aunt think of somewhere she could be?!"
As Li Molian spoke, she grabbed Yu Wan's arm with trembling hands, her nails digging unconsciously into Yu Wan's skin.
Despite the pain, Yu Wan gently patted Wan's mother's back and comforted her, "Aunt, don't panic."
"Tell me first, what exactly happened?"
Li Molian's tears flowed even more, and she sobbed uncontrollably, covering her face as she said, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault. If I hadn't forced her to go on the blind date, she wouldn't have been..."
The rest of the words were difficult to utter due to overwhelming grief.
Yu Wan's heart skipped a beat.
Lady Anguo had previously asked Li Molian what had happened, but Li Molian just kept crying and wouldn't say anything.
Hearing these words now, she was also terrified.
They seemed to be able to guess what Li Molian was saying that she couldn't bring herself to say.
Yu Wan took a deep breath to calm herself down. She gently pulled her hand away from Li Molian's and said, "Aunt, don't worry. Sister Yuru is a lucky person and will definitely be alright."
"We'll send someone to look for it right away."
Lady Anguo said, "Shengjing City is so big, it might not be easy to find. Should we report to the patrol office first and ask them to help us search?"
Before she could finish speaking, Li Molian shook her head excitedly, "No, no!"
She cried her heart out, "If we let the patrol officers go looking for her, won't word of Yu Ru's affair spread? This matter cannot be publicized..."
"Third sister, Wan'er, you must help me, help Yu Ru..."
Yu Wan quickly gave Lady Anguo a look, while comforting Li Molian, "Alright, alright, Aunt, don't get agitated. We won't report it to the authorities; we'll just have the guards in the manor search for her quietly."
"There's still an hour before curfew. Let's hurry and find Cousin Yuru before curfew."
After the curfew, no loiterers are allowed to linger on the streets; otherwise, they will be treated as suspected thieves.
If Wan Yuru cannot be found before curfew, no one knows what might happen that night.
Lady Anguo immediately ordered someone to secretly leave the mansion to search for her.
Yu Wan turned to Li Molian and said, "Aunt, please think about it carefully. Has Sister Yuru ever mentioned any places she wants to go, or any special friends she can stay with?"
Li Molian tried hard to stop crying and shook her head desperately: "No, no, we haven't been in Shengjing for long. She doesn't like to go out usually and stays at home every day. The place she visits most often is the Duke of Anguo's mansion."
Yu Wan's heart sank slightly.
She frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Aunt, you and my mother will wait at the mansion."
"I'll take Xizhu and the maids from the manor to go look for it. We'll send someone back to inform us immediately if there's any news."
After saying this, Yu Wan didn't delay any longer. She gathered the servants she could use and hurriedly left the mansion.
The guards and servants of the Duke of Anguo's mansion hurried through the streets shrouded in night, asking everyone they met about Yu Ru's whereabouts, but all they received were negative answers.
Time ticked by, and the curfew drew ever closer, making Yu Wan extremely anxious.
Although Yu Wan hadn't known Wan Yuru for long, she could tell that Wan Yuru was a timid person. Now that curfew was approaching and it was so dark, she must be terrified.
She was wandering aimlessly around Shengjing City alone. If she were to be mistaken for a suspicious person by the patrol guards, it would be a serious matter!