Chapter 104: Calculated Intentions
At this moment, Zhang Ma felt her hands and feet turn cold, as if all the blood in her body was flowing backward.
Ma Ping’an saw her worry and quickly comforted her, “Zhang Ma, don’t worry. I’ll go with this coachman brother to Duke Feng’s Mansion to see. Perhaps the Fourth Young Master is already there! After all, their mansion doesn’t only have one horse carriage and one coachman, right?”
The coachman from the Feng family also said busily, “Yes, yes, yes, it’s better to go and see to be more at ease.”
“No, I have to go too,” Zhang Ma said as she got into the carriage. “Old Huang, you come up too. If he’s there, everything will be fine. If he’s not, we’ll need to compare notes from both sides, and we can’t afford to run back and forth again.”
The two mansions were not close to each other. Even with the coachman rushing, it took nearly two quarters of an hour to return to the Feng family.
As soon as Zhang Ma got out of the carriage, she saw Feng Tianzhu standing at the entrance. Her vision went black, and she almost fainted.
Ma Ping’an and Old Huang quickly supported her, one on each side.
“Zhang Ma, why are you here? Where is my sworn brother? I’ve been waiting for him here!” Feng Tianzhu rushed over and asked.
“Young Duke, I was ordered to pick up Gong Fourth Young Master, but the people at their mansion said that about an hour before I arrived, a horse carriage from our mansion had already taken him away,” the Feng family’s coachman said.
“Nonsense! If he had come, wouldn’t I know?” Feng Tianzhu’s eyes widened. “Where exactly has my sworn brother gone?”
“But… but that coachman, I really saw him as someone from your mansion! I’ve seen him several times before,” Old Huang said.
“What does he look like?” At this moment, the Feng family’s butler also came out.
“A thin, long face, slightly prominent eyes, and a scar on his chin,” Old Huang described.
“That’s Shao Si!” The butler slapped his thigh. “Last month, he was dismissed from our mansion for gambling and drinking and causing trouble.”
“I told you, I wouldn’t mistake him,” Old Huang said immediately.
“The important thing is that he is no longer a member of Duke Feng’s Mansion, yet he used the guise of Duke Feng’s Mansion to take our Young Master away, and didn’t bring him to this mansion,” Ma Ping’an’s face turned pale. “Isn’t this kidnapping?!”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, we’ll find him immediately. I’ll go in and quickly inform Madam, and ask her to send more people out. We’ll also ask if anyone in this mansion who knows Shao Si knows where he lives,” the Feng family’s butler said. “Zhang Ma, don’t worry too much for now. After all, it’s broad daylight, and he wouldn’t dare to do anything truly wicked.”
Zhang Ma couldn’t listen to any of this at the moment. She said, “Ma Ping’an, quickly go find our Madam. Old Huang, you immediately return to the mansion to report this. Tell First Madam to also quickly send people out to search, the more the better.”
Wen Mingqian was originally boating on Cuiwei Lake with several ladies from Changrong Marquis Mansion.
Ma Ping’an arrived in a small boat. Wen Mingqian saw him on the boat and knew that unless it was an urgent matter, he would never have rushed over so hastily.
So she said to the Marchioness Changrong, “My butler has arrived, and I presume there is something at home. I am truly sorry for today. I will host you another day, and we can reunite then, alright?”
“You are in charge of the household now, so you naturally have many matters. It’s alright, hurry back! We can meet again anytime,” the Marchioness Changrong was very understanding.
Sang Er helped Wen Mingqian into the small boat and asked Ma Ping’an, “Brother Ma, what happened at home?”
“Miss Sang Er, please hold Madam steady,” Ma Ping’an said, swallowing. “The Fourth Young Master has likely been tricked by villains.”
“What did you say?!” Sang Er was startled and trembled.
Wen Mingqian was also shocked and trembled upon hearing this, but she still forced herself to calm down and said, “As soon as I left the house, I felt something was not right. My eyelids have been twitching incessantly. Ma Ping’an, tell me the details of what happened.”
Ma Ping’an then recounted the entire sequence of events in detail, adding, “The Feng family has already sent people to search everywhere, and our mansion’s people are likely searching everywhere at this moment too. However, it’s impossible not to inform you of this matter, so I specifically came to find you.”
“Then let’s return to the mansion first,” Wen Mingqian said. “Even if we are to search, we can’t just be like headless flies. I imagine Eldest Sister-in-law will divide people into different groups to search.”
By the time she returned to the mansion, Zhang Ma had also returned.
“Miss, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t been lazy and had gone with the Young Master, this wouldn’t have happened,” Zhang Ma regretted it deeply.
“Don’t blame yourself. Who could have predicted something like this would happen?” Wen Mingqian did not blame her at all. “Besides, it was I who told you to stay home and not go with him.”
“Shao Si, who took the Fourth Young Master away, is not from the Capital City, nor does he have any family here. He also terminated his lease on his rented house half a month ago and we don’t know where he moved to,” Zhang Ma frowned. “Trying to find the whereabouts of such a person in the Capital City is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“It’s clear that someone had already bribed him beforehand,” Wen Mingqian said. “With foresight against carelessness, they managed to succeed.”
“Who is behind this? They’ve calculated so cunningly, every step was foreseen by them,” Zhang Ma gritted her teeth. “I suspect it’s the brother of that bitch surnamed Song. We haven’t made any new enemies since we arrived in the Capital.”
“I also suspect it’s him, but our suspicions are useless. Without evidence, how can we get the yamen to arrest him? Moreover, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to let us find leverage so easily,” Wen Mingqian sighed. “It’s also my carelessness.”
“Sister-in-law, you’re back,” Wei Shi hurried over. “I’ve already sent people out to search. Let’s see if there’s any news later.”
“Sister-in-law, thank you for your trouble. But please don’t let Old Madam know about this,” Wen Mingqian said. “Otherwise, she’ll be terribly worried.”
“Don’t worry! I’ve repeatedly instructed the people serving Old Madam,” Wei Shi said. “I’m thinking that person took Chang An away, most likely for kidnapping for ransom. We can’t report it to the authorities just yet. If we anger him and he harms the child, that would be bad.”
At this moment, the people sent out to search also returned one after another, but none brought back any useful information.
A horse carriage like this, traveling daily in the Capital City, there were at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand.
With thousands of streets and alleys in the Capital City, and twelve city gates, how easy could it be to find it?
However, the less news there was, the more anxious everyone became.
“Madam, the Second Miss of the Cui family is here and says she has something to see you about,” the servant who delivered the message said.
“Cui Baozhu? She’s looking for me.” Wen Mingqian found it a bit surprising, but still said, “Please invite her in!”
“What is she here for?” Zhang Ma said. “Wasn’t she on good terms with Consort Song before?”
“Things change. Back then, she also realized Consort Song was using her as a tool, and she hasn’t come since,” Wen Mingqian said. “In my opinion, she’s not entirely shameless.”
