Volume One: A Leisurely Journey Amid Leaves Impossible to Distinguish, Chapter Ninety-One: Missing

With thanks to the gracious support of the hall master, Desert will keep striving on.

When Yang Ning entered the courtyard, he already had an ominous feeling. Kicking the door open, he could only hope his fear was mistaken. But the moment he stepped inside and glanced around, he found that Gu Qinghan was not in the room.

The chamber was not large, and everything could be seen at a glance. On the bed, the quilt had been thrown aside, making it easy to tell at once whether anyone lay there or not.

Gu Qinghan was gone, yet her dress still hung nearby. Yang Ning’s expression grew grave. He strode over at once and reached into the bedding, only to find the blankets cold through and through, without the slightest trace of warmth. In other words, Gu Qinghan had already left this room long ago.

Turning around, he saw the two maids standing at the doorway. On discovering that Gu Qinghan was nowhere to be seen, both of them were likewise pale with fear.

“I ask you this: are these the clothes the Third Madam changed into last night?” Yang Ning pointed to the garments.

One maid hurriedly said, “Last night we served the Third Madam while she bathed and changed. These are indeed the clothes she changed out of.”

Yang Ning’s heart sank further.

Though he had prepared himself for the worst, he still hoped things were not as he feared. He had hoped that Gu Qinghan had simply gone out on her own. But with these changed clothes left here, that possibility was nearly gone.

Gu Qinghan would never have walked out of this room without even dressing herself properly.

“You stood watch in the courtyard last night and heard nothing from inside?” Yang Ning fixed the two maids with a hard stare. “Aside from you, who else came here last night?”

Both maids dropped to their knees in terror. “Replying to Your Lordship, the Third Madam retired very early last night. She extinguished the lamp herself. We took turns keeping watch outside, and absolutely no one else came by.” One added, “The room was quiet the whole time. When we went to invite the Third Madam to breakfast this morning, she did not answer.”

Yang Ning knew that at this time of year, as autumn yielded to winter, the nights were bitterly cold. Gu Qinghan could not possibly have slept without a blanket. If she had only been gone a short while, there should still have been warmth in the bedding. But now it was icy cold, which could only mean she had left sometime during the night.

When he had kicked the door open just now, he had clearly felt the latch being set from the inside. That meant Gu Qinghan could not have gone out through the door.

He looked around. The front window was shut tightly and fastened from within, so she could not have left that way either. He went to the rear window. It was a high casement window that normally needed to be propped open with a wooden stick. The stick had fallen to the floor, but the latch itself was not fastened. Yang Ning pushed the window slightly and inspected the sill closely, only to find some fine powder there, faintly yellow in color. He dipped a finger into it and brought it to his nose; there was indeed a very light fragrance. The scent had already faded considerably, but when it entered his nose, Yang Ning felt a slight dizziness.

A chill flashed through his eyes.

In that instant, he understood. This powder was likely a type of narcotic incense that caused loss of consciousness. Since traces of it remained on the windowsill, the incense used last night must have been meant for Gu Qinghan.

Gu Qinghan had surely been overcome by the drug, lost consciousness, and been secretly taken away through the back window.

He climbed out the window, crouched down, and examined the ground. In the soil behind the house, there were indeed footprints. They were faint, but with careful attention they could still be made out.

Following the tracks for a while, Yang Ning saw the prints grow fainter and fainter until, at last, they vanished completely. The trail was broken.

After a moment of silence, Yang Ning rose and returned to the room. Seeing that the two maids were still there, he ordered, “Go now and gather everyone in the old residence to the main hall.”

The maids hurried away to summon the household.

Yang Ning searched the room again but found no other clues. He knew that at such a time, the more important thing was to remain absolutely calm.

Gu Qinghan had been taken. What the purpose was, there were all kinds of possibilities. Yet one thing he could be certain of: this strange affair must be connected to the old residence.

Although he had gained a general understanding of the Qi family, as a vast clan, he knew little of its old grudges and tangled enmities.

The Qi family had broad connections in the military, which was naturally one of its strengths. But both generations of the Marquis of Brocade had been veteran commanders who had killed countless men on the battlefield, and the number of enemies they had made was equally beyond counting. Even in Jiangling, this land regarded as the Qi family’s foundation, there was no guarantee they had no foes.

He only hoped that whoever had taken Gu Qinghan did so for money or some other profit, not for her beauty. Given Gu Qinghan’s temperament, if she were dishonored, she would never choose to live, even if no one killed her.

Since the other side had only abducted Gu Qinghan, it at least suggested that for the moment her life was not in immediate danger. Otherwise, if they meant to kill her, there would have been no need to go to such lengths to carry her away. If they could enter the room and abduct her, then killing her there would have been effortless as well.

By the time Yang Ning reached the main hall, more than a dozen people from the old residence were already waiting there. The three guards who had followed Yang Ning to Jiangling stood outside with their sabers at their sides.

When Yang Ning entered, everyone knelt. He swept his gaze over them: all were maids and servants, with only the accountant, Zhao Yuan, seeming a little different. Yang Ning went straight to the point. “Third Madam is missing. Has anyone seen her today?”

The crowd froze. Yang Ning raised a hand to signal them to rise. Once they stood, all of them kept their heads bowed, too afraid to speak. Yang Ning frowned and said coldly, “I asked whether anyone saw Third Madam today.”

Seeing the heir apparent angry, they hurriedly shook their heads. Wei Tong said, “Your Lordship, since morning Third Madam has not come out for food. The kitchen has been waiting the whole time, and people have been watching both the front and back doors, but no one saw Third Madam leave.”

Yang Ning pondered briefly, then let his gaze settle on the accountant, Zhao Yuan. Seeing that Zhao Yuan remained composed and unruffled, with no sign of panic, he asked coldly, “Master Zhao, how long have you been at the old residence?”

“Replying to Your Lordship, I have managed the accounts here for three years.” Zhao Yuan cupped his hands. “It was during the autumn harvest. The previous accountant was advanced in years, and Steward Qi sought me out to help. At first I was merely assisting on the side, but because the old accountant was elderly and his energy limited, Steward Qi gave him a sum of silver and had me take over the accounting duties.”

Yang Ning’s brows tightened. He gave a soft sound and said, “So you were hired by Qi Cheng?”

“That is correct.” Zhao Yuan answered respectfully.

Yang Ning walked slowly up to him and looked him up and down. In the next instant, all they saw was a flash of blade light, and a cold, gleaming weapon was already at Zhao Yuan’s throat. Zhao Yuan was horrified, blurted out, “Your Lordship, you...!” The others had never imagined the heir would strike so suddenly; they were all shocked as well.

“I have never liked unnecessary nonsense,” Yang Ning said lightly. “Master Zhao, tell me where the Third Madam is now.”

“The Third Madam?” Zhao Yuan looked terrified, then gave a bitter smile. “Your Lordship, I am only an accountant. I live and eat at the accounting quarters, and sometimes I do not even step outside for three or five days. From last night until just now, I have not left the house. If Your Lordship had not summoned me, I might not even have come out today. I do not divine fortunes or read yin and yang; how could I know where the Third Madam is?”

Wei Tong spoke from the side, “Your Lordship, Master Zhao truly does rarely leave the house.”

“Master Zhao’s nerves are indeed excellent,” Yang Ning said, ignoring that remark. “An ordinary man would never be so calm with a blade suddenly at his throat.”

Zhao Yuan sighed. “Your Lordship flatters me. If I have done anything amiss, I beg Your Lordship to punish me as you see fit. But this...!” He glanced downward and gave a bitter smile. “I truly do not understand what Your Lordship means. Surely you do not think the Third Madam’s disappearance has anything to do with a mere accountant like me?”

“I have just thought of something very strange,” Yang Ning said, staring into Zhao Yuan’s eyes. “Yesterday, the Third Madam spent nearly the entire day in the accounting room, reviewing the ledgers from these past years. According to her, she found not a single error in them.”

Zhao Yuan said, “Is it wrong for me to be diligent in my duties?”

“Do you know,” Yang Ning said slowly, “that no person is perfect, and no ledger is flawless? Your accounts are too clean. Even someone as sharp as the Third Madam could not find a single mistake. I find this very suspicious. The Qi family’s estate includes three thousand households and hundreds of hectares of farmland. The yearly income and expenses are tremendously complicated. Though there are two people in the accounting room, only you primarily handle the ledgers. It is hard for me to believe that you alone could keep the accounts so immaculate.”

In truth, when Yang Ning first heard Gu Qinghan mention that the books showed not the slightest flaw, he had not paid much attention. But on reflection, he found it truly inconceivable.

This was not a shop with just two account books. It was a vast ledger encompassing countless revenues and expenditures. In his former life as a businessman, even professional accountants from that era would have some degree of error in their books. For a grand account such as the Qi family’s, it would have been normal if a few discrepancies existed. Instead, the complete absence of any flaw felt odd.

He had already sensed that the old residence was full of strangeness, and Qi Cheng’s failure to return last night only deepened his suspicion. Now that Gu Qinghan had mysteriously vanished, he faintly felt that it was related to the people here in the old residence.

And Master Zhao was one of the people he suspected.

Hearing that Master Zhao had only been here three years and had been hired by Qi Cheng, Yang Ning felt that his background was unclear and that there must be some hidden secret behind him.

Though this was only suspicion and he could not be certain that Gu Qinghan’s disappearance had anything to do with Master Zhao, he still chose to press suddenly, hoping to intimidate him and pry out some clue. After all, the man was merely a scholar with no strength to speak of. Threatened with a blade, if he truly had a secret, it might be forced out of him.

“You are mistaken, Your Lordship!” A heavy voice suddenly sounded from outside. At once a guard barked, “Who goes there? Stop!”

Yang Ning frowned and looked toward the doorway, where a burly middle-aged man was standing. He was tall, dressed in coarse cloth, and had been stopped by the guards at the door.

“It’s, it’s Steward Cheng!” Wei Tong glanced over and cried out, “Your Lordship, Cheng... Steward Qi has returned!”

Yang Ning had not expected Qi Cheng to return at such a moment. His expression turned cold as he said in a deep voice, “Qi Cheng, come in.”

Only then did the middle-aged man enter and bow to Yang Ning. “This one is Qi Cheng. I pay my respects to Your Lordship!”