The Search

Matron Ruan no longer wanted to think about why the Second Madam had said such things or what Madam Xie thought of them. In any case, once she saw Xu Xi, she could persuade her. As for what Lady Wei had said, as long as she stopped Madam Xie from telling Xu Xi, there would be no problem. They could simply act as though Lady Wei had never said it.

Seeing Matron Ruan lead the owner of the courtyard away, Lady Wei went no farther. She turned toward the carriage. "I'll wait in the carriage."

Seeing this, Zhao Ruyu glanced at the dark house and exchanged a look with Fushu. Then she too turned and climbed into the carriage.

"Second Master, would you like to sit inside, or return to the carriage?" Steward Liu asked Zhao Yuanliang.

Zhao Yuanliang looked at the open door. He could just make out a crude square table and stools inside, and he doubted the house was much cleaner. Frowning, he was about to return to the carriage when a group of people entered through the courtyard gate, led by an elderly man in his fifties.

"Are you the master from the Marquis of Suiping's Residence?" the old man asked, already raising his hands in a salute to Zhao Yuanliang. "I am Xu Chengguan, the patriarch of the Xu Family. I did not know you were coming, Master Zhao, and failed to welcome you from afar. Please forgive me."

He had seen Steward Liu standing behind Zhao Yuanliang, and from Zhao Yuanliang's clothing, appearance, and bearing, he seemed certain to be Steward Liu's master. So, without stopping to think, Xu Chengguan had saluted him and addressed him as "Master Zhao."

Seeing this, Steward Liu introduced him. "This is the Second Master of the marquis's residence."

Xu Chengguan understood. The man before him must be Xu Xi's birth father.

He hurriedly paid his respects to Zhao Yuanliang again and introduced the people who had come with him.

Someone had reported the Zhao family's carriage entering the village to Xu Chengguan, and he had hurried over. As for the village head who had come yesterday, he was in the neighboring village and had not yet managed to get here. But Xu Chengguan was worried he would not be able to receive Zhao Yuanliang properly, so he had already sent someone to inform the village head, Zhang Chenglin.

"Where are Xu Yongyi and Madam Xie? How could they leave you standing in the courtyard, Master Zhao?" Without waiting for anyone to explain, Xu Chengguan took it upon himself to invite Zhao Yuanliang inside to sit.

Zhao Yuanliang also wanted to learn something about Xu Xi from Xu Chengguan, so he accepted and went inside with him.

Steward Liu knew Zhao Yuanliang would not drink the unclean things found in a farmhouse. He sent a servant to fetch the tea set and water from the carriage, then followed them inside. He first wiped the table and stools with a handkerchief and invited Zhao Yuanliang to sit, then repeated Madam Xie's account to Xu Chengguan.

"Ah, never mind a child. Even we adults would be beside ourselves and at a loss what to do if something like this happened to us," Xu Chengguan said with a smile.

Xu Xi was now a young lady of the marquis's residence, and it was not their place to pass judgment on her. He did not even dare say the words "Miss Xi."

Leaving aside how Zhao Yuanliang inquired about Xu Xi, Matron Ruan and Madam Xie took the carriage to the county town. Madam Xie directed the driver into an alley, where they stopped in front of a courtyard.

The courtyard belonged to the house Xu Yongzeng had bought in town. It had been rented out before, but the lease had recently expired. The old tenants had moved out, and new ones had yet to arrive, so it happened to be vacant.

Wary of Madam Xie saying the wrong thing, Matron Ruan got out of the carriage first. She was about to go in and persuade Xu Xi when she saw that the iron general stood guard over the courtyard gate. "Huh? Why is the gate locked?"

Madam Xie naturally knew that Xu Xi and the others were not here, which was why she had brought them over without hesitation. Seeing that the gate was indeed locked, she felt the last of her lingering anxiety vanish.

She put on a surprised look and stepped forward to feel the lock, then feigned concern. "Didn't they say they were coming to the county town? Why aren't they home?"

She offered Matron Ruan a word of reassurance. "Don't worry, Matron. I'll ask the neighbors."

With that, she knocked on the gate next door.

The gate opened, and a woman in her sixties poked her head out. "Who is it?"

"Granny Lin, it's Second Aunt Xu from next door. I wanted to ask if my husband and Miss Xi came back this morning. Do you know where they went?"

Old Woman Lin had lived here most of her life and naturally knew Xu Yongzeng and his wife. When the couple had died one after the other, leaving Xu Xi an orphan, she had lamented it for quite some time. She also knew Madam Xie and was very fond of the woman, who treated her niece kindly and was not greedy for money.

"Oh, it's Second Aunt Xu. Look at me, my eyes are failing and I'm getting muddleheaded," she said with a smile.

Then she looked puzzled. "What did you say? Second Uncle Xu and Miss Xi came back? I didn't see them. Could it be they were so quiet on their feet that I didn't hear them?" As she spoke, she stepped out of her courtyard and glanced at the gate next door.

Seeing it was locked, she shook her head at Madam Xie and shouted toward her house, "Sanwazi, come out here a moment!"

Before long, a boy of eight or nine came running out of the courtyard. He froze when he saw Madam Xie and Matron Ruan, then looked at his grandmother.

"Did you hear anything next door this morning? Did your Second Uncle Xu and Sister Xi come back?" Old Woman Lin asked.

The little boy shook his head and scratched it. "I didn't hear anything." Then he looked up and curiously studied Madam Xie and Matron Ruan, as well as the carriage parked at the gate.

Old Woman Lin smiled. "My grandson has the sharpest ears. He hears everything that goes on in and around the house. Since he says he didn't hear anything, I reckon Second Uncle Xu didn't come this way. Maybe he went somewhere else."

Matron Ruan frowned and turned to Madam Xie. Seeing how surprised she looked, as though she truly had not known Xu Yongyi and Xu Xi had not come here, Matron Ruan put her suspicions aside.

Indeed, Madam Xie could not have known in advance that they were coming today, so how could she have sent those people out so early in the morning?

"Could they have gone somewhere else? Think, Madam Xu," Matron Ruan said.

Worried that Madam Xie really was hiding Xu Xi to stop her from returning, she added with a note of threat, "No matter what, we must take Miss Xi back to the residence. Even if we cannot take her back today, we will not give up. We will return tomorrow and the day after. But if we can take her back today, it will save everyone a great deal of trouble. Wouldn't you agree, Madam Xu?"

Hearing this, Madam Xie recalled Xu Xi saying she did not want to return to the marquis's residence and felt deeply torn.

After seeing Lady Wei and Zhao Ruyu today, she naturally hoped Xu Xi could stay with the Xu Family for a long, long time.

But she also knew that was not realistic. Leaving aside the marquis's residence's unyielding stance, which meant they could not keep Xu Xi, even if they did keep her, Xu Xi would still have to marry. In that case, she might as well return to the marquis's residence. At least the residence could arrange a good marriage for her, which would be better than staying with them.

Though that was what she thought, no matter what, Madam Xie could not take it upon herself to persuade Xu Xi to return to the marquis's residence, much less help its people force her back.

"We really don't have any other relatives in the county town. My husband is just a small-time peddler. He usually only comes to town to buy goods and does his selling in the villages. I truly don't know where they went," Madam Xie said, looking troubled.