Sheng Jiangli propped himself up against the tree trunk and slowly got to his feet. His mind was filled with the sight of Caiyu on the verge of tears just now, and his heart ached so much that he could hardly breathe.
He stared fixedly at Song Yinghuai without saying a word.
At this moment, he resembled a lone wolf in the desert that had just lost its beloved mate. The man standing before him was like his wife's murderer.
When Song Yinghuai looked back at him, he was like a king that had been robbed of its prey at the tiger's mouth. Caught off guard, he had his territory snatched away by the enemy.
The king's proud head stubbornly refused to bow, but his heart had long been shattered by the setback, like autumn leaves in the wind.
Xu Buyue looked from one to the other, exasperated. "Say something, will you!"
"The sky is about to darken!"
"Are you still going back up the mountain?"
"Are you just going to ignore Caiyu?"
At the mention of "Caiyu", the two men finally showed a change in their expressions.
Sheng Jiangli casually dusted off his clothes and said, "Follow me."
...
In the meditation courtyard of the rear temple of Qixia Temple.
The already desolate courtyard seemed even more deserted now.
Coughing sounds echoed one after another in the courtyard.
Lv Baiwei and Aunt Mei were lying stiffly on a couch, with their heads at opposite ends, coughing continuously.
"Aunt... Aunt Mei... water..." Lv Baiwei murmured intermittently.
Aunt Mei propped herself up with great effort, tremblingly poured half a cup of cold water, and handed it to Lv Baiwei. Before the cup could reach Lv Baiwei's mouth, Aunt Mei's hand went limp, and the cup slipped from her hand, rolling on the ground and shattering into pieces.
A large part of Lv Baiwei's clothes was also soaked.
She was so angry that she almost fainted. She slumped back onto the couch, gasping for breath.
"Qingqing... that dead girl..."
Aunt Mei shook her heavy head and said, "That dead girl... has gone down the mountain..."
"If it weren't for her not cooperating, if it weren't for her trying to kill me, how could I have gotten sick... and left the Lady unattended..."
Their original plan was indeed to have Qingqing quarrel with Aunt Mei and fall into the water, delaying the imperial physician's visit. Before that, Aunt Mei stole a patient's clothes from the critical - care area for Lv Baiwei and took the risk of contracting some of the illness.
Once the illness took hold, when the imperial physician came to diagnose her again, there would be no way to find any flaws in Lv Baiwei.
Lv Baiwei had almost gone all out to make this lie work.
Unexpectedly, the plan had gone awry.
Qingqing had actually tried to take Aunt Mei's life. Although Aunt Mei was finally rescued from the water, she was half - dead. When she was carried back, she just lay there on the verge of death.
However, the two of them had forgotten that there was the miasma of the plague in the room.
One had deliberately tried to contract the illness and thus didn't take any precautions, while the other simply had no way to protect herself.
So the two of them quickly fell into a serious illness.
Qixia Mountain was now overcrowded with patients. There was a severe shortage of doctors and medicinal materials. Critical patients were almost isolated and left to fend for themselves. Who had the leisure to take care of these two master and servant?
Coincidentally, Song Yinghuai and Xu Buyue had both gone down the mountain to look for someone. Han Fen had long disliked Lv Baiwei. After learning that the two women in the rear temple were getting worse, he directly isolated them as critical patients and let them fend for themselves.
The master and servant were dumbfounded.
Qingqing had been sent down the mountain.
Caiyu hadn't returned all night.
In just two days and one night, without anyone to take care of them, Lv Baiwei and Aunt Mei's conditions rapidly deteriorated, and they were on the verge of death.
At this moment, the two of them were like dying fish flopping on the chopping block. Lv Baiwei coughed violently for a while and could even smell the strong metallic taste in her mouth.
She gasped for air, and there was a strange "hoho" sound in her throat. "The Crown Prince... should be coming up the mountain soon, right..."
Aunt Mei was too weak to answer her. Her pupils were fixed on the ceiling.
She didn't know.
She was too weak to think.
She could only hope that the Crown Prince would bring up the anti - plague decoction that had been prepared in advance to gain merit and save them in time!
By the pond on the mountainside from yesterday.
As soon as Song Yinghuai flew out of the cave, Xu Buyue stepped forward and asked, "How is it?"
Song Yinghuai glanced at Sheng Jiangli. "You burned it all with a fire. I can't find out anything."
Sheng Jiangli coughed lightly twice and said with a half - smile, "Your Highness the Prince of Yan is so smart. You must be able to deduce that besides this cave, there are probably many other water sources along the way where such plague - carrying rats might be hiding, right?"
"I just burned one place. It won't do you any harm."
Song Yinghuai nodded and also looked at him with a half - smile. "If it weren't for interrupting me and Caiyu, General Sheng probably wouldn't have revealed this matter. Instead, you would have quietly taken care of it and then announced it to gain merit for the Crown Prince, right?"
Sheng Jiangli averted his face non - committally. "You understand. Why do you have to say it out loud?"
Song Yinghuai snorted and strode towards the wooden house.
Xu Buyue and Sheng Jiangli also followed behind.
The door of the wooden house had been destroyed. All that was exposed to everyone's sight was an empty straw couch. There was no one inside.
Song Yinghuai suddenly turned around, his face showing immediate anxiety. He looked at Sheng Jiangli and said, "Where is Caiyu?"
Sheng Jiangli's face was ashen. "How would I know?"
Song Yinghuai remembered Caiyu's lifeless expression before he left. Suddenly, his expression tightened, and his heart almost stopped. "Search for her!"
Xu Buyue turned around and headed in one direction to look for her.
Without being told, Sheng Jiangli had already whistled to gather several nearby patrolling soldiers and questioned them one by one.
Unfortunately, no one had seen Caiyu.
Song Yinghuai's face looked even worse after hearing this. He almost lost all his color.
It was already night, and that girl was alone in the mountains.
Although this was on the mountainside and the possibility of wild beasts appearing was small, the mountain roads were complex. One could easily get lost or accidentally step into a void and roll off the cliff.
In just an instant, his mind had already imagined countless possibilities.
The blood vessels in his brain seemed about to burst. Every part of his body was almost trembling, and his hands and feet instantly turned cold.
He wished he could slap himself!
He shouldn't have walked too far with Sheng Jiangli!
If something happened to her... what should he do?
Different from the last time when Caiyu was hijacked, this time he didn't even have the strength to calmly deduce the clues at the scene like he used to.
Sheng Jiangli was breathing heavily, trying hard to suppress his fear as he said, "She... she is not an ordinary girl. Before, no, I mean yesterday, it was she who discovered that pond. It shows that she is quite familiar with the mountains. She won't be in danger in a short time... She won't be in danger... Song Yinghuai!"
He suddenly gritted his teeth and stared at Song Yinghuai. "If it weren't for you bullying her, if it weren't for you... she wouldn't have left!"
Song Yinghuai's tall body swayed. His eyes were filled with remorse.
His Adam's apple rolled up and down rapidly as he tried his best to calm his chaotic thoughts. His anxious gaze turned to the wooden house again.
After a moment, he said with a straight face, "There is no message. She must not have been on the verge of despair..."
Sheng Jiangli said, "Nonsense! Sister Caiyu has a strong personality. How could she kill herself because of you!"
Even so, the speculation that she wasn't on the verge of despair still made the two men heave a sigh of relief.
At least she wasn't in despair.
Song Yinghuai added, "There are no traces of a fight in front of or behind the house. It shows that there was no attack by wild beasts either."
After saying that, the two men heaved another sigh of relief at the same time.
The level of danger had decreased a lot.
Song Yinghuai's gaze fell on the outer robe on the straw couch. He had covered her with it before he left. Now it was neatly folded at the head of the bed.
"... She left without wearing my robe, but she folded it neatly. It shows, it shows..."
Sheng Jiangli continued, "It shows that she still intended to come back. So where on earth did she go?"
Song Yinghuai curled his fingertips. His gaze fell on Sheng Jiangli's ill - fitting soldier's uniform, and he suddenly asked, "Where is your own clothes?"
Sheng Jiangli was taken aback by the question. He looked a bit dazed, and then he reacted. "Where are my clothes that were stained by the herbal medicine?"
"I don't know!" Song Yinghuai's mood plummeted from one hell to another. He wanted to overturn the wooden house, but he was too terrified by Caiyu's sudden disappearance to act rashly. So he could only vent his anger by chopping down a nearby tree!
His heart was filled with bitterness, shock, and anger!
That girl!
She was probably looking for water to wash Sheng Jiangli's clothes!