Rong Sui and Yin Taiping looked at the empty private room, both somewhat puzzled.
Yin Taiping asked, "Did we make a mistake?"
Rong Sui remained silent. This teahouse was the private property of his aunt. That was why it was not only safe, but also a place where Ning An and the others could talk without having to be on guard.
Before long, the shopkeeper rushed over in a hurry. After bowing, he explained, "Third Master, Young Master, Miss Biao and Miss Tang were indeed here having tea before. But later, for some unknown reason, they said they had something to do and left with their entourage."
Rong Sui's forehead throbbed as he asked, "Left? Did they say where they were going?"
The shopkeeper shook his head. "They didn't."
Rong Sui was a bit angry. After Ning An came to the Rong family, his grandfather was worried about her safety. After all, that scoundrel Shi Yongtang was always dissatisfied, and there was also the matter of the Wei family before. They couldn't afford to be careless. So when Ning An went out, besides the normal maids and guards, one of their brothers always had to accompany her. It was only reassuring to have someone in charge.
The situation was special today, and the private room in their own property had been booked in advance, so his aunt didn't ask him to pick up Shi Ning An. But now, Shi Ning An had actually left with Tang Chutong, and no one knew where they had gone!
"Don't you even know where your masters went?"
Yin Taiping couldn't help but smooth things over. "How could their servants possibly know where their masters went? Maybe your cousin is just being playful and took Miss Tang shopping."
Rong Sui gave Yin Taiping a sidelong glance. "Ning An is not a playful person. It's probably Miss Tang who was in a bad mood and insisted that Ning An accompany her to have fun."
Yin Taiping patted Rong Sui on the shoulder and clicked his tongue a few times. "Okay, you're right. Then let's just ignore them. Let's go in and play chess and drink tea. Do you want me to send someone to call Brother Kang Yuan?"
Rong Sui's face was cold. "I'll go look for them."
Yin Taiping laughed out loud, then went into the private room and sat down. He asked the waiter to serve tea, then waved his hand and said, "If you want to go, go by yourself. They have maids and attendants with them. In the capital city, are you still afraid that something will happen to them?"
Rong Sui thought for a while and then sat down too. He even started to make tea by himself. However, Yin Taiping could tell at a glance that Rong Sui was in a very bad mood.
Just as he was about to speak, Rong Sui splashed water into the charcoal stove, then stood up and said, "Come on, let's still go look for them."
Yin Taiping tapped his head with his fan and stood up helplessly. "Such a good young man has changed completely since his younger sister came to the family. But Rong Sui, don't blame your brother for not reminding you. A girl's heart is not hard to guess. You're a handsome young man, and you never show special favor to anyone. But you're especially nice to your younger sister. This is not a good thing."
Rong Sui tightened his face.
Yin Taiping continued, "You treat her as your younger sister, but she has the surname Shi, not Rong. She's not your real sister. If you act like this and make her fall in love with you, you'll be the one in trouble."
Rong Sui's face softened a bit. He raised his eyebrows and turned his face away. His voice was faint. "Grandfather dotes on her. As his juniors, we should naturally obey."
Yin Taiping spread his hands helplessly and patted Rong Sui on the shoulder. "Have you ever thought about what you'll do if she falls in love with you?"
Rong Sui's face was calm. "If that's really the case, I'll just marry her."
Yin Taiping was so shocked that his mouth fell open. He carefully observed Rong Sui's expression and saw that there was not a hint of joking in it. He also knew that his friend never liked to joke.
"Are you serious?"
Rong Sui nodded. "Yes."
Yin Taiping was in a daze for a long time. He always felt that something was not right. It seemed that there were some things that he had missed before, and now they were so elusive that he couldn't catch them.
"Then... what if you meet someone you like in the future? Your Rong family doesn't allow concubines."
Rong Sui ignored him and walked downstairs on his own. Yin Taiping quickly chased after him. He only caught up with him at the teahouse entrance. There were many pedestrians here, so it was not a good place to discuss love matters.
Just as Rong Sui was about to mount his horse, Yin Taiping stopped him.
"Rong Sui, I know you're a military general, but today is your day off. You shouldn't ride your horse recklessly in the capital city..."
Rong Sui gave him a cold look. "So, shall we take a carriage or go on foot to look for them?"
Yin Taiping hesitated for a moment. Watching his friend ride away on his horse, he could only sigh to the attendant beside him. "In front of others, I'm the Young Master, but in fact, I'm just like a follower of Third Master Rong. Tsk, tsk. It's really heart - wrenching to hear."
The attendant didn't give him any face at all. "Third Master Rong is like an immortal. How can an ordinary person compare with him? Doesn't the Young Master always say that he's just an ordinary person? If the Young Master doesn't mount his horse quickly, he might miss his date with Miss Shuixian this afternoon."
Yin Taiping stroked his horse, then mounted it. He turned back to the attendant and said, "Go to the Flower Tower and tell Shuixian for me that I have something to do today and I'll go see her another day."
Rong Sui rode all the way to the East City Street, which was a place that Shi Ning An usually liked to come to. He stopped his horse and couldn't find a place to tie it for a while. The East City Street was a bustling place, and it was inconvenient for horses to go in and out, so he couldn't ride his horse in.
Just then, he heard a scream in front of him. He saw a carriage pulled by three horses rushing into the East City Street. The pedestrians on the side of the road were panicking and dodging, all looking frightened.
One of the three horses went crazy and trampled towards the crowd. Just then, a girl in a green dress was knocked down by someone and fell to the ground. The horse was about to step on the girl.
Rong Sui leaped into the air. The dagger in his sleeve flew out and just pierced into the horse's neck. The horse let out a long neigh. Before its hoof could land on the ground, it fell unconscious.
The patrolling guards came very quickly, and the Prefect of the Capital also arrived soon. By the time Yin Taiping came, the chaotic scene had been brought under control, but the street entrance was still blocked and no one could get in or out.
The girl in the green dress was helped up by the maid beside her. After tidying herself up a bit, she walked up to Rong Sui and bowed. "Third Master Rong."
Rong Sui frowned and stared at the carriage whose horse had gone crazy. A woman holding a child got out of the carriage and cried to the constable who was asking questions. "My child is seriously ill. I was originally going to the Anhe Hall to see a doctor. Who would have thought that the horse would be frightened and almost hurt someone... This carriage was rented from the horse dealership in the south of the city. The daily rental fee..."
The girl in the green dress was ignored but she wasn't angry. She still bit her lower lip and softly called out, "Thank you, Third Master Rong, for saving my life. This little girl is extremely grateful. Such a great kindness, this little girl..."
Rong Sui gave a light shout. "Stop chattering!"
Then he walked a bit closer to the horse and continued to listen to the woman explain the whole story to the constable.
The girl in the green dress was scolded. Her already frightened look became even more aggrieved. She looked at Rong Sui with longing eyes, her eyes red and on the verge of tears.
Yin Taiping's attendant was curious. According to his own Young Master's character, if he found such a beautiful girl, he would definitely comfort her nicely. But today, why was the Young Master just like Third Master Rong and both of them turned a blind eye to the scene of this girl crying?
The attendant sized up the girl in the green dress. Although her clothes and jewelry were expensive, at first glance, she was just an ordinary girl, not the daughter of an official. The Young Master loved girls from the entertainment industry and also loved good - family girls, but he ignored the daughters of officials. What was going on today? Had he changed his character?
Rong Sui quickly came back. Looking at the girl in the green dress, he asked, "Why are you here?"
The mist in the girl in the green dress's eyes immediately disappeared. She looked at Rong Sui with joy, bit her lower lip shyly and said, "Third Master Rong, this humble girl was frightened today. Fortunately, Third Master Rong saved me again. This humble girl..."
"Answer my question. Why are you here? Can't you understand?" Rong Sui interrupted her impatiently.
The girl in the green dress was startled. She didn't dare to say anything else and answered honestly. "This is my family's jewelry shop. I made an appointment with my little sisters to come and play today..."
Rong Sui looked up at the shop. It was the property of the Zhao family. Then he looked at the place blocked by the guards. There were indeed a few girls of the same age. It seemed that the girl in the green dress wasn't lying.
Seeing that Rong Sui didn't respond, the girl in the green dress stammered and called out again, "Third Master Rong..."
Rong Sui gave her a cold look. "Are you a daughter of the Zhao family?"
The girl in the green dress was stunned. She lowered her head halfway, and her voice was full of disappointment. "Doesn't Third Master remember me? I'm Zhao Yiyi, a daughter of the Zhao family. Third Master saved me before, it was in..."
Rong Sui turned around and left. Yin Taiping quickly followed him.
Rong Sui's attendant sneered. "Miss Zhao, my master saves so many people on a daily basis. How could he remember everyone?"
Zhao Yiyi pouted and gritted her teeth hard. It was really disappointing.
Yin Taiping put away his usual cynical look and asked in a low voice, "Is there something wrong?"
Rong Sui said, "I didn't find anything."
Yin Taiping didn't believe it. His friend never did anything useless. First, he went beside the woman holding the child and listened carefully, then he asked the daughter of the Zhao family why she was here. He must have found something wrong to do so.
"Then where shall we go to investigate now?"
Rong Sui turned his head to look at him. "The Prefect of the Capital is there. If you want to help, go by yourself. I was ordered by my elders to protect my cousin's safety today. It's more important to find my cousin first. I don't have time to take care of this idle matter."
After searching the whole long street, they still couldn't find any trace of Shi Ning An. Rong Sui was a bit panicked. Could something have happened to her in such a short time?
Rong Sui remembered what the Crown Prince had said a few days ago, that Wei Hongmiao had found another way and was going to make a comeback. Could it be that Wei Hongmiao still had evil thoughts? Or was it that the previous incident had made Wei Hongmiao lose face and he held a grudge against Shi Ning An? This time, he took advantage of the loophole and wanted to kill Shi Ning An?
The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became.
Yin Taiping watched his friend running around like a headless chicken. He was really tired from following him around. It was already the end of February. It was cold in the morning and at night, but a bit hot during the day. He had still been wearing a lined robe when he went out in the morning, but now he was so hot that he couldn't stand it.
He gasped and waved his hand to call his attendants. "You guys, go and find out where you've seen the guards of the Rong or Tang families today. Hurry up!"
In less than half a stick of incense time, an attendant came back to report. "Young Master, we've found out. There are guards of the Rong and Tang families at the entrance of the Shuyu Pavilion. We heard that the two young ladies are drinking in the pavilion."
Yin Taiping put his hands on his hips. Looking at his friend still searching from one shop to another, he waved and asked Rong Ping, "Why is your master so especially stupid today?"