Ji Shisu asked, "May I take a look at your other side rooms?"
Zixin was extremely flustered inside, but she pretended to be calm on the surface.
She stepped aside generously.
"Second Master, you're not really an outsider. Naturally, I won't stop you if you want to take a look. But please keep our master's secret."
Ji Shisu nodded.
He walked through one side room after another.
However, the results of opening the side rooms disappointed him greatly.
Finally, he reached the innermost side room.
Zhao Luoning was inside.
Zixin's palms were sweating.
Zhao Luoning inside the room also heard the commotion.
Now, it was a matter of who could hold out first.
They reached the last side room.
If she wasn't here, Ji Shisu would have to believe Zixin's words that Zhao Luoning had gone to the Kingdom of Chuyun.
He would then go to the Kingdom of Chuyun to look for her.
Ji Shisu sighed.
He placed his hand on the door.
Not only Zixin, but also Zhao Luoning inside the room held her breath.
Ji Shisu gently pushed, and the door creaked open.
This side room was different from the previous ones. It was no longer a workshop where many people made rouge together.
It was obvious that someone lived here.
Although Zhao Luoning had tidied up a lot, children's clothes and toys made by Zhao Luochun for the kids were still everywhere in the room.
Ji Shisu's heart was pounding.
Baby clothes, toys.
Didn't this mean...
Behind the screen was the inner chamber. Ji Shisu walked around the screen.
Inside the inner chamber, the fragrance he yearned for was even more obvious.
Ji Shisu's steps were trembling. Each step felt like he was stepping on cotton, very unreal.
There was only a dressing table and a bed in the inner chamber.
The things on the dressing table had been cleaned up. The bed curtain fell to the ground, covering the situation inside the bed.
It seemed that someone was sleeping.
Ji Shisu's hands were trembling. He was hesitating whether to step forward and lift the curtain.
At this time, Zixin stepped forward and wanted to drive him away.
"My lord, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to barge into a girl's boudoir like this?"
No matter how Zixin tried to stop him, Ji Shisu's eyes just wouldn't leave the bed.
At this moment, a fair hand stretched out from inside the bed.
The owner of the hand voluntarily rolled up half of the bed curtain, revealing half of her body.
The woman, wearing only her undergarments, rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at the situation outside.
"What's going on?"
Not only Ji Shisu, but even Zixin was stunned by the situation in front of them.
What was going on?
Why was Qiuling in the girl's bed?
Qiuling looked like she was still in a deep sleep.
After she found there was a man in the room, she was so scared that she quickly put down the bed curtain and pulled it tightly.
Qiuling loudly scolded Zixin.
"Zixin, what's wrong with you? How dare you let a man into my room? Be careful, or I'll tell the master when I get back!"
Zixin was completely confused. What was this scenario?
How was she supposed to play it?
Inside the curtain, Qiuling had already started to send a message to Zixin.
"I'm pregnant with the master's child. Once the baby is born, it will be the master's first child and our master's nephew. How dare you treat me so shabbily! And you even brought a man into my room to insult me!"
Zixin was quick-witted. By now, she had already understood the plot.
Qiuling kept referring to the master and their boss. Ji Shisu also remembered.
The woman inside the curtain seemed a bit familiar.
There was such a maid beside Zhao Luochun. It seemed that she was bought by Zhao Luochun in the fields at first to take care of Luoning.
Later, Ji Shisu assigned Jingxiu and Guixiu to Zhao Luoning, and this maid stayed in the Ye Mansion.
Zixin, who had already understood the scenario, made a gesture to Ji Shisu.
"My lord, may I have a word with you in private?"
Ji Shisu took a look at the closed curtain.
He felt rather unwilling in his heart.
He was just one step away, just one step.
He thought he was about to find Ning'er.
Zhao Luoning, sitting on the corner of the bed with her knees hugged, stared blankly at the peonies embroidered on the quilt.
Under Zixin's repeated urging, Ji Shisu had no choice but to leave the room.
Only then did Zixin explain, "Don't laugh at me, Second Master. The woman inside is our master's mistress. Our master was afraid of being discovered by his wife, so he sent her here for us to take care of."
Ji Shisu nodded.
He wasn't stupid.
He had heard everything Qiuling said just now.
Even without Zixin's explanation, he knew what was going on.
This way, the baby clothes and Zhao Luochun's strange behavior all made sense.
Ji Shisu was a bit reluctant to accept it.
So, it wasn't Ning'er who was pregnant?
Had his Ning'er really run to the ends of the earth and disappeared without a trace?
He glanced at the closed door and sighed.
Ji Shisu asked stubbornly again, "Your master really went to the Kingdom of Chuyun?"
"Look at what you're saying, Second Master. Would I lie to you?"
"Alas." Ji Shisu let out a long sigh and murmured, "Ning'er, Ning'er, don't you know how much I miss you?"
Ji Shisu's sighs were clearly heard in the room.
They reached Zhao Luoning's ears clearly.
He had checked every room.
Ji Shisu had no reason to stay in Siyu Nunnery any longer, so he had to leave.
As soon as Ji Shisu came out, Yuchi quickly stepped forward and asked,
"My lord, did you find the mistress?"
Ji Shisu didn't respond. His expression was very solemn.
Seeing that he couldn't get an answer, Yuchi stopped asking and reported,
"My lord, something bad has happened to the Ji Mansion."
Ji Shisu absent-mindedly got into the carriage and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The old matriarch is dying."
Only then did Ji Shisu's expression change. He quickly got into the carriage and ordered,
"Let's go. Back to the Ji Mansion."
Hearing this, Yuchi was about to mount his horse and follow, but was stopped by Ji Shisu.
"You lead some men and guard here."
"My lord?" Yuchi was puzzled.
Since Ji Shisu didn't bring the mistress out, it meant that the mistress wasn't in Siyu Nunnery. What was the point of guarding this shabby nunnery?
Ji Shisu didn't have time to explain further. He ordered the carriage to leave quickly.
Yuchi had no choice but to dismount reluctantly after receiving the order. He stared blankly at Zixin.
After Ji Shisu left, Zidou quickly ran over to deliver the news.
"Sister Ning, he's gone." After thinking for a while, Zidou felt something was wrong and added, "That tall brother is gone, but his subordinates seem to still be outside the door."
Hearing the voice, Qiuling quickly lifted the curtain.
She jumped out of bed without even putting on her shoes. She opened the door a crack, and after making sure there was only Zidou outside, she quickly ran back. While busy rolling up the bed curtain, she said,
"Miss, this trick of yours is really risky. What's this trick called? Oh, right, I remembered. The Empty Fort Strategy."
In this competition with Ji Shisu, Zhao Luoning could be said to have won completely.
It was just that she didn't know why Ji Shisu's subordinates refused to leave.