Madam Di forced herself out of her sickbed to conduct an interrogation. Only then did she learn that Yi Weiwei had sneaked out three days after being put under house arrest.
Such a significant incident, yet no one had bothered to inform her. One could well imagine Madam Di's fury and despair.
After a violent fit of coughing, there was a smear of bright red blood on the handkerchief she'd used to cover her lips.
Seeing this, Xiao Tian couldn't help but say, "Take care of your health. Since she left on her own initiative, she should be in no great danger. Moreover, didn't she take two martial maids with her?"
"She has no idea of the immensity of heaven and earth," Madam Di said with a bitter voice. "Servants, go and fetch the marquis!"
After a while, Marquis Huai'en finally sauntered in, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"What's this about?" Marquis Huai'en shouted as he entered the room. "It's the middle of the night. Can't a man get some rest... You, who are you?"
He squinted at Xiao Tian, stroking his chin. "Why do you look so familiar?"
Xiao Tian disdained him and simply ignored him.
Marquis Huai'en then turned to Madam Di. "You hide a man in your room in the middle of the night, and you still have the nerve to scold me?"
"Shut up!" Madam Di roared. "Weiwei has run away from home!"
She didn't believe that the messenger who'd gone to inform him earlier hadn't told him why she was so eager to see him.
But just look at him. Where was the slightest trace of a father's concern?
To her surprise, Marquis Huai'en stroked his beard and said proudly, "I let her go."
"You let her go?" Madam Di's grip on the armrests of her chair tightened almost to the point of breaking. The veins on her bony hands bulged.
"Yes," Marquis Huai'en replied. "She kowtowed to me before leaving. It's not like she left without a word. You don't need to make such a fuss in the middle of the night and turn the whole mansion upside down. This whole thing is all your fault!"
Madam Di had heard the words "it's all your fault" countless times during her twenty - year marriage. Her heart had long since turned cold, and she'd grown immune to them.
"Where did she go?" Madam Di asked, enunciating each word.
"You didn't arrange a good marriage for her, so why shouldn't she go and find one herself?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Di couldn't bear it any longer. She spat out a mouthful of blood and slumped limply in her chair.
Her daughter had run away from home to find a man.
Not to mention her, but even the daughters of ordinary, decent families in the capital would never do such a thing.
Yet, Marquis Huai'en seemed to take pride in it rather than feel ashamed.
As if deliberately trying to anger Madam Di, Marquis Huai'en said in a sarcastic tone, "Don't worry. With my example, she's sure to find a good family. Ouch!"
It turned out that Xiao Tian couldn't stand it any longer. He took off his belt buckle as a hidden weapon and hit Marquis Huai'en, making his mouth bleed.
"I've delayed you," Madam Di said with a bitter laugh. "I took a fancy to you during the imperial examination. No matter how much my father opposed it, I insisted on marrying you. At first, you used to coax me and treat me well. I lived in your sweet words and foolishly thought I was the happiest woman in the world."
"My father used his military merits to get you a title when you were achieving nothing. But you complained that there was no fiefdom or profit. So you even pestered me to go back to my natal family for help."
"Fine, I went. Over the years, how much of the mansion's expenses have been subsidized by my natal family?"
"Yet, even so, you were still not satisfied. Later, when you found that my father wouldn't meet your demands, you showed your true colors. Now, because of Xiao Jinghan's death and the fact that my father has been suppressed, you think no one has the time to care about you, so you've become even more outrageous."
"Marrying me has wronged you. You should have married a princess. Only the royal family can satisfy your endless demands."
Hearing this, Marquis Huai'en was furious. He pointed at Madam Di and shouted, "Yes, it's all you and your father who have ruined me!"
Xiao Tian raised his hand again. Marquis Huai'en was so scared that he immediately covered his head, looking extremely embarrassed.
Xiao Tian was still worried about the safety of Yi Qing and her son. He couldn't waste too much time here. So he said, "Since we already know where Yi Weiwei has gone, let her go and find her own good future. You should have someone pack your things and return to the Duke's Mansion. If you stay here, you'll surely be angered to death by him sooner or later."
"If you dare to leave today, don't ever come back!" Marquis Huai'en threatened.
"I've had enough of this family for a long time."
Madam Di didn't even bother to look for her daughter anymore. She had someone pack her things and returned to her natal family that very night.
Xiao Tian couldn't find Yi Qing and her son and had endured a great deal of anger. After leaving Marquis Huai'en's mansion, he looked around blankly in the darkness and couldn't help but wonder: Where should he look for them?
Xiao Tian went to find Lu Tianzuo and mobilized his men to search all night.
Five days later, there was finally some news.
Someone had seen Yi Qing and her son board a merchant ship, which was bound for overseas after several stops.
Xiao Tian felt as if he'd been splashed with a bucket of ice - cold water. He clenched his fists tightly by his sides.
— There was no doubt that Yi Qing had left on her own.
She thought he was the murderer who'd killed Xiao Jinghan. She also felt that there was nothing in the capital worth her attachment. She didn't want to be involved with the emperor. Moreover, she probably guessed that once the truth about the emperor's poisoning was revealed, she might have to die to make the emperor feel at ease. So she calmly set up this situation and made a perfect escape.
It was a pity that he'd been so self - righteous and had been played by her.
She'd arranged everything so calmly, used the tactic of luring the tiger away from its den, and left without a trace.
If he hadn't suddenly thought of asking the shopkeeper Sun to make inquiries, he might never have known where she'd gone.
She'd cured Lu Tianxun and left an antidote for the emperor. She thought she'd done everything right. Even if someone found out she'd left, they wouldn't go to great lengths to look for her...
"What should we do now?" Lu Tianzuo asked, wiping his face.
He'd been tortured these past few days. Now, upon hearing about Yi Qing's whereabouts, he wished he could grow wings and catch her back.
"Let her go," Xiao Tian said and turned away, striding off.
She was gone. Their encounter had been an accident.
In fact, she'd used him meanly. Now that the deceiver had left the stage, shouldn't he be happy?
But what should be and what actually was were two different things. Xiao Tian felt as if a part of his heart had been hollowed out, and cold wind was blowing through it.
"I wonder if she can take good care of Baozi," he murmured to himself.
Meanwhile, Yi Qing, who was thought to have already left for overseas, was at a quiet mansion in the capital, living a life not much different from before.
She watched Baozi study and played with him every day. However, she went out less frequently, only going out to buy supplies once every ten days or so, and always returning early.
This mansion had been rented through shopkeeper Sun. She thought that for the sake of profit, he would keep her secret.
In this world, profit was the only eternal friend.
Baozi had asked about Xiao Tian many times, but Yi Qing always managed to evade the question.
But Baozi was growing up and had his own mind. He missed Xiao Tian very much. So he did something that Yi Qing didn't discover until much later, and it directly led to Xiao Tian finding out their whereabouts.