Commander Ling arrived at the South City Gate and learned that Duanmu Shiqing had already left the city. He immediately mounted a horse and rode out after him.
Duanmu Shiqing's suspicions still centered on the place where the blue garment had been found. Riding at a gallop, he rushed to the edge of the pool. This time, he was determined to search this most suspicious spot thoroughly inside and out, in the hope of uncovering further clues.
His men moved out together. Though the area was not large, it was soon a hive of activity. Duanmu Shiqing stood beneath the tree where the clothes had been hung to dry, his mind racing as he pondered the purpose of the blue garment that had hung there, and whether it held any special significance.
"Report! Nothing! Found nothing at all!" a subordinate called out.
Duanmu Shiqing frowned, his slender brows knitting together, and commanded the man, "Expand the search area!"
He remained standing beneath the tree, gazing at the spot where the garment had once hung. Though his eyes grew dry and strained from staring, he could make no sense of it.
"You, come here!" Duanmu Shiqing ordered, gesturing to a nearby subordinate. "Take off your outer robe!"
The soldier froze, caught off guard for a moment. Then, catching the stern and serious expression on Duanmu Shiqing's face, he quickly unfastened his robe, stripped it off, and handed it over with both hands.
Duanmu Shiqing took the garment and raised his arm. With a steady motion, he tossed the robe so that it landed precisely on the branch where the blue garment had been, not a hair's breadth off. He stared at it intently, trying to discern what hidden mystery might be concealed in the way garments were hung from the tree.
Meanwhile, Hong Yue was hiding in the very spot where Mo Xian had once concealed herself. It was truly a secluded refuge. Hong Yue had been awake for a short while now.
When she first opened her eyes, it felt as though she had simply woken from a deep sleep; clearly, she retained no memory of what had transpired before.
She sat up and blinked, her eyelids feeling heavy. Raising a hand to rub her eyes, she realized she was sitting on the ground. In a panic, she looked around, her mind suddenly recalling that she had left the manor with Miss Duanmu, after which they had ended up here and fallen into the water. At this thought, she clapped a hand over her wide-open mouth. So now...
Only then did she notice Duanmu Furong lying unconscious on her side.
"Miss..." Hong Yue's heart seized with panic as she reached out to shake Duanmu Furong.
Duanmu Furong's eyes remained tightly closed, and she gave no response whatsoever.
Struggling to lift her, Hong Yue half-carried, half-dragged Duanmu Furong toward Mo Xian's former hiding place. Supporting her young mistress proved difficult; Hong Yue's steps were uneven and her pace agonizingly slow.
Once they reached the more sheltered spot, Hong Yue felt a slight measure of relief. She sat on the ground, resting Duanmu Furong's head and shoulders across her lap. Panting heavily and drenched in sweat, she had no time to wipe her brow. With her left arm supporting Duanmu Furong, she shook her mistress's shoulder with her right hand, calling out over and over: "Miss, Miss, wake up, please wake up..." Her voice trembled visibly with anxiety and panic, and her eyes welled up with tears.
No matter how frantically Hong Yue called and shook her, Duanmu Furong remained completely unconscious. Not knowing what else to do, Hong Yue could only keep calling and shaking her...
After about a quarter of an hour of this, Hong Yue heard footsteps approaching—and there was more than one person. She instantly held her breath, froze her movements, and clutched Duanmu Furong tightly to her.
She stared intently in the direction of the approaching footsteps. A moment later, a figure came into view—tall, straight, with a familiar silhouette and a brisk stride. Hong Yue's eyes widened in shock. It was Duanmu Shiqing! The Second Young Master!
The Second Young Master truly seemed to be everywhere...
Paralyzed by fright, Hong Yue froze. A moment later, she snapped back to her senses and clapped her right hand over Duanmu Furong's mouth, terrified that her mistress might make a sound. The Hong Yue who had just been shaking Duanmu Furong so violently had undergone a complete turnaround in the span of a single breath.
Earlier that very day, when she had first seen Duanmu Shiqing, Hong Yue had thought of calling out to him to take Duanmu Furong back to Duanmu Manor. But now, under no circumstances could she let him find her and Duanmu Furong. For the two of them to sneak out of the manor without permission was a grave offense, punishable by beating and reprimand. Now, with Duanmu Furong unconscious while she herself was completely fine and articulate, Hong Yue did not dare imagine what she would face if dragged back to the manor like this. At best, she would be accused of sneaking out with her young mistress, failing to take proper care of her, and causing her to faint; at worst, she would be suspected of harboring ulterior motives, tricking the young mistress out of the manor with malicious intent. No matter how it was spun, if Duanmu Shiqing discovered them, she would take the blame for everything.
Trembling with tension, Hong Yue held Duanmu Furong tightly, not daring to move so much as a muscle. Her eyes remained glued to Duanmu Shiqing, never leaving him for an instant. Hearing him order a search, she could only pray inwardly: *Please don't look over here, please don't look over here...*
Only when she heard the words "Found nothing" did she let out a silent breath of relief. Even so, her tightly strung nerves did not completely relax; she kept her watchful gaze fixed on Duanmu Shiqing. But the moment his voice rang out again with the command to "expand the search area," her anxiety spiked tenfold.
Could the Second Young Master know that the young mistress was here? How on earth had he found this place? Was his intuition so monstrously strong that it had guided him straight here? Or had he summoned his sixth, seventh, and eighth senses all at once to divine that the young mistress was here and hunt them down? The thought filled Hong Yue with a fresh wave of panic.
One of the soldiers was now walking directly toward the hiding spot where Hong Yue and Duanmu Furong were crouched. Already trembling from tension, Hong Yue shook harder, sweat pouring down her forehead. Duanmu Furong lay across her lap, her head resting on Hong Yue's arm, as quiet as if she were merely asleep. As the soldier drew closer and closer—one more step, and he would discover them—Hong Yue's heart hammered frantically against her ribs, and she thought to herself, *We're finished!*
Yet human affairs are always full of uncertainties.
Sometimes, success or failure hangs by a mere hair.
"Go check ahead," Duanmu Shiqing's voice rang out. With the soldier's robe still in his hand, he casually flicked his wrist, sending the garment spinning through the air in a graceful arc that landed squarely over the soldier's shoulders. Duanmu Shiqing then took the lead and strode deeper into the woods. The subordinates immediately followed his order. Even the soldier who had been on the verge of reaching Hong Yue and Duanmu Furong turned and hurried after Duanmu Shiqing toward the front.
Ahead lay a grove of trees. Watching them all vanish into the woods, Hong Yue felt her tightly wound nerves finally go slack.
It felt as though she had just survived a major catastrophe; her limbs turned to jelly, devoid of an ounce of strength. The hair at her temples was drenched with sweat. Looking down at the young mistress cradled in her arms, she felt a complex turmoil of emotions that defied description.
Duanmu Furong remained completely motionless, her complexion entirely normal. Hong Yue, however, had long since turned pale with fright. Removing her hand from Duanmu Furong's mouth, she tremulously smoothed back her mistress's hair before letting her hand rest gently on Duanmu Furong's shoulder.
Duanmu Shiqing might return—perhaps shortly, perhaps much later. Unsure of when he might retrace his steps, Hong Yue dared not make a single reckless move.
Her gaze fell upon Duanmu Furong's face. Realizing that her mistress had been unconscious for quite some time, she grew anxious, wondering if something serious was wrong, yet simultaneously terrified that Duanmu Furong might suddenly wake up and alert Duanmu Shiqing. A bitter ache welled up instantly in her chest.