Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 30 Fake Death
When Xiao Wang and Li Chengge returned to the palace, Wei Lansheng and others had already left.

Upon hearing that Ning Ci had impersonated Chao Lu, Li Chengge was extremely shocked. He didn't expect that the Chao Lu he saw today was actually a fake!
Xiao Wang went straight to Chao Yuanzhi and asked about the truth of the matter.

Now that the matter has become known to everyone, it is futile to cover it up. Chao Yuanzhi looked ashamed and said with great guilt.

"My dear nephew, I spoiled Second Mother so much that I allowed her to do something so outrageous as faking her own death. I can't face you anymore!"

Xiao Wang continued to ask: "Why did Er Niang fake her death and leave the Chao family?"

Chao Yuanzhi felt helpless and let out a long sigh.

"It's all my fault! She and Dalang don't get along well on weekdays, and the two siblings often quarrel. But I thought it was just a fight between children, so I didn't take it seriously. I didn't expect that she would run away from home after a big quarrel with Dalang that day. She took Lanying with her, and she didn't come back until the next morning, but Lanying was gone. We asked her where Lanying had gone, but she refused to tell us and just kept crying, looking scared."

"After that, Er Niang was absent-minded all day and had nightmares every night. She became increasingly haggard, and we were all very worried about her. Until one day, she suddenly took poison and committed suicide. When we found her, she was already dead. I was heartbroken and ordered people to prepare funeral ceremonies for her. It happened that you came to Xiangzhou to pay your respects to her. You know everything that happened afterwards."

At this point, Chao Yuanzhi's face was filled with a wry smile, and his voice was hoarse.

"I really thought that Second Mother was dead. If you hadn't opened the coffin, I wouldn't have known that it wasn't Second Mother lying inside. Afterwards, I asked my wife and found out that Second Mother must have taken a drug that could temporarily hold her breath. She pretended to be dead and fooled all of us."

Xiao Wang frowned: "Why didn't you tell me these things before?"

Chao Yuanzhi knew he was in the wrong and felt even more ashamed.

"Er Niang disappeared for a day. Although we can confirm that she is innocent, outsiders may not think so. I tried my best to conceal this matter in order to protect her reputation."

"Are you afraid that after I know the truth, I will despise Second Mother and not want to marry her again?" Xiao Wang said, revealing his thoughts. Chao Yuanzhi smiled awkwardly, "My dear nephew is not such a superficial person. I judged you by my own standards. I shouldn't have lied to you. I hope you will forgive me."

After saying this, he was about to cross his arms and salute Xiao Wang.

Xiao Wang immediately reached out to stop him.

"You are the elder, I can't bear it."

Chao Yuanzhi looked up at him with sincere eyes: "My dear nephew, have you forgiven me?"

Xiao Wang took his hand back and said in a deep voice: "Now is not the time to talk about these things. The most important thing now is to find Er Niang as soon as possible. Xiangzhou City is very unstable now. It is not safe for her to be alone outside."

"I've sent people to look for her everywhere, but there's been no news." Chao Yuanzhi frowned, worried. "She's alone and has never been far away. I don't know where she could be hiding?"

"Publish a missing person notice and ask the counties and towns under its jurisdiction to help search for him. At the same time, offer a large reward. I think we will get something."

Chao Yuanzhi gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Originally he didn't want to make a big deal out of it, after all, it concerned Chao Lu's reputation. But now Xiao Wang already knew the truth, and it would be useless to hide it.

For the moment, he could only put aside his face temporarily and mobilize all his manpower to look for Chaolu, trying to find her back in the shortest possible time.

(End of this chapter)