Love Lock

Chapter 76 Pleasant Scenery Dad

As the sun gradually slanted westward, the early spring breeze carried a lingering chill of winter. The new greenery along the official road had not yet blossomed, with only a few sparse buds swaying on the branches.

A long convoy traveled along the official road, the sound of wheels rolling over the road intertwining with the rhythm of horses' hooves to create a long, melodious journey.

Inside the carriage, Han Lei leaned back on a soft cushion, intently reading a book she had bought from the system called "The Strategy for All Poisons".

After what happened the night before last, she finally understood the way ancient nobles resolved problems. Just like in palace dramas—if they disagreed, they simply poisoned someone to death.

She had been to the battlefield, facing the enemy head-on amidst fierce gunfire. But the underhanded tactic of poisoning was truly difficult to guard against. Therefore, she decided to intensively study poisons, just in case. With her exceptional talent for rapid learning in medicine, she believed she would soon master it. At that time, she would fear neither the righteous nor the wicked.

"Girl, come on, have some more water." Zhao Zun's voice was gentle yet firm. He held a delicate porcelain cup and gently offered it to Han Lei's lips.

"Still drinking? I've already had a lot." Han Lei looked at Zhao Zun with a pained expression. "If I drink any more, I'll need to go to the bathroom again!"

Ever since she took the poisoned medicine the night before last, Zhao Zun has been urging her to drink more warm water, saying that this would help the toxins be completely expelled.

Although she was grateful for Zhao Zun's care and consideration, she had drunk quite a bit of water over the past two days and needed to urinate frequently. The constant stopping and starting had slowed down the entire convoy considerably.

She wasn't afraid of the other people in the convoy having opinions; what she feared was the feeling of taking a scenic dump in the middle of nowhere! The cold wind was blowing against her little bottom, making it chilly, and the bushes and grass were scratching and hurting her little bottom.

Most importantly, although she had two maids, Zitan and Jinju, to keep watch for her, the house was open on all sides, and she still felt no sense of privacy.

"Go to the toilet if you need to!" Zhao Zun said nonchalantly, holding his teacup. It's just going to the toilet, what's the big deal?

Having spent so much time with Han Lei, he already knew that the toilet Han Lei was referring to was actually an outhouse.

"But it's so embarrassing to keep bothering everyone else to wait for me!" No matter what Zhao Zun said, Han Lei just didn't want to drink.

"What do they dare say?" Zhao Zun asked domineeringly. After thinking for a moment, he put down his teacup. "I'll have them lead the team ahead. Let Mother and Ling'er rest in Taoyuan County for a day. We'll proceed slowly and then meet up in Taoyuan County."

"what?"

Han Lei's lips twitched violently. It seemed Zhao Zun meant that she still had to drink the water. She wanted to say something, but Zhao Zun had already jumped off the carriage.

Seeing Zhao Zun's determination and his caring attitude towards her, Han Lei gradually understood how difficult it was. When Zhao Zun returned, she had already consciously finished drinking two glasses of water.

Sure enough, less than half an hour later, Han Lei started complaining that she needed to use the restroom.

The main force had already gone ahead to the post station, leaving only Zhao Zun and his entourage in a carriage with two maids and two guards.

Zhao Zun lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside, his brows furrowing slightly.

The view here is quite open and unobstructed, but there is a dense forest not far away, which is suitable for women to relieve themselves.

Zhao Zun instructed Pingchuan to stop the carriage by the roadside. Then he told Zitan and Jinju beside him, "We'll wait here. You two accompany the young lady to the woods to relieve herself. Be careful."

Upon hearing this, Han Lei's cheeks flushed slightly, but she had to go to the bathroom, so she nodded helplessly and walked into the woods accompanied by two maids.

In the woods, sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled shadows. Han Lei looked around, a chill creeping over her. She felt as if countless eyes were watching her from the shadows, making her extremely uncomfortable.

"Miss, are you alright?" Zitan asked with concern. Han Lei forced a smile: "I'm fine, just a little embarrassed. You can keep watch for me up ahead!"

"it is good!"

The two maids agreed and turned around to stand guard under the trees on either side of the front.

Han Lei could still see the two of them. Her face flushed, she moved behind a bush before lifting her long skirt and preparing to squat down.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew by, and some white powder appeared out of thin air in front of Han Lei. Before she could react, a wave of dizziness washed over her, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

At the same time, a figure descended from the tree like a ghost, quickly picked up the unconscious Han Lei, and disappeared into the depths of the forest in a flash.

After a while, Zitan and Jinju, who had been waiting anxiously for Han Lei to come out, began to call out impatiently, "Miss, Miss, are you ready?"

The shouts echoed through the woods, but received no response. The two maids exchanged a glance, a sense of foreboding rising in their hearts. They quickly ran to search.

However, when they arrived at the place where Han Lei had relieved herself, she was nowhere to be found. Only a patch of trampled grass and a faint fragrance lingered in the air remained.

"Girl! Girl, where are you?" Zitan and Jinju were terrified, their voices trembling with sobs. They looked around, but all they saw were lush trees and abundant foliage, as if every inch of the land was devouring their hope.

In the end, the two maids had no choice but to give up the search. They helped each other and ran out of the woods, stumbling all the way back to the carriage.

"Your Highness! Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The young lady... she's gone missing!" Zitan cried out urgently.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zun, who had been waiting anxiously, felt a sudden tightness in his heart, as if he were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

His face instantly turned ashen, and two sharp glints shot from his eyes: "What did you say? Han Lei is missing?"

Jinju nodded tearfully, "Yes, Your Highness, we...we waited in the woods for a long time, but the young lady didn't come out. When we went in to look for her, we found she was gone. Waaah..."

Zhao Zun suppressed his panic and quickly calmed down. He ordered Xiao Zhengfei and Pingchuan to immediately take weapons and torches and, together with himself and two maids, enter the woods to search.

Two maids quickly led Zhao Zun to the place where Han Lei had disappeared. There was a patch of white powder with a strange fragrance on the ground. Zhao Zun squatted down, picked up some powder with his fingers, and sniffed it lightly. He instantly felt a little dizzy; it must be a sleeping potion.

Zhao Zun threw away the powder in his hand, looked at the bushes that were bent over and turned over beside him, and immediately judged that Han Lei had been drugged and kidnapped.

"damn it!"

Zhao Zun cursed and stood up. The five of them lined up and began to search carefully, afraid of missing any clue. Their shouts wove a net through the dense forest, trying to catch the fleeting figure that had suddenly disappeared.

However, as time passed and the sun set, they searched through the dense forest with torches for a long time, but still could not find any trace of Han Lei.

As night fell, Zhao Zun's mood grew increasingly heavy. He knew that in this vast forest, a vulnerable woman had been drugged again, and it was almost impossible for her to protect herself.

But then he thought again: the lack of blood in the woods meant Han Lei hadn't been murdered there; perhaps she'd been taken away. But why would someone drug and abduct Han Lei…?

Thank you for reading.

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(End of this chapter)