How could my childhood sweetheart be the current empress?

Tongxin nodded, took the order and left.

After arranging everything, Xu Chengling returned to his own courtyard.

At this time, the maid brought breakfast. He ate some, and then signaled the maid to take it into the house and put it away until his wife woke up.

Just as Xu Chengling was tasting cakes in the yard, a little maid suddenly ran in with a panicked look on her face.

"Master, Master, something bad has happened!"

The little maid shouted as she ran.

"what's up?"

Xu Chengling put down the cake in his hand and recognized the little maid at a glance. She was the maid who accompanied Xu Xiqian.

But shouldn't she be with Xu Xiqian at this time? Why is she running to him?

The little maid looked extremely panicked. She took a deep breath and said to Xu Chengling:

"Master, something terrible has happened. The young lady is missing!!!"

Chapter 53: Running Away from Home

"Qian'er? Calm down and tell me what happened."

Xu Chengling was shocked. He had just met the eldest lady last night and saw her run back to her residence with his own eyes.

How come the young lady disappeared in just one night?

Wait, could it be that Xu Chengling suddenly thought of something?

She didn't even go back to her room last night?

The little maidservant was so anxious that she burst into tears. After finally catching her breath, she quickly reported to Xu Chengling:

"Master, this morning I went to the young lady's room and called her to get up, but when I entered the room I found no one there. The quilts on the bed were neatly arranged. The young lady usually doesn't tidy these up. She didn't even sleep in the room last night."

At this point, the little maidservant burst into tears again. Although the eldest lady was strict, she was very kind to servants like them and would share any delicious food with them.

Having followed the eldest lady for several years, she has become familiar with her living habits. Normally at this time, the eldest lady would definitely not have woken up yet.

The most important thing is that the quilt on the eldest lady’s bed was not moved, which obviously meant that the eldest lady did not return to her room last night.

"Wow, Master, we searched everywhere near the young lady's residence, but we couldn't find her. She... is gone."

The little maid's eyes couldn't help but turn red and tears fell down, which made people feel a little distressed.

"It's all my fault. I didn't take good care of the young lady. Woohoo..."

"I already know that. It's not your fault. Think carefully about where she usually goes."

Xu Chengling comforted the little maid and asked her to calm down. After all, it was not her fault that the young lady was lost.

"Is it possible that she just went out to play for a while and will be back later?"

"No, the young lady never has the habit of going out at night. We have searched everywhere in the mansion, but couldn't find her anywhere."

The little maid rubbed her red and swollen eyes and said that she was so worried because the eldest lady did not come back at night.

At this time, Xu Chengling gradually realized the seriousness of the situation and that something might have really happened.

You know, because of Xu Xiqian's arrogant personality, almost no one wants to be friends with her, and she doesn't have any friends around her.

If she left the Xiangguo Mansion, she would have nowhere to go.

We cannot rule out the possibility that she is hiding on purpose, but if something really happens to her, it will be too late to find her then.

Therefore, Xu Chengling could not help but ask the maid:

"Have you searched carefully for wells and ponds?"

If she had lost her temper last night and jumped into a well or a river, he would probably feel guilty for the rest of his life.

With the eldest lady's temperament, she might really do something impulsive like this.

"I have looked everywhere, but I can't find the young lady."

The little maid shook her head and replied that they had carefully searched these places but had not found it.

"Where on earth will she go then?"

Xu Chengling couldn't help but frown. Last night he saw the eldest lady running towards his residence. Where did she go after that?

Suddenly, he thought of a possibility that the situation might be worse than he imagined.

That is, Xu Xiqian was kidnapped, so she could not be found anywhere.

If that's the case, then her situation is dangerous.

"Could it be that the young lady ran away from home because of that incident?"

At this moment, the little maid seemed to remember something and her expression suddenly turned ugly.

Xu Chengling was shocked. Could it be that his conversation with Xu Xiqian last night was overheard?

"No, no, the eldest lady has instructed that you must not mention this to the master."

But soon, the little maid hurriedly shook her head and kept muttering.

It was because of this incident that she was certain that the eldest daughter might have run away from home.

"What's the matter? Just tell me what you want to say."

Xu Chengling said in a deep voice that the situation was urgent and there was no need to hide it any more.

The little maid hesitated for a moment, but considering the safety of the young lady, if she did not tell the truth, the master might not believe that the young lady had run away from home.

Every minute of delay now could make the young lady's condition more critical.

So the little maid decided not to hide it anymore and said to Xu Chengling:

"Master, there is something that the eldest lady has been hiding from you. In fact, before the master came to the Xiangguo Mansion, the eldest lady had already been engaged to the second young master of the Jia family. Some time ago, the Jia family sent someone to set a date, but... the eldest lady does not like the second young master of the Jia family."

Having said this, the little maid paused for a moment, and then continued:

"The young lady had been worrying about this matter before. As the date got closer, she became more and more impatient. At this time, the master was not at home, so the young lady locked herself in the room and did not eat for several days. She lost a lot of weight."

"There is such a thing..."

Hearing this, Xu Chengling was stunned. Xu Xiqian had never mentioned the engagement to him before, and he was not aware of it.

No wonder when I saw Xu Xiqian last night, although it was very dark, I could still tell that she had lost a lot of weight.

Xu Chengling had heard of the Jia family. The Jia family was the largest imperial merchant in the capital, wealthy enough to rival a country. The Jia family's businesses could be seen everywhere in the capital.

It seems that in order to win over the Jia family, the Xu family entered into an alliance with the Jia family and betrothed the eldest Xu Xiqian to the second young master of the Jia family.

As for whether the young lady is willing or not, who would care about that?

"I heard that the second young master of the Jia family often has affairs with other girls. If the eldest daughter marries into the Jia family, her life will be very difficult, wuwu..."

The little maidservant cried even harder when she thought about the hardship that the eldest lady would suffer after marrying into the Jia family.

"So that's it..."

At this time, Xu Chengling finally understood why Xu Xiqian said some strange things last night and suddenly got so angry.

She didn't expect such a thing to happen, so she ran away from home because she didn't want to marry into the Jia family.

He couldn't help but take out a amulet from his pocket and stared at it closely. He saw a few small and beautiful words engraved in the corner of the amulet, which was his name.

Xu Chengling once again recalled what Xu Xiqian said to him last night: to cherish the person in front of you.

It turned out that these words were exactly what she wanted to tell herself.

"Master, you must help the young lady. Only you can make the decision on this matter."

The little maid cried and said that she was just a little maid and could only place her hope on the master.

Now, Xu Chengling also figured out the whole story. He nodded and said:

"I understand. I will take care of this matter. The most urgent thing now is to find the eldest lady. You go back first. I will send someone to look for her whereabouts immediately."

After saying that, Xu Chengling stood up and called a maid, asking her to call the housekeeper from the mansion.

After a while, a middle-aged man who looked smart and capable stood in front of him and asked:

"Master, what are your orders?"

"Gather the servants of the Xiangguo Mansion and search for the whereabouts of the young lady. Whoever finds her will be rewarded handsomely."

Xu Chengling ordered the housekeeper in a deep voice.

"Yes."

The butler hesitated for a moment, but soon understood what the master meant and turned around and walked away.

After the housekeeper left, Xu Chengling couldn't help but look at the amulet in his hand, clenched it tightly, and murmured:

"Qian'er, nothing can happen to you."

Chapter 54: The Sin of the Knight

Prime Minister's Mansion, noon.

The weather is gradually turning frosty, withered yellow leaves covering the yard and a hint of coolness in the air.

In the blink of an eye, winter is coming, this year is about to end, and the new year is about to begin.

At this time, in a room in the courtyard.

"How long have I slept?"

Yan Jixue opened her eyes drowsily, glanced out the window, and then her pretty face changed slightly.

The sun outside the window has risen high and is directly overhead. It is already noon.

Yan Jixue was shocked. She didn't expect that she had slept for so long, and she quickly got up from the bed.

Only then did she notice that she was naked. Her legs felt weak and she almost couldn't stand.

"Could it be that...what happened last night was not a dream?"

A blush couldn't help but appear on Yan Jixue's pretty face, which spread all the way to her neck and ears, and her face felt as hot as if it was on fire.

She thought everything that happened last night was just a dream, but judging from the messy bed sheets, it was all real.

Thinking of this, Yan Jixue's face became even more shy, and she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

"He must have used some evil magic to bewitch me, so I'm with him..."

The only explanation Yan Jixue could think of was that she was possessed. These were definitely not her intentions, otherwise it would be impossible to explain why she agreed to Xu Chengling's request.

At that time, I just felt like my brain was twisted, and I agreed to it in a daze.

But this time, Yan Jixue did not feel the same pain as before, but felt very comfortable instead.

Thinking of this, her delicate face turned even redder, as if blood was about to drip out.

"No, why would I think that... I must be possessed by evil spirits."

Yan Jixue shook her head vigorously. She must have been possessed, so she thought like this.

Absolutely, absolutely, there won't be a next time!

……

Yan Jixue changed her clothes, ate something to fill her stomach, and walked out of the house.

Today she was wearing a lavender dress, with light plum blossom makeup on her elegant face, which made her originally cold face more charming. Her jet-black hair draped around her slender waist, making her look like a fairy who had been tainted by the world and stepped into the mortal world.

However, the fairy's eyebrows were slightly raised, as if with a hint of anger, and no one knew who had made her angry.

Yan Jixue looked around the yard and noticed that there seemed to be fewer maids in the yard.

Moreover, the man was nowhere to be seen. He had just returned and no one knew where he had gone to hang out.

After walking around the yard, Yan Jixue returned to the pavilion and sat down.

She looked at the peaceful pond with her beautiful eyes and spoke slowly: