Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Fourth Master (5)
Fourth Master Xiao nodded, turned sideways with his hands behind his back, and descended the steps, watching Xiqiu. Xiqiu curtsied to him, lifted her skirt, and ascended the steps. She silently breathed a sigh of relief, but just as she was about to leave, he spoke again from behind, "Is your leg injured too?"
Xiqiu raised an eyebrow. Was her walking posture that obvious?
As if sensing her confusion, Fourth Master Xiao furrowed his brows slightly. Xiqiu thought for a moment and replied, "It caught a chill; a few days’ rest will heal it!" Without waiting for him to speak again, she lifted her skirt and quickly left.
Standing on the corridor, she finally let out a breath of relief. But since Sixing and Chunyan hadn’t come looking for her, she didn’t dare go far, fearing they wouldn’t find Tong Xiyan and would lose her too. Anxious at heart, she could only wait on the path leading from Tong Xihua’s courtyard to Xiao Yanzheng’s courtyard.
The night wind was cold, and she didn’t know where Tong Xiyan had gone. She suspected that Tong Xiyan had been getting close to the maids in the mansion lately, and had even secretly sent messages through them. Could one of the maids have secretly helped her out of the mansion?
Shaking her head silently at the thought, she reminded herself that the Marquis Mansion wasn’t like the Tong Mansion. Leaving the mansion required not just Marchioness Xuanning’s token, but also the Inner Courtyard Chief’s token. Both tokens were indispensable for leaving the premises. Even if the maid had incredible skills, she still couldn’t possibly help Tong Xiyan sneak out.
Could Tong Xiyan have...
She stopped that line of thought. Jiang Shilin’s injury had healed, and what Tong Xiyan ought to be doing now was trying to persuade Lady to approve their marriage; taking desperate actions was unlikely!
As this thought flashed by, she saw the flicker of lantern light on the path, followed by Chunyan’s joyful voice: "Miss!" The two quickly ran over. "Miss, you did leave first after all!"
What do you mean by ’left first’? Xiqiu raised an eyebrow, looking at them.
Chunyan smiled and said, "Sixing and I went around the backyard and didn’t see Fourth Miss. So we returned the same way we came, but on our way back, we ran into Fourth Master Xiao. We were terrified and trying to explain when unexpectedly, Fourth Master Xiao told us that you had already left through the main gate."
Xiqiu widened her eyes, having a gut feeling that she had been played...
Unaware of this, Chunyan and Sixing said to Xiqiu, "With Fourth Miss not around, we should return and check again in case she’s already back." After a brief hesitation, Xiqiu nodded and said, "Let’s go back and talk about it." If they still couldn’t find her, they would ask Tong Xihua to send maids to search!
She led the two back to Tong Xihua’s courtyard. The courtyard was brightly lit, and Tong Xihua stood at the door with a troubled expression, holding her belly, and asked, "Have you found her?"
Xiqiu didn’t know how Tong Xihua found out, but she couldn’t hide it anymore. She shook her head and replied, "No."
Tong Xihua’s breathing was irregular, clearly very angry. Her gaze was cold as she glanced at Nanny Qian and the others and then said to Nanny Lin beside her, "Take a few maids and go find her, but keep it low-key, don’t alarm anyone else!"
Nanny Lin nodded in agreement. She selected a few maids and was about to leave when, from afar, they saw Tong Xiyan coming through the main gate. Seeing both Tong Xihua and Xiqiu there, she looked puzzled and asked, "Big Sister hasn’t rested yet? What’s the matter?"
Tong Xihua didn’t look at her but instead shot a glance as sharp as an arrow toward the people beside her and asked Tong Xiyan, "Where did you go so late at night? You didn’t leave a word with the people around you. Do you not know that I and Sixth Sister were worried about you?!"
Tong Xiyan appeared apologetic, lowered her head, and said, "I just wanted to have a walk by myself and made Big Sister and Sixth Sister worry. I’m sorry!" Then she turned to the people beside her and said, "I ran into Miss Teng on my way, and she was worried about my safety alone, so she brought me back."
Xiqiu sighed inwardly and heard Teng Qiuniang curtly greet Tong Xihua, "Second Madam." She then half-bowed to Xiqiu: "Sixth Miss." Xiqiu returned the greeting blandly.
Tong Xihua coldly snickered at Teng Qiuniang and said, "Thank you so much, Miss Teng! The path is dark at night, so go back early. I will thank you properly someday!" She then didn’t give Teng Qiuniang time to reply and said to Nanny Lin, "Nanny, please escort her now. Make sure she doesn’t take a wrong turn!"
Nanny Lin responded loudly, "Yes, Madam. I understand, rest assured I won’t let Miss Teng take a wrong turn!" With that, she walked over to Teng Qiuniang, raised her hand slightly, and said, "Miss, please!"
Qiuping, who was nearby, laughed softly, and Qiuluo looked at Teng Qiuniang with disdainful eyes.
Teng Qiuniang’s face was difficult to look at, but she managed to force a sigh, lowered her head, and curtseyed to Tong Xihua, saying, "Thank you, Second Madam!" Then, taking her maids, she walked a few steps and suddenly stopped, taking a deep breath and turning to smile at Tong Xihua, saying, "Look at me, I almost forgot something. I met Second Young Master on the way, and he asked me to pass a message to Second Madam, saying he won’t come back tonight as he has matters to attend to." With that, she left without joining Nanny Lin, taking her maids joyously.
Tong Xihua stepped back a bit, fuming and gasping, pointed at Teng Qiuniang, speechless.
Xiqiu looked at Tong Xihua with concern and then let her gaze fall on her belly. Even if Tong Xiyan didn’t understand, she now knew what Teng Qiuniang implied. She was impatient, her eyes flushed, and hurriedly went to support Tong Xihua, "Big Sister, are you alright? I... I didn’t know she..."
Tong Xihua glared at her angrily, but upon seeing Tong Xiyan’s clear and innocent eyes, she let out a helpless sigh, waved her hand irritably, "Go rest; don’t run around unnecessarily anymore."
Tong Xiyan nodded, "I understand!"
"Sixth Sister, you’ve worked hard today. You should go back and rest early too." Tong Xihua’s face was very pale, supporting her waist as if she might collapse at any moment. Xiqiu looked at her and asked, "Big Sister, would you like me to fetch the Imperial Physician for you?"
"No need," Tong Xihua replied impatiently and started to leave with her maids, "You all rest now." With her back turned, she headed to the front courtyard without further ado.
Tong Xiyan looked worriedly at Tong Xihua’s back, and once she was gone, she turned to see Xiqiu, who sighed and said, "Fourth Sister, you should rest early too." Watching Xiqiu leave, Tong Xiyan finally couldn’t hold back her tears. Daijuan, who had narrowly survived, saw Tong Xiyan akin to a rebirth and semi-supported her, "Fourth Miss, go inside quickly; it’s chilly at night!"
Tong Xiyan nodded and instructed her, "Sixth Sister didn’t bring a cloak, give her mine."
Daijuan nodded and hurried back inside, retrieving a cloak and running to catch up with Xiqiu.
Meanwhile, when Tong Xihua returned to the room, Qiuping cautiously handed her tea and softly consoled her, "Second Madam, please calm down. Second Young Master is in the outer courtyard and couldn’t possibly rely on her to pass a message. She only intends to upset you; don’t fall into her trap."