Chapter 125: The Heavenly Character Token

  It was just past the hour of Xu, and Qin Zongwen sat at his desk, exhausted, with the Qi family's name tag clutched in his hand. Although several lamps were lit inside the house, he still felt that he couldn't see clearly, couldn't see the Qi family's attitude clearly.

  Although something happened at home, he still made thorough preparations and didn't let the servants spread it around. Except for a few people who already knew that Qin Dai had an accident, he kept everyone else in the dark and only secretly found a few reliable people to go out and look for her. Although they couldn't find her, what he was more worried about was that the Qi family would find out something they shouldn't know.

  It stands to reason that the Qis having a late dinner at this time is a good thing, but for some reason, he feels anxious in his heart and has an ominous premonition. Could it be that San Yaotou really had an accident? This is not what he wants to see.

  This third daughter has never been a source of comfort. He rarely inquires about household matters, but that doesn't mean he's unaware of everything. His own third daughter has always been a handful, with a temperament that has never pleased him. However, since she was born to Su Shi, and he owes Su Shi a debt of gratitude, he can't help but indulge her a bit. This indulgence has led her to open a dye house. Her arrogance is one thing, but not knowing when to restrain herself in public has made people laugh at them. His wife is also narrow-minded, always resentful of his kindness towards this girl, and with the old lady's favoritism, he gradually lost interest in caring for her. The father-daughter relationship can never go back to what it was before.

  Qin Dai's heart was delicate and lovely when she was a child, among several girls, her appearance was the most outstanding. Not only did she inherit her birth mother Su Shi's appearance, but also inherited some of his eyebrows and eyes, this child is very good at growing, specializing in picking up parents' advantages, born like a jade doll, making people love her.

  As she grew older, she gradually came to understand the difference between birth order and social status, and realized that there were some things she would never be able to attain in her lifetime. From then on, this child's temperament changed.

  From then on, he and Su's emotional connection could no longer be used to plead for the child. He was thoroughly disappointed in her!

  Every time something happens to her, he still feels a little guilty.

  It's like now.

  In order to marry the daughter of the Qi family, he missed the best opportunity to find San Yatou. What can those few servants in the mansion do? Can't they still rely on the government to send catchers to have a clue? However, for the sake of the Qin family's reputation, he did not report the case. It was that time again, this child was injured by a frightened horse on his way back from worshiping and fell into a coma for more than a month, several times almost didn't wake up, wasn't it also not deeply investigated, but let her mother send her to the villa?

  This child has suffered so much hardship; could he really be born with a calamity?

  At this moment, the door of the study was gently pushed open, and Fang Wanting walked in with a bowl of steaming dumplings.

  "Master, don't be so troubled. The Qi family didn't say it clearly, but the mansion has an urgent matter and can't get away from it, that's why they missed the appointment!" Fang Wanru saw Qin Congwen tightly grasping the Qi family's name card, thinking he was worried about this matter, and hurriedly spoke to comfort him. She placed the tray on the desk and softly said: "Master, have something to eat! Just now I saw you were distracted and didn't eat much, take care of your body." Fang Wanru had intentionally changed into a peacock blue flower-patterned waist skirt with a gold-thread embroidered auspicious cloud pattern shoe. The shoes were exquisitely crafted, with intricate embroidery, and two fire-red tassels sewn at the toe, very distinctive. Today she had styled her hair in an extremely luxurious peony hairstyle, with golden hairpins, phoenix hairpins, and a full head of flowers, pearls, and jade, with a tinkling sound from the ornaments on her body. The whole person looked like they had added several points of elegance compared to usual.

  Qin saw her dressed like this, and for a moment, he seemed to have returned to twenty years ago. Fang Wanru was then in the prime of youth, as delicate as a flower. In the blink of an eye, more than 20 years had passed, she had given birth to three children for him, took care of the whole family, her youthful face no longer existed, and her figure was not as slender as when she was young. However, as the original daughter of an official's family who married into a merchant's family and was so virtuous, it could also be considered his good fortune.

  Thinking of this, Qin Congwen's eyes suddenly became fiery, and his gaze at Fang Wanyu had an extra hint of impropriety.

  Fang Wanru had been his wife for over twenty years, how could she not understand the meaning in his eyes? She was still in her prime, and Qin Zongwen rarely stayed in her room on ordinary days. Even when he did, they mostly slept separately, unable to satisfy their desires. Now that this scoundrel had such thoughts, how could it not delight her?

  As she thought of this, Fang Wanru picked up the bowl of dumplings and gently scooped one out with a spoon. She blew on it lightly and then presented it to Qin Zongwen, saying: "Sir, please have some, be careful not to burn yourself."

  Qin Chuwen only felt a strong and pleasant osmanthus fragrance coming towards him, the hand holding the spoon was well-maintained, white and slender, it couldn't be seen that she should have this at her age. Looking again at Fang Wanyu's eyes, he only felt bright and moving, like a spring water. That year, she looked at him with such eyes, making people feel like they were looking at a hero who was unparalleled in the world, the interpretation of which had only two words: "worship".

  Qin Congwen only felt a heat in his throat, and with a gurgle, he swallowed what was not the dumpling that had been brought to his lips. He no longer had any appetite for dumplings now. He hastily grabbed Fang Wanru's hand, startling her into a soft "ah", and the spoon clattered onto the desk, while the dumpling slid and stuck to the famous plaque of the Qi manor, ironically.

  Qin Chongwen was already impatient with the fire, where could he still care about these things, and picked up Fang Wanyu in front of him, striding towards a small room inside the study. This small room was simply decorated, originally for Qin Chongwen to rest when he was on duty at night, but unexpectedly it came in handy today.

  Although Fang Wanru knew that this behavior was improper, she was like a flower that had not been nourished by rain for a long time and was about to wither away. Seeing the sweet rain in sight, where would she still think of the two words "dignity"?

  The two of them crawled into the tent and soon rolled into a ball...

  Xue Qing learned from Yan Shi that Qin Dai Xin had an accident, and she was so anxious that she couldn't calm down. The two of them walked and talked, and soon they came up with a plan. Yan Shi returned to Chang Xiao Garden to pay attention to the movements in the mansion, to see if there were any extortion letters or news about Qin Dai Xin being kidnapped. Xue Qing, on the other hand, left the mansion that night and went directly to find the master's undercover agent in Taizhou to look for clues.

  Xue Qing was in a humble outhouse at the back of "Chen's Grocery Store". The interior was simply decorated with only one table and four stools. On the table, there was a rough and inferior tea set. To the left, there was a large kang (a type of bed) covered with a blue-and-white striped quilt made of indigo-dyed fabric. Against the wall stood a low cabinet, no more than half a meter high, on which several colorful quilts were stacked.

  Xue Qing was now wearing a crisp and neat outfit, with a dark-colored, tight-sleeved short shirt on top, made of thick and durable material that was practical though not fancy. On the bottom, she wore yellow velvet pants, with a cyan-colored, knee-length apron tied outside, and a same-color pleated belt wrapped around her waist. The short collar and simple adornments made for a robust outfit.

  The people of Daxia are open-minded and have a strong cultural atmosphere, and some women occasionally wear trousers. For example, every autumn, many noblewomen would dress up in riding attire and go hunting with the men in their families.

  Xue Qing restlessly paced back and forth in the house, feeling very anxious. She secretly prayed that Miss would not have any accidents, otherwise how could she explain to Master?

  At this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a middle-aged man wearing a gray cotton gown with a purple waistband walked in. Xue Qing took a step forward as soon as she saw him, "How is it, have you got any news?"

  At this time, if Qin Daiyu was present, she would be shocked. Isn't this the shopkeeper who had troubled Xue Baochai and her mother on the street that day?

  "I've got the news, someone found a clue near an old temple on a desolate mountain over 50 miles away." He was panting heavily, obviously having rushed here without stopping.

  Xue Qing was shocked, "How did you end up running up the mountain? What's going on? Tell me slowly."

  That person hastily poured a cup of water, and after drinking it all in one gulp, said: "It just looks like that, but I don't dare to confirm. There are two masters on the other side, so the scout didn't dare get too close. It seems like there's not just one person in the temple, maybe there's also a girl who was tied up."

  Xue Qing furrowed her brow, and there was another one.

  "Could it be a mistake?"

  That man raised an eyebrow, his intelligence had always been the most accurate, never made a mistake, even the master had never doubted him, how could this "Xuan" level little maid dare to question the accuracy of his intelligence?

  "To be honest, I don't believe your intelligence is wrong either. But this person is precious, if something happens to her, I'm afraid tying all of you up together wouldn't even be enough for her funeral." Xue Qing knew what he was thinking, the situation was urgent, and it would be better to directly tell him how important this person was rather than having everyone squeeze in here.

  That person listened and didn't dare to be careless, so he thought about the scout's words carefully before drawing a conclusion. "Don't worry, it must be him for sure. The way that person is dressed and looks exactly like what you described."

  Xue Qing didn't care about much else, thinking that at least it was a lead, better than having no leads and searching randomly everywhere. After all, people of the "di" level weren't someone ordinary people could compare to in terms of efficiency, Master's intelligence network had always been his trump card, able to be used at critical moments. If even they couldn't be relied on, then she really didn't know who to turn to for help.

  "All right, you arrange for ten people to come with me and also call that scout who gathered the information to go together. With more people, things can be handled better, and there are people familiar with the situation and terrain, so it should be possible to rescue them quickly."

  "What? Ten people? What kind of 'ground' level scout camp are you running? Are they just cabbage from the market?"

  "What's going on here?" Xue Qing pulled out a yellow token the size of a palm from her waist and said with an air of authority, "Don't even mention ten people, the entire 'Di' level scouting camp has to listen to me." She then flashed the token in front of the person.

  That person was stunned, he never thought that this little girl at the Xuanzi level could take out a "Tian" character command token! He said: "You wait, I'll call someone right away." After finishing speaking, he turned around and ran out of the house, his face burning with anxiety.

  P.S: It's late today, sorry about that. The sunshine is just right, taking the kids out for a walk!