MCSCPM -Chapter 319 Hai Qingshuang Goes Missing

The next day.

Grand Tutor Hai got up early in the morning, originally planning to go to the palace. However, after waiting for quite some time, he still did not see his daughter come over.

Normally, at this hour, his daughter would already be here to pay her morning respects.

He waited for a long while longer, holding a teacup in his hands. It was already getting late, yet Hai Qingshuang still had not come. He began to wonder—what was going on?

“Someone come here,” he called, summoning a servant.

The servant asked, “Master, what is it?”

“Where is the young miss? Why hasn’t she come yet?”

“Well… this servant doesn’t know. How about I go and ask the young miss to come over?” the servant said, preparing to look for Hai Qingshuang.

But Grand Tutor Hai stopped him. Setting his teacup aside, he stood up and said, “I’ll go myself. I don’t know if Frost has fallen ill.”

With that, he headed toward the rear courtyard, thinking to himself: Could his daughter be sick? But if she were ill, Lan Xin should have come to inform him at least.

When he arrived at the back courtyard, his daughter’s room was tightly shut, and Lan Xin was standing outside. She looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept all night. From time to time, she glanced ahead as though waiting for something, clearly nervous and worried.

At that moment, when she saw Grand Tutor Hai walking over, Lan Xin’s whole body trembled. She became flustered and panicked, looking as though she was about to cry.

Seeing her like this, Grand Tutor Hai thought it strange. Lan Xin was usually calm—why was she acting so oddly today? He had a bad feeling that something had happened to his daughter.

He hurried over and asked, “Where is the young miss?”

“The young miss… she… she…” Lan Xin stammered, tongue-tied, unable to explain anything clearly.

“What’s wrong with you today? Hurry up and tell me—where has the young miss gone?”

“The young miss… she’s sleeping inside.”

“Sleeping? At this hour?” As Grand Tutor Hai spoke, he moved to go inside. Just as his hand touched the door, Lan Xin stopped him.

Lan Xin stood blocking the doorway, her face pale, eyes full of panic as she said, “Master, aren’t you supposed to go to the palace? The young miss isn’t feeling well and is resting. You’d better… not go in.”

“Why are you so nervous?” he asked.

“I… I’m not.”

“Nonsense. When have I ever seen you so flustered?” Grand Tutor Hai looked at her suspiciously, then said, “Could it be… that the young miss isn’t inside at all?”

Lan Xin’s body shook violently. She hurriedly said, “She is! The young miss is inside! She really isn’t feeling well and just fell asleep.”

Anyone could see that Lan Xin was acting strangely. In the past, she would never have stopped him from entering. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. Grand Tutor Hai pushed her aside.

“Master, don’t go in!” Lan Xin cried. But she was only a young woman and could not resist his strength.

The door was pushed open forcefully. Grand Tutor Hai went straight to the bed, but he did not see his daughter. Unwilling to give up, he lifted the quilt—still no one.

“Frost? Frost?” he called several times, but there was no sign of Hai Qingshuang.

Lan Xin ran in, her face filled with terror. Since the young miss had gone out yesterday, she had not returned. Lan Xin was just a maid; she didn’t dare tell Grand Tutor Hai, fearing punishment. She had thought that once daylight came, the young miss would surely return. Who would have thought that even at this hour, Hai Qingshuang was still missing?

Grand Tutor Hai exploded with anger and turned his fury on Lan Xin, shouting, “Speak! Where did the young miss go?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“If you don’t speak, believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death!”

Lan Xin suddenly burst into tears and knelt on the ground, trembling all over. Lowering her head, she said urgently, “Master, Lan Xin truly doesn’t know. Yesterday, after the young miss left, she told me to guard the courtyard. I never expected that even by this morning she still wouldn’t be back. I really don’t know where the young miss went. If I did, even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn’t dare deceive you.”

Hearing this, Grand Tutor Hai was shocked. When had his daughter become like this—sneaking out and not returning all night?

“Do you really not know?” he asked.

“I really don’t know, Master. You must believe me. Yesterday the young miss left in a hurry. I asked her, but she didn’t say anything,” Lan Xin cried.

At first, Grand Tutor Hai was furious and deeply disappointed, shaking his head. But soon, worry overtook him. A young woman with no means of self-defense, out all night—had something happened to her?

Thinking of this, his steps faltered. He staggered backward and collapsed into a chair, murmuring, “Could something have happened to Frost?”

Hearing this, Lan Xin became terrified. She cried, “It’s all Lan Xin’s fault, all my fault! I’ll go look for the young miss right away. I’ll bring her back!”

“Enough. Someone come here,” Grand Tutor Hai called, summoning several servants.

When the servants entered, they saw Lan Xin kneeling on the ground crying and Grand Tutor Hai slumped in a chair, his face full of anger. None of them dared to speak.

Grand Tutor Hai ordered, “Send people out immediately. Even if you have to search the entire capital, you must find the young miss.”

So the young miss was missing—no wonder the master was so furious, the servants thought.

Grand Tutor Hai let out a heavy sigh, supported himself as he walked toward the door, and then instructed, “You few, lock Lan Xin in the woodshed. She couldn’t even keep watch over the young miss.” He glared at Lan Xin and said harshly, “If anything happens to the young miss, I’ll hold you responsible.”

With that, Grand Tutor Hai left. That day, he no longer had any desire to go to the palace and had to claim illness to excuse himself.

The entire Hai residence was mobilized to search for Hai Qingshuang. She was Grand Tutor Hai’s daughter—if they failed to find her, everyone would suffer the consequences.

Lan Xin was locked in the woodshed. One of the servants escorting her said, “Miss Lan Xin, honestly, how could you lose even the young miss? No wonder the master is so angry. You’d better pray that the young miss returns safely—otherwise, you might really be beaten to death by the master.”

“Please let me out. I want to go look for the young miss. I know I was wrong. I’m really worried about her too. Please, let me out,” Lan Xin begged.

“Let you out now? Then I’d be courting death. Miss Lan Xin, you’d better stay here. Everyone in the residence is already out looking for the young miss.”

“But—”

“And if the young miss comes back safely, she might beg the master to spare you. Otherwise… sigh,” the servant said, shaking his head. He closed the woodshed door and locked it.

Lan Xin cried endlessly, kneeling on the ground with her hands clasped, praying, “Bodhisattva, I beg you—please don’t let anything happen to the young miss! Even if it costs me years of my life, I’m willing.”

She knocked her head hard on the ground three times.

In truth, Lan Xin was pitiful too. She was merely a servant; when her young miss gave orders, she could not disobey.

The Hai residence began searching for Hai Qingshuang, combing every corner of the capital. By evening, there was still no news, and Hai Qingshuang had not returned. The longer it went on and the darker the sky became, the more anxious Grand Tutor Hai grew. He waited all day in the front courtyard, rubbing his hands and pacing back and forth.

Soon, a servant ran back, panting and out of breath.

Grand Tutor Hai hurriedly asked, “How is it? Any news of the young miss?”

“Master, not yet. We’ve searched all the places the young miss might go, but there’s still no news.”

“Still nothing? Then why aren’t you out searching?”

“I told them to keep searching. I was afraid you’d be worried, so I came back to report.”

Grand Tutor Hai was not only anxious but deeply fearful. Never before had he felt such panic. He had only one daughter—if something happened to her, how could he live with himself as her father?

“Hurry and go search again. If you can’t find her in the city, search the outskirts. You must bring the young miss back safe and sound.”

“Yes, sir,” the servant replied, not daring to delay, and rushed out again.

Sweat broke out on Grand Tutor Hai’s palms, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he silently prayed that his daughter would be safe.

Meanwhile, Yin Qingyue, worried about Chu Jingcheng’s safety, decided to go to Prince Jing’s residence again that night. If yesterday’s medicine hadn’t worked, she would need to quickly prepare new medicinal powder—she could not allow anything to happen to Chu Jingcheng.

After finishing her chores, she prepared to head out, only to run into Aunt Zhao again. Aunt Zhao was carrying a pile of clothes to wash. Seeing Yin Qingyue, she didn’t ask much and didn’t seem surprised.

She said, “If you’re going out tonight, come back early. If it gets too late, it’s not safe for a woman—even if you’re unattractive, you still need to be careful.”

Yin Qingyue smiled and replied, “Don’t worry, Aunt Zhao. I’ll be back quickly—before we close up.”

Aunt Zhao said nothing more and left with the clothes.

Thankfully, Aunt Zhao didn’t stop her. Yin Qingyue planned to be quick. When she arrived at Prince Jing’s residence, she entered again through the back gate.

Leng Feng seemed to know she was coming. He dismissed the others and stood guard alone outside Chu Jingcheng’s room. When he saw Yin Qingyue, he wasn’t surprised, only asking, “Miss Yin, why did you suddenly come?”

“I’m worried about Prince Jing. How is he? Is he any better? Did the medicinal powder from yesterday have any effect?”

“He’s already applied it. The wound looks much better now, but the fever hasn’t subsided yet, so he hasn’t woken up. The physician came today and said the fever should go down tomorrow—there shouldn’t be any danger. Miss Yin, your medicinal powder works very well.”

“As long as he’s fine, I can rest easy,” Yin Qingyue said with a sigh of relief.

Leng Feng looked at her and said, “By the way, Miss Yin, the prince still hasn’t woken up. Do you want to go in and see him again?”

“No need. I won’t go in. Take good care of your prince. If anything happens, I’ll come over,” she said, handing Leng Feng a packet of fresh medicinal powder. “Keep this. I’m worried it might be needed later.”

Yin Qingyue looked ready to leave. Leng Feng quickly said, “Miss Yin, are you really not going to go in and see the prince?”

She hesitated. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him—she was afraid she would feel heartbroken, afraid she wouldn’t be able to let go. That feeling was like someone cutting into her flesh with a knife—agonizing and painful.