MCSCPM -Chapter 323 Returning to the Hai Residence

Not long after Prince Yi was knocked unconscious, the guards of Prince Yi’s residence discovered him. Everyone was terrified and hurriedly helped the prince back into the room.

One of the guards was about to summon a physician, but another guard stopped him.
“His Highness was attacked, but it doesn’t look serious. If you call a physician, won’t the whole matter become public? If the prince finds out, he’ll kill you.”

Hearing this, the guard felt it made sense and backed off. “But His Highness is unconscious—what if something happens to him?”

“I already checked. The prince is fine and not injured. He was probably knocked out by pressure on an acupoint. Hurry and have someone wipe his face. We’ll wait for him to wake up before deciding anything.”

“All right.”

Soon, everyone withdrew. No one noticed that Chu Yifeng had itching powder sprinkled on him—after all, the powder was white and quickly absorbed into the body.

The entire Prince Yi’s residence was in chaos, yet no one dared make a fuss, nor did they dare summon a physician. Everything had to wait until their prince woke up.

But in this world, there are no walls that don’t leak. Even if the guards kept silent, that didn’t mean the servants and maids would do the same. Too many eyes had seen too much.

The next day.

To avoid being discovered by the inn’s staff, Yin Qingyue got up early and took Hai Qingshuang out of the inn.

She hired a carriage and instructed Hai Qingshuang, “Miss Hai, I won’t tell anyone about what happened yesterday, so don’t worry. Once you’re home, rest well and try to forget about it.”

“Miss Yin, you’re a good person. If it weren’t for you, I really don’t know what would have happened to me. Thank you. If I ever get the chance, I’ll surely repay you.”

“I helped you partly because I was also helping Prince Jing,” Yin Qingyue said. “So there’s no need to thank me. It’s getting late—hurry back, or your father will truly worry.”

“Mm. I’ll come look for you again when I have the chance.”

Yin Qingyue smiled and helped Hai Qingshuang into the carriage. But at that moment, Hai Qingshuang’s body suddenly stiffened. Her gaze fixed on something in the distance, her expression turning tense, her grip on Yin Qingyue’s hand tightening.

Yin Qingyue followed her line of sight. The street was crowded, and she couldn’t tell whom Hai Qingshuang was looking at.

“Miss Hai, it’s late. You should leave now,” Yin Qingyue urged.

Ignoring Hai Qingshuang’s stiffness, she guided her into the carriage and told the driver a street near the Hai residence, without directly naming it.

Inside the carriage, Hai Qingshuang lifted the curtain, still searching anxiously in that same direction. The usual coldness in her eyes was gone, replaced by urgency and agitation.

Who had she seen? Who could make Hai Qingshuang so anxious and emotional? Yin Qingyue thought carefully—could Prince Ling have returned to the capital?

But since she hadn’t actually seen anyone and didn’t know Prince Ling herself, Yin Qingyue didn’t dwell on it. She watched the carriage leave before returning to the inn, finally at ease.

Half an hour later, at the Hai residence.

Hai Taifu had gone two days without rest. Worried sick about his daughter, he had no mind for anything else—not even attending court. He stayed in the residence all day, waiting for news.

He thought to himself that if something had truly happened to his daughter, he wouldn’t want to live either. His wife had passed away early, and he had raised his daughter alone, both father and mother to her, watching her grow into a graceful young woman. If something happened to her now, even if he died, he wouldn’t have the face to meet his wife in the afterlife.

Before long, a shout came from the front gate:
“Master! Master! The young lady is back! The young lady is back!”

The voice carried all the way inside. Hai Taifu’s heart jolted, his face lighting up with joy. He rushed forward and saw his daughter entering through the main gate. Tears welled up in his eyes as he grabbed Hai Qingshuang’s hand and asked anxiously, “Shuang’er, where have you been these past few days? Do you know how worried your father has been?”

Seeing her father in tears, Hai Qingshuang couldn’t hold back either. She cried guiltily, “Father, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone out on my own, and I shouldn’t have kept it from you. You can scold me or punish me however you want.”

“Silly child,” Hai Taifu said, choking up. “As long as you came back safely, that’s enough for me. What could be more important than you? If something had happened to you, I wouldn’t have lived either. Thank goodness… thank goodness you’re back. Your mother must have been watching over you.”

“Father, I’m sorry for always making you worry. I promise it won’t happen again,” Hai Qingshuang said, wiping her tears as she threw herself into his arms. Truly, nothing in this world was warmer than a family’s embrace.

Hai Taifu held her tightly, finally letting out a long breath of relief. “It’s good that you’re back. It’s good that you’re back.”

He gently pushed her back and looked her over from head to toe, anxiety returning to his face. “Shuang’er, where exactly did you go? Were you hurt?”

“I just… just went out for a walk. I didn’t go anywhere special. When I realized Father was searching for me, I hurried back. It’s all my fault.”

“All right, all right. It’s not your fault—it’s Father who failed to keep a proper eye on you.”

“Father…”

“You must be exhausted. Go rest now.”

Hai Qingshuang said nothing more. She was afraid that if her father kept questioning her, the truth about Prince Yi abducting her would come out. So she obediently returned to her room.

However, the one attending her was not Lanxin, but a maid named Xiaoju, who usually worked in the back courtyard. For some reason, she had been reassigned to serve Hai Qingshuang.

After a while, not seeing Lanxin anywhere, Hai Qingshuang asked, “Where is Lanxin? Why isn’t she here?”

Xiaoju hesitated before replying, “This… Miss, it’s better if you don’t know.”

“What do you mean? Did something happen to Lanxin?”

“No, Miss, don’t overthink it.”

“Tell me—where is Lanxin?” Hai Qingshuang demanded sternly.

Xiaoju hesitated again, then finally said, “When you went missing, the master was extremely worried. He kept questioning Lanxin, but she insisted she didn’t know anything. So the master locked her in the woodshed. She’s still there and doesn’t know you’ve returned yet.”

“The woodshed?” Hai Qingshuang was shocked. She hadn’t expected her disappearance to implicate Lanxin.

She immediately decided to go find her, but Xiaoju tried to stop her. “Miss, you’d better not go. The master said he wouldn’t let Lanxin out.”

“I’m back safely now. Lanxin shouldn’t suffer because of this,” Hai Qingshuang said, pushing past her and heading toward the back courtyard.

At the woodshed, she saw a servant standing guard.

When he saw the young lady return, he was overjoyed. “Miss, you’re finally back!”

“Where is Lanxin?”

“Inside,” he replied, pointing to the woodshed.

Hai Qingshuang said coldly, “Open the door. I’m taking her away.”

The servant looked troubled. “Miss, the master said without his orders, Lanxin can’t be released. Please don’t make things hard for me.”

“I’m not making things hard for you. Open the door—I’ll speak to my father myself.”

“But…”

“Are you refusing to listen to me as well?” Hai Qingshuang snapped.

The servant was torn. Offending the young lady or offending the master—either choice was dangerous.

Just then, another servant hurried over. “The master just said to release Lanxin.”

Hearing this, the guard finally relaxed and quickly opened the door.

The moment it opened, Hai Qingshuang rushed inside and saw Lanxin curled up on a pile of straw. The noise startled her awake. She slowly sat up, and when she saw her mistress, she burst into tears.

“Miss? Is that really you?”

“It’s me,” Hai Qingshuang said, helping her up. “You silly girl—why didn’t you just say I ordered you to do it?”

Lanxin looked at her, tears streaming down her face. “As long as Miss is back safely, that’s enough. I’ve been hoping every day these past two days that you’d return. Now that you’re safe, I’m relieved. It’s my fault—I should have gone with you.”

“All right, stop talking. Let me get you out of here first.”

Hai Qingshuang led her out of the woodshed. Because Hai Taifu believed Lanxin knew Hai Qingshuang’s whereabouts, he had ordered servants to beat her until she confessed. As a result, she was covered in wounds of all sizes.

As Hai Qingshuang applied medicine to Lanxin’s wrists, she asked softly, “Does it still hurt?”

“No, it doesn’t hurt anymore—not at all,” Lanxin said, shaking her head vigorously.

Hai Qingshuang didn’t want to say anything more. Too many things had happened over these past days—just thinking about them made her feel sick.

Lanxin suddenly asked, “Miss, where did you go these past few days? The master searched for you everywhere. Where did he find you in the end?”

“Don’t ask. It’s already over.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just know that I’m fine and I’m back safely.”

Seeing that her mistress didn’t want to talk about it, Lanxin didn’t press further.

Deep down, Hai Qingshuang didn’t want to face that incident. Prince Yi had nearly violated her—the scene replayed endlessly in her mind, as if Chu Yifeng’s hands were still on her. All she felt now was disgust, overwhelming disgust.

Suddenly, she turned to Xiaoju and said, “Xiaoju, I want to bathe now.”

“Yes, Miss. I’ll prepare it right away.”

After tending to Lanxin’s injuries, Hai Qingshuang went to bathe. She immersed herself in the water, wanting to scrub every inch of herself clean. Whenever she thought of Chu Yifeng touching her face, she shrank deeper into the tub, staying submerged for a long time.

She told herself she had to endure. Prince Yi was a beast in human skin—and sooner or later, he would face retribution.