"Bang!"
"Crash!"
"What happened?"
"Big... Big Miss... Big Miss is gone!"
"Shh... Are you trying to get yourself killed? Don't shout... Quickly find someone trustworthy to guard the palace gate. Once Master and Madam come out, report it to them immediately."
Their Second Miss had already gone missing once, and it was the Emperor and the Imperial Noble Consort who personally rescued her. If Big Miss goes missing again... they really don't dare to imagine the consequences.
"There's a word here? Two... two... what is it?"
On the table, there was a word carved by Big Miss with her hairpin. However, due to the urgency or lack of time, the horizontal stroke under the character "two" was drawn unusually long.
"Don't worry about what it is. We'll report it all to Master. Whatever we don't know, Master will definitely figure it out."
Lady Sun, carrying two of her most satisfactory portraits, happily boarded the carriage with Jiang Yanxi: "Our Xinyue... oh no! The Imperial Noble Consort, she really is as beautiful and kind-hearted as you described, Husband. Look... the son of the Commander of the Cavalry and the grandson of Princess Chengyun, one holds significant military power, the other is the most illustrious royal relative. Which one isn't better than the Su Family? That untrustworthy Lady Su, how dare she disdain my daughter? Her son has no opinions of his own, and I dislike him too!"
Jiang Yanxi unfolded the portraits and nodded in satisfaction: "They are also good-looking, not dragging down the good looks of our Jiang Family. Very good, very good..."
"Master!"
Just as they exited the palace, Jiang Yanxi was startled. The carriage curtain was hastily lifted, and Big Miss's personal maidservant, speaking in a hushed and anxious tone, was on the verge of tears: "Big Miss, Big Miss is gone. I just went to the kitchen to fetch the evening meal, and when I returned, Big Miss was no longer in the room."
Jiang Yanxi quickly jumped off the carriage: "What did you say? Big Miss is gone? Where are the guards? Are they all useless?"
Their entire family had entered the palace, but guards were left to protect Miss's courtyard. How could a person just disappear like that?
The maidservant was startled and replied in a trembling voice: "Three of the four guards were knocked out, and one went to the toilet."
Who would have thought that a well-educated young master from a prestigious family would commit such a despicable act as climbing over the wall to invade a lady's boudoir and abduct her?
Jiang Yankun and Lady Ruan came out after them. Seeing their carriage blocking the palace gate, they sent a servant to inquire about the situation. Jiang Yanxi quickly ran over: "Su Changlin... Su Changlin took Yunxia away. You say... could she have eloped with that weakling?"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Jiang Yankun lowered his voice and reprimanded: "Yunxia is gentle and quiet, though a bit weak-willed. But she is not someone who would do something so irrational as to elope and bring shame to the family. If the maidservant said there's a word 'two' carved on the table, she wouldn't have left a clue if she willingly eloped with Su Changlin. Hurry home and gather people to search for her. Don't let the matter escalate and ruin Yunxia's future."
This Su Changlin, who seemed decent before, how could he do something so disgraceful?
If Yunxia didn't want to leave with him and he forcibly took her away, isn't that the same as kidnapping?
"Should we inform the Noble Consort about this?"
Jiang Yanxi was worried about his daughter, but he also worried that if Jiang Xinyue didn't know about this and heard it from someone else later, she wouldn't be prepared.
Jiang Yankun nodded: "Let's talk about it after we find her. Xinyue is not having an easy time in the palace, and now she's pregnant. We can't keep troubling her with every little thing. That would just make us a burden to her."
She's been dominating the palace, eliminating all her enemies, and finally securing the Emperor's exclusive favor. If we keep having problems in the background, Jiang Yankun wouldn't allow it.
If Lady Sun can't manage the household and protect the two daughters, then he would suggest sending them back to the ancestral home.
Xinyue and the Sixth Prince cannot have any security risks around them.
At the Su Family's residence—
Lady Su only learned from her servants that Second Young Master Su was missing when she returned home. Along with him, some valuable jade pendants and jewelry from his room were also gone.
"This rebellious son, is he trying to..."
At first, she was furious, thinking that Jiang Yunxia hadn't even married into the family yet, and she had already lured her younger son into running away.
But the next moment, her expression changed to one of deep contemplation.
She knew her own son well; he would never leave alone.
To prove to his mother that his love was unbreakable, he would definitely take Jiang Yunxia with him to elope.
This would force her to compromise.
But that foolish boy didn't realize that a woman who eloped, even if found, could never be a proper wife again, only a concubine.
Even if she didn't marry into the Su Family, if she were betrothed to a scholar from a humble background, they would despise her for having eloped with a man.
Unless it was someone who wanted to climb the social ladder through connections, but such people, the Jiang Family wouldn't even consider.
Su Ruyue looked at her mother in confusion: "Mother, Brother is missing, why are you smiling? We should hurry and send people to find him! I promised Fourth Miss Pei that I would bring Brother along tomorrow to her house for a snow viewing and wine-drinking session."
Fourth Miss Pei was the Pei family girl who had been recently considered for a match with Second Young Master Su.
"What's the hurry?"
Lady Su said calmly: "The Pei family's status is high, but in recent years, as the Grand Secretary Pei ages, he has repeatedly been outmaneuvered by the Jiang Family, and the Emperor also intends for him to step down. The Pei family is no longer what it used to be. That Fourth Miss Pei still acts so arrogantly, looking down on our Su Family. Why are you so eager to curry favor with her? If she likes Second Young Master Su, we'll make sure she can't see him, to keep her interested. Once she marries into our family, we'll have a hold on her."
As for Jiang Yunxia...
If she didn't elope with Second Young Master Su, that would be fine. But if she really did elope with him, once they find the two, she would spread the news far and wide. Then Jiang Yunxia would have no choice but to become her son's concubine.
Having the daughter of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi as her son's concubine, she could hardly contain her laughter.
It's said that Governor Jiang would return to Guangdong after the New Year, and Lady Sun is a simple-minded woman. By then, wouldn't she be at her mercy?
In the future, whether the Pei family defeats the Jiang family or the Jiang family wins over the Pei family, their Su family, with the ties of marriage, would always remain unshakable.
"We need to hurry and arrange for someone..."
She waved her hand, summoning a servant from a distance: "Go to the Governor Jiang's residence and check if their Big Miss is still there. See if they've dispatched a large number of people to search. Spend money if needed, but we must get accurate information."
Bribing trusted servants is difficult, but if it's just outer courtyard staff, it's much simpler.
