CH 86

Chapter 86: Caught in a Net

Ren Yaoqi looked towards Zhu Ruoju, who was getting up from her bow.

The young girl in front of her had thick eyebrows and big eyes. Although she was far from the slender beauty that was popular nowadays, she still looked comfortable. Her eyes in particular looked very lively, so she must have been a cheerful person.

But today, those dynamic eyes looked a bit anxious and worried.

Seeing that Ren Yaoqi was accompanied by several maidservants, Zhu Ruoju did not speak up immediately. Only when Ren Yaoqi had dismissed all the maidservants around her did Zhu Ruju say urgently, “Fifth Miss, do you know where my brother is?”

When Ren Yaoqi heard this, her heart also went cold.

“How long has it been since your brother went back?”

Zhu Ruju’s face went white as she murmured, “Do you not know his whereabouts either, Fifth Miss? That day after he returned from Baihe Town, he explained to me and my mother that he had something to do and needed to go away for a few days. Originally the promise is that he would return in three days at the latest, but I don’t expect it’s already the sixth day and he’s still missing.”

Sure enough, he hasn’t come back since that trip to Jizhou? But where did he go?

“Fifth Miss, do you know what he has gone to do? We were afraid that Mrs. Zhu would worry, so we only said that Ruomei had taken a short job and would not be able to return until some time later. But paper can’t wrap up fire, if Ruomei never returns, this…” Mrs. Yuan was also full of sad clouds.

Ren Yaoqi sighed lightly and said to Mrs. Yuan and Zhu Ruju: “Zhu Ruomei has gone on an errand for me, so he should be back in two or three days. I will send someone to look for him, and I will definitely give you an explanation.”

Mrs. Yuan said, “Why don’t you let my family, Dayong, go and look for him? He has known Ruomei for many years and is very familiar with him. If Ruomei encountered something difficult on the road, there might be some mark left behind.”

Ren Yaoqi was thinking about who to send to look for him, but when she mentioned Yuan Dayong, Ren Yaoqi recalled his face in mind and nodded, “It would be better if that’s the case, so ask Yuan Dayong to come into the house and I will give him tell him.”

“Alright, I’ll let my family’s head go and call him in.” Mrs. Yuan bowed and hurriedly went away.

When Ren Yaoqi saw Zhu Ruoju standing there in a daze, she walked over and said softly, “I’m sorry. I originally thought that he had finished his work and gone back to Yunyang City, but in the past few days, he hadn’t delivered any news. Before I thought that something was wrong and was about to send someone to Yunyang City to ask about it.”

Although Zhu Ruoju looked dark, she shook her head and said clearly, “My brother always says that a drop of water needs to be repaid with a spring. Fifth Miss, your kindness saved my mother’s life. If we were to do something for you, we would have no complaints even if we had to risk our lives.”

Hearing these words, Ren Yaoqi felt even more guilty.

As she did not know when Yuan Dayong would arrive, Ren Yaoqi invited Zhu Ruoju to sit with her and ordered the maid to serve some tea.

Both of them were worried about Zhu Ruomei’s whereabouts, so they chatted a little absent-mindedly.

Another report came in to say that Mrs. Yuan had brought Yuan Dayong and was waiting at the Yiran Pavilion, so Ren Yaoqi immediately got up and went outside with Zhu Ruoju following her.

When they arrived at the Yiran Pavilion outside the second gate, Mrs. Yuan and Yuan Dayong had indeed arrived.

Ren Yaoqi sent all the maidservants far away and said to Yuan Dayong, “Zhu Ruomei has gone to Jizhou this time to help me with a personal matter. You go in the direction of Jizhou to find out where he is.”

“Fifth Miss, may I ask if there is any danger in this matter…?” Yuan Dayong hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively, “Oh, I am not being greedy for life and death by asking you this, Zhu Ruomei and I are brothers in arms, he had disappeared and I am bound to go and find him. It’s just that if this matter is dangerous, I will be a little more careful to take precautions.”

Mrs. Yuan and Zhu Ruogu also looked over nervously. It seemed that they both thought that Zhu Ruomei had gone on some dangerous errand.

Even so, the members of the Yuan Family are still willing to help find Zhu Ruomei, which is admirable.

Ren Yaoqi thought about it and shook his head: “Although what I asked him to do is a bit secretive and needs to be kept hidden, it is not dangerous. Looking at the situation, he should have completed what I entrusted him with.”

Yuan Dayong nodded thoughtfully, “I understand, then I will be more subtle on the journey to find him.”

Ren Yaoqi shook his head, “Finding him is the most important thing. You can handle it on your time. If you encounter any difficulties, don’t be brave. Come back and tell me immediately, and I will find a way.”

Yuan Dayong glanced at Ren Yaoqi at his words and bowed even more respectfully, “Yes, Fifth Miss, I understand. I wonder if Fifth Miss has any other orders.”

Ren Yaoqi spoke to him again about some clues before letting him go out of the house to look for someone.

“Fifth Miss, I will also go back to Yunyang City first. My mother is still staying there, and I don’t feel comfortable with her being alone.” Zhu Ruoju came up and said.

Ren Yaoqi nodded and said in a warm voice, “Take good care of your mother, and I will keep an eye on your brother’s affairs. When there is news, I will have someone go and tell you.”

Zhu Ruoju said thank you and left with Mrs. Yuan.

Ren Yaoqi’s original joy of successfully scheming the Han Family was gone. She was worried about Zhu Ruomei, but she really couldn’t figure out where he went.

He had done what she had given him to do, and the Han Family hadn’t caught anyone so far.

Baihe Town was at least a day and a night’s journey away from Jizhou, news would not come quickly, so nothing was said for the rest of the day.

On the third day, Yuan Dayong finally returned, and Ren Yaoqi headed out as soon as she heard the news.

As soon as she heard the news, she went outside. When Ren Yaoqi was about to reach the Yiran Pavilion, she saw Yuan Dayong walking back and forth in the pavilion with his head bowed and his arms in his hands, seemingly agitated.

Ren Yaoqi walked over to him and sent the maids outside the pavilion as usual.

Yuan Dayong hurriedly came forward to salute.

“Any news yet?” Ren Yaoqi asked succinctly.

Yuan Dayong shook his head in frustration, but after thinking about it, he nodded again, looking torn and embarrassed.

Ren Yaoqi frowned: “What does this mean?”

Yuan Dayong said, “I followed Fifth Miss’s directions and went in pursuit of Zhu Ruomei, but I couldn’t find him. It wasn’t until I reached in Jizhou, near the Han Family village you described, that I met someone else who, like me, was hunting for Zhu Ruomei. Others may not recognise Zhu Ruomei since his look has changed a lot in the image in their hands. But because I’d known him for a long time and had seen him in disguise, I knew right away that the guy they were looking for was Zhu Ruomei. I discovered that they belonged to the Han Family and that the person they were looking for was a robber who had stolen from their community.”

Ren Yaoqi was not surprised to hear this.

The Han Family must be trying to find the person who started this dispute, otherwise, Han Dongshan would not be able to wash his hands in the Yellow River.

It was also clear that Zhu Ruomei had not fallen into the hands of the Han Family.

“Then I think something was srong, so I didn’t ask any more questions, but went back to the house to listen Fifth Miss’ orders.” Yuan Dayong said, “But, for some reason, when I was about to enter town, I noticed someone looked to be trailing behind me. I was so startled that I purposefully took that individual through the town’s narrow streets and alleyways, and managed to get rid of him.”

Ren Yaoqi frowned. Could it be that the person Yuan Dayong said following him was from the Han Family? Is it because Yuan Dayong had asked about Zhu Ruomei before, so he was noticed?

Then Yuan Dayong continued, “But after I got rid of those people and intended to enter the Ren Family, someone just threw this out at my feet from who-knows-where.”

With that, Yuan Dayong took out from his sleeve an ordinary brown hairband used by men to tie their hair, with a three-inch wide note tied to it.

The brown hair tie looked somewhat similar to the short brown fabric that Zhu Ruomei had been wearing the last time he had come. Ren Yaoqi’s face turned ugly.

The person who would do this was certainly not Zhu Ruomei herself.

It seems that Yuan Dayong may have been followed by someone, and Zhu Ruomei’s disappearance may have something to do with this person. But is this person someone from the Han Family?

“What was written on the note?” Ren Yaoqi asked in a very calm voice.

The matter has come to this point, only soldiers were capable to stop it.

As long as Zhu Ruomei was still alive, then there was still room for everything.

Yuan Dayong carefully untied the hair rope, while saying, “I was shocked just now and was afraid that someone was watching, so I picked it up and ran away without opening it.”

As he said this, Yuan Dayong had already opened the slip of paper and glanced at it in passing before handing it to Ren Yaoqi: “Huh? It’s a poem?”

Ren Yaoqi reached out and took it.

Sure enough, the note had a poem written on it in neat regular script, “Caught in a net.” Ren Yaoqi unconsciously read it out softly.