Chapter 956: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Fan Meijiao had been kidnapped!
By the time news reached Old Madam Zhao at Baohua Temple and the Zhao Residence in the capital, it was already noon.
Old Madam Zhao had no heart to continue offering her prayers. She cried bitterly, then hurriedly packed her belongings and rushed back to the Zhao Residence with her maids and old servants, urging her son to find a way to rescue her granddaughter.
Zhao Fengnian, in his panic, wanted to go straight to the Jingzhao Office to seek their help in searching for his niece. However, he was stopped by Madam Zhao.
If it were a man who had been kidnapped, reporting to the authorities for help would be a good option. However, the one abducted was a young lady staying at the Zhao family’s residence. Whether it was for money or other motives, once word got out, her reputation would be ruined.
Even worse, it could tarnish the reputation of the Zhao family's own daughters, making it difficult for them to secure good marriages. Although Madam Zhao disliked Fan Meijiao and wished she would lose her good name and be unable to stay in the Zhao Residence, she still wouldn’t risk her own daughters’ reputations for it. She certainly wouldn’t allow Fan Meijiao to marry into the Mu family and show off in front of her.
Zhao Fengnian had acted impulsively out of urgency. When he realized that not only could they not report the matter to the authorities, but they also had to keep it tightly under wraps—especially from the Mu family—he became even more distressed, feeling as if his hair had turned several shades whiter. He racked his brain but could not come up with a good solution. In the end, he could only gather all the guards in the residence and send them to the forest where his niece had been abducted, hoping to find some clues to bring her back.
Unlike the powerful and wealthy aristocratic families, the Zhao family had only about thirty guards in total. These thirty-odd guards took some silver, rented fast horses from a stable, and galloped out of the capital, stirring up quite a commotion on the streets. Passersby whispered among themselves, speculating about what was happening.
Little did they know that an inconspicuous carriage had just entered the city gates, passing right by the Zhao family’s guards.
The guards searched the forest but found nothing useful. Left with no other choice, they split into groups and searched in different directions. Since there were no mountains nearby to hide people, the villages in the vicinity became their main targets for investigation.
However, after combing through almost every village near the forest, they still found no trace of Fan Meijiao. By the time they had finished searching the last village, night had already fallen. With no other options, they returned to the Zhao Residence to report their findings to Zhao Fengnian.
Upon hearing that they hadn’t found her, not even a clue about where she might have been taken, Zhao Fengnian’s expression turned grim. He was well aware that the longer this dragged on, the greater the danger his niece faced. Who knew what she was going through at this very moment?
At first, he had assumed the kidnappers were after money. But after an entire day had passed with no ransom demands arriving at the gates, he began to suspect that the motive was personal revenge. The question was, had they targeted his niece, or had they been aiming for him?
Thinking of some of the things he had done in the past that were best left unspoken, Zhao Fengnian abruptly shook his head, pushing down the unease in his heart. He hurried to Old Madam Zhao’s courtyard.
Inside, Old Madam Zhao was weeping uncontrollably alongside Zhao Shi, who had just lost her daughter. Her tears had not stopped all day. If Mo Yan were here, she would have likely just scoffed, “Serves them right!”
Seeing her son enter, Old Madam Zhao momentarily stopped crying and asked urgently, “Did you find Jiaoniang?”
Zhao Fengnian couldn’t bear to disappoint his mother, but he couldn’t conjure his niece out of thin air. With no other choice, he shook his head. “Mother, the guards have searched all the villages nearby, but they still haven’t found Jiaoniang. I suspect the kidnappers didn’t take her for money.”
“My poor Jiaoniang—” Old Madam Zhao seemed to have thought of something and let out a shrill scream. Her entire body swayed, and if Zhao Shi hadn’t caught her in time, she would have collapsed to the ground.
Zhao Fengnian was startled and quickly helped his mother, who was silently shedding tears, onto a seat. Turning to Zhao Shi, who was still sobbing, he said, “Elder Sister, I have something to discuss with Mother. Please step out for now and come back later to accompany her.”
(End of Chapter)
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