EBE Chapter 350: More danger than good
Chapter 350: More danger than good
More than half a month later, the news of the disappearance of "Flying Flower Fairy" from Yaoyuefang spread throughout Jindu City.
Zhou Chang was devoted to helping Gao Yuan find Liu E's whereabouts. On the surface, she went to the government to inquire every day.
Gao Yuan had been secretly investigating these days, leaving early and returning late, and was rarely in the palace.
Yesterday, Zhou Chang had just finished dinner when he learned that Gao Yuan had returned, so he hurriedly called him to the study to ask him more questions.
Gao Yuan looked haggard, with sunken eye sockets. "Your Highness, the information I have found can confirm that it was Peng Liang's people who kidnapped Miss Liu, but we still don't know where they took her. In the past, Peng Liang would either place her in the outer house in the city or in the other courtyard outside the city. But I sent people to guard for half a month, but I didn't see him go in or out of the outer house or the other courtyard, and he was not even in the places where those villains often hang out."
"Keep looking. The more secretive she is, the more it proves that Liu E is important to him. Otherwise, it would be impossible for her to leave no trace at all." Zhou Chang said this purely to comfort Gao Yuan. "You can't rely on the government now, and there is only so much I can do to help you. But as long as we find a definite clue, we will go directly to rescue her, no matter who she is."
Gao Yuan also sighed: "I can't rely on the government, and I have used all the people I can ask for help privately, but it's a pity that I still can't find any trace of her."
"Ah..." Zhou Chang didn't know what to say.
It was fine in the first few days, with some new clues popping up every day. But later on, it was confirmed that many pieces of news were false, and there were no more clues.
After all, Peng Liang is the son of the Minister of War, so we cannot just arrest him and interrogate him without any evidence.
Even if Zhou Chang was willing to risk his life for Prince Yi, he was afraid of alerting the enemy, and by then Liu E would not be rescued and he would lose his life.
Therefore, recently, whenever Zhou Chang and Gao Yuan discussed something, they would usually end up sitting opposite each other and sighing.
Gao Yuan was not in the mood for conversation, so he stood up and was about to leave.
As usual, Zhou Chang said a few more words of comfort.
Gao Yuan took two steps back and was about to turn around, but stopped: "Your Majesty, you said that Miss Liu was captured like this and there has been no news since then. Could it be that she has already..."
"No, it definitely won't happen..." Zhou Chang had this thought before, but he subconsciously denied it.
Gao Yuan's expression darkened, as if he had already thought of the worst outcome, and no words could comfort him.
Zhou Chang's mind raced, trying to find a reasonable excuse for what he said: "Peng Liang's daily ins and outs are normal, but he no longer goes to Yaoyuefang. His not going to Yaoyuefang is the best proof that Liu'e is still alive."
This was analyzed yesterday. Ever since Liu E disappeared, Peng Liang suddenly became a "good boy". Although he still made friends as usual, he neither stayed overnight outside nor went to Yaoyuefang. Instead, he accompanied his mother to Anle Temple in the east of the city twice. He even lived in the temple and ate vegetarian food with his mother in the past few days.
Gao Yuan nodded, but obviously no longer held out much hope.
"What would happen if Miss Liu had been insulted by Peng Liang, or suffered some permanent damage, and you rescued her?" Zhou Chang had also imagined countless possibilities, and the longer the time dragged on, the more dangerous it would be.
"As long as she is alive, that's all I want." Gao Yuan said without hesitation, "Your Majesty, if I hadn't saved her that day, maybe she wouldn't have been in any trouble, and there wouldn't have been all this later..."
"What is supposed to happen will happen." Zhou Chang interrupted Gao Yuan's wild thoughts, "What happened is Peng Liang's fault, what does it have to do with you?"
Gao ** usually spoke so little that one could count the number of words he said, but since Liu E's accident, he started to talk more: "Peng Liang is really not a good person. The more I inquire about him these days, the more frightened I am. I am afraid that the longer Miss Liu stays in his hands, the more torture she will suffer. I am afraid that she will not be able to bear it..."
"Miss Liu will definitely come back alive, and you will definitely live a happy life with her." At this time, Zhou Chang could not do anything else except cheering Gao Yuan up.
Gao Yuan just kept his head down, not knowing what he was thinking about.
"If you go back and rest, you will exhaust your body. When the day comes when we find Miss Liu and need your help, you won't be of any use. It will be too late for you to regret then." These days, Zhou Chang has become more and more worried that Gao Yuan can't hold on.
Gao **ri was a man of few words but most sensible. He nodded heavily, then took his leave.
Zhou Chang watched Gao Yuan's back as he left. Aunt Jing brought Xinxian and Xinmu in to help Zhou Chang wash up.
Now the study is her bedroom, and it is no longer a place that people envy and admire.
So the two of them followed Aunt Jing and lived in her yard.
Zhou Chang once wanted to assign Xinxian and Xinmu to Yuan Qi, but then he thought that Yuan Qi already had enough people around him, and it would be redundant to give these two people to Yuan Qi. What's more, Aunt Jing also needed someone to take care of her, so he made the decision and returned the two to Aunt Jing.
Almost everyone in the mansion knows about Gao Yuan's affairs now.
Aunt Jing wrung out the towel and handed it to Zhou Chang, then shook her head and sighed, "Alas, Gao Yuan is really pitiful. He has become a mess in just half a month. It would be great if Miss Liu could be found safely, but she is a girl, even if we don't care about her past background, after going through such a thing..."
"Gao Yuan doesn't care." This is what Zhou Chang admires most about Gao Yuan. His character and vision are impeccable.
Aunt Jing had her own views, but she still felt sorry: "Alas, Gao Yuan is also unlucky."
Zhou Chang didn't think that if Liu E could be found alive, if she could really live a stable life with Gao Yuan, then neither of them would have a miserable life.
Early this morning, Zhou Chang had just finished breakfast in his study when Zhong Yu came to ask for a meeting again.
Now the business of Prince Yi's Mansion is expanding, and Zhong Yu is busier than before.
Zhou Chang knew that Zhong Yu had a problem with doing things by himself. Gao Yuan's condition was worrying, and Zhong Yu was the same. He first gave him two words of advice: "Mr. Zhong, don't worry about the money. I will take care of everything. You only need to keep an eye on the money transactions. You don't have to do other things by yourself. Don't exhaust yourself."
"Your Highness is right. But when it comes to really getting things done, various situations become complicated and it's impossible not to worry." Zhong Yu also sighed.
"Have you found any help?" Zhou Chang hadn't bothered to ask about Zhong Yu's situation these days.
Zhong Yu didn't seem to hold out much hope: "I've asked Shopkeeper Fu to help look for him. It should be soon, but the main thing is that the person has to be reliable."
"Character is the hardest thing to find." Zhou Chang leaned back in his chair, knowing that there was no need to rush.
Zhong Yu frowned again and changed the subject: "Your Majesty, Shopkeeper Fu said that the business of the Four Flavors Medicine Shop is not as good as last year at the beginning of this year, and the net profit should have decreased a lot."
"Why?" Zhou Chang was surprised.