She turned to leave, and Sun Jiacong followed, asking: “Where is Yuan Ning? Brother Meng asked me to pick her up.”
“Who cares? Go find her yourself,” Meng Yao pointed to the backyard and walked away.
Sun Jiacong searched for a long time but found no one.
After catching two children playing in the mud, one mentioned seeing a woman head towards the street.
Sun Jiacong rushed outside to find the street bustling with people, but there was no sign of Yuan Ning.
When Meng Chi returned, he found Meng Yao cooking. She happily announced, “I knew my brother would come back for lunch.”
“Where is Yuan Ning?” Meng Chi asked, his expression darkening.
“Who knows? She probably sneaked out for a walk,” replied Meng Yao. “I’ve stewed some meat. Do you want tofu?”
Meng Chi ignored her, gathering the household servants. “Who was in the backyard this morning?” he asked, but everyone shook their heads.
Feeling that something was amiss, he pressed on. “A man named Zheng came looking for her this morning,” Meng Yao mentioned. “When she saw him, her eyes almost lit up. I thought he looked off, so I sent him away. Right after, the little girl vanished.”
“Zheng Yu?” Meng Chi realized, his heart sinking. She had wanted to visit the Zheng family that day and found her chance to leave.
“Brother Meng,” Sun Jiacong whispered, “I asked around the neighborhood, and no one saw Miss Yuan Ning. That’s strange.”
This reminded Meng Chi that Yuan Ning, a beautiful woman, would be very noticeable despite having no hair. If she had slipped out from the backyard side gate, how could no one in the street have noticed?
He looked at Meng Yao, who said, “Could she have run away with some wild man?”
“We’ll find out by investigating,” Meng Chi replied calmly.
Meng Yao laughed and said, “Brother, her legs are her own. Are you going to tie her up? Why bother with her? The food is almost ready, let’s eat.”
“Not eating,” Meng Chi said as he pushed open the side gate and walked out.
Meng Yao chased after him and saw Sun Jiacong asking the neighbors while Meng Chi walked away. Staring blankly at his back, tears fell from her eyes.
