After leaving Madam Xu, Yurong did not return to her courtyard immediately. After hesitating for a while, she mustered the courage to walk towards Hanzhong’s courtyard.
Xu Hanzhong had not yet returned, and Wanhua was surprised to see Yurong’s pale face and haggard appearance. She asked, “Sister-in-law, what’s wrong? Did Hanchao bully you?”
Yurong quickly shook her head, “No, big sister-in-law. Hanchao left early yesterday morning and still hasn’t returned. Yurong came to ask if big brother and sister-in-law know anything about Hanchao’s whereabouts.”
Wanhua heard this and felt a bit of schadenfreude: “Oh, where did the second brother go to collect silk? Even his wife doesn’t know, how would Hanzhong know? As for me, I certainly don’t…” After saying this, she saw Yurong’s swollen eyes blink and tears fall. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she changed her tone and consoled, “Yongjing City and its surroundings are peaceful, and the second brother will be fine. He might have just gone far and couldn’t make it back in time, but he’ll return soon.”
Facing Wanhua, Yurong felt quite guilty. Hanchao had used underhanded methods to steal information from Hanzhong and Hanren. However, she suspected that Hanchao’s prolonged absence was related to Hanzhong. Seeing that she couldn’t get any information, she took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears and nodded, “What big sister-in-law says is right. Yurong was overthinking.
Yu Rong persuaded her a few words, and after chatting for a while, she couldn’t tell if Wan Hua knew Han Xiao’s whereabouts, so she bid farewell and left. She went to Yin Yiniang’s courtyard but found nothing and could only return to her own courtyard.
Yu Rong waited anxiously until dusk, but Han Xiao still hadn’t returned home, and no one had come back to report the safety of those who went with Han Xiao. She heard from the maid that the eldest young master and third young master had already returned home. She could no longer contain herself and hurriedly found Madam Xu, only to see Xu Hanchong and his wife were also there. Her face turned pale, and for a moment she didn’t know whether to speak or not.
Yu Yi saw her expression and raised an eyebrow, asking, “Han Xiao hasn’t returned yet?”
