CHAPTER 311: CHAPTER 280: LIN FU’S REVENGE (3 UPDATES)

Lin Fu was not like those hypocrites in the Capital who "follow the rules." He couldn’t eat or sleep these days while searching for his daughter, and he just wanted the other party to taste this feeling.

Therefore—

The fourth young master, Su Yaoqi, disappeared!

Early in the morning, the attendant student who was supposed to escort Su Yaoqi to the Imperial College found no movement in the young master’s room. He knocked twice with no response, became anxious, and got someone to break the door open, only to find no one inside.

The attendant student dared not delay and immediately went to inform Su Xiang about the situation.

Su Xiang personally went to take a look. The brocade quilt on Su Yaoqi’s bed was scattered, indicating someone slept there last night. He ordered a search in the mansion, turning the entire place upside down, but no one was found.

Su Xiang’s face darkened as he asked the two night watchmen, "Didn’t you hear any noise last night?"

The two servants shook their heads in unison, saying no.

Neither dared to admit they were drugged during the night.

Su Xiang’s brow furrowed even more, "Send people out to search. If you can’t find the fourth brother, don’t bother coming back!"

Half of the servants were sent out, and Su Xiang returned to the courtyard. Passing by the room with the Pixiu, he deliberately went in to take a look. The Pixiu’s appearance was very fierce, especially its eyes, which startled the Prime Minister in broad daylight.

Hastily closing the door, Su Xiang went to the front courtyard.

Soon, the eldest lady came over, clearly also concerning their son’s matter, and her expression was not good.

"Prime Minister, any news on the fourth brother?"

Su Xiang said no.

The eldest lady’s eyes turned red instantly, "Where could he have gone on his own?"

Su Yaoqi to their family was truly a "delicate flower," needing someone to supervise just to eat or drink, lest he choked or suffocated.

Such a person had little self-care ability. Once leaving home, survival would be a big problem.

The more the eldest lady thought, the sadder she became, and she started sobbing in front of Su Xiang.

Su Xiang, troubled, drove her out.

He was currently agitated, worried for his son, and more focused on that Pixiu.

Could it be that the incident days ago, where his family set a fire in the Seventh’s backyard, made this beast aware and it sought spiritual retribution?

Once someone becomes superstitious, they would rather believe in something than not.

Su Xiang didn’t use to believe in such ghosts and spirits, but having guilty deeds piled up, he’s inevitably afraid of consequences coming back to haunt him.

After thinking it over, he decided he couldn’t keep the Pixiu at home any longer.

Su Xiang gathered a few people, planning to move the beast out.

Just as they reached the main gate, Lin Fu arrived, still with that smiling demeanor from a few days ago.

Seeing the Pixiu being carried by several servants, Lin Fu asked, "Prime Minister, what is this...?"

Su Xiang maintained a stiff face, "...The weather outside is nice, taking it out for some sun."

Lin Fu realized, and after the servants took the Pixiu to bask, he redirected his gaze and asked about Su Yaoqi, "Have you found the fourth young master?"

Su Xiang, holding back his temper, replied they’re still searching.

Lin Fu complimented, "I hear the fourth young master is of kind temperament, and you have set out a Pixiu. This creature guards its master, so I’m sure the fourth young master will return safe and sound with great fortune."

Su Xiang: "..."

After letting the Pixiu enjoy the rare winter sun, Su Xiang had it moved back in.

Lin Fu, after having a cup of tea at the Prime Minister’s Mansion, headed back to his daughter’s house.

Lin Xiaoyue was inspecting the renovation progress in the main courtyard. Seeing her father return, she personally invited him into the front hall, served tea, sent the servants out, and then softly asked, "Father, does the matter with Little Four have anything to do with you?"

Lin Fu shot her a glance, "What, suspecting your father now?"

Lin Xiaoyue, worried, "I just want to remind you, Father, that the Su family’s waters run deep. Please don’t get involved; otherwise, if our family gets implicated, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Lin Fu snorted coldly, "They can set a fire in my daughter’s backyard, but I’m not allowed to retaliate? Do the Su family intend to monopolize all the justifications beneath the heavens?"

Lin Xiaoyue was alarmed, quickly closing the door, and as she returned, her voice grew even lower, "Was it really you?"

Lin Fu neither confirmed nor denied.

Though Su Xiang had quite a few capable people under him, who could deny that with enough money, even more capable organizations from Jianghu could be hired? Not only could they discreetly abduct Su Yaoqi, but even kidnapping Su Xiang wouldn’t be a problem.

After all, those people operated flawlessly; even if Su Xiang suspected anything afterward, he wouldn’t have evidence to prove it was Lin Fu’s doing.

Lin Xiaoyue, seeing his reaction, grew increasingly worried, "Why go through such trouble?"

Lin Fu snorted lightly, "Someone bullies my daughter, and I’m supposed to just shrink my neck like a turtle and watch?"

After spending a few days together, Lin Fu noticed that his daughter had become overly cautious at some point, and he couldn’t help but miss the arrogant and domineering eldest daughter of the Lin family from before, who might have been impulsive and mindless in her actions, but lived true to her nature.

Now, she has had her edges smoothed by the Su family, cautious everywhere, afraid of offending people here and there.

Thinking about it, Lin Fu felt a pang of heartache.

"Since Su Qing is not around, why don’t you come back to Jizhou with me for a while?"

Lin Xiaoyue shook her head, fearing her father’s anger, she didn’t tell him that the Su family had no such custom, and only replied, "Once Mr. Qi receives the message, he will rush back as soon as possible, and if I leave suddenly, he won’t see Ah Nuan when he returns."

Unable to persuade her, Lin Fu sighed, "Then let me leave you some money, in case of emergencies."

Lin Xiaoyue refused, "Father, I..."

"I’m here now, I’ve seen how you’ve been living, do you still want to paint a rosy picture in your letters and hide your worries?"

Lin Xiaoyue pursed her lips for a moment, saying, "I just didn’t want to worry you, Father."

"If I didn’t come this time, how long did you think you could hide?"

Faced with her father’s question, Lin Xiaoyue had no response.

Indeed, if her father had not intervened, she would still be hiding in the Song family, afraid to go out every day.

Looking at her, Lin Fu declared, "In any case, don’t worry about this matter; I must vent my anger for you."

——

Su Yaoqi had been missing for five days without a trace, causing chaos at the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

Su Xiang reported the matter to the authorities, requesting the Shuntian Prefect to send people to search while also investigating everyone who approached Su Yaoqi’s courtyard that night, yet there were no clues.

This incident even alarmed Empress Su, who mentioned it to Emperor Guangxi during lunch.

The implication was to ask the Jinyi Guard to look for him.

Emperor Guangxi would be glad if the entire Su family disappeared; why would he send his trusted guard to search for an insignificant child? He glanced at Empress Su, "I heard that Su Xiang has already reported it to the authorities; with the Shuntian Prefecture handling it, I’m sure it won’t be long before they find him."

"But it’s been five days without any news." Empress Su couldn’t help but be anxious.

Emperor Guangxi’s expression was somewhat mocking, "The Jinyi Guard only takes on major cases."

In other words, the Su family merely lost a child. There are countless missing persons cases in this world. Others can report and investigate, but the Su family is special and has to have the Jinyi Guard involved?

Empress Su was choked by Emperor Guangxi’s indifferent reaction. Although displeased, she dared not act out, only replying submissively, "You are absolutely right, Your Majesty."

"But you just don’t learn." Emperor Guangxi retorted again.

Under Empress Su’s astonished gaze, he pointedly said, "The Zhao family is the Zhao family, and the Su family is the Su family. When the Zhao family is in trouble, it’s only right for the Su family to help. However, if the Su family is in trouble and the Zhao family stands by without helping, the Su family should not complain. Do you understand this reasoning, Empress?"

Empress Su slightly tightened her fingers.

Emperor Guangxi’s voice continued in her ear, "As Empress in the harem, you tend to overstep your boundaries. Instead of meddling everywhere, why not focus on your heirs?"

This statement made Empress Su’s face turn somewhat pale.

At her age, it was already difficult to conceive, not to mention that the Emperor only visited Kunning Palace on the first and fifteenth of every month, making the chances even slimmer.

The older one gets, the more one longs for an heir for security.

Suppressing her chaotic thoughts, Empress Su softly said, "The fifteenth of last month, the Emperor didn’t come to Kunning Palace, so you should stay tonight, right?"

Emperor Guangxi sipped his tea without responding.

——

Su Yaoqi had been missing for ten days, and the news from the Shuntian Prefecture remained that he hadn’t been found, driving Su Xiang to a frenzy.

Lin Xiaoyue noticed the situation was getting dire and quietly approached her father to discuss, "Father, you should release Little Four. Otherwise, if the Prime Minister discovers the truth, he won’t let it go."

Lin Fu spread his hands, saying Su Yaoqi had already run away and wasn’t in his hands.

Lin Xiaoyue was taken aback, "Ran away?"

Lin Fu, to reassure his daughter, explained, "I hired someone with a lot of money, absolutely leaving no traces. Rest assured, even if he ran away, he has nowhere to report to the authorities."

Lin Xiaoyue was still uneasy, fearing her father didn’t truly understand Su Xiang’s character.

Once the other party has suspicions, he won’t care about evidence and will surely retaliate crazily against the Lin family.

As the Prime Minister’s Mansion was in chaos and Lin Xiaoyue was anxiously awaiting news, Su Qing returned.

Accompanying Su Qing was a young boy.

The boy was none other than Su Yaoqi, who had been missing for ten days and caused an uproar at home.