Chapter 452 - 451: Courage

Chapter 452: Chapter 451: Courage

Jin Lan announced before allowing Jiuxi to enter.

Du Yunluo came out of the east room with a smile, asking, "Has he returned? Is the Princely Heir well? Did he say when he would come over?"

Jiuxi’s body stiffened, and with a strained neck, he barely managed to lift his head.

Du Yunluo’s smile froze on her face.

Jiuxi looked dejected, the corners of his eyes red, seemingly about to burst into tears at any moment.

Du Yunluo staggered, took a step back, and steadied herself by holding onto the table.

From the depths of her memory, a scene suddenly flashed, from vague to clear, piercing her body with pain.

In the autumn of the 25th year of Yong’an in her previous life, she sat idly on the couch, gazing through the window at a few pots of chrysanthemums under the veranda.

An old maid rushed into Shaohui Garden in a flurry, and Du Yunluo frowned with dissatisfaction.

Such lack of decorum!

The old maid didn’t even wait for an announcement before bursting into the west side room.

Du Yunluo tightened her lips and remained silent, watching her coldly.

"Madam, Madam!" The maid’s voice trembled as she threw herself in front of the couch, "The Princely Heir died on the battlefield, the Princely Heir is gone..."

Du Yunluo’s heart skipped a beat, looking incredulously at the maid, she raised her hand and threw the pillow at her, "Nonsense! What rubbish are you speaking, utter nonsense, get out!"

The maid burst into tears, "Madam, it’s true, it’s true!"

No matter what the maid said, Du Yunluo refused to believe it, she refused to accept it.

She dragged the maid to Baijie Hall, when did it ever become a time for a maid to curse the master with such falsehoods, but what she saw were the tears of Madam Wu and Mrs. Zhou.

The panic and unease buried in her heart surged up, shattering all her hopes and stubbornness, Du Yunluo burst into tears, almost fainting in Baijie Hall.

From that day on, Mrs. Zhou treated her a bit more kindly, no longer with harsh words, nor with indifference.

However, the change in the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship held no significance for Du Yunluo.

When Mu Lianxiao’s coffin arrived in the capital, Du Yunluo once again fainted while clutching the memorial tablet in pain.

When she awoke, Mrs. Zhou sat by her bed.

Du Yunluo read pity in Mrs. Zhou’s eyes.

Mrs. Zhou said, "Seeing you like this, it’s like seeing myself."

The pain of losing a husband, they both had tasted.

Du Yunluo replied hoarsely, "But you are stronger than I am."

Mrs. Zhou let out a long sigh, holding Du Yunluo’s hand, patting it, "I was different, that year, I had a son, I had the family’s business he wanted me to uphold, before he left, he entrusted the family to me, and I couldn’t afford to fall. But now, I have nothing."

That occasion was the longest conversation in five years between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Du Yunluo once thought the coming decades would be spent relying on Mrs. Zhou, but the day of Mu Lianxiao’s funeral, Mrs. Zhou took her own life in Jingshui Hall.

Everyone said Mrs. Zhou poisoned herself. Du Yunluo remembered her words "now I have nothing", but only Nanny Su didn’t believe it.

In her later years, after hearing the truth from Liu Yulan, Du Yunluo understood that Nanny Su was right.

It was all too late.

And in this life, what about now?

What was Jiuxi trying to tell her?

Du Yunluo gripped the edge of the table, her knuckles white, staring at Jiuxi, "Tell me, when is the Princely Heir coming back?"

Jiuxi’s voice choked, he covered his eyes, trying to force the tears back, "The army returned, but not the master, the master is missing."

Du Yunluo was stunned.

Jin Rui and Jin Lan were also dumbfounded.

"The day after capturing Ancient Meili, before the place had settled, those Dazi from the Northern Border returned, during the battle, the Princely Heir went missing..." Jiuxi sobbed.

They had barely secured Ancient Meili, although Mu Lianxiao disappeared, Huang Yun had to stay to guard the city and handle the aftermath.

With no trace of Mu Lianxiao, the commanding general became him, Huang Yun couldn’t depart nor conduct a large-scale search of the unfamiliar desert.

Ming Liu and Mu Liankang took a small group to search, but even after Huang Yun finished clearing up, there was still no trace of Mu Lianxiao.

Huang Yun and some elite soldiers stayed to defend Ancient Meili, while Mu Liankang took the remaining soldiers back to Shanyu Pass and returned to the Great Desert to search.

"When the news first returned, Shuying had already gone beyond the pass to search, but until now, there’s still no news."

Du Yunluo bit down on her lip, the taste of blood seeped to her tongue, "What kind of report is this? You should tell me like usual, like you always do. Say it again! Say it properly again!"

Du Yunluo’s voice rose, filled with fear.

Jiuxi’s tears streamed down.

Like usual? How did he usually say it?

Oh yes, said that the Princely Heir praised the delicious things Madam sent, said that the Princely Heir laughed heartily at Brother Yan’s picture books, said that the Princely Heir in his silver armor cut a dashing figure, said...

He wanted to say it, but he couldn’t.

Staring at Jiuxi, Du Yunluo collapsed into the chair, her eyelids trembling, tears accumulating until they could no longer be contained, suddenly falling down.

Her heart hollowed gradually, was this the scheme of the second house, or an accident?

Or was she destined to endure this never-ending torment in both her lifetimes?

For a moment, Du Yunluo somewhat understood Mrs. Xu’s feelings, missing, missing was like a blunt knife slashing over her heart back and forth, making her pain, making her suffer, making her despair.

Zhuang Ke hurriedly rushed in, summoned by Hong Jinbao’s family, seeing Du Yunluo weeping silently and the maids already in tears, she stepped forward to embrace Du Yunluo.

"Sister-in-law..." Du Yunluo hugged her back, "Sister-in-law, the Princely Heir is missing, missing..."

Zhuang Ke couldn’t bear to see people cry, and suddenly her eyes were brimming with tears, she took a deep breath, turned to ask Jiuxi, "What about our master, has our master returned?"

Jiuxi shook his head, "The master, Shuying, and Ming Liu have not returned."

"Then they are still searching!" Zhuang Ke exclaimed loudly, as if only by raising her voice could reach Du Yunluo’s heart, "I know you’re afraid, but you have to think positively, our master is still out there looking, he’s most familiar with the Gobi Desert, you mustn’t give up now.

Remember, our master was missing for eight years, everyone thought he was dead, yet the household still found him, didn’t they?

And there’s that Ye Yuzhi, who also disappeared in the desert but came back unscathed, didn’t he?

Yunluo, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid now."

Du Yunluo’s body trembled slightly, as Zhuang Ke’s words landed in her heart one by one.

She tightly hugged Zhuang Ke’s waist, releasing all her inner fear and anxiety in tears.

Zhuang Ke was right, if they could find even Mu Liankang who had disappeared for over eight years, why shouldn’t she be able to wait for Mu Lianxiao?

After she finished crying, she had to muster up the courage to wait, to wait with Brother Yan.