Chapter 61: The Flower Thief (Part 1)
Qi Shaoling and Duanmu Ling had been living together for a year. Day after day, their relationship had improved, but in the end, it was just “good.” Certain boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed still hadn’t been.
As long as he could live with Qi Shaoling, Duanmu Ling didn’t really ask for more.
However, something happened today…
The sun was shining brightly, but Duanmu Ling’s face was dark. He walked into the Qi manor in a daze, his complexion terrible.
“Duanmu Ling!”
Qi Shaoling stormed out, a rare expression on his face. But this expression was terrifying.
“Where have you been these past few days?”
Duanmu Ling was dejected and didn’t answer his question.
“Answer me! Where have you been!”
Seeing him silent, Qi Shaoling took a deep breath. “Have you been stealing again?”
Duanmu Ling looked up, confused. “Stealing?”
“Recently, a petty thief using the Red Longevity Peach as a symbol has appeared in the capital. This thief not only steals money but also ravishes women.” The thought of Duanmu Ling possibly being intimate with other women made Qi Shaoling burn with anger, and he even lost his reason and composure.
“Just because that thief used the Red Longevity Peach symbol, you think it was me?”
“You… that’s what you think of me?”
Duanmu Ling lowered his head, feeling an unprecedented sense of defeat. After being together for so long, all his subtle tests and teases, all his efforts to make Qi Shaoling like him more, had in fact been in vain, and were even laughable…
“Then you can just think that…” With that, he turned and left without looking back.
Qi Shaoling stood there, at a loss.
And after he left, he did not return, even late into the night.
Qi Shaoling began to feel a little worried and uneasy. He was worried that he would encounter some danger outside, and he was uneasy at the thought that he might not come back.
When the night watchman sounded the gong for midnight, he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and went out to look for him.
The first place he thought of was his wet nurse’s home. Since she had been brought out of Duanmu Villa by Shen Linye, she had been living in the capital with him.
She had opened a rouge shop in the capital and was living a stable and good life with her son. When Duanmu Ling had free time, he would go and visit them or help out at the shop. He was so good-looking that just by standing in the shop, passing women couldn’t help but go in for a look, bringing a lot of business to the shop.
When he arrived at her house, he saw white silk hanging outside the gate, a scene of mourning.
He had a bad feeling. He knocked on the door, and the one who came to receive him was her only son, a handsome young man.
The young man recognized him at a glance. “Young Master Duanmu is not here.”
Seeing the young man’s red-rimmed eyes and haggard face, he asked what had happened.
“Mother is gone…” the young man shook his head. “She had been ill for the past few days, and last night, she finally couldn’t hold on… she passed away…”
Qi Shaoling’s heart tightened. “Ling’er has been here these past few days?”
“Yes. Young Master Duanmu has been here with me, taking care of her.”
He knew that the wet nurse was like a real mother to him. These past few days must have been the hardest for her, and he must have been in a lot of pain. But he had been so busy with the affairs of the Inspectorate that he had neglected him, not even a single word of concern or greeting…
And today, he had even…
He wanted to slap himself twice.
“Do you know where Ling’er went?”
“Young Master Duanmu didn’t come today,” the young man shook his head.
Hearing this, Qi Shaoling wandered the streets in a daze. He kept thinking of places he might have gone but had no clue.
He had never been so anxious, so eager to see him, to apologize to him. He had never felt so guilty, so regretful, hating himself for not paying more attention to him.
Perhaps it was because he was usually so accommodating, so obedient to him, that he had never thought of losing him. This sense of security had even made him forget to repay him with his heart.
Ding ding ding—
A commotion and the sound of a gong suddenly came from the other corner of the street. He recognized it as the signal of the patrol army!
He followed the sound to Yefeng Alley and saw the patrol army gathered there, with traces of a fight all around.
“What happened?” he asked, walking up to the patrol captain.
“That flower thief appeared!” the captain said with indignation, frowning as he continued, “But unfortunately, he escaped! He took a hostage. We didn’t dare to act rashly.”
“A hostage?”
“Yes,” the captain nodded. “It was a young master in red. He was so beautiful. I’ve never seen such a beautiful person. When the flower thief saw him, his eyes went straight!”
Qi Shaoling felt a string in his heart snap with a thud.
“But I’ve already notified the army,” the captain said. “They’ll be here soon. Since a hostage is involved, we didn’t dare to act rashly. We’ve already sent men to pursue them… Hmm?”
When the captain came back to his senses, he saw that Qi Shaoling had hurried away.
