Untouchable Lovers

Chapter 135: Chapter 125: Trouble Follows Trouble

After Chu Yu had finished speaking, she noticed that Rong Zhi, whom she had grasped in her hand, was squinting his eyes, showing a tendency to fall asleep again. She couldn’t help but get annoyed and shook him, “Wake up! Sleep after we handle the important matters!” She didn’t know what was happening, but these days Rong Zhi had been waking up very late every day, as if he could never get enough sleep, so much so that almost every time she came to find him, he was sleeping either in the woods or inside his room.

“Hmm, alright,” Rong Zhi yawned and slowly began, “Such a small matter, Princess can directly ask Hua Cuo to handle it. If it’s something related to Yue Jiefei and his clan, even without pleading, Hua Cuo would take care of it himself.”

After he had said this, he lay down on the stone platform with an air of nonchalance.

Chu Yu hurriedly went to find Hua Cuo, and having received his promise, she returned after a moment only to see that Rong Zhi had fallen asleep again, his breathing slow and even.

She reached out to wake him, but her hand was only halfway extended when Chu Yu stopped her motion. She gazed at Rong Zhi’s peaceful sleeping face, and her previously agitated, suspicious, and disturbed heart suddenly calmed down.

As if a spell had been cast.

The interlaced shadow of bamboo and tung cast a barrier against the scorching noon sunlight, his serene face was stunningly beautiful. His normally unfathomable eyes were closed, with long eyelashes like those of a feather fan. His lips were very pale, almost blending with his fair skin; only upon closer inspection could one see a hint of faint pink.

When had his lips become so pale?

Chu Yu sat down on the edge of the vacant space on the green stone platform beside him, her gaze still fixed on Rong Zhi. Her thoughts were empty but not lost, as if she were high above the clouds, flying freely with the wind, her breathing as cool as the air around her despite the heat.

Time passed slowly, the angle of the sunlight shifted, and finally a beam shone directly on Rong Zhi’s face. He slowly opened his eyes and upon seeing Chu Yu beside him rose to avoid the light. He smiled faintly, “Princess, good morning.”

Their eyes met from a distance of just over a yard.

“Morning?” Chu Yu replied irritably. As she looked into his smiling eyes, the bit of displeasure she had felt dissipated, “You’re very strange. Logically, shouldn’t you be concerned about Tian Rujing’s matter? How can you still sleep after I mentioned it?”

Rong Zhi spoke calmly, “For such matters, even if I were burning with impatience, it would not be of any use. Hua Cuo has already gone to investigate. I just need to sit and wait for his news. Without such a mindset, how could one find the right path amid chaos?” His lack of urgency didn’t mean he was unconcerned; he was simply more patient than others.

For things that are uncertain, one shouldn’t wildly speculate without limit. If you don’t have strong mental control, it’s easy to get stuck in a tangle of confusion.

Rong Zhi’s dark eyes were as deep as a quiet pond as he quietly said, “Princess, wait.”

Yes, wait.

It wasn’t until nearly evening that they finally waited for Hua Cuo, who returned draped in the evening glow.

Because the lingering injury that had troubled him for years had been healed, Hua Cuo’s complexion looked much better than before. The sun had reddened his face slightly after his outing, making his charm all the more vivid.

He arrived in the bamboo grove, saw Chu Yu and Rong Zhi sitting side by side on the green stone laughing and talking, and paused for a moment. Then he wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and caught his breath, “Gone.”

“Gone? What’s gone?” His abrupt exclamation didn’t make sense, yet Chu Yu had a bad premonition and filled in the blanks in her mind.

“Tian Rujing is not at his home,” Hua Cuo paused, then continued, “I went to his house, searched everywhere but couldn’t find him. Then I caught his doorman and interrogated him, only to learn that Tian Rujing did not go home today at all. However, Yue Jiefei had looked for Tian Rujing before me and also returned empty-handed.”

After visiting Tian Rujing’s home, Hua Cuo made a special trip to the Imperial Palace, disguised as someone from Tian Rujing’s household, and asked the guards at the gate whether Tian Rujing had entered the palace. The answer was also no.

After searching for a while longer, he still found nothing.

Simply put, Tian Rujing, had disappeared.

Along with his bracelet and the grade four and six English training fees he still owed her.

Chu Yu was completely confused; since meeting her that day, Tian Rujing started behaving abnormally. First, he greeted her normally for the first time, then he fled without a word when it was time to fulfill their arrangement, and now he had vanished.

She couldn’t help but look up at the sky again, to see if the sun had set in the east today.

The sun was normal, she was normal, the only anomaly was Tian Rujing.

He just ran off like that, completely disregarding his image, irresponsibly, without keeping his promise, he ran off. From beginning to end, he didn’t leave a single word of explanation.

Chu Yu was utterly confused. She subconsciously cast an inquiring glance at Rong Zhi beside her. Rong Zhi smiled faintly and asked in return, “Princess, how long did Yue Jiefei ask for leave?”

Chu Yu said, “Six hours.” That’s twelve hours.

Rong Zhi smiled and said, “Then, let’s continue waiting.” This time, however, they were waiting for Yue Jiefei.

Tian Rujing might disappear, but Yue Jiefei wouldn’t. When the time came, Yue Jiefei would naturally return.

Hua Cuo had been busy all afternoon. After coming back to report, he went to his own room to sleep. Rong Zhi asked someone to prepare dinner, placing it outside; they ate while waiting.

Most of the time was silent, but occasionally Chu Yu couldn’t help but ask Rong Zhi what exactly was wrong with Tian Rujing. Although she knew Rong Zhi couldn’t give her an answer, it seemed that by asking, her anxiety would be slightly alleviated.

After eating until she was mostly full, the evening grew slightly darker, and there was a disturbance at the entrance of the courtyard. Chu Yu turned to look and saw Yue Jiefei push the door open and rush in, heading straight to Chu Yu before stopping. His legs were long, and his movements were extremely swift and vigorous, yet his expression was one of panic and worry.

Before he had even settled, Yue Jiefei knelt on one knee and said anxiously, “I beg the Princess to grant me a request!” He had returned earlier than expected.

Chu Yu lifted her hand in a gesture for him to rise and speak, “What is it? Get up and then talk.”

However, Yue Jiefei refused to rise, instead lowering his head to say, “I beg the Princess to send people to look for Junior Brother Jing, he is missing.” That afternoon, he had searched the entire Jiankang City but couldn’t find Tian Rujing. In the end, he learned from the city gate guards that Tian Rujing had headed out of the city.

But that was already two or three hours ago, and no one knew where Tian Rujing had gone.

Chu Yu sighed and said, “I naturally agree to this request, you can get up now. You don’t need to worry so much, Tian Rujing is not a child, perhaps he just went out for a walk.”

Yue Jiefei looked up anxiously and said, “Princess, it’s not that simple. Today, you also noticed, Ajing wasn’t himself. Not long ago, our master also had a similar situation, disappearing without a word for several days and nights. Before long, he left us.” He dared not imagine that Tian Rujing would meet the same fate.

He was still so young.

Chu Yu suddenly remembered that it was very dangerous when Tian Rujing jumped off the carriage, yet at that time, the self-defense feature of the bracelet didn’t activate, instead allowing him to fall embarrassingly. Could that have something to do with this?

Thinking of the various possibilities, Chu Yu’s heart also sank. She quickly walked outside and while moving, she ordered, “Rong Zhi, help me prepare. Send troops to search for people, we need to find Tian Rujing as soon as possible! Quickly!”

Tian Rujing couldn’t die, if he died, to whom should she turn for her reward? Besides, after spending these days together, even if there were no ties originally, some bonds of affection would form; she didn’t want Tian Rujing to just die like that.

The carriage was ready quickly, and the private soldiers of the Princess Mansion were also gathering. By this time, night was falling, and Chu Yu, dressed in men’s clothing, sat in the carriage with Rong Zhi, driving out of the street corner, only to be stopped by a troop of fully-armed soldiers blocking their way.

“Who is in the carriage?” the leading officer demanded.

Chu Yu glanced at Rong Zhi; he nodded, took the Token of the Princess Mansion from his bosom, lifted the curtain of the carriage, and showed only one hand holding the token to shake it at them, “The Princess Mansion is out on a mission, we are from Princess Huiji’s retinue. Who in front is blocking the way?”

The officer’s tone softened quite a bit, “So it’s the Princess Mansion’s people, my apologies for the offense. I ask you all not to go out tonight, the city is currently under martial law.”

Chu Yu couldn’t help but ask through the curtain, “Martial law? What happened?”

The officer hesitated for a moment before stepping closer to reveal the truth: it turns out that Prince Yiyang, no, Liu Chang, was so frightened by Liu Ziyue this morning that he firmly decided to run away. Near evening today, he escaped from the place where he was received!