Ye Yue searched all night but didn't find any trace of Tang Youyou.
"This is bad," he murmured.
He could already envision his own beheaded body. If his master found out, that would surely be his fate.
"Yes, yes, yes. I have to send a message to my master quickly with a carrier pigeon. The later I do it, the worse it'll be for me."
Just then, Yin Shiniang appeared behind him. "No need. I've already sent a message to the master."
Ye Yue felt like dying on the spot.
"She doesn't seem to have been kidnapped. Her bag and the prescription are gone. She probably left on her own. If she really wanted to leave, she might have already left the city by now."
Suddenly, Ye Yue thought of something. He immediately asked Yin Shiniang for a horse and galloped towards the city gate.
The only place he could think of was Dashuiwan. If they hadn't been attacked, they might have already reached there.
When Rong Xun received the message from Yin Shiniang's carrier pigeon, his heart sank.
Lin Sheng came back from outside and saw Rong Xun in a hurry. Just as she was about to ask where he was going, he brushed past her. She chased after him, but he was already out of sight.
Meanwhile, Tang Youyou had walked for a day and a night and finally reached Wangchuan County.
Her stomach had been growling for a long time. Although she had eaten not long ago, she had felt hungry since yesterday. Along the way, she had bought a lot of snacks and devoured them all.
Passing by a restaurant, she smelled something incredibly delicious. The aroma wafted into her nose, making her mouth water.
"Big brother, let's take a break here," she said as she got off the carriage. She gave the coachman some silver coins and told him to wander around while she would have a good meal.
As soon as she entered the restaurant, the smell became even stronger. She quickly found a seat and sat down.
"What's this smell? It's so delicious," she asked.
The waiter replied, "It's our cod casserole. The fish is cooked with dozens of precious herbs. It's smooth but not greasy. One bite and you'll feel the lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth. But the real highlight is the fish soup. It can not only beautify your skin but also strengthen your body..."
The waiter rambled on and on. Tang Youyou was very tempted and immediately ordered a cod casserole.
"Sorry, ma'am. The cod casserole is limited every day. The last one has been reserved by another gentleman. How about trying something else? Our shallow - grass duck is also very good..."
Tang Youyou's mood soured instantly. She felt nauseous at the mention of chickens and ducks. The only meat she could eat was fish.
But she was so hungry that she had no choice but to give up on the cod casserole.
"If you don't mind, I'll give my cod casserole to this young lady," a voice said.
She froze and slowly looked up, meeting Rong Xun's cold eyes.
"How did you...?"
"How did I get here?"
Rong Xun walked closer to her. The imposing aura on him made it hard for her to look away.
"Alright! Sir, please wait a moment. It'll be ready soon!"
For a moment, Tang Youyou forgot about running away. She just stared at him as he got closer.
She hadn't done anything wrong. Why was she so afraid of him?
Tang Youyou tried to calm herself down. She calmly ate the red - date congee in her bowl, pretending he wasn't there.
She took bite after bite, but it tasted like wax.
"How did you find me here?"
After a long time, Tang Youyou finally spoke.
"I've said before that no matter where you are, I can find you."
Her hand holding the spoon paused. Yes, no matter how far she ran, this man could always find her.
Tang Youyou saw the steaming cod casserole being served. She picked up her chopsticks to take a piece, but the man across from her snatched them away.
He slowly picked out all the small bones from the fish and then handed it to her.
"Slow down. Watch out for the bones."
Tang Youyou watched his actions. Did he treat his wife like this too?
"I'm not going back with you. Give up," she said firmly.
Now that she was out, she wouldn't compromise.
"Do whatever you want. I won't stop you, but you must keep Ye Yue."
Tang Youyou threw the chopsticks on the table. "That's enough!"
Tears welled up in her eyes. She held back her exploding emotions. A bunch of words rushed to her lips but were forced back.
People around heard the commotion and looked at her, whispering and gossiping.
"I don't want to argue with you here. If you want to eat, just eat. After that, get out of my sight quickly."
Tang Youyou quickly finished the congee in her bowl and only took two bites of the cod casserole.
"Check the bill!"
She put a silver ingot on the table and left. After getting into the carriage, she urged the coachman to hurry.
As soon as she got in the carriage, her tears couldn't stop flowing.
"The pregnancy reaction is too strong," she complained as she wiped the corners of her eyes.
When she was studying medicine, she had come into contact with pregnant women. During pregnancy, due to hormonal imbalance, people's emotions could fluctuate greatly and they were very prone to getting excited.
She thought she wouldn't be like this, but it turned out she was the same. Once she started crying, she couldn't stop.
Tang Youyou sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve. She seemed to have forgotten to bring a handkerchief, so she had to use her sleeve to wipe away the falling tears.
Just then, a clean white handkerchief was passed in from outside the carriage. Without thinking, she took it and blew her nose.
"Thank you."
She thought the coachman looked like a rough man, but unexpectedly he carried a woman's thing with him. Truly, one couldn't judge a book by its cover.
Just after eating, her stomach growled again.
"Baby, please be quiet. Mom just ate. Why are you hungry again?"
She had eaten all the snacks in the carriage. Now she had to endure the hunger.
Just as she was suffering from hunger, she saw the coachman pass in a bag of sugar - roasted chestnuts, a lot of preserved fruits, and there were also candied haws, Chinese dates and so on.
Tang Youyou became suspicious. She got up and poked her head out of the carriage, only to find that the coachman was long gone.
It was Rong Xun who was driving the carriage!
For a moment, she was so angry that she couldn't speak. She lifted her foot and kicked him in the lower back.
"Where's my coachman?"
Rong Xun gently rubbed the place she kicked. "He had something to do and went home on the way."
"You're lying!"
Tang Youyou wanted to strangle his neck right away and kill him!
Rong Xun ignored her curse words and gave her a doting smile.
"Is this enough to eat? What else do you want?"
Tang Youyou angrily lay on his neck and bit his shoulder hard through his clothes.
"So you want to eat me. But it's not time yet. Wait until three months later. Then you can do whatever you want to me, You'er."
Hearing this, she bit him even harder.
Rong Xun endured the pain and let her vent her anger.
Then he felt something warm dripping on his neck, drop by drop...
He tightened the reins and stopped the carriage. Turning around, he saw that the person in front of him had red - rimmed eyes and was biting her lips tightly to stop herself from crying out.