"Your daughter is not here with me."

The moment I heard this sentence, I felt as if I had been struck by lightning, and my whole body was frozen and unable to move.

He said - what?!

Li'er...

Just when my mind went blank and I almost lost my reaction, Pei Yuanxiu, who was behind me, frowned, stepped forward, put one hand across his body and held me behind him, staring at Yan Qingchen: "Li'er

How could it not be here with you?"

Yan Qingchen raised the corners of his lips and looked up at him without any emotion.

I was protected by Pei Yuanxiu's hand, but at this moment I seemed to be a little unsteady. I grabbed his arm with one hand, but I staggered and wanted to turn around and walk back. He felt it and hurriedly turned around to support me.

I said in surprise: "Qingying, what's wrong with you?"

My face was pale and I didn't even look at him. My whole body was trembling. When I spoke, my voice seemed to be broken into pieces: "I, I want to find Li'er!"

"Li'er? Li'er wasn't killed by him——"

"No!"

I shook my head and looked at him in despair: "Li'er is not here."

"...?!" He frowned and looked at me.

"Li'er is not here."

"..."

"He, he won't lie to me."

His pupils suddenly shrank.

"He would never lie to me." I grabbed Pei Yuanxiu's arm and held it hard, my voice already tinged with tears: "Li'er is not here. We made a mistake, let's go find Li'er quickly!"

Pei Yuanxiu's brows furrowed into the Chinese character "Chuan" and he suddenly turned to look at Yan Qingchen: "If Li'er is not here, then why is your ship sailing so fast? We sailed at full speed and did not catch up." He walked to Yan Qingchen.

In front of Chen Chen, he looked down at him: "Your people are running away as if they were running away. Why?"

Yan Qingchen smiled faintly: "Because, I want to see my sister as soon as possible."

Pei Yuanxiu was stunned.

Yan Qingchen was still looking at him with a smile, and the faint arc at the corner of his mouth was like an inconspicuous but sharp blade.

Slowly, a chilling smile appeared on Pei Yuanxiu's face.

"As expected of the head of the Yan family."

Yan Qingchen looked at him, sneered, and said: "There are many people who want to marry my sister, and you got it."

"..."

"It's better to let me see, why do you do it?"

|

The last words were almost provocative, but he said them so calmly, but the sharp gaze in his dark eyes seemed to be able to hurt people. When Pei Yuanxiu heard these words, he froze for a moment, and then his face slowly began to change.

A smile appeared.

After looking at each other for a moment, he turned around and stretched out his hand to support me.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he heard Yan Qingchen say softly from behind: "Sister, don't leave."

Pei Yuanxiu stopped, and my steps froze for a moment, and I slowly turned around to look at him. He was sitting in a wheelchair, with his hands on his knees, looking up at me, with dark eyes in his eyes.

It’s full, and it’s all me that’s reflected.

For a moment, I seemed to be pulled back into the dusty memory.

The man in front of me... is just like the boy in my memory. No matter what he encounters or what he goes through, he will hold my hand and stubbornly shout——

Sister!

Sister!

Sister...

I was in such a trance with such a distant voice that seemed to be within my ears that I could hardly distinguish between reality and fantasy.

At this moment, Pei Yuanxiu suddenly reached out and pinched my wrist: "Qingying?"

"...!" I suddenly turned my head to look at him, as if I suddenly woke up from a dream. His brows were deeply furrowed, but he still asked me softly: "Are you okay?"

"..."

I was speechless, I just took a deep breath, and then turned to look at Yan Qingchen.

Everything is already different.

Just looking into his eyes, I knew they were just fragments of my memories.

He is no longer as simple as the child in his memory.

He wanted to see me, and he wanted me to return to Xichuan obediently. Sending that painting was enough to shake me, and after we started sailing, he asked his people to sail with all their strength. In that case, I had no way to let him go.

Calm down and think. I thought I was chasing their boat, but in fact, I was "urged" by him and returned to him faster.

If I guessed correctly, he had gone to Jiangnan. He just didn't show up from beginning to end, but he held me firmly in his hands.

I, without even meeting him, lost him again.

The longer I stayed with this person, the colder I felt. Pei Yuanxiu seemed to feel my trembling, and stretched out his hands to protect me in his arms. I said: "I want to find my daughter."

Yan Qingchen smiled faintly: "Where are you going to find it?"

"..."

"Or, who are you going to ask for?"

"..."

"Your daughter disappeared more than a month ago. Even if you can fly back now, what's the use?"

"..."

He smiled faintly, let the wheelchair move in front of us, and said: "Some things cannot be done in a short while; some things should be ended after they have been delayed for too long. Sister, do you think so?"

Without Li'er's whereabouts, I was already upset at this moment. Looking at his calm and smiling eyes, I could not suppress the anger rising in my heart little by little.

It was Pei Yuanxiu who squeezed my hand gently.

I raised my head and saw him lowering his head in my ear, saying softly: "What he said is not unreasonable."

"..."

"Since we didn't find Li'er at that time, it can't be solved urgently now."

"..."

I didn't speak immediately, I lowered my head and looked at his hand holding mine. In fact, I wasn't looking at anything, I was just forcing myself to calm down, not to face the matter calmly, but to think calmly.

The words of the two of them.

Indeed, it was more than a month ago that Li'er disappeared.

During the time when we sailed at full speed to Xichuan, so many things happened, and where did she go? It was no longer something that could be solved by returning to Jiangnan and sending people to search.

Pei Yuanxiu said softly: "I will send a message back and ask them to inquire about the news. This matter cannot be rushed."

"..."

"Huh?"

I was silent for a long time, then raised my head and looked into his eyes, and he looked at me, seriously and attentively.

I hesitated and spoke: "Yuan Xiu..."

Facing his focused eyes, I just felt like my heart was in a mess at this moment, my lips were trembling, but I couldn't say a word.

At this moment, a burst of footsteps sounded from below, as if someone was hurriedly climbing up the tower.

Both he and I were shocked at this moment, as if we suddenly woke up from a dream. We hurriedly lowered our heads and looked down, only to see a man walking up the wooden ladder in a hurry. When we looked up and saw us, we were startled.

, but immediately saluted us thoughtfully: "Miss, Mr. Pei."

It's Li Guo. What's he doing here at this time?

I looked at him doubtfully, but he had already walked up to Yan Qingchen and said respectfully: "Master of the family."

Yan Qingchen was obviously a little surprised, but he just raised his eyelids and glanced at him: "What's the matter?"

"A boat was stopped over at Sanjiang Gorge."

"What ship?"

"Official ship."

He spoke in a low voice, but these two understatement words were like dropping a huge stone into a pool of still water.

Yan Qingchen also raised his head: "From the imperial court?"
To be continued...