Chapter 44  

When Ning Yuan heard the news that Ah Qiao was missing, the first person he suspected was Jiang Huai.

A sudden realization hit him, and he disregarded everything else. His only focus was to find Ah Qiao and bring her back safely. He immediately headed for the Xuanwu Marquis Mansion.

There was no time for secret investigations now.

Arriving at the gate of the Jiang Mansion, Ning Yuan completely forgot his earlier statement in the palace about not having a sweetheart. Ah Qiao’s disappearance had shattered his calm.

“Who are you? How dare you break into Xuanwu Marquis Mansion…”

Before the young man could finish speaking, Yang Pingwei had already restrained him. Yang Pingwei feared that if their general didn’t find Miss Xu today, the entire Jiang Mansion might be in trouble.

Ning Yuan didn’t have the time to search every room. Instead, he seized someone and demanded: “Where is Jiang Huai?”

The man was terrified and didn’t know what was happening. He could only mumble, “The Crown Prince… The Crown Prince is in the Cuihu Courtyard…”

After getting the information, Ning Yuan rushed to the Green Lake Courtyard without hesitation.

This time, Ning Yuan kicked open the door.

Inside, there was a strong smell of alcohol.

Jiang Huai, holding a wine bottle, slumped over at the table. He slowly turned his head when he heard the door open.

The sunlight from the setting sun stung his eyes.

“Who is so brave, even daring to break into prince’s room…”

Ning Yuan, standing at the door with a dark expression, walked over in a few steps, kicked Jiang Huai’s stool, and coldly asked, “Where is Ah Qiao?”

Jiang Huai, so drunk that he didn’t even react when he fell to the floor like a limp fish, only started to respond when he heard Ah Qiao’s name.

“Ah Qiao… Ah Qiao…” he muttered softly.

Ning Yuan wasn’t sure if Jiang Huai was feigning ignorance or if he was genuinely unaware of what had happened to Ah Qiao. But he wasn’t willing to take any chances. Ning Yuan grabbed the wine bottle from the table with one hand and poured it over Jiang Huai.

The members of the Jiang family who had just arrived at the door screamed in surprise.

“Who are you? How dare you break into our Marquis Mansion and do this to my second brother…”

Jiang Xi’s words were cut off by Ning Yuan’s cold, deadly gaze. She fell silent, intimidated.

Ning Yuan then pointed the Yihuo Zhezi ^[1]a type of weapon. at Jiang Huai and gave a final warning: “Jiang Huai, I will give you one last chance. Where is Ah Qiao?”

Seeing the spark about to ignite, Mrs. Jiang quickly rushed forward to shield her son.

The Jiang family had already suffered too many problems in the past few days, and they couldn’t afford any more incidents.

“That woman, Xu Lianqiao, divorced my son half a month ago. You’ve come to the wrong place.”

Mrs. Jiang wasn’t sure who the intruder was, but anyone who could act this recklessly had to either be extremely powerful or on the run.

“Yes, Xu Lianqiao… she… she left a long time ago. Who are you to her and why are you looking for her?”

Jiang Xi, standing at the door, swallowed the word “bitch” before speaking. She didn’t understand why, but she was extremely afraid of the man before her. This was a man different from any she had seen before, as if his eyes could kill.

She knew enough about the world to recognize that this man was not to be underestimated.

Ning Yuan wasn’t interested in explaining himself. He demanded again, asking Jiang Huai where Ah Qiao was. He knew that Ah Qiao rarely interacted with others, and the people who might have a grudge against her were the Xu family, the Wei family, and the Jiang family.

Based on the tea leaves and footprints outside the alley, he could tell that the Xuanwu Marquis Mansion was somehow involved.

Jiang Huai, still heavily drunk, didn’t provide any answers, so Ning Yuan ordered:

“Take Jiang Huai away and wake him up. Then bring him to see me.”

Hearing Ning Yuan’s words, the people around immediately grew more fearful. They had a suspicion of who he might be, but they couldn’t understand when Xu Lianqiao had become involved with King Zhenbei.

Ning Yuan, having disguised his identity, had Jiang Huai taken away and left the mansion. He immediately ordered a search of the Jiang Mansion, both inside and out.

After half an hour, night had fallen, but the Xuanwu Marquis Mansion remained in turmoil.

“You are so bold. I am the Marquis of Xuanwu, appointed by His Majesty! Even though you are King Zhenbei, you are not qualified to act like this in my mansion!”

When they found Jiang Xianzong in his room, the old man was shouting in anger while lying in bed.

Ning Yuan snorted coldly, thinking that the two sons of this man were the real cause of the trouble.

Suddenly, something clicked in his mind…

He turned to Yang Pingwei and asked, “Can you find traces of Jiang Lian in the mansion?”

Yang Pingwei paused, thinking, then shook his head. “I heard that Jiang Lian was sent to a villa outside the city for training more than ten days ago.”

Upon hearing this, Ning Yuan seemed to understand something.

“Take Jiang Huai and follow me outside the city.”

_

Meanwhile, in a dark room, Xu Lianqiao slowly regained consciousness. She tried to move, but found her hands tied behind her back, and her feet were also bound.

She thought she was dreaming, but then remembered she had been knocked unconscious.

“Woo…” she whimpered, as something was pressed against her mouth, stifling any louder sound.

Who could have kidnapped her?

The room was dark, and she couldn’t see anything clearly. Leaning against the wall, she struggled to sit up.

She asked herself what she could have possibly done to offend anyone…

Squeak.

The door creaked open.

Xu Lianqiao looked at it cautiously.

By the candlelight, she saw a face she recognized.

It was Jiang Lian…

Why was he here?

She was more confused than shocked.

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t remember any interaction with Jiang Lian.

She would have understood it more if Jiang Huai had kidnapped her.

What a pity that she was tied up.

All that could be heard was a muffled “oooooooooo.”

Jiang Lian approached the bed calmly, holding a candle in his hand.

He waved the candle in front of her face.

Xu Lianqiao shrank back in fear as the flame nearly touched her eyelashes.

“Lunatic… all of the Jiang family are lunatics.”

She wondered if she had ever wronged them, but they still seemed intent on tormenting her.

“Jiang Huai likes you,” Jiang Lian’s emotionless voice reached Xu Lianqiao’s ears.

Then he smiled mockingly.

“It’s a pity he can’t have you, not in this lifetime.”

Xu Lianqiao recoiled, eyeing Jiang Lian warily.

She struggled to break free of the ropes but failed.

“Stop struggling. You won’t untie it.”

“It’ll make you sweat for a while, but I won’t help you bathe. If you get sick because of it, why bother?”

“Being sick is uncomfortable… especially in winter.”

Jiang Lian seemed to be looking at her, but it didn’t feel like he was actually seeing her.

He babbled about himself.

Then, it seemed like he realized her mouth was covered.

He leaned forward as though to remove the tape.

“Can you bark for a while?”

Xu Lianqiao didn’t dare to admit it, shaking her head, signaling no.

Jiang Lian seemed to enjoy teasing her. The moment his finger brushed her cheek, he quickly pulled it away.

“I don’t believe you.”

“You’re still like this, which makes me feel more at ease.”

Lunatic…

Xu Lianqiao silently cursed.

“Uh-huh…”

“Are you okay? What’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Lian ignored her struggles, continuing to talk to himself.

“What do you think of Jiang Huai?”

Xu Lianqiao furrowed her brows, not speaking. She wondered where all this confusion had come from.

“I used to consider him my most important brother.”

How long ago? It may have been before he fell into the water.

“But why is he so lucky? He fell into the water just like me, but he came out unharmed. I fell ill…”

“Even in a small pond like the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, someone managed to rescue him in time. But when I fell into the pond near my house, no one came to save me.”

“Even when he fell from his horse, he woke up without a scratch. What a charmed life…”

Xu Lianqiao felt a surge of fear. She realized Jiang Lian had gone mad.

Yes, he must have gone mad long ago.

Like Brother Ning said, Jiang Lian ended up with nothing after saving Jiang Huai. It’s no wonder he’s gone mad.

But… what did this have to do with her?

If he wanted to be angry, why not take it out on Jiang Huai?

“The person you saw earlier was not Jiang Huai…”

At this, Xu Lianqiao widened her eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not stupid, I just have poor health.”

“He suddenly became so kind to you… You must have known the person living in Jiang Huai’s body.”

Suddenly, Jiang Lian leaned close to Xu Lianqiao’s ear and whispered softly, his voice full of dark amusement, “I don’t know where I found such a soul.”

“I don’t know if you like him, my second younger brother.”

Xu Lianqiao paused…

She was terrified by Jiang Lian’s words.

What did he mean?

She had initially thought that Brother Ning’s entry into Jiang Huai’s body was an accident or coincidence…

But what Jiang Lian said now… meant this was all arranged by him?

Jiang Lian sneered.

He could say that this was all his plan, but in reality, it wasn’t.

Originally, he had just found an old man who claimed he could prolong life.

By using a living person’s longevity, he aimed to extend his own short lifespan.

Naturally, he had chosen his trusted brother.

It made no sense. He saved Jiang Huai’s life, but he was the one to suffer.

Jiang Huai was already so fortunate, having been the heir for so long and married to the girl he loved.

The only “regret” was that there was a misunderstanding between them.

“Hahaha, I wonder if his younger brother will like or accept the misunderstanding he caused.”

But then, something unexpected happened during the operation.

The life transfer didn’t happen. What happened to Jiang Huai’s soul, he had no idea.

Because of that, Jiang Lian had to try his last plan…

Sadly, luck was never on his side.

He had hoped to possess Jiang Huai’s body, but instead, by some mistake, their souls were switched.

Very, very good.