Jin Hui and Li Jiu were once again summoned to Nangong Ya's study.
Inside the room, besides Nangong Ya, Jin Yao was also present.
As soon as Jin Hui entered, he noticed Nangong Ya sitting in his chair, not as upright and proper as usual, but somewhat wilted, supporting his head with his hand, suddenly showing signs of age.
"Sir," the two greeted Nangong Ya with a bow, then heard him speak in a deep voice: "Tell me everything about how you found Ling Er, and what happened after you found her, from beginning to end."
"Yes, sir."
Jin Hui recounted the events in detail. After he finished, Nangong Ya remained silent for a long time, with only a heavy expression of sorrow appearing on his face.
"Ling Er... she hates me so much!"
Hearing these words, Jin Yao looked towards Nangong Ya. The candlelight flickered in the night, making it difficult to see his expression as he spoke, but Jin Yao could see his hand tightly clenched into a fist on the armrest of the chair.
"Sir, the third young lady—" Jin Yao wanted to say some words of comfort, but was interrupted by Nangong Ya raising his hand.
"No need to say more, I understand everything. She's determined to sever ties with me."
Nangong Ya let out a long sigh, as if trying to expel all the emotions pent up in his heart. "Jin Hui, Li Jiu, I want you two to investigate the... the so-called husband Ling Er mentioned. Find out who he is, what he does, and whether his family background is respectable. Don't disturb them, investigate secretly, and report back to me when you have the information."
After Jin Hui and Li Jiu received their orders and left, Nangong Ya forced a bitter smile. "Jin Yao, what kind of daughter gets married without telling her father? Without parental consent or a matchmaker's arrangement, they've made their own match. How is this any different from eloping?"
"You're right, sir," Jin Yao responded.
"Even if she hates me so much, I still need to involve myself in this matter. As long as that man is of respectable background and a good person, even if he's just a common merchant or laborer, I'm willing to give Ling Er a grand wedding. Even if... afterwards, Ling Er still wants to sever all ties with me, I'll accept it."
After speaking, Nangong Ya leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at a spot in the void, lost in thought.
Jin Yao remained silent, accompanying him in the quiet. The room was eerily still until hurried footsteps disturbed the silence.
"Sir, something terrible has happened! The second young lady has disappeared!"
A servant's anxious shout came from outside the door. Nangong Ya suddenly stood up from his chair and strode towards the door, which Jin Yao had already opened.
"What did you say?" Nangong Ya asked urgently.
"I went to bring the second young lady her meal and found the ancestral hall empty. But we've been guarding the door of the ancestral hall constantly, and we didn't see the second young lady leave at any point."
"How can a living person just vanish into thin air?" Nangong Ya was furious and anxious, feeling a buzzing in his ears.
Seeing that Nangong Ya's eyes were reddening, Jin Yao quickly spoke up, "Sir, let's go and take a look first."
"Let's go! To the ancestral hall!"
Nangong Ya set off running towards the ancestral hall, with Jin Yao and the servant hurrying to keep up.
Watching Nangong Ya's somewhat panicked steps, Jin Yao felt sympathetic.
These two young ladies, why did they have to cause so much trouble? One after another, it seemed like they were going to worry Nangong Ya to death. Could they have been born to settle some karmic debt?
When the three arrived at the ancestral hall, another nervous servant was standing outside. Seeing them approach, he timidly called out, "Sir."
The door of the ancestral hall was half-open. Nangong Ya, disregarding the others, took the steps three at a time and pushed the door open. There, he saw Nangong Muyan kneeling properly in front of the altar, quietly writing with a brush.
Hearing the commotion, Nangong Muyan turned her head and gave Nangong Ya an obedient smile. "Father, is something the matter?"
All four men were stunned.
Nangong Ya turned back to the two dumbfounded servants, questioning them sternly, "What's going on?"
"This..." The two servants looked at Nangong Muyan, then at Nangong Ya, before dropping to their knees. "Sir, we absolutely did not deceive you. The young lady really wasn't here earlier!"
Nangong Ya looked back at Nangong Muyan, who was smiling lightly. "Father, I was writing earlier and got tired. I accidentally fell asleep and rolled under the incense table. It's normal that they didn't see me."
As she spoke, Nangong Muyan pointed to the large incense table where the ancestral tablets were placed. The table was covered with a black cloth that reached the ground, and if someone were hiding underneath, they indeed wouldn't be visible.
Upon closer inspection, Nangong Muyan's pale yellow dress was indeed covered in dust, looking quite dirty.
It had been a false alarm. Nangong Ya let out an imperceptible sigh of relief.
"Go back to your quarters to clean up and change your clothes, then return here to continue copying the family rules," Nangong Ya said to Nangong Muyan.
"Yes, thank you, Father," Nangong Muyan replied with a submissive demeanor.
An odd feeling lingered in Nangong Ya's heart as he examined the demure Nangong Muyan in the candlelight of the ancestral hall. Something felt off.
How had that daughter who had glared at him with hatred and defied him hysterically suddenly become so obedient?
She hadn't made a sound when beaten, kneeled when told to kneel, copied the family rules when ordered to do so, without any resistance. And now she was acting completely compliant to his wishes.
Nangong Ya felt disoriented, staring at Nangong Muyan for a long time before leaving.
After Nangong Ya left with Jin Yao, Nangong Muyan chuckled softly and brushed the dust off her clothes.
It was all Zhou Yi's fault for dawdling and wasting time. If he had been honest from the start, she wouldn't have had to crawl under the table.
When Nangong Muyan returned to her quarters to bathe, she discovered that Old Zhong had found her a new maid named Ming Pei. She was only thirteen years old, spoke in a soft voice, and seemed timid.
"Ming Pei, when did you enter the household?" Nangong Muyan asked the little maid.
"Young Miss, this servant was bought and brought in just a few days ago," Ming Pei replied.
"Oh, I see," Nangong Muyan said, losing interest when she realized she couldn't get any useful information. She fell silent.
Although she was currently being punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall and everything seemed manageable for now, there would come a day when she would need to go out.
What if she encountered people she used to know outside, but couldn't remember a single name? What would she do then?
The thought worried Nangong Muyan. She tapped her head, silently addressing someone in her mind.
Couldn't you have left me with some memories?
After bathing and changing her clothes, Nangong Muyan returned to the ancestral hall and remembered something more important—improving her physical fitness.
She couldn't accept becoming a weak woman incapable of defending herself!
Taking off her cumbersome clothes and removing the jewelry from her head and wrists, Nangong Muyan stood lightly dressed in the ancestral hall and began her physical training.
The space was limited and there was no equipment, but for this frail body, what she could do was enough.
Stretching, high knee lifts, jumping jacks, horse stance squats, sit-ups, planks...
Nangong Muyan worked herself into a sweat in the small ancestral hall, while the two servants guarding the door outside watched the jumping shadow cast on the doors and windows, doubting their own eyes.
"The second young lady... she hasn't gone mad, has she?" one of them asked in a low voice.
"Should we tell the master about this?" the other hesitated.
"Well... let's not. The master only told us to guard the door."
"You're right."