Phoenix Rising

072

CW: Attempted SA 

Zhenghuan and the group of soldiers returned to Nanmen camp first thing the next morning, and Yongxing was immediately sent to file a complete incident report to the camp commander about what had taken place during the course of their training mission. By the time they finished a discussion with the elder General Du and the other generals about the incident, it was already midday. Once the meeting was adjourned, Zhenghuan quickly rode back to the Du manor, knowing that Zi-ning would be anxious about her brother's situation.

But she wasn't there.

"Where's Miss Han?" he asked the servant girls who were sweeping the floor outside of Zi-ning's guest quarters.

"She left early this morning and hasn't returned," they replied.

"Did she say where she went?"

The girls shook their heads.

"Cousin Zhenghuan, you're back!" Enling called out, walking briskly over to his side. She was carrying a wooden try in her hands, carefully balancing a bowl of chicken and ginseng soup on it. "You must be tired after handling all those troublesome matters at the camp. I made this for you. Shall we go over to your study?"

She was smiling sweetly at him, but Zhenghuan only felt vexed by her presence. Where was Zi-ning? She had been so worried about her brother's training mission, so it made no sense for her to have gone gallivanting around town instead of waiting here for news.

Could she have gone out with Bai Shengwu?

Grinding his teeth, Zhenghuan pushed past Enling and hurried towards Shengwu's quarters instead, completely missing the crestfallen expression on the girl's face—and the viciousness reflected in her eyes.

Bai Shengwu was in his room, brush in hand, working on the report that he was due to bring back to the capital. When Zhenghuan burst in, the junior official looked up in surprise.

"Can I help you, General?"

Zhenghuan looked around, as if expecting to find Zi-ning sitting quietly by a corner, sipping on a cup of tea. But she wasn't here. Shengwu and one of his attendants, who was grinding ink at the side, were the only people in the room.

"Have you seen Zi-ning?" he asked.

Shengwu shook his head. "I haven't seen her all day. Why do you ask?"

Strange. Other than Yongxing and Shengwu, Zi-ning did not have any other close acquaintances in Anyang, so where could she have gone? Maybe Zixi invited her out for tea? he wondered. He frowned, trying to assess the probability of that conjecture.

"I saw Miss Zi-ning this morning," Shengwu's attendant piped up.

"You did?" both Zhenghuan and Shengwu echoed.

The boy nodded. "I went to the market early to pick up some fresh fish and vegetables for today's meals and I saw Miss Zi-ning rushing out of the south city gate," he replied.

The south city gate...

That was the gate that was closest to the Nanmen camp. Could Zi-ning have gone there? It seemed possible, because she might have gotten impatient with waiting for him to return and thus have decided to head towards the camp on her own.

"What hour was it when you saw her?" he asked.

"It was not long after dawn. I clearly remember that the sun had barely risen."

That had to be at least three or four hours ago. Even if Zi-ning had gone on foot, she should have reached the Nanmen camp in two hours at most, and sooner if she had gone by carriage. Yet he had not seen any sign of her at the camp, nor along the main road that connected the camp to Anyang city.