A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

Chapter 480: Chapter 480: Did Not Find Ye Tang

She also repeatedly suggested that he should go to express his thanks in person. Since it was inconvenient for her to leave home, she would not accompany him.

Xia Tingfeng felt that he had not misjudged her.

The woman he admired is indeed unassuming and forthright, with a broad and magnanimous heart!

The tenderness in his eyes grew deeper.

He carefully put away the letter and returned to his room.

Back in his room, Xia Tingfeng picked up his pen and wrote her a reply with a smile.

In the letter, he said he would definitely go to visit Miss Ye Tang and express his gratitude in person.

「...」

In the evening, Ni Manxue received his reply.

Her face flushed red as she eagerly tore open the envelope and swiftly read the few lines it contained.

Her eyes brimmed with delight.

”He said he will go!”

Ni Manxue jumped up with joy.

Dong’er teased her from the side, ”Miss, are you that eager for Marquis Xiahou to visit Miss Ye? With this life-saving favor, and with them meeting, aren’t you afraid...”

Ni Manxue paused for a moment, then lightly tapped her and chided, ”You silly girl, what are you talking about! The Marquis is not that kind of person!”

”Don’t ever say such things again!”

Xia Tingfeng was now a Third-rank Marquis Zhongyong, a title bestowed by the Emperor. Everyone who met him had to address him respectfully as ”Marquis.”

It wasn’t just the Ni Family; everyone had to address him this way.

Dong’er nimbly dodged and made a face.

”Understood, future Lady Hou!”

Ni Manxue’s cheeks instantly turned blood red.

”You impudent girl! If you dare spout such nonsense again, see if I don’t give you a thrashing!”

With that, she chased Dong’er all over the room.

”I think you’re the one eager to get married! Later, I’ll talk to Mother and have you married off!”

Dong’er’s face also turned red, and she pleaded as she ran, ”Miss, I won’t dare... I won’t dare again...”

Only then did Ni Manxue stop. She ceased the chase and sat down at the table to sip some tea.

She carefully placed the letter into a brocaded box and secured it with an intricate little lock.

Afterward, she grew a little worried.

”Do you think my letter wasn’t clear? I don’t even know where Miss Ye lives myself! And how did we even get there?”

Dong’er, sitting on a low stool nearby, propped her chin in her hand and thought for a long while before saying, ”Miss, I don’t remember either!”

”We were... lost, weren’t we? And just wandered over there in a daze, I think!”

Ni Manxue pondered deeply and, after a moment of vexation, finally shook her head.

”I really can’t recall!”

”Forget it! This must be our fate!”

Since it’s fate, the Marquis should... still be able to find her, right?

「...」

After washing up and bathing, Dong’er took the lamp and left.

Miss Ni lay in bed, unable to sleep.

Dong’er’s teasing words echoed in her mind.

A life-saving favor, repeated interactions... could it turn into something else? Letting her future husband go and find another woman... It would be a lie to say she felt nothing at all. But... that was a life-saving favor, after all! Miss Ye had not only saved his life but her own life as well! She truly couldn’t bring herself to do something so unconscionable. Moreover, she was quite certain the Marquis wouldn’t do such a thing either. A life-saving favor is akin to being given a new life; one must express gratitude in person!

After thinking it through, Ni Manxue felt she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Having come to this realization, she heaved a long sigh of relief.

”Whatever! Time to sleep!”

With her conscience at ease, her sleep was sweet, and she slept soundly until dawn.

「...」

Two days later, Xia Tingfeng indeed set out in a carriage, personally heading to the dense forest by the canal, a hundred *li* away.

This time, for safety reasons, all three of his sworn brothers shamelessly insisted on following. That was one thing, but even the Emperor dispatched dozens of Hidden Guards to protect him.

This left him utterly exasperated.

This... It’s been so long, do they still think I’m made of paper?

Zhao Junyao had a very good reason for this.

We are doing this for Our Qingqing’s sake. If you get injured again, or if anything happens to you, Our Qingqing will surely be heartbroken! So...

If Xia Ruqing knew, she would definitely despise him in her heart:

Emperor, if you care about your favored official, why drag me into it?

Regardless, this group was determined to follow him.

Xia Tingfeng, helpless and unable to resist, could only acquiesce.

He once mocked a certain landlord’s foolish son, who couldn’t even leave the house without bringing so many house servants to fight for him. What a good-for-nothing! Now... he himself had become a good-for-nothing like that landlord’s foolish son. Indeed, what goes around comes around!

As he traveled, Xia Tingfeng mused, contemplating the true meaning of life.

The carriage was loaded with many gifts.

There was gold, jade, and various kinds of jewelry.

Considering the recipient was a young lady, he even brazenly asked the Emperor for many foreign cosmetics, like rouge and powders, that were tribute items.

Then again, she’s a huntress, so she must like bows, arrows, and daggers.

So, he went to the Military Armament Bureau of the Divine Engine Camp and shamelessly asked General Xiao for several fine bows and daggers.

All these gifts were prepared for his lifesaver.

Throughout the journey, Xia Tingfeng kept pondering how he should thank this kind-hearted young woman.

In short, all his thoughts were on how to thank this young woman, not on how to find her.

However, this issue he had overlooked finally confronted him:

The group couldn’t find her!

Rat looked around.

”Big Brother, are you sure this is the place? We’ve already searched around here eight times!”

Monster’s face was flushed like a peach blossom, her eyes sparkling.

”I really want to see what the heroic and invincible young lady from Miss Ni’s letter looks like!”

Tiger, on the other hand, had a grim expression, muttering to himself, What kind of young woman can kill a ferocious tiger with a single arrow...?

The three of them were focused on entirely different things.

However, they all desperately wanted to find Ye Tang.

Unfortunately, from the very beginning, they had been looking in the wrong direction.

Ni Manxue and Dong’er had gotten lost, mistaking upstream for downstream.

In reality, they had walked upstream along the river, which was how they found Xia Tingfeng.

At that time, the soldiers from the Imperial Forest Army and the Ministry of War were all searching downstream, which is why they found nothing.

This was because Ye Tang had rescued Xia Tingfeng upstream.

One group went upstream, the others downstream, leading to a misunderstanding that lasted for half a month and almost separated a pair of lovebirds.

「...」

Unsurprisingly, Xia Tingfeng didn’t find Ye Tang.

He nearly turned the downstream area upside down but still couldn’t find her.

He began to wonder, Could it be that Miss Ni remembered incorrectly?

Upon returning, he intended to write another letter to inquire properly.

Later, it was Rat who persuaded him, ”Big Brother, we can just be more observant and search for her ourselves! Miss Ni is a young lady. If you keep asking her like this, even if she doesn’t overthink it, she’ll still feel uncomfortable!”

Xia Tingfeng considered it and agreed.

So, he didn’t ask again but secretly dispatched a few of his men to search.

However, despite sending them back and forth several times, they found nothing.

Gradually, the matter was temporarily set aside.

Miss Ni also received no further news. As a young lady confined to her inner chambers, it wasn’t appropriate for her to keep sending letters out.