bestfiction Chapter 307 The Anxious Steward
Chapter 307 The Anxious Steward
Under the winter night sky, the temperature in the mountains plummeted, and the cold wind relentlessly swept across our faces, penetrating our thick clothes and seeping into our skin.
The hand holding the reins became numb and stiff, as if it had lost all feeling.
The horses were moving much slower than usual, and Xiao Han and his group hurried to the hot spring resort.
It was already past midnight, the steward had long since gone to sleep, and the entire manor had fallen into a state of tranquility.
The guards at the manor gate urgently woke the steward from his sleep.
Upon learning of the visitor, the steward quickly dressed and came to greet him.
The steward knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "This humble subject greets Your Highness."
The guards following behind him also knelt down and bowed, saying, "This humble subject pays respects to Your Highness."
Xiao Han waved his hand: "Get up, all of you!"
"Thank you, Your Highness." The steward slowly stood up, lifting his robe.
The steward was a little nervous. Last time, the young master was there to accompany him, so he only needed to assist. Now that he had to receive the guests alone, he was afraid that he would not be able to entertain them well.
The steward smiled and flattered, "Your Highness's gracious arrival so late at night is truly a great honor for the manor..."
"No need for formalities," Xiao Han interrupted coldly. "Let me ask you, has that Miss Long, who came with me last time, come here today?"
The guards at the manor gate change shifts at night and don't know who came during the day, so I didn't ask them directly earlier.
The manager looked troubled.
Identity and information are customer privacy and are extremely important, and they also involve issues of trust.
Their resort has a rule that guests' information cannot be disclosed at will, and they also have an obligation to protect the information security of their guests.
If they disclose guests' information to outsiders and something happens to the guests as a result, then their resort will also suffer.
Not only will their reputation be affected, but no one will dare to visit the resort in the future.
But what if the prince blames us if we don't tell him the truth?
Although we can't reveal the customer's information, the prince and that girl are acquaintances, and their relationship seems quite special, so it shouldn't be a problem to tell them!
Your Highness rushed here late at night. Did you have a quarrel with that girl? Did she run away in a huff because of this, and Your Highness was worried and rushed here to look for her?
Yes, that must be it.
If the two can reconcile because of this, wouldn't he have done a good deed? The prince might even reward him if he's in a good mood, hehe.
"Yes, yes, yes..." After weighing the options, the steward nodded hurriedly: "That young lady probably arrived at the manor around 3 PM. At this hour, she's probably already resting."
Chu Qing did indeed come to the manor; thankfully, he hadn't gone to the wrong place.
"lead the way."
"Yes, Your Highness, this way please."
The steward bowed slightly and gestured for them to enter.
The steward and a guard walked alongside carrying lanterns, welcoming Xiao Han and Qing Tong's group as they headed towards their guest rooms.
"Your Highness, the young lady is staying in this guest room."
After the steward finished speaking, he took a few steps back. Qing Tong and the others also stood a few steps away, since it was really inappropriate for a group of men to stand in front of a girl's door in the middle of the night.
"Dong dong dong."
Xiao Han raised his hand and gently knocked on the door.
He didn't know if Chu Qing had rested, but he needed to make sure she was inside and safe before he could feel at ease.
"Chu Qing, it's me. Are you asleep?"
There was no response from inside. Xiao Han listened carefully and found that there was no sign of life inside.
He looked down and saw that the door was unlocked. He pushed hard and the door opened.
He walked quickly inside. There were no lights on in the room, but by the moonlight, he could still see that there was no one on the bed.
Xiao Han turned and walked out, questioning the steward in a deep voice, "There's no one in the room. Are you sure you haven't mistaken the room number?"
His tone was cold and anxious, which made the steward tremble.
He was certain it was the right room.
How come there's no one here? Where could they go right now?
"This...this humble servant is certain that I haven't misremembered the room number." The steward stammered, then suddenly remembered something: "Your Highness, that young lady booked a whole hot spring pool when she arrived. Perhaps she's bathing in the hot spring pool right now!"
He was a little nervous as he said this. Usually at this time, the hot spring pool would be deserted, and even the staff would have gone home to rest. How could a young woman dare to stay there alone?
I have heard that men and women often meet secretly in the hot spring pool at midnight, but that only happens in summer and autumn. I have hardly heard anyone mention it in winter.
Xiao Han remembered the direction of the hot spring pool. After the manager finished speaking, he walked towards the hot spring pool, with the group following behind him.
The person in charge must be feeling very anxious, but fortunately it's nighttime, so no one can see the worry on his face.
He both prayed that Long Chuqing would appear safely at the hot spring, and yet he didn't want her to actually be there.
The prayer was that she would appear unharmed at the hot spring, which would mean that nothing had happened to her at the resort.
But at this hour, the wind was biting cold and it was pitch black all around. A young woman would absolutely not dare to stay alone in a secluded courtyard.
It would be best if the prince caught her having an affair; otherwise, he would be furious and might also be implicated.
After all, it was he who arranged the private courtyard for it.
The manager walked behind, wiping non-existent cold sweat from his forehead before jogging to catch up with Xiao Han and his group.
Xiao Han was unaware of the various scenarios the steward was imagining; he was only worried about Long Chuqing.
Chu Qing is currently in the hot spring, which proves that she has developed a chill in her body. I wonder if the hot spring water can alleviate her discomfort?
Before they even got close to the hot spring pool, the group noticed something was wrong. Martial arts practitioners have extraordinary hearing, which is especially acute in the quiet of the night.
Xiao Han, Qing Tong, and the others heard many sounds similar to "squeaking" and "hissing," and these sounds were very frequent and dense.
Looking towards the source of the sound, one could see, by the moonlight, a dense cluster of black dots hovering in the air ahead.
"What are those things?" Qingzhou narrowed his eyes, examining them carefully. "Are they birds? Why would such a large flock of birds gather here so late at night?"
“This sound doesn’t sound like a bird chirping,” Qingsong said, “Besides, birds return to their nests or choose to roost in groups when it gets dark, and they don’t come out at night.”
"This sound sounds like bats calling." Qingyang observed for a while: "Bats are usually active at night, but they should be hibernating right now. Why are they all out together? It's really strange."
"Look," Qingshan said, pointing to the sky, "aren't there a few eagles mixed in among them?"
Upon closer inspection, everyone discovered that there were indeed several large birds of prey mixed in among them. As for whether they were eagles and bats, they were not sure yet, but they would be able to see more clearly once they got closer.
"Manager, does this happen often in your manor?" Qingying asked the manager beside her.
"No, I've never seen it either," the steward shook his head in denial.
He also found it strange. Normally, if this happened, someone would definitely tell him about it, but he had never heard anyone mention it.
Bronze: "Let's go over and see what's going on. Maybe they'll fly away soon."