Gu Beixian's countenance darkened further.
He took out his phone and called the guards protecting Su Huan, "Ensure the safety of Su Huan. Where are you?"
The guards respectfully replied, "Madam has allowed us two days off after guarding her for so long, stating it was your intention."
Gu Beixian lifted the corner of his lips, almost smiling. The usually gentle and obedient woman now resorting to giving false orders surprised him.
He questioned coldly, "Where has she gone?"
Sensing his displeasure, the guard cautiously responded, "Madam didn't say."
Gu Beixian hung up, dialed Lao Liu's number, but found it switched off.
Frowning, he instructed his assistant, "Retrieve the surveillance footage."
"Understood, Mr. Gu." The assistant promptly took a team to the hospital's surveillance room.
Ten minutes later, the assistant called, "Mr. Gu, all the surveillance footage of Madam has been intentionally deleted."
Gu Beixian's hand gripping the phone tightened, nearly distorting it.
After contemplation, he stood up and headed towards the Nephrology Department.
Arriving at Su Huan's grandmother's ward, he knocked and entered.
Su Peilan was tucking in the elderly lady.
Seeing Gu Beixian, she raised an eyebrow with little expression, "Is there something?"
Gu Beixian said calmly, "Mom, Su Huan has been discharged. Do you know where she went?"
Su Peilan chuckled, "You're her husband, and you don't know where she is. How would I know?"
"She has some misunderstandings with me, is upset, and I'm not sure where she ran off to. A young girl, injured on her hands, wandering around is quite dangerous. Please tell me where she is so I can find her."
He spoke politely, but with a hint of a command in his tone.
That lofty demeanor seemed inherent.
Su Peilan, perceptive, detected it.
Sitting down on a chair, she crossed her legs, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and casually said, "In those two years when you were unwell and had a bad temper, she never left. Day and night, she served you wholeheartedly. Now that she's gone, consider how wronged she must have felt. A young girl, hands still injured, running around recklessly. You're busy, but I'll go find her again."
He turned and left, making quite a noise while closing the door.
Su Peilan clicked her tongue and said to the drowsy old lady on the hospital bed, "Mom, look at his temper. I scolded him a bit, and he got angry, slammed the door, and left. Little Huan followed him. Who knows how much grievance she has suffered behind his back."
The old lady blinked but remained silent.
"In those years when she got married, relatives talked behind my back, selling my daughter to a disabled man for money. I thought her good days had finally come when he stood up, but unexpectedly, he's unsettled again. Marrying into a mismatched family is looked down upon, easily bullied, and treated poorly. Su Peilan turned away, wiping her eye corners.
The old lady sighed and said slowly, "I burdened her."
"Mom, please don't say that. It's my incompetence." Su Peilan's throat felt dry.
Next, Gu Beixian, with his team, thoroughly searched all the places Su Huan might have gone, but even in the late hours, she remained elusive.
In the middle of the night, lying on his bedroom's large bed, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
After much thought, he suddenly remembered a place.
He quickly dressed, gathered his team, and set out overnight, heading to Su Village.
Su Village lay at the foot of Mount Su, the ancestral home of Su Huan's grandfather.
Su Huan grew up there from an early age.
After a long and arduous journey, the group arrived at Su Village around three or four in the morning.
Gu Beixian alighted from the car, pushed the courtyard gate, but it didn't budge.
At this hour, Su Huan should be asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, he opened the car door, reclined the seat, closed his eyes, intending to rest for a while.
After the struggles, exhausted, he fell asleep with his eyes closed.
When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright.
Gu Beixian opened the car door and stepped out.
The bodyguard hurriedly approached, saying, "Mr. Gu, someone is talking in the courtyard, and it sounds much like Madam's voice."
Gu Beixian nodded slightly, walked to the courtyard gate, and pushed it directly.
This time, the door opened.
A glance around revealed a spacious courtyard.
Untouched for a long time, weeds grew in the corners.
In the eastern corner, beneath a flourishing pear tree, sat a gracefully serene woman.
Wrapped in a long white knitted sweater, it outlined her graceful figure. Her black hair was flowing, her skin fair, her features delicate, and a subtle smile played on her lips.
As the wind blew, white pear blossoms fluttered down onto her hair.
She looked like a painting.
Next to her, a tall man in a light blue shirt was bending over, applying medicine to her hands.
They chatted softly, oblivious to someone entering.
The woman was Su Huan, whom he had been searching for from day to night.
The man was Shen Huai, the doctor and the young master of Gu Bao Zhai.
Gu Beixian's gaze changed, a kind of indescribable sternness. He lifted the corners of his lips, a hint of self-mockery, gazing coolly at the two.
After a while, he suppressed his anger and spoke, "Su Huan, why didn't you inform me when you came to your grandfather's house?"
Su Huan seemed to notice him just now, looked over from a distance, and said without any fluctuations in her voice, "You're too busy, and I didn't want to disturb you."
She replaced "you" with "...," creating some distance.
Shen Huai turned around, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He smiled, "Cousin, you're here? Come in quickly."
Gu Beixian cast him a indifferent glance, walked towards Su Huan.
When he reached her, he looked down at her, lips curved, but no hint of a smile in his eyes. "I've been looking for you since yesterday noon until now."
"You don't need to be so concerned." Su Huan coldly and distantly smiled, her pitch-black eyes showing a resilient stubbornness.
"That day, when Lockie got up from the bed to go to the bathroom, she nearly fell. I helped her. The lipstick on her lips smeared onto my shirt. I didn't notice it at the time, only discovering it when undressing in the evening."
"You don't need to explain to me." Su Huan's tone was somewhat perfunctory.
These details made her feel disgusted; she instinctively resisted.
This time, leaving without saying hello was not just because her emotions had accumulated to a certain extent, but not solely because of the lipstick stain.
Gu Beixian paused for a moment and said, "Lockie's hand was smashed by someone named Yao with a hammer. She was already severely depressed, and this injury added insult to injury. Worried that she might contemplate suicide again, I visited her several times."
Su Huan remained silent for a while, slowly stood up, and said, "Please follow me."
Gu Beixian lightly hummed in agreement and followed her.
The two left the gate, one after the other, heading towards the back of the village.
The path was a rural dirt road, and the spring wind carried dust, making it fly.
After about fifteen minutes, they arrived at a grove of willow trees.
The willow trees were sturdy and dense, with slender branches swaying in the wind. Below were numerous graves, tightly packed.
Even in broad daylight, this place was eerie, noticeably cooler than elsewhere.
Occasionally, one or two crows flew overhead, emitting a mournful cry.
Su Huan felt no fear at all, walked around a small old grave, stopped, stared at the grave, her gaze gradually becoming as deep and painful as water.
After a long time, she whispered, "Yao is here."