Chapter 1258: Chapter 1258
Chapter 1258: Chapter 1253: Escaped Through the Secret Passage
Long Liu froze, about to scream, but Madam Zuo suddenly covered her mouth, leaving only muffled sounds.
Jin Wei, disheveled and exhausted, stood still and looked intensely at Madam Zuo.
Madam Zuo trembled as if struck by lightning.
She opened her mouth and struggled to speak, “It’s you?”
“Yes!” Jin Wei’s voice seemed to crawl out of his throat, countless fleeting images of her face flashing through his mind. So it’s really her?
Jin Wei stepped forward and raised his hand, gently touching Madam Zuo’s cheek.
He closed his eyes, relying on his heart to feel what his hands touched.
The world plunged into darkness, and that familiar sensation returned to his palm, to the depths of his heart.
The face from his memory—it was her. So this is what she looks like.
At the same time, Madam Zuo also recognized the man from that night. It was him, the man standing before her now. His body was similar to King Jin’s, and his appearance held a faint resemblance too. But his hands were different—calloused from toil, with fingers slightly longer than King Jin’s.
Madam Zuo’s tears streamed down her face in an instant.
He had come. He must have learned the truth and come to take her away.
So there really was someone in this world who cared for her. Her life wasn’t entirely in vain.
Jin Wei choked with emotion and said, “Don’t cry. Leave now, anywhere will do.”
“Yes, let’s go.” Madam Zuo nodded furiously, overwhelmed.
Her maid, Long Liu, finally understood. She realized that this man was indeed Madam Zuo’s true husband, the biological father of the young master.
He was in no way inferior to King Jin. Though he seemed a bit worn, the way he looked at Madam Zuo lacked any trace of cold indifference.
This gaze—utterly different from how everyone else viewed them.
Jin Wei pushed the bed aside, allowing Madam Zuo and Long Liu to carry the child into the hidden passage below.
Long Liu was filled with astonishment and joy. They didn’t have to die; they could escape this confined, stifling mansion and witness the outside world?
Even if it was a life on the run, she felt it would be better than perishing in a lonely corner .
It was a pity she hadn’t prepared—if she’d known about their escape earlier, she would’ve packed something useful.
She wondered vaguely about the status of this man’s family. If only he came from wealth and privilege, that would be ideal.
After watching Madam Zuo and Long Liu descend into the hidden passage, Jin Wei returned the bed to its original position and followed them down.
Not long after they left, someone strode into the remote courtyard.
Jin Zijin and Prince Qin entered Madam Zuo’s residence almost simultaneously, accompanied by guards stationed at the entrance who quickly followed to offer assistance.
Inside the courtyard, the main room’s doors were tightly shut. The interior was utterly silent, devoid of any sound.
The unsettling stillness felt deeply unusual.
Jin Zijin’s expression darkened, and he kicked open the doors with force.
The room was completely empty. There was no trace of anyone.
Prince Qin exclaimed in disbelief, “Brother, there’s no one inside the room?”
He gave a glance to the guards nearby.
The guards, stunned, saluted Prince Qin before beginning a thorough search of the room.
There were only three conjoined rooms in the courtyard, each sparsely furnished with simple belongings. The guards quickly scoured all corners but found no one.
Yet they were certain that Madam Zuo, Long Liu, and the child had been inside. They had been standing watch outside all this time, and with walls this high, it was impossible for the trio to escape with a child in tow.
Jin Zijin took a step forward, and his foot suddenly landed on something.
He looked down and saw a piece of dull yellow soil beneath his shoe.
This soil was the same color as the wooden floor inside the room—unnoticeable if one didn’t inspect carefully.
But outside, everything was covered in snow. How could such soil appear here?