When Ding Ning heard the words of this officer and soldier, his mind went blank for a while. It took a while for her to come to her senses, and she suddenly felt that her legs were weak, and she suddenly went limp. Cuilan hurriedly helped Ding Ning up, and Huanxi, who was woken up, had already appeared beside Ding Ning at this time, accompanying Cuilan to help her master.

Ding Ning looked at the officers and soldiers' eyes and asked:

"You said that my lord Luo Xicheng is missing? What does it mean to be missing? ”

"When the army was dispatched, Master Luo and the county master led the team, and Master Luo had a good martial arts, which everyone in the city knew, so everyone didn't pay much attention to Master Luo when they surrounded and suppressed the mountain bandits, and there was chaos at that time. Later, the mountain bandits abandoned the cottage and retreated into the mountains, and the county magistrate ordered that there was no need to chase them. When everyone returned to the camp, they found that Master Luo did not come back with us. The county magistrate asked me to come to the house first to report the news, and he personally interrogated the officers and soldiers who went together, and sent people to the mountains to find people. ”

Ding Ning heard that the officers and soldiers did not have Luo Xicheng's exact news, but his heart was a lot more steady, after all, the fact that he did not find the corpse proved that Luo Xicheng was still alive, plus Luo Xicheng said before leaving that he wanted to find the official salt this time, maybe Luo Xicheng secretly sent someone to answer in the mountain bandits' den, and took advantage of the chaos and the people he sent to pick up the official salt back.

Thinking of this, Ding Ning asked the officers and soldiers:

"Can the county lord retrieve the lost things in my Luo Mansion?"

"It is not a tour," said the officer with regret, and added, "After the mountain bandits retreated, we went into the stockade to search, and there were a lot of gold, silver and jewels in the stockade, but there were no goods with the logo of Luofu. ”

Ding Ning was relieved when she heard this, since she didn't find the goods, it should be as she expected, Luo Xicheng came back by himself with the goods. Maybe he's celebrating with his men right now.

Ding Ning thought of this and said to the officers and soldiers:

"I'm tired of you, brother, I'm a woman, and I don't know what to do now, I hope that the county master can send someone to tell me as soon as possible, I am grateful." In the future, when my husband returns safely, I will personally visit the door with my husband to thank him. ”

When the officer and soldier saw that their mission had been accomplished, they saluted and took their leave. Ding Ning kept him in the house for one night, and there was no need to rush back, but the officer and soldier refused, saying that he had been ordered by the county magistrate to come to Luo's Mansion to deliver the news, and now that the news has been delivered, he will go back to restore his life.

Ding Ning heard him say this, and it was inconvenient to keep it, so he gave some silver to the officers and soldiers who sent the letter, and then asked the family to send the officers and soldiers out of the house.

After the officers and soldiers left, it was even more impossible for Ding Ning to sleep, she put on her clothes again, combed her hair in a bun, and sat in the main hall to wait for Luo Xicheng's news. Ding Ning thought that no matter what kind of news she had, she couldn't face it with a downcast and rude look, so she had to dress neatly like this and wait.

Any sound outside the house can startle Ding Ning now. She estimated that Luo Xicheng should also come back with official salt, raised her head and quietly looked outside the house, looking at the garden gate, but no matter how she looked, she didn't expect a figure to appear there.

Finally, when the sky was bright, she saw a figure appear at the gate of the garden. Ding Ning rushed towards the gate of the garden, but when he got closer, Ding Ning's expression immediately returned to his depth.

"Madam, the official salt has been transported to the salt storehouse. I know that it is inconvenient to come and disturb the lord's rest at this time, but my net worth has been saved, and I must come to thank the lord. Please tell the lady on your behalf, so that the lord can rest assured that there is a lot of salt. ”

The person who came here was the shopkeeper of the Salt Number, and when Ding Ning saw him coming, he already had mixed feelings in his heart, and when he heard him say this, he could roughly judge that things were starting to get a little complicated. She wasn't worried about anything, it was just Luo Xicheng's safety, she really couldn't let go, she felt for the first time that she was afraid of losing something.

Ding Ning hurriedly asked the shopkeeper:

"When did the team to escort the official salt arrive?"

"Two hours ago." The shopkeeper replied.

Ding Ning was even more upset when she heard the shopkeeper's answer, Luo Xicheng brought another team as she expected, but she didn't expect that Luo Xicheng neither came back with the officers and soldiers, nor did he come back with the escort team she brought. Ding Ning's heart began to panic. It didn't matter if she was flustered, what she was most afraid of was that the old lady would know about it at this time. After pondering for a moment, Ding Ning decided to ask things clearly before making a conclusion. She instructed Cuilandao:

"Cuilan, you go and tell the old lady that what has happened in the Luo Mansion in the past few days is not allowed to be revealed to the old lady, so that I know that they have leaked their mouths, and I will definitely clean it up, so that they know the consequences of spreading nonsense."

Cuilan took the order to go out, and Ding Ning instructed the shopkeeper of the salt number again:

"You bring the person in charge of the escort official salt team, I'll wait in the master's study, and I have something to ask him."

The shopkeeper of the salt number looked puzzled, but he also took the order to go out and do so.

Ding Ning waited in Luo Xicheng's study for less than a while, and the escort captain came in under the leadership of the shopkeeper. Ding Ning asked the shopkeeper of the salt to wait outside the house, and asked Huanxi to watch the door outside the study, leaving only her and the captain of the escort team in the house.

"Did you and the master meet last night?" Ding Ning asked.

The captain of the escort didn't know what this lady meant, but he didn't dare to lie, and said bluntly:

"Yes."

"Tell me about the process of snatching back the official salt from the mountain bandits." Ding Ning ordered with a serious expression.

The captain listened to Ding Ning's order, and he was even more puzzled, this Mrs. Luo wanted to know the process of grabbing salt, and it would be good to ask her husband, why should she ask him a captain. But the escort captain muttered so much in his heart, and he still told it all out of his mouth:

"The lord asked the county master to lead the troops with him, and arranged for us to follow secretly. When the officers and soldiers were fighting with the mountain bandits, the lord sneaked in with us and found the official salt, and the lord arranged for us to transport the official salt back, and he came back with the army of the official government. ”

Ding Ning was glad that she was sitting on a chair at the moment, otherwise she would definitely be paralyzed to the ground. She felt as if her body had been emptied at this time, and she didn't know what to do now, nor did she have the strength to ask anything more. Ding Ning waved his hand to signal the escort captain to retreat, and the escort captain exited the study with interest.

At this time, Ding Ning was the only one left in the study, she lowered her head and lay on the desk, not wanting to think about it anymore, and she didn't want to say a word to anyone. Huanxi saw outside the house that the shopkeeper and the escort captain had left for a long time and her wife had not come out, she was a little worried, although her wife would not let her in, but because she was worried, she still mustered up the courage to enter the house.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw the certainty; Ding Ning was lying on the table, her body twitched slightly, Ding Ning didn't make a sound, but Ding Ning could tell from her physical performance that she was crying. Huanxi has never been so sure that the person in front of her is her own girl, because Ding Ning, who she has taken care of since she was a child, is also like this, when her sister cries and is sad, she will only endure her crying, only to see her convulsive body.

Huanxi approached, half-squatted beside Ding Ning, and couldn't help but speak:

"Girl, has something happened? Joy can't have any ideas, you just lean on the shoulders of joy and cry, and we'll face it after crying. ”

Ding Ning heard Huanxi say this, and suddenly felt that she was back to the days when she was still in the old mansion, she turned around and hugged Huanxi and cried softly. After crying, Ding Ning wiped away his tears and walked out of the study with a strong sense of calm. The Luo Mansion was operating normally as always, and apart from Cuilan Huanxi, there were no other servants in this courtyard who knew that the head of the Luo Mansion had disappeared. Even the janitor, who had come with the officers and soldiers last night, had been taken out of the garden.

Ding Ning returned to the garden with Luo Xicheng and sat in the main hall, she did not receive any news about Luo Xicheng. Ding Ning didn't eat breakfast or lunch this day, and he wasn't even in the mood to eat dinner at this time. Cuilan and Huanxi saw Ding Ning's worried look, and they comforted and persuaded for a while, Ding Ning couldn't listen, and they did feel that they were not hungry or sleepy.

Seeing this, Cuilan had to change the way of expression and said:

"Madame, let's eat something and rest, Cuilan is not afraid of your blame, no matter whether the master can return safely or not, you have to eat and sleep well, you don't eat or sleep like this, if there is bad news, who will support the family when you are sick, and who will take care of the battered old lady. If the good news comes, the old man will have to take care of you who are sick at that time, how can you bear it. Besides, if outsiders see you like this, how many people will come to carve up the Locke family's business. Not to mention outsiders, the second uncle and the third uncle are not fuel-efficient lamps. ”

Ding Ning listened to Cuilan's words, and after being silent for a long time, he said to Cuilan and Huanxi:

"I'm going to eat, I'm a little hungry, I'm going to rest for a while after eating, you can call me if you have something."

Cuilan and Huanxi looked at each other and smiled when they heard Ding Ning say this. Huanxi stayed behind to continue to take care of Ding Ning, while Cuilan hurriedly ran to the kitchen to prepare food. After a while, Cuilan came in with a bowl of noodles. Ding Ning ate the noodles and fell on the bed to rest with his eyes closed. She couldn't sleep, but forced herself to close her eyes and recuperate.

Ding Ning closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep, she felt that the night was too long, no matter how she closed her eyes, she couldn't see the night pass, but she was very afraid of the dawn, afraid that bad news would come from outside at dawn. Ding Ning didn't know if the government would do its best to find it, and only hoped that Cuilan would go to the county master to find something effective.

When it was dawn, Ding Ning felt the light shining into the room and immediately turned over. Cuilan also pushed the door in at this time.

"Madam, the county lord is here, waiting for you in the hall."

Ding Ning heard Cuilan say this, and felt that the sky was about to fall. It wasn't Luo Xicheng who came, it was the county master. Although Ding Ning didn't see the county master, she could guess seventy percent of what the county master was going to say, and the remaining thirty percent was the hope she wanted to leave to herself, and she hoped that the county master would say good news.

Ding Ning simply freshened up and went to the main hall of Luo's Mansion, and when he entered the door, Ding Ning apologized first:

"The county lord came to visit early in the morning, and Luo's mansion was disappointed, so I hope the county lord will forgive me."

"Mrs. Luo doesn't have to be polite, with my relationship with Brother Luo, you can call me big brother!" The county lord spoke warmly and gently.

Ding Ning felt even more uncomfortable when she heard the county lord's gentle tone, and she simply asked directly:

"Does the county lord have any news of my husband?"

The county lord saw that Mrs. Luo went straight in, and wanted to know the truth, so he handed two objects to Ding Ning from the hands of his subordinates behind him and said:

"Does Madame Locke recognize these two objects?"

In the past few days, Ding Ning has been ready to face everything in her heart, so when she saw these two objects, she just took a few steps back softly, continued to stand firm, and returned to the county master:

"I recognize, I found someone to make this jade pendant specifically for my husband, and he carries it every day. I just recently sewed this belt by hand. County lord, where is my husband? ”

Ding Ning replied to the county lord's words and took the jade pendant and belt handed to her by the county lord. Ding Ning stroked the familiar jade pendant and belt, and tears couldn't help but flow down. She obviously said goodbye to Luo Xicheng reluctantly, and what Luo Xicheng said is still in her ears, why is there only a jade pendant and a belt left now?

However, Ding Ning thought about it again, no one gave her the news that Luo Xicheng was not alive now, why did she go so much by herself. She looked up at the county lord again.

"I asked the generals who went to suppress the bandits together, and they saw that Luo Xicheng was finally entangled with the mountain bandits in the dense forest, and my handsome soldiers walked along the path in the dense forest all the way to the edge of the cliff with blood stains, and picked up the jade pendant on the edge of the cliff, so I ordered people to go around to the bottom of the cliff to look for it, and found this broken belt under the cliff. I was unable to find Brother Luo's body, but from the situation at the scene, it seems that there is a lot of bad luck. ”

When Ding Ning heard the county lord say this, he didn't know what to say, so he sat down in the nearest position and let his body have a place to support for the time being. Seeing Ding Ning's appearance of not saying a word, the county lord knew that she couldn't accept this fact at the moment. The county lord comforted again:

"Brother and sister don't worry too much, now that I haven't stopped searching, they will definitely be able to find Brother Luo and bring him back. You still need to worry about family affairs, you need to cheer up quickly and come up with an idea! ”

"County master, maybe take me to the cliff where you found this jade pendant and belt?" Ding Ning almost spoke to the county lord in a pleading tone.

The county lord saw that Ding Ning looked like he was begging bitterly, and nodded and agreed to Ding Ning's request.

The county lord sent someone to protect Ding Ning and took Ding Ning to the cliff where they found Luo Xicheng's belongings. Watching the officers and soldiers search around, and looking at the towering cliff, Ding Ning clenched the jade pendant and belt in his hand. She hoped that Luo Xicheng would fake his death, but if Luo Xicheng faked his death, how could he leave the love thing she gave him?

After Luo Xicheng gave Ding Ning a hosta, Ding Ning had nothing to give Luo Xicheng, so he personally went to the jade shop and jumped a piece of jade with a similar color to the hosta, asked someone to carve a pattern specially designed by her, and then gave it to Luo Xicheng as a love object. Luo Xicheng hangs on his waist every day, and plays with it in his hands when he rests. Ding Ning thought about what Luo Xicheng had to fake his death to get through safely, but the jade pendant that fell on the edge of the cliff made her have to accept the fact that Luo Xicheng was dead. Look at the torn belt, it doesn't look like it's untied from the waist and thrown off the cliff at all.

The clearer Ding Ning's thinking became, the more he squeezed the jade pendant and belt tightly. Seeing Ding Ning's expression, the county lord on the side knew that Ding Ning had begun to accept the reality, so he lowered his tone and approached Ding Ning and said:

"Brother and sister, we found this place too late, this belt is still hanging high and we only picked it up, this is not the way of carriages and horses, there are many tigers and wolves at night, Brother Luo is afraid that it has ......"

"Don't talk nonsense, my husband won't, won't!" Ding Ning didn't want to finish the content,

At this moment, the officers and soldiers came to return to their lives with some torn silk, and Ding Ning saw the familiar color of the silk, his eyes turned black and he fainted......