I don’t know when I started to like you and became accustomed to your presence, developing a reliance on you. I thought it could last until old age, but there are always unforeseen changes. I don’t blame you for falling for Liu Qingxi; perhaps that is the right choice for you. If I have offended you or made you unhappy in the past, I hope you, with your magnanimity, won’t hold it against me or the Ye Mansion.

I am leaving far away and will never appear before you again. No one will cling to you anymore, and you should be happy.

In the past few years, you wrote a few letters of promise to me. I wish to use these letters to secure your protection for the Ye Mansion.

There will be no more debts between us; we are completely cut off.

Life has many divergent paths, you head to Xiaoxiang, and I journey to Qin."

After reading, Shen Chen’s eyes turned slightly red. He wanted to find that little girl and ask what was on her mind.

He then proceeded to open the promises signed in his youth, one by one.

"The thirteenth year of Emperor Jingping, September 13th.

I, Shen Chen,

at the age of eight.

In childhood, I was fortunate to receive help from the Ye Mansion and was grateful for the grace of the noble people. I don’t seek great wealth, only a clear conscience. From this promise, in the future, if I achieve success, I will not let personal grievances affect public affairs and will not trouble the people of the Ye Mansion!

If there are grievances with people from the Ye Mansion, it should be reported to the authorities, gather evidence from witnesses and items, and present it as evidence to the government.

...

Do not use torture instruments or extreme punishment on Miss Ye Zhi of the Ye Family~

Do not kick them when they are down...

...

......It is specifically noted that the people of the Ye Mansion refer to the family of Lord Minister Ye Yuan of the Daqing Dynasty.

Promiser: Shen Chen.

End."

The whole letter was written by Ye Zhi, only the signature of the promiser was Shen Chen’s handwriting.

Shen Chen continued to read each letter.

After finishing the sixth letter.

A teardrop the size of a soy bean fell from his eyes, dropping onto the Chengzhou rice paper with a spattering sound.

The ink letters slightly smudged upon contact with the water.

The room fell into a brief silence.

Peng Ran and Guo Hao were astonished; it was the first time they saw Senior Brother Shen cry.

Previously, on Dragon Tiger Mountain, everyone jokingly said Senior Brother was like a stone, with a calm expression, always handling affairs effortlessly, and rarely showing anger or smile, let alone crying in front of so many people...

This Miss Ye, she is indeed capable, able to make Senior Brother act this way!

Qin Yin internally gave a bitter smile; he contributed to Miss Ye’s departure too. If Miss Ye does not personally forgive him, Mr. Shen will surely not treat him as before. He made up his mind that he must apologize sincerely next time they meet.

...

It was rare for Shen Chen to shed tears; among the elders in the hall, most of their anger dissipated, and they no longer spoke words of blame.

The Ye Family even turned to comfort him: "Ah Zhi has a spoiled nature, there must be some misunderstanding here. It’s normal for young couples to quarrel; don’t blame yourself too much."

He agreed, politely exchanged a few words, and then left the Ye Mansion...

Upon returning to the Shen Mansion, the first thing Shen Chen did was order everyone at the Lanhua Pavilion to search for Ah Zhi’s whereabouts. Alive, they should see the person; dead, they should see the body. Given the preeminent status of Lanhua Pavilion at present, they could uncover countless hidden information. Finding one person shouldn’t take long.

In addition to this.

Shen Chen personally made a drawing, printed countless copies, and ordered Qin Yin to issue commands. All shops under their banner should report any sightings immediately to their superiors. They could receive a thousand taels of gold, and whoever finds the person and reports the location would be rewarded with ten thousand taels.

The people in the affiliated shops were eager, all driven by the prospect of ten thousand taels of gold.