In both past and present lives, he never harbored the slightest defense against her.

Even when, the next day, he saw her off as she left the manor as usual, a few strands of anxiety clearly rose in his heart.

As a renowned general who fought on the battlefields, he actually had a great trust in his sudden sixth sense. His first reaction was to stop her from leaving.

But when he saw her face full of anticipation, saying she wanted to personally buy some things needed for the wedding, the words to stop her were hard to say.

Their relationship had been harmonious these past few days, indeed like a couple about to get married.

He didn’t want them to fall into an argument over such a small matter, nor did he want her to think he was not allowing her to leave the manor.

Finally, he smiled and reminded her: "Just wander inside the city, don’t go too far."

Miss Xie naturally agreed, waving goodbye to him with a smile.

......

The whole day, Lu Ziyuan was somewhat restless.

With the approach of the year-end, there were indeed many affairs in the military. He suppressed his agitation and worked until the afternoon, unable to hold back any longer, he called out for Mingjian to come inside.

"Has she come back?"

As soon as Mingjian heard this ’she’, he immediately understood and shook his head, saying: "Not yet... Shall I go and hurry her?"

"...Forget it," Lu Ziyuan waved his hand, "Notify me the moment she comes back."

Mingjian bowed and accepted the order, ready to leave, when suddenly urgent footsteps sounded from outside, with a chaotic and frantic rhythm.

Lu Ziyuan was very strict with his subordinates, such an important place as the study wouldn’t allow such chaos unless something major had happened.

His expression instantly darkened.

But in the words of the person who came, his stern expression suddenly changed drastically, "What did you say!"

"I failed, I... I lost track of Miss Xie,"

The guard knelt on the ground, his forehead beaded with cold sweat despite the bitter winter, repeating his earlier words, "Miss entered a clothing store, and it was inappropriate for us men to follow her inside, so we waited outside for a long time without seeing her come out... When we went inside to look for her, she was already gone."

"Could she have been kidnapped by bandits?" Lu Ziyuan sprang up, "How long did you wait outside? Is the shop surrounded?"

"There was no trace of bandits, nothing seemed to have happened inside, the clothing store had no back door, the shopkeeper said..."

The guard’s face showed hesitation, and only after a sharp reprimand from Lu Ziyuan did he continue, "He said Miss Xie chose a coarse cotton garment and left on her own."

The winter in the Northern Land was extremely cold, everyone was wrapped up tightly from head to toe. Coupled with the approaching year-end, the clothing store was bustling with business.

Xie Wanqing had considered for a few days, and finally chose this method to leave.

Amid the bustling crowd in the clothing store, under the eyes of several guards, she changed into the cheapest and most inconspicuous clothing and simply walked out.

This method was simple, but she had the greatest advantage.

That was Lu Ziyuan’s lack of defense against her, and the same from the guards.

They accompanied her out to shop, not to supervise a prisoner on an outing, wary of her escaping.

So, she managed to slip away just like that.

The look on Lu Ziyuan’s face instantly became stiff as if he couldn’t comprehend what ’left on her own’ could possibly mean.

A brief silence ensued in the room, and the sweat on the guard’s forehead finally dripped down.

Mingjian’s back was taut, his heart uneasy, just as he was about to say something, he saw the man standing ramrod straight by the desk suddenly let out a low laugh.

The laugh was deep, suppressing countless emotions, sending a chill down one’s spine.

Lu Ziyuan sighed lightly as if talking to himself: "She ran away..."