After Steward Li returned to the manor with the servants, he waited anxiously at the gate of the Jiang residence. His master was already missing, and now, he didn't know if Miss Jing could bring his master back safely. What should he do?

As he waited and waited, Butler Li watched the sun slowly rise, growing increasingly anxious. Why hadn't Miss Jing returned yet? It was almost noon.

He glanced at the sun and paced back and forth in front of the Jiang residence. The guard beside him said softly, "Steward Li, you should rest. Young Master and Miss Jing will surely return safely."

Steward Li waved his hand impatiently and said, "Go get the carriage ready, pack it up, and get ready to go to the palace."

His unease grew stronger as the sun rose higher. By noon, just as Butler Li had predicted, neither Miss Jing nor the young master had returned. He moved toward the carriage, and Butler Li hurriedly climbed onto it, saying, "Quick, quick, to the palace, to the palace!"

Inside the palace, Yan Wan was happily looking at a sketchbook. She had stayed up all night looking at the accounts for two quarters, which made her dizzy. Finally, after her unremitting efforts, she finished looking at the accounts and could finally relax.

Just as Yan Wan was engrossed in watching, a palace servant suddenly came to report, "Miss, there is a man at the palace gate who claims to be the steward of the Jiang family. He says that Miss Jingxi sent him to the palace to see you. Do you want to see him?"

Jingxi put down her sketchbook, somewhat puzzled. Did Jingxi have something urgent to discuss with her? In the past, Jingxi would always come directly to the palace or send a message by carrier pigeon to find her. This time, she sent someone else to find her. There could only be one possibility: she was held up or something had happened to her.

"Quick, bring him in, I need to see him." Yan Wan said anxiously. Her eyelids had been twitching wildly since morning. She knew something was going to happen, and sure enough, she was right.

Before long, Steward Li was brought to Yan Wan's palace by a palace maid. Yan Wan looked at the steward, who was over fifty years old, and hurriedly stepped forward to ask, "How is Jing Xi? Has something happened to her?"

Steward Li knelt down and bowed, saying, "This servant, Li Fu of the Jiang family, greets Miss Yan. Miss Jingxi and my young master have encountered an accident."

Thump—

Yan Wan felt her heart skip a beat. She murmured, "What happened to those two?"

Steward Li knelt on the ground and recounted in detail: "My young master has gone missing. Miss Jing and I went to the outskirts of the capital to look for him. We searched for a long time and only found his carriage. Miss Jing asked me to bring people back first, while she went to look for my young master alone. Miss Jing said that if she had not returned by noon today, then something must have happened, and she asked me to go to the palace to find you."

Yan Wan's eyes darkened. Sure enough, her intuition was right; Jing Xi had indeed gotten into trouble.

"When did you go looking for Young Master Jiang? Do you know where Jing Xi went looking for your master?" Yan Wan forced herself to calm down. Only when she calmed down could she make the most rational judgment. Jing Xi was still waiting for her to save her.

Since returning to the world of the book, Yan Wan has always felt uneasy. She always felt that everything was not over yet, and she never dared to let her guard down.

"Reporting to Miss Yan, last night this old servant went out with Miss Jing to look for my young master. Miss Jing saw that the outskirts of the capital were close to the royal palace, and she suspected that my young master was at the palace, so she went to the palace alone." The more Steward Li spoke, the more regretful he felt. He shouldn't have come back and let Miss Jing go to rescue the young master alone.

Now, the young master hasn't been found, and Miss Jing has been dragged into this mess as well. Butler Li is filled with regret!

"The Royal Palace?" Yan Wan murmured. Wasn't the Royal Palace where the old emperor and his concubines lived? Why would they be kidnapping someone there? Could it be that there were some other secrets in that palace? Otherwise, with Jing Xi's skills, she wouldn't be trapped in an ordinary place. She must have encountered some troublesome situation.

"Alright, I understand. Steward Li, you go back to the Jiang residence first and take the servants to search carefully again at the place where your young master went missing. I was afraid it was too dark yesterday, so you didn't search thoroughly. As for rescuing Jingxi, I'll go talk to His Majesty." Yan Wan made arrangements for many matters with a clear mind.

As if he had found his direction, Steward Li nodded hurriedly, writing down everything Yan Wan said. After Yan Wan finished speaking, Steward Li quickly took his leave. He couldn't give up. With the young master away, he had to protect the Jiang family and everything in the Jiang household for the young master.

After Steward Li left, Yan Wan said to the palace maid beside her, "Quickly, bring me my cloak. I need to see His Majesty."

Yan Wan's heart was beating faster and faster. She had a feeling that something out of her control was happening, and this feeling of being unable to control something was driving her crazy.

Yan Wan put on her cloak and walked very fast. She knew that Ji Mohan should be in the Imperial Study reading memorials at this moment. She went there to ask him to send some people with her to the Imperial Palace to find Jing Xi.

Yan Wan arrived quickly. Without having Xiao Wu announce her arrival, she went straight into the house and said urgently, "Hanhan, something terrible has happened! Jing Xi is in trouble."