The capital city, the imperial palace.

During the court session, an urgent message arrived in the palace early in the morning.

"Report! Your Majesty, it is a letter from the Grand Princess of Wanjiang."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor immediately said, "Bring it here quickly!"

The chief eunuch took the letter and handed it to the emperor, while the officials below looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering what had happened.

The Emperor opened the letter, rose in fury, and exclaimed, "Who dares to kidnap my great-grandson!"

Everyone was astonished to hear this: the Grand Princess was the elder sister of the Holy Ancestor Emperor, an elderly woman in her eighties who had pacified the four directions as a female general and was very popular with the people.

Many people said back then that if the eldest princess hadn't been a woman, who knows who would be sitting on the throne.

Fearing the royal family's apprehension, she rarely returned to the capital after taking her family to her fiefdom. Even when the late emperor passed away, she was too old to go to the capital. Her husband and son have both passed away, her grandson is guarding the border, and now her only great-grandson has been lost.

The old man was extremely worried. After searching for several days without success, he wrote a letter to the palace asking the emperor for help.

The court officials were shocked. "What! This... This Grand Princess has more than one great-grandson. If we haven't found him after so long, what will become of us?"

"Yes, the eldest princess made great contributions to the Li Kingdom in the past. Now she should be enjoying her life at home. What should we do?"

The Prime Minister immediately said, "Your Majesty, I believe the court should send people to help the Grand Princess find the young prince."

Several members of the prime minister's faction immediately knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, I second that proposal!"

The Emperor frowned and asked, "Then, my dear minister, who do you think would be suitable to send?"

The Prime Minister looked at the military generals and finally fixed his gaze on General Qi Hongchuan, the General Who Protects the Nation: "Your Majesty, I believe it would be best to send the General Who Protects the Nation."

Some supporters of the General Who Protects the Nation objected, saying, "This is utter nonsense! The General Who Protects the Nation is a great hero who fights on the battlefield. How can he be a constable searching for a child?"

Another knelt on the ground and said, "This humble general requests permission to go to Wanjiang to help the Grand Princess find her youngest son."

The Prime Minister's side countered, "That is the great-grandson of the Grand Princess, how could it be someone else?"

"Anyone else could go, why send the General?"

"His going would better demonstrate the Emperor's filial piety."

The two sides argued incessantly, with other parties watching the spectacle from the sidelines; they were almost about to come to blows.

The Emperor, seeing that things had progressed sufficiently, finally spoke, "Alright, this matter has come as a sudden surprise, so let the General say whether he is willing."

When the emperor spoke of him, the general knelt down and solemnly said, "This humble general will obey the emperor's orders."

The Emperor was overjoyed: "That's good. General Zhenguo, obey my command."

The general knelt on the ground, saying, "Your subordinate is here."

"I hereby order you to lead the army to the Wanjiang River to retrieve the young heir of the Grand Princess's residence. You must depart immediately without delay."

Upon receiving the imperial edict, the general was initially taken aback before slowly accepting the decree.

Other ministers in the court also felt that this matter was somewhat absurd. After all, if it got out that a great general of the country was going to look for someone's child, wouldn't it make him a laughing stock in the country?

The military officer immediately tried to retort but was stopped by the general. After the court session, he surrounded the general and complained, "Those old scoundrels only know how to talk big all day. We military officers are here to protect our country and our homes. It's ridiculous that we're here to help people find their children."

"That's right, to actually entice the Emperor to issue such an imperial edict is simply infuriating!"

The general remained calm, showing no dissatisfaction whatsoever. "Alright, we are loyal to the Emperor, and serving the Emperor is what we, as his subjects, should do, no matter how big or small the matter is. Why get angry with those people over this? Besides, the Grand Princess is a great heroine of the Li Kingdom. Let's not mention this matter again."

When the general returned to the General's Mansion, his sons surrounded him. "Father, why don't we go in your place?"

"Yes, the journey to Anhui is long, and besides, it's not a big deal."

Upon hearing this, the general glared at the children and said, "The Emperor's affairs are of utmost importance. You stay home and take care of your grandmother and mother. I will handle everything."

After dinner in the evening, I received a message from the palace that the Emperor had a letter to deliver to the Grand Princess and asked the General to go to the palace to retrieve it.

When the general arrived, the prime minister was also there. "This humble general greets Your Majesty."

The Emperor rose and helped him up, saying, "My dear minister, you may rise and take a seat."

After the eunuchs brought over stools, the palace maids served tea to the three of them, and then the chief eunuch led everyone away.

"This is freshly delivered pre-rain Longjing tea, General, please have a taste."

The general took a small sip and said, "Very good."

The Emperor then got to the point, "My dear minister, take a look at the letter beside you."

The general trembled with rage upon seeing this, "Your Majesty, this..."

The Emperor said expressionlessly, "This is why I sent you to find my great-grandson."

It turns out that the Emperor had already received a secret letter from the spies yesterday and summoned the Prime Minister to the palace overnight to discuss the matter in private, which led to today's events.

The general immediately knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Your Majesty, I will live up to my mission and bring the rebels to justice."

The Emperor quickly helped the man up. “My dear minister, you may rise. The Su brothers are far away in Nanchang County. I hope you can work together from within and without to capture the rebels.”

The general placed his right hand on his chest and solemnly promised, "Your subject will certainly not fail in his mission."

"Alright, you can go back now."

The two ministers left the emperor's palace, and the prime minister bowed to the general before leaving.

After the general returned, his whole family gathered around him, including Qi Yuechan, who had been staying at her parents' home since Su Cheng went to Hongdu Prefecture.

"Father, why did the Emperor summon you so late?"

The general simply shook his head. "He only gave me a letter to deliver to the Grand Princess. Is my luggage ready?"

Madam Qi nodded. "Everything is ready."

The eldest son, Qi Da, asked, "Father, do you need us brothers to stay with you?"

The general thought for a moment and said, "The eldest son will stay with us, while the others will stay home to serve our grandmother and mother."

At that time, Qi Yuechan's son was clamoring to go to sleep, so the general picked up his grandson and said to his daughter, "Don't go back to the Su family yet. Wait until your son-in-law comes back before you go back."

"Don't worry, Dad, take care of yourself."

When the general went to bed that night, he talked a lot with his wife, mostly about how he owed her a lot in this life.

"I know your trip is definitely not as simple as just finding your child. Take good care of yourself and don't overdo it."

The following day, the general led 10,000 soldiers to the Wanjiang River to search for the Grand Princess's child. The news spread like wildfire throughout the Li Kingdom.

Wushan and the Prince of Yan's Mansion

"Your Highness, do you think the Emperor has noticed something?"

The Prince of Yan narrowed his long eyes and said, "Have someone investigate whether the Grand Princess has lost her great-grandson."

Although the two places are far apart, they are also close. The scouts quickly returned with news: "Your Highness, it is indeed true. Half a month ago, the Grand Princess's granddaughter-in-law brought her child to visit her family. When they passed through the border of Wushan, the child was kidnapped."

Seeing the scout hesitate, the Prince of Yan knew things weren't so simple. "Speak!"

The scout hesitated before saying, "I heard this matter is related to Second Master."