Mo Lingchen said, "Please let him in."

When Li Quan entered and saw the silver notes on the table, his eyes widened in shock.

"General, what is this?"

"Given by the princess!"

Li Quan suddenly grinned and said, "The princess is so generous. It's so good to marry a princess."

"Ah, no... marrying a princess is good."

"The princess is truly a timely help in our time of need."

Mo Lingchen frowned: "You go and buy winter clothes and boots yourself. You can negotiate the price, but you can't bully the people."

Li Quan patted his chest and said, "General, rest assured, I would never do such a thing."

Mo Lingchen pinched the bridge of his nose: "Xiao Bei, you come with me. Make sure you record every single expense. I want to review the ledger myself when we get back."

He was truly terrified of corrupt officials. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have ended up using Chu Qinghe's money.

Li Quan was a man of action. Three days later, all 30,000 soldiers were dressed in warm winter clothes, boots, hats, and fur gloves.

"That's great! With winter clothes, we can save money and last another month."

"I hope that the grain sent by the imperial court next time hasn't been tampered with."

Mo Lingchen said confidently, "No, this time I'll have my father send people to personally escort the grain supplies."

"The urgent memorial will arrive in the capital in ten days."

In the capital, Su Yujiao came out of the palace and had just stepped out of the palace gate when she encountered the impatient Xiao Tao.

"Miss, you're finally out." Xiao Tao said, her voice trembling with tears.

"What happened?"

Su Yujiao suddenly had a bad feeling, otherwise Xiao Tao wouldn't be in such a hurry.

"Young master is missing, waaaaah... I can't find him anywhere."

Su Yujiao's expression changed: "What?"

When did you disappear?

"You took him out?"

When did you discover the child was missing?

"What exactly happened?"

Su Yujiao anxiously asked a series of questions.

"You left not long ago."

"The two children were playing in the courtyard. After a while, the young lady became a little fussy, so I patted and coaxed her to sleep."

"Later, the young master also fell asleep."

"I was humming a lullaby next to the crib when I fell asleep."

When she woke up, only the young lady was left on the small bed; the young master was not there.

"This servant thought that the young master was just playing and went to play in the courtyard by himself after waking up."

"We searched everywhere, inside and out, but we couldn't find him."

"I asked the guards at the gate, and they all said they hadn't seen the young master leave."

Su Yujiao tried to calm herself down, knowing that she couldn't be anxious, especially in situations like this.

"Let's go back and check first."

Where are the Wei sisters?

Xiao Tao cried and said, "We're still looking."

When the two returned home, Su Yujiao asked the guards at the gate who had entered or left the courtyard between when the child fell asleep and when they discovered the child was missing.

"No one has come in; only Stone went out once."

"Stone?"

Has he returned?

The two shook their heads: "They haven't returned yet."

Su Yujiao's heart skipped a beat. Could it be a stone?

No, it can't be stone. That child is honest and kind; he wouldn't do something so ungrateful.

"Did he leave empty-handed, or was he carrying something?"

The young guard thought for a moment and said, "He went out carrying a shoulder pole, saying that it was getting cold and you asked him to buy two baskets of red charcoal."

Su Yujiao grew increasingly uneasy: "Did you check his basket?"

The two men exchanged a glance, both seeing guilt in each other's eyes; they had clearly let their guard down and hadn't checked.

Xiao Tao stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "Miss, do you suspect Shi Tou?"

“Stone is such an honest and kind child, and you have been kind to him, how could he do such a thing?”

Su Yujiao's face was icy: "I hope it's not him."

Human nature cannot withstand the test, especially when faced with enormous interests.

"Go to the general's mansion and find a few helpers to help you search."

"Also, send a few more people to look for the stone."

"yes."

When Madam Zhou learned that An'an was missing, she wished she could send out everyone in the General's Mansion.

Even so, they still couldn't find An'an and Shi Tou.

As darkness fell completely, Su Yujiao was pretty much certain that Shi Tou had betrayed her.

Even if they went to buy charcoal in another place, they should be back by now.

"Should I write a letter to Ziqian?" Zhou asked anxiously, pacing back and forth.

"Don't distract him."

“He’s fighting on the front lines, so even if he knew, he couldn’t help; it would only distract him.”

By the time he returned, the daylily buds were already cold.

"What should we do then?"

“An’an will be fine. You go back first, and I will let you know as soon as I have any news.”

After persuading Zhou to leave, Su Yujiao went to the Prince's Mansion on her own.

She knew that Chu Zhongyuan was most likely behind it.

He was good at choosing his timing, selecting times when Lu Ziqian was not around, and he also bribed people. I never expected that he could bribe such an honest and simple-minded kid as Shi Tou.

This time, she didn't bring anyone with her; the child was in someone else's hands, so bringing someone wouldn't have made a difference.

She was very passive and dared not forcefully take the child; the child was her weakness.

Upon arriving at the gate of the Prince's Mansion, Su Yujiao hesitated for a moment before finally turning and leaving.

Perhaps Peony can help her. If she knows where the child is hiding, she will surely have a way to rescue him.

Going to negotiate without any preparation will only leave you completely at the mercy of the other party.

Jin Mudan learned that An'an was likely captured by Chu Zhongyuan and said she would try her best to find out where the child was hiding.

Su Yujiao bought a drone that could automatically take pictures and took photos over the Prince's Mansion at night.

It's a pity she can't connect to the internet, otherwise she could directly see the situation inside the palace through the drone.

An hour passed, and the drone took countless photos, but none of them were useful; they couldn't find any trace of An'an.

They did see Shi Tou, who was being carried away by two guards. His face was an unnatural bluish-black, and he was probably already dead.

Su Yujiao felt heavy-hearted. She was so foolish to work for someone like Chu Zhongyuan. What good could possibly come of it?

She didn't want to say it was the stone's retribution, but she absolutely couldn't sympathize with it.

The next day, news of Su Yujiao's lost child reached the palace.

Jin Mudan took the opportunity to ask Consort Jing if Chu Zhongyuan had captured Su Yujiao's child and where she had hidden the child.

Consort Jing shook her head, indicating that she knew nothing.

Chu Zhongyuan would never tell her what he was doing.

"Don't worry about him, just focus on taking care of your own health."

Jin Mudan looked weak: "Mother, I want to see my brother."

"I want to talk to my brother, I feel like I'm about to die."

"I don't want to leave without seeing my brother one last time."

Looking at the woman's thin and miserable appearance, Consort Jing said with heartache, "Your mother will send someone to invite your brother to the palace immediately."

"Don't think nonsense, my baby will definitely live to be a hundred years old."