Chapter 21

"Open the door!"

There was a knock on the door.

Ye Xiaoyuan came out of the small kitchen and opened the door.

"Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, Sixth Prince?" he asked in surprise, "Why are the three of you here?"

The Sixth Prince: "Let's go find the Seventh Brother!"

The fourth prince nodded: "Yes!"

The fifth prince said nothing. The sixth prince kicked him, and he said, "Yes, find the seventh brother."

Ye Xiaoyuan smiled bitterly: "My master is ill, you three princes, please don't go in, lest you be infected by the disease."

"Is it sick?"

The three of them looked at each other, still a little confused after hearing the news.

The Fourth Prince: "Then will the Seventh Brother still leave?"

Ye Xiaoyuan's eyes dimmed.

Who knows how His Majesty will handle this matter? The imperial decree has been issued, and it is uncertain how to proceed while he is ill.

"Oh, let's go and take a look first." The Sixth Prince relied on his small stature to push them aside and went straight in.

Ye Xiaoyuan hurriedly followed.

"Sixth Prince, Sixth Prince!"

He was afraid that if the palace door was opened, the cold wind outside would blow in and hit Qu Du's side. He was also worried that Concubine Lan would cause trouble afterwards.

But when he arrived at the door of the bedroom, he found that the door was open and the air was filled with a strong medicinal aroma. Ye Xiaoyuan walked in and saw Wen Xiaochun standing in front of the bed with a piece of paper in his hand.

At his feet was a broken medicine bowl.

The dark brown medicine flowed all over the floor.

The Sixth Prince rushed to the bed, "Ah??? Seventh brother is not here."

Wen Xiaochun turned his eyes and his gaze fell vaguely on a certain place.

Ye Xiaoyuan had a bad feeling in his heart and snatched the note from his hand. The words on the note made him feel as if he was struck by lightning. His mind went blank and he was completely stunned.

The Sixth Prince tugged at his clothes and said, "Speak up, where is your Seventh Brother?"

He was angry: "Did you hide him?"

There was a slightly chaotic sound coming from outside.

Six imperial physicians came from the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Imperial Doctor Qiu led the way in front and lowered his voice, "Please, Imperial Doctors, His Highness is inside."

"I've already told you about the situation on the way. It's quite dangerous and can only be controlled slightly so it's not serious..." When he got to the door, he blamed her, "Hey, why is the door of this bedroom so open? The cold wind will just blow in directly."

After coming in, the imperial doctors fell silent facing the empty bed.

Yi Twelve, who was sent by the emperor for the second time, lifted the tiles on the roof and looked at it for a while.

he:"?"

Where are the people?

Ye Xiaoyuan took a deep breath.

"Your Highness... I don't know where he went... Your Highness is lost!!"

The note was passed around, and not only did they panic, but the imperial doctors also started to panic.

There was a smiley face drawn at the end of the note, which to them was the smile of the King of Hell.

Going out with a high fever in such a cold weather is like seeking death. They haven't treated the patient yet. If the angry Majesty implicates them, they will have to hear the same thing as more than two years ago: "If you can't cure it, I will bury all of you imperial doctors with me!" Concubine Yun and her son are really here to annihilate them.

Even if he doesn't die, it's still scary!

Imperial Doctor Qiu gave orders, his beard trembling.

"Search! Search them all!"

The news that the Seventh Prince left a 'last word' and disappeared without a trace just to see his father while he was ill spread everywhere immediately.

When the news reached Emperor Chongzhao, the note left by Qu Dubian naturally fell into his hands.

The moment Eunuch Yu saw the note, he felt as if his heart was twisted and felt very uncomfortable. He remembered that last time in the kitchen, the Seventh Prince gave him a big hug, and anyone who saw that would be heartbroken.

There were not many words on the note, but it first mentioned Concubine Yun, saying that he would soon return to his mother's arms, and then said that before returning to his mother, he wanted to take a look at his father whom he had never seen before.

He has been immersed in the palace like this, and has seen the ups and downs of life. Even the eunuchs without descendants feel heartbroken, let alone Your Majesty.

The prophecy determines fate, but what is the fault of the child?

Not surprisingly, when Eunuch Yu saw that His Majesty had only glanced at it, he suddenly clenched the note.

Emperor Chong Zhao had never experienced such a thing before. When he saw this line of words, his brain was stunned for a moment. The voice seemed to be forced out of his throat, and the tone was barely kept steady.

"Send out all the imperial guards, patrol teams of each palace, eunuchs, and palace maids."

"You must search the entire palace to find it for me!"

Eunuch Yu took the order and went.

What he didn't know was that Emperor Chongzhao was now far more restless than he had imagined. Fragments of last night's dream kept flashing back to his mind, all of which were of his young son slowly losing his life in his arms, and Concubine Yun's cries in the fire.

"The Astronomical Observatory will be punished for harming me—"

"Your Majesty, save Watanabe, save our children——"

Emperor Chongzhao clenched the note in his hand tighter and tighter.

The ignored seed of doubt finally took root deeply in his heart.

-

The entire palace was in motion.

The shouts were endless, and the news naturally spread to Fengwu Palace.

The ladies' 'tea party' has just ended.

As soon as they arrived at the palace gate, Eunuch Bao, who was delivering the news, came in and told the ladies in the harem to tell the people in the palace to go look for the Seventh Prince.

Rong Guiren held up her hair and did not dare to say anything in front of Bao Gong, the eunuch beside the emperor. She only said, "He is also a dishonest man, so help find him."

She gently approached Concubine Lan and said, "He is not as well-behaved and sensible as the Sixth Prince."

Bao Gonggong said: "There is one more thing. Lady Lan Guifei, Lady Yipin, and Lady Rong Guifei, you three do not need to get involved in this matter."

Rong Guiren wondered: "Why?"

Bao Gonggong said: "Your Highnesses, the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Sixth Prince, have taken the initiative to transfer all the remaining palace servants in your palace who can still be commanded, and are following the guards to look for someone."

Noble Lady Rong: “…”

Concubine Lan: “…”

Bao Gonggong: "It was the Sixth Prince who started it. They are truly brothers in love. The Imperial Concubine can stay in the Queen's Palace for a while. There is not even a cook left in Xiuxiang Palace. If you are not used to the food in the main dining room at noon, you will be hungry."

Concubine Lan: “…”

Concubine Yi suddenly sighed.

Concubine Lan didn't want her son to work hard for the son of her dead rival. What's the point of looking for someone? Isn't it enough to just pretend? If he really died somewhere, there would be no stone missing to block his heart.

She forced a smile and said, "They are all children. If they go, they will only cause trouble. Eunuch Bao might as well ask them to come back. Concubine Yi thinks so too, doesn't she?"

Yipin shook her head. "I was just wondering if Xiao Si took his pillow with him when he went out. I was worried that someone would step on him while he slept."

Concubine Lan: “…”

Eunuch Bao: “…”

-

The sun was getting darker and it was almost dark, but the person was still not found.

The palace is the place where secrets can be hidden the most, but it is also the place where secrets cannot be hidden the most. The royal family and the harem have some connections, and after a while, many ministers knew about this.

Even though they are foreign officials, the royal affairs are closely related to them.

Not to mention anything else, just say that when you report something during court session, there may be two different results if the emperor is in a good mood or a bad mood.

As soon as Master Fang heard the news, he thought to himself that it was bad.

He didn't even eat dinner, left his old wife and went straight to the door.

Mrs. Fang: "It's already dark, what are you doing?"

Fang Taifu: "Hold the sword and marquisate!"

They all heard the news, there was no reason why the Marquis Chijian wouldn't know about it. Although the Marquis Chijian was now in the Northern Frontier, his wife was in the mansion.

That old lady is no ordinary person.

When Old Madam Fang heard him say these four words, she understood and immediately took off her shoes and threw them out in anger.

"You old fool, just wait! Madam Hou is still a woman after all, and it's not good for you to go there late at night. Wait for me, and we'll go together!"

The lights in the whole house were on, some were preparing their carriages, and some were opening their doors.

Master Fang and Old Madam Fang got on the carriage and hurried towards the Sword-wielding Marquis's mansion.

The gate of the Sword-wielding Marquis's mansion is deserted.

It wasn't that the Marquis of Chijian had lost the emperor's trust, but that there was no successor in the Marquis's mansion. His only daughter, Xu Yueqing, became Concubine Yun and died on the night of giving birth.

The Sword-wielding Marquis guards the northern border and does not come back easily. The old lady of the Marquis lives in seclusion and rarely goes out, never attends banquets, and only visits various Buddhist temples and Taoist temples. No one knows what she believes in.

In addition to Marquis Zhijian, the Xu family also has two side branches, but they have had conflicts with each other, especially after the incident with Concubine Yun, and they no longer keep in touch often.

The couple did not adopt any children from other branches to carry on their family line. Even though they were prominent at the time, it was just a castle in the air as the next generation would be gone.

at this time.

The door to the Sword-wielding Marquis's mansion slammed open.

A woman with a bun of hair walked out. She didn't look old, but most of her hair had turned white, and her back was a little hunched.

She is the old lady who holds the sword.

His real name is Wu Siwan, a gentle name, but after being baptized by the wind and frost in the northern border, the toughness of the incessant cold wind has permeated his bones.

The servants in the marquis's mansion were different from those in other mansions. You could tell they were trained. They were of different ages, some very old and some very young.

But without exception, they all have some defects on their bodies.

These people were soldiers who had nowhere to go after retreating from the battlefield, so the Marquis' Mansion took them in and asked them to stay in Kyoto to look after the old lady and the house for the Marquis.

"Madam, Madam." The maid who was serving her came up and asked worriedly, "Do you really want to go by yourself? Otherwise, you should take Brother Dai and Sister Ren with you."

Madam Hou: "No, I'll go by myself."

She took the horse from the servant, tightened the reins, and touched the horse's back.

"Madam, you should take a carriage. The doctor said that your body cannot stand the bumps."

Madam Hou: "If the horse goes faster, I will go faster. If I go faster, Qing'er's child and my grandson will suffer less."

He immediately jumped on his horse, and just as he was about to whip it, he heard the urgent sound of carriage wheels from behind, accompanied by loud shouts: "Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law!"

The Fang Mansion's carriage stopped and Master Fang almost rolled off. He rushed to Old Madam Hou in a hurry, sweating profusely. He didn't even bother to greet her and just bowed hastily.

"Sister-in-law, don't be anxious, come down and talk slowly!"

Old Madam Fang also got off the carriage and advised, "Yes, sister, come down first and talk slowly." She was older than Old Madam Hou, so it was more appropriate to call her sister. They could call each other sister without any delay.

Fang Taifu: "Your Majesty is still concerned about the young prince. Now is not the time to enter the palace. The palace is in chaos, and Your Majesty must be upset. You..."

Madam Hou said, "When Yueqing had a difficult birth, my old man and I were so anxious, but we couldn't get in. My only daughter died. At that time, I secretly swore that if I could do it again, I would break into the palace even if it meant breaking in."

"The child I managed to keep was labeled as an illegitimate child. How could the child my daughter worked so hard to give birth to be an illegitimate child?! He was tortured for three years and was sent to the imperial palace. No mother in the world would watch her child being treated like this. If Yueqing saw this, could she close her eyes!!"

"You can even throw away a child with a fever, how can you say you care about him? Even if you were to be stripped of your status as a prince and become a commoner, it would still be better than suffering in the palace!"

There were tears in her eyes, but they disappeared in an instant and her face became cold and hard again.

"Although the Marquis' Mansion is not as good as before, it can still provide food for the children. They will be sent away anyway. If the Emperor doesn't support them, then my Mansion will!"

Madam Hou waved her whip and rode towards the palace gate.