Five days later, good news finally arrived: Qi Mingxuan had successfully delivered the grain supplies to the border, relieving the immediate crisis. The border troops were greatly encouraged and won several battles in succession, forcing the Northern Di army back a hundred miles.

However, just as Xiao Chengyu was feeling somewhat relieved, a series of bad news arrived: Qi Mingxuan was ambushed on his way back and his whereabouts were unknown!

"How is this possible!" Xiao Chengyu almost collapsed when he received the news. "Mingxuan is protected by elite troops, how could he be easily ambushed?"

The guard knelt and reported, "On his way back, the Prince Consort received a secret report that an important stronghold of the Shadow Pavilion had been discovered. He immediately decided to investigate, but unexpectedly fell into an ambush. We fought desperately, but the enemy outnumbered us. To cover our escape, the Prince Consort lured away the pursuers alone and has not returned since."

Xiao Chengyu felt dizzy and disoriented, but forced himself to remain calm and said, "Immediately send more people to search! We must find him alive or dead... no, he must still be alive!"

She personally directed the search, mobilizing all available resources to conduct a thorough search of the area where Qi Mingxuan disappeared. However, three days passed without any results.

On the morning of the fourth day, a ragged, blood-soaked man stumbled to the city gate, clutching a jade pendant tightly in his hand—a token of love that Xiao Chengyu had given to Qi Mingxuan.

"The prince consort... the prince consort is still alive..." The man fainted after saying this.

Xiao Chengyu immediately ordered the imperial physicians to do everything they could to save him, and at the same time personally interrogated the only person who might know Qi Mingxuan's whereabouts.

After waking up, the man recounted his experience in fits and starts: he was Qi Mingxuan's personal bodyguard, and he had been separated from his master during the ambush. He had personally witnessed Qi Mingxuan being forced to the edge of a cliff by a group of men in black, and before falling off the cliff, he threw the jade pendant to him, signaling him to return and report the news.

“Cliff…” Xiao Chengyu’s heart sank. “Which cliff?”

"Black Wind Cliff".

Black Wind Cliff! It is the most precipitous cliff near the capital, bottomless, and no one has ever fallen from there and survived.

Xiao Chengyu's vision blurred, and she nearly fainted. But she suppressed her grief and ordered, "We must find him alive or dead. Even if we have to turn Black Wind Cliff upside down, we must find the Prince Consort!"

The search lasted for seven days. Finally, the soldiers found Qi Mingxuan's tattered clothes and some bloodstains at the bottom of the cliff, but he was nowhere to be found.

"There are signs of wild animals at the bottom of the cliff," the searching general reported reluctantly. "I'm afraid..."

"Keep searching!" Xiao Chengyu interrupted him, his eyes flashing with determination. "If we haven't found a body, it means he might still be alive."

Despite her immense grief, she refused to give up hope. She believed that Qi Mingxuan wouldn't leave her like this; he must still be alive, waiting for her somewhere to rescue him.

The affairs of state could not be left unattended, and the border wars continued. Xiao Chengyu suppressed his grief and continued to handle state affairs day and night, only allowing himself to shed tears in the dead of night.

That evening, while she was reviewing memorials, she suddenly received a secret report: someone had seen a man near the capital who looked very much like Qi Mingxuan, but seemed to be mentally unstable.

Xiao Chengyu immediately led a group to investigate. In a remote mountain village, she indeed found the man who looked exactly like Qi Mingxuan—but he had a stubble beard, was dressed in rags, and had empty eyes; he was completely unrecognizable.

"Mingxuan?" Xiao Chengyu called out tentatively.

The man looked at her blankly, then suddenly cried out in terror, "Shadows! Shadows! Shadows everywhere!" and turned to run away.

Xiao Chengyu immediately ordered his men to stop him. After a careful inspection, he confirmed that it was indeed Qi Mingxuan, but he seemed to have suffered a great shock and lost his memory.

"Bring the prince consort back to the palace and summon the imperial physician!" she ordered, fighting back tears.

Back in the palace, the imperial physician examined Qi Mingxuan and said with a grave expression, "The prince consort has multiple injuries, but they are all superficial. The truly serious injuries are the impact to his head and the possible use of a sedative, which have caused him to lose his senses and have confused memories."

"Can it be cured?" Xiao Chengyu asked anxiously.

The imperial physician hesitated and said, "Head injuries are the most unpredictable. Perhaps it will heal on its own after a period of rest, or perhaps... it will never heal."

Xiao Chengyu looked at Qi Mingxuan, who was curled up in the corner of the bed with a look of terror in his eyes, and his heart ached. The intelligent and gentle Qi Mingxuan had become like this.

But she had no time for grief. The threat from the Shadow Pavilion remained, the border war was far from over, and undercurrents were swirling within the court. She had to be strong, for the sake of the Great Liang, and for the sake of Qi Mingxuan.

"No matter what, the prince consort must be cured," she said firmly. "In the meantime, I will act as regent."

From then on, Xiao Chengyu began a life of handling state affairs during the day and taking care of Qi Mingxuan at night. Although the court officials had many complaints about this, with Xiao Chengji's support, no one dared to openly oppose it.

Even more worrying is that the Shadow Pavilion seems to have become aware of Qi Mingxuan's situation and has intensified its activities in the court. Several officials have received threatening letters that directly threaten the safety of their families.

For a time, people in the court were filled with anxiety.

Qi Mingxuan was placed in a side hall of the Yangxin Hall, where he was cared for day and night by the imperial physicians. Xiao Chengyu, in addition to handling state affairs, spent almost all his time by his side. The court officials had many complaints about this, but with the strong support of Crown Prince Xiao Chengji, no one dared to openly question it.

That afternoon, Xiao Chengyu was patiently feeding Qi Mingxuan his medicine when he suddenly knocked over the bowl and pointed out the window in alarm: "Shadow! Shadow is here again!"

Xiao Chengyu looked in the direction he pointed and saw only the swaying shadows of the trees outside the window, nothing unusual. She gently reassured him, "There are no shadows, just the shadows of the tree branches."

Qi Mingxuan grew increasingly agitated, trembling all over: "No! They're watching! They've been watching!" He suddenly grabbed Xiao Chengyu's hand, so tightly it hurt her. "You can't stay here! They'll hurt you!"

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