"Hey, is anyone there?" Hongli jumped to the window and shouted loudly outside. He and Hongzhou had been tied up like this all night, and their whole bodies ached and they were in great discomfort.

Both of them had grown up in wealthy areas and had never experienced such treatment before, but no matter how unbearable it was, they had to endure it. After the ordeal of the previous night, they were both starving, their stomachs practically sticking to their backs.

At this moment, Hongli took the initiative to call out to the group of people, hoping they could get him and Hongzhou some food, but after calling for a long time, no one answered them.

"Have they all run away? Is there no one here?" Hongzhou asked, lying on the ground.

"I don't know, so they haven't gotten up yet?" Hongli said, then called out a few more times, each time louder than the last.

Finally, someone responded: "Shouting, what are you shouting for! What are you doing?"

"Brother, could you get us some food? If you don't give us some, we brothers won't be able to hold on. Then you'll have a hard time getting your ransom money," Hongli said.

The people outside were clearly taken aback by Hongli's words, and after a moment of hesitation, they said, "I haven't eaten yet. Those who went out to buy things haven't returned, and those who went out to gather information haven't returned either."

Hongli frowned and tentatively asked, "Is there really no food for sale around here?"

"No!" the person outside shouted, then swore a few times, basically saying that this place was a godforsaken place, and there was no one to go out and buy anything.

"Brother, why don't we go next door and beg for some loose change?" Hongli continued.

"Forget about it. There's no one around here. Where am I supposed to get it for you? I'm starving myself." The person outside was clearly impatient.

"Brother, why don't you look around and see if there are any wild vegetables or wild animals outside? I can roast rabbit, it's incredibly delicious!" Hongli seemed oblivious to the man's patience reaching its limit and continued to tempt him.

Actually, he asked this question to assess the surrounding environment of the house. There were no neighbors around, and no market outside. It was a very strange place.

This time, the person outside didn't get angry. He hesitated and said, "We might be able to catch some wild rabbits! Okay, you wait here, I'll go out and catch a few."

After the footsteps faded into the distance, Hongli smiled and said, "Silly roe deer! Hongzhou, hurry, continue to help me untie the ropes binding my hands." It turned out that Hongli had been trying to get Hongzhou to use his mouth to untie the ropes binding his hands. But unfortunately, the ropes were tied too tightly, and no matter how hard Hongzhou bit, he couldn't break them.

Now, the person who went out indeed greeted his companions outside and went out to hunt wild animals. Anyway, once you go out from here, there are only mountains, and you can't see anyone or get anything. You can only ask nature for what you need.

"Hey, you two keep an eye on things inside! I'm going to get some food. By the time they come back, we brothers will be starving," the burly man said to his companion.

“Okay, then hurry back. Those two little brats inside won’t get away,” his companion said.

Meanwhile, Hongli and Hongzhou hadn't returned home all night, causing Lanqin and the Fourth Prince to worry all night. In fact, Lanqin had already asked their respective personal servants about what the two had been doing when they didn't return last night.

Fourth Master flew into a rage, wishing he could beat the two servants to death, but Lanqin stopped him. He sent them away to do hard labor and forbade them from serving him anymore. The servants in their respective rooms were also punished, with the most serious ones being demoted and the least serious ones having their salaries reduced by three months.

Then, the Fourth Prince sent someone to Tan Tuo Temple that very night to find out what had happened to the two princes. After finding out, the person quickly returned to report to the Fourth Prince. The head monk in charge of the temple said that the two princes had indeed gone there and had told him everything that had happened with them. They dared not not tell him, otherwise, if the Prince Yong wanted to seal off a temple, he could have done so.

After hearing the report, the Fourth Prince learned that his wife had also taken Hongshi and his wives and concubines to Tantuo Temple that day.

The Fourth Prince immediately wanted to find his wife and ask if they had seen Hongli and Hongzhou. However, Lanqin stopped him. She knew that Hongzhou had gone to Tantuo Temple with Hongli because he was interested in Ulanara Xueying, probably to confess his feelings to her. The monks at Tantuo Temple said that Hongli and Hongzhou had left the temple before his wife and the others, which meant that neither the monks nor his wife's group knew where they had gone. Asking them would only complicate matters and wouldn't help at all.

After a night of agonizing indecision, seeing that Hongli and Hongzhou still hadn't returned by morning, the Fourth Prince decided to mobilize the people in the manor to search for the two men, and even to go to the Prefect of the Capital to have him send out patrols to look for them.

“Your Highness, Hongli and Hongzhou are both sensible children. They haven’t returned all night and it seems they’re tied up with something. We can go to the Ling residence first, and then search the places the brothers might go. Don’t post notices all over the city yet, I’m afraid…” Lanqin said as she watched the Fourth Prince getting dressed with the help of Su Peisheng and Yuxiao.

"Yes, I know. You don't need to worry, I'll go to the Prefect of the Capital right away. Hongli and Hongzhou won't not come back; they must be trapped or have encountered some trouble," the Fourth Prince said.

Lanqin was so anxious she couldn't speak. Afraid of worrying the Fourth Prince, she suppressed her fear and forced herself to remain calm. She knew that what the Fourth Prince needed to do now was send people to find Hongli and Hongzhou. Therefore, at this moment, she absolutely couldn't become a burden to him.

After the Fourth Prince left, Lanqin showed signs of anxiety and paced around the room. Several maids, seeing that Hongli and Hongzhou had not returned, also became worried and all moved quietly, afraid of making a loud noise that might displease Lanqin.

"Master, Princess Geng has arrived!" Liu Xu reported at the door.

Lanqin knew that Madam Geng probably hadn't slept much all night, and before she could even say "please," Madam Geng had already reached the door.

Lanqin noticed the dark circles under Geng's eyes and knew she had the same condition as herself, so she said, "The Prince has already sent people out to search, and I believe we will have news of them soon."

Madam Geng had indeed not slept a wink last night, racking her brains trying to figure out where Hongzhou and Hongli might have gone, but she still had no clue. She didn't know that the Fujin and the others had also gone to Tantuo Temple, nor did she know that Hongzhou had feelings for Xueying. She only thought that Hongzhou had gone out with Hongli, so she felt that Hongzhou had been implicated by Hongli.