Chapter 944 The Second Prince is Missing

Meanwhile, on the other side, Jiang Fenghua entered the bedchamber and directly instructed Hongxiu to inform Lin Yu to check the accounts of Xiangya Pavilion. Hongxiu acted quickly, saying, "Her Majesty wants to use our money to treat the disaster victims."

“We don’t need it for now. Let’s keep the money for a rainy day.” She added, “Right now, what the Great Zhou needs most is probably not silver, but food and medicine.”

This is also the most difficult time for Xie Shang as emperor. All the pressure is on him. Most of the princes in the Xie family are useless. If they are really given a task, they will probably only think about filling their own pockets first.

The only person available right now is the Eighth Prince.

It's almost impossible for Qin Yunyan to use the Bai family's assets to donate to Xie Shang in exchange for her own wealth, because the Bai family is not the Qin family of the previous life. Anyone who wants to touch the Bai family's money must get the Bai family's consent.

What is Bai Zhiyan doing?

Lianye brought in the delicious food and overheard this. She said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. Her every move is under our surveillance. She can't cause any trouble. This woman is making no attempt to seduce the Emperor. Since entering the palace, she's been constantly inquiring about his whereabouts. Because she was left in the palace by the Emperor, no one dares to offend her. Does Your Majesty really intend to keep her in the palace? I wonder if the Emperor has developed feelings for her. I'm worried..."

Lianye was still worried that the emperor would be seduced by other women, and wanted to persuade the empress to use some means to keep the emperor.

“You don’t need to worry, her existence poses no threat to me,” Jiang Fenghua said. “It’s because she is beautiful, and everyone thinks she will become the Emperor’s woman sooner or later, so they dare not neglect her.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.” Lianye added, “No matter how pretty she is, she’s not as pretty as Your Majesty. My Your Majesty is the most beautiful.”

Jiang Fenghua didn't take Qin Yunyan seriously. Regardless of whether Qin Yunyan had a relationship with Xie Shang, she didn't need to be jealous. Xie Shang would have many women in the future, and she only needed to manage them well, not compete with them for his affections.

She didn't think her beauty was anything special. "Flowers don't bloom for a hundred days, and people don't stay good for a thousand days. Even the most beautiful face will eventually become tiresome. I don't believe that I can hold the Emperor's heart forever with my beauty."

Lianye and Hongxiu could only sigh, "Why do men always fall in love with every woman they meet? The person in front of them is already the best person in the world. What are they pursuing?"

Seeing their sentimentality, Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "You are not married yet, but you are already influenced by me. In fact, what I said is not entirely true. There is still unwavering love in the world."

Hongxiu said, "Your Majesty, please don't try to comfort us. We've been with you since we were little, so we know what you mean. Your Majesty is very insightful, and we servants aren't the type to get stuck on trivialities. Women can live freely and unrestrained lives, and it's not necessarily a bad thing to be carefree."

Lianye said, "Hongxiu is only saying this because she doesn't plan to get married, but I still want to marry Lin Feng! What if Lin Feng changes his mind in the future and falls in love with every girl he sees?"

Hongxiu said, "It's not impossible. From a young age, the Empress taught us not to scheme in the early days, or we would end up with nothing. You should also learn to plan ahead."

"It's so tiring! Being with someone you like and having to constantly think about and calculate, how exhausting is that!" Lianye was also melancholy, she seemed unable to understand people's hearts.

Lianye continued, "I heard Aoxue mention her master. She is a free spirit and seems to have never thought about getting married. She likes to travel around the world. I really don't know how she could have such thoughts at such a young age."

Jiang Fenghua was also curious. It seemed that Gongsun Lan thought differently from her. She and Xie Shang had no affair. Although she was not a stunning beauty at first glance, she was indeed a beautiful woman, the kind of beauty that made people want to get close to her.

Xie Shang's relationship with the Gongsun siblings was even closer than with his own brothers. He addressed Gongsun Ling as "Mr. Gongsun," despite the two being roughly the same age. He cared for Gongsun Lan more than he cared for Xie Ling'er, trusting her implicitly. They were like family, yet also like friends. What was the reason behind such a deep bond between them?

At this moment, a palace maid came to report, "Your Majesty the Empress, the Second Prince has gone missing."

Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "The Second Prince is in Consort Gao's palace. How could he have disappeared? Where could such a young child go? Send more people to search everywhere, near the pond and rockery... have you searched Jinghe Palace as well?"

The palace maid said, "Aunt Dingzhi sent me to inform Her Majesty the Empress that they have searched Jinghe Palace but have not found her."

The key issue is that with such heavy rain, and the Second Prince being so young, where could he go alone?

Jiang Fenghua hadn't slept a wink last night, and this morning she was delayed by going to the prison. Now that she had changed her clothes and wanted to rest, this happened again. She put on her cloak and followed the palace maid to Yongle Palace.

The rain continued to pour outside. When Gao Qingtong saw the Empress braving the rain to arrive, she quickly went to greet her, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."

"No need for formalities. Where is the Second Prince?" Jiang Fenghua asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, I don't know how the Second Prince disappeared. Because of the heavy rain, I didn't send the Second Prince and the Second Princess to school this morning. I thought he and Ding Zhi were resting in the side hall. By the time Ding Zhi started looking for them, the Second Prince was already gone." Gao Qingtong was also very anxious. "The Second Prince is such a young child. With such heavy rain outside, he couldn't possibly have left Yongle Palace alone."

Jiang Fenghua stared at Ding Zhi, "When did you realize the person was missing? Why did it take you so long to inform me?"

Ding Zhi knelt on the ground, "When I got up this morning, I saw the Second Prince sleeping in bed. I thought he had gone to bed late last night and cried all night, so I let him sleep a little longer today. I was busy in the kitchen making the Second Prince's breakfast. When I came back, I saw that the bed curtains were still drawn, so I thought he was still sleeping and didn't disturb him. Later, when I saw that the Second Prince hadn't moved, I went to check and found that he was gone."

"This servant informed Her Highness the Noble Consort, who said to search for him first, perhaps he's being mischievous and hiding. This servant and her men searched everywhere but couldn't find him. People were also sent to Jinghe Palace to search, but there was no one there either. The East Palace is even further from the inner palace, so it's impossible for the Second Prince to have gone there. Only when we absolutely could not find him did we dare to report to Her Majesty the Empress."

Upon hearing her reply, Jiang Fenghua asked, "So the Second Prince disappeared after dawn, and the eunuchs and maids of Yongle Palace didn't see him come out of the side hall either?"

Gao Qingtong said, "I have asked everyone, and no one saw the Second Prince leave the side hall. The rain was too heavy, and everyone was in their own rooms. No one noticed when the Second Prince disappeared. I am guilty. The Second Prince has only been in Yongle Palace for one day, and I have already lost him. What should I do? How can I explain this to His Majesty?"

"Don't worry, we'll find the Second Prince." Jiang Fenghua knew that Gao Qingtong didn't like Song Qing, and she didn't like Song Qing's child either, but given the current situation, Gao Qingtong couldn't possibly do anything to intentionally harm the Second Prince.