When Cuixi was summoned for questioning, she knelt on the ground, trembling, and dared not look up. She knew without a doubt that they were there to ask where her mistress was, but the problem was that she herself did not know.

"Your Highness, what brings you here?" Li Zhaoxian's expression remained unchanged, one second he was joking with you, the next he might kill you. Cuixi just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Where is the Crown Princess?"

Sure enough, the problem was just as she had expected.

Cui Xi stammered and couldn't answer. Li Zhaoxian was even more convinced that Song Tangxue was looking for that Lord Xie. What could possibly happen between a man and a woman alone in the middle of the night?

He kicked Cuixi to the ground, forcefully flicked off his sleeve, and threw down the words: "Make Song Tangxue come see me tomorrow!"

......

When Song Tangxue returned to the manor alone, she suddenly felt something was wrong. It seemed that someone was following her, but every time she turned around, there was no one there.

"That's strange..." Song Tangxue rubbed her arms and quickened her pace. Perhaps she was just being paranoid. She should have asked Xie Qianzhong to take her home. If someone saw her, she could just explain it to them. It would be better than walking alone at night.

Just as she was about to return to her residence, a man in black suddenly appeared behind her. With a swift chop, Song Tangxue lost consciousness. The man in black caught her and left.

It had been a whole day, and Song Tangxue still hadn't returned. After attending the morning court session, Li Zhaoxian still hadn't seen her and vaguely felt that something was wrong. Even if Song Tangxue was very close to Xie Qianzhong, she shouldn't have stayed out all night.

Cui Xi was also anxious. She went to the palace gate and looked around, but found nothing. Instead, she ran into Xie Qianzhong, who had just finished court.

"Wait a minute." Xie Qianzhong walked up to her. "You are... the Crown Princess's personal maid?"

Cui Xi was as anxious as a grasshopper on a hot pan. Having no other choice, she told Xie Qianzhong everything, and they all became anxious as well.

"Have you searched the places the Crown Princess frequents as well?"

"We've searched. When Her Majesty is away from home, she either goes to the street to buy trinkets, and she never stays up too late. She's never been like this before. With flower thieves so rampant these days, Her Majesty wouldn't...?"

Cui Xi became more and more frightened as she spoke. She regretted that she would have followed Song Tangxue yesterday no matter what she said.

Xie Qianzhong hurriedly boarded the carriage, his tone grave: "I'll go and inform the constables about this matter, and have them search for it as well."

Song Tangxue, who had been searching in vain, was now at a loss for where she was. The surroundings were filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, just like the legendary paradise. A group of women walked by, chatting and laughing. It was the season for lotus flowers, and the fragrance could be smelled even with the doors and windows open.

Song Tangxue rubbed her aching head. The room's furnishings were similar to her own boudoir, but it still felt unfamiliar.

"You're awake?" A strange voice rang out from the side, startling Song Tangxue. There was someone else in the room!

Song Tangxue wrapped the quilt around herself and stared at him warily.

This is a boy dressed in exotic clothes, with slightly curly long hair casually draped over his shoulders. He was born with fox-like eyes that would captivate you at first glance.

"Who are you?" Song Tangxue searched her mind and finally found someone who matched her. It was a prince from the Western Regions who came with an envoy to promote relations between the two countries. In her previous life, he was the one who kidnapped Song Tangli. She never expected that she would be the one in this life.

"It's normal that you don't know me, but I know you very well. As the legitimate daughter of the Song family, you are only a Crown Princess and are overshadowed by your own sister. When I'm feeling down, I think about this and it makes me feel much better."

Knowing that the other party was mocking him, Song Tangxue was not angry. She stared straight at him, seemingly lost in thought. The man felt a little uneasy under her gaze. This was the first time a woman had dared to look at him like that. He knew that other women would blush if they even glanced at him.

This woman is quite interesting.

"Are you Prince Wen Sizhi from the Western Regions?"

"You know me?" Song Tangxue didn't seem to recognize him at first, but she was able to call out his name accurately.

She was also bold, daring to call another king by his name. Luckily, it was her; if it had been someone else, she could have been executed for insubordination.

"I only heard that an envoy from the Western Regions has come. That person is a prince. Judging from your attire, it's not difficult to guess your identity."

This girl knew he was a prince but didn't bow. He never expected there to be such an interesting person in this country. It was worth the trip.

Song Tangxue had her own reasons for doing this. In her previous life, Song Tangli was kidnapped by Wen Sizhi and pretended to be pitiful to win his favor. At a banquet not long after, she openly competed with Li Zhaoxian for her, which led to a stalemate in relations between the two countries.

He became a major help to Song Tangli in her future power grab, and it can be said that Song Tangli's rise to empress was inseparable from his contributions.

If Song Tangxue wanted to stop all of this, she naturally had to start with Wen Sizhi, so that he would lose interest in Song Tangli and the matter would naturally come to an end.

"Interesting. You were captured by me, aren't you worried?" He had seen too many women fawning over him, and many who pretended to be clever. He could tell at a glance whether they were faking it or not. In all these years, she was the first one who surprised him.

He heard too many stories along the way, most of which were about how the eldest daughter of a family couldn't compare to her younger sister. He thought she would be very angry, but she was surprisingly calm.

"What good will panicking do? If you didn't intend to kill me, you would have done it while I was unconscious. The Crown Prince's residence probably already knows I'm missing. You should be the one panicking. Aren't you afraid of being discovered? A foreign prince kidnapping a foreign princess's concubine—that would be a huge laughing stock."

This girl doesn't let herself suffer a loss; if someone says one thing to her, she can say ten things back.

Wen Sizhi stood up and became slightly serious: "Let's get down to business first. I intend to use you to exchange for the Crown Prince's ten thousand taels of gold."

"Then you've kidnapped the wrong person. I'm the least favored person in the mansion. You should take the Crown Princess with you."

Let alone ten thousand taels of gold, he wouldn't even part with a tael of silver.

"If the Crown Princess hadn't stayed by that Crown Prince's side all this time, I wouldn't have brought you back."

So, they only came to her as a second choice because the target was hard to catch? Then wouldn't you say she took the blame for Song Tangli? That's so unfair.

"You can stay here with me for a while. If the prince still refuses to pay the money, I will send you back safely."

Winston clapped his hands, and several maids entered, bowing respectfully and saying, "Your Highness."

"You must take good care of this Crown Princess these next few days, and report to me immediately if anything happens."

"yes."

It seems he's hired a few people to watch over me, ostensibly to take care of me, but in reality, he can see right through my every move.