Chapter 64 The young lady has been found!

Prince Yi sent a second letter to Xiao Mingzhang.

As Xiao Mingzhang closed the bedroom door, he couldn't help but start opening the letter.

He hurried toward his study, reading the letter as he went, and asked Wuqi, "Did the messenger say anything else?"

"there is none left."

The first letter from Prince Yi today was delivered by a beggar in town around noon.

The little beggar didn't know who had asked him to deliver the message; he only knew that someone had given him candy and asked him to deliver it, so he came.

The moment Xiao Mingzhang saw the contents of the letter, he sent someone to monitor the little beggar to see if they would ask him to deliver letters again.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. This time, the messenger sent by Prince Yi was an old woman who was hard of hearing.

Wu Qi greeted the person warmly and politely, but couldn't get any information out of them. He could only send them back out untouched.

Xiao Mingzhang remained silent with a somber face, his gaze fixed on the letter in his hand. After reading it, his expression darkened, becoming even more somber than the sky during a rainstorm.

He clutched the letter tightly, and only after entering the study did he open it again and scan it once more.

You're absolutely right.

The Prince Yi's second letter was a special letter sent to Xiao Mingzhang to tell him that his daughter was doing well with him.

He said he told Mu Zhaozhi his identity, that Mu Zhaozhi was now calling him his eleventh uncle, and that he was treating Mu Zhaozhi to good food and drink. He also reminded Xiao Mingzhang that there was no need to go to great lengths to find their stronghold in Hanze Town, as they had already left the town the moment they decided to make their move.

He only gave Xiao Mingzhang three days. If he could not see Xiao Mingzhang's letter of surrender to the Western Regions after three days, then no matter what Mu Zhaozhi said, she would not be able to save her life.

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Mingzhang, his hands bulging with rage, finally crumpled the letter in his hand into a ball of waste paper and threw it into the wastepaper basket.

Wuqi stood to the side, wanting to ask about the current situation, but he didn't even have the courage to speak because of his master's actions.

He could only wait quietly for Xiao Mingzhang to speak, saying, "Continue to send people to investigate their whereabouts. Don't overlook any clues, and then..."

Wuqi waited patiently for Xiao Mingzhang to speak. Xiao Mingzhang paused for a moment, then continued, "Send someone to Liangzhou to invite the two military advisors here."

"The strategist?" Wuqi asked in surprise.

But Xiao Mingzhang only gave him a glare, and he immediately lowered his head and simply agreed.

—

In the evening, Yan Qian and Lou Kongcheng's carriage arrived at Hanze Town.

Yes, even though the number of strategists in the Huan Prince's mansion is several times greater than before, the two military advisors that Xiao Mingzhang brought with him when he led his troops to Liangzhou this time are still these two.

On their way here, the two had already learned about the current situation in Hanze Town. They sat upright, neither of them showing any sign of relaxation.

Their carriage stopped in front of Xiao Mingzhang's new residence.

In the hall, Yunzhu had slept in Xiao Mingzhang's room all afternoon and finally got up half an hour ago, looking listless as she went out to sit. Ayan, having heard the news about Mu Zhaozhi, also rushed over from home to stay by her side.

Upon hearing the sound of new hooves outside, both of them instantly became extremely alert, turning around to go outside, fearing that it was another message sent by Prince Yi.

Xiao Mingzhang had already shown the new information to Yunzhu again this afternoon.

Yunzhu forced herself to stay awake, tears welling up again in her eyes... What if Prince Yi were to send another threatening message at this moment...?

Yunzhu was filled with trepidation and nervousness as she looked towards the door. Little did she expect that, amidst her anxiety, she would see two figures that were incredibly familiar from three years ago.

Both Yunzhu and Ayan were stunned for a long time as they stared at the two figures.

After finally recognizing the person who had come, Yunzhu's eyes turned cold and fierce, and she immediately stood up to leave.

Xiao Mingzhang reacted quickly and stopped the person.

“Yunzhu!” Xiao Mingzhang said, “I called you two strategists here to help find Azhi.”

"Military Advisor?" Yunzhu was surprised to learn that Xiao Mingzhang had brought with him the military advisors on his westward journey. They were none other than Yan Qian and Lou Kongcheng.

The scene in the study was still vivid in her mind. Yunzhu looked at Xiao Mingzhang with disappointment, not believing that his words could be explained, but he could also explain what Lou Yan and the other person had said back then.

Xiao Mingzhang truly couldn't explain the suggestions these two men made back then.

But he said, "Regardless of what happened back then, A-Zhi's safety is the most important thing now, isn't it?"

Xiao Mingzhang truly understood Yunzhu. He knew that as long as her daughter was used as leverage, Yunzhu would compromise no matter what.

Sure enough, seeing that Yunzhu's expression softened, Xiao Mingzhang said again, "Yunzhu, Azhi's matter is of utmost importance now. I invited you two gentlemen to help. No matter what happened before, we should just focus on bringing Azhi back safely, okay?"

"Perfect timing, let's give them a chance to make amends?"

He pleaded in a low voice, but in reality, every word he said left Yunzhu with no right to refuse.

How could she refuse? The two of them were no longer there to kill her, but to help her find her daughter. No matter how much she wanted to sulk, she would never joke about her daughter's safety.

Yunzhu could only turn her face away. She wouldn't leave, but she stubbornly refused to look at the two of them, as if out of sight, out of mind.

Xiao Mingzhang then went to greet them on his own.

"Your Highness!"

Yan and Lou had always treated Xiao Mingzhang with utmost respect.

However, after arriving in Liangzhou, their perception of Xiao Mingzhang became somewhat skewed.

The two learned that Yunzhu was still alive after Xiao Mingzhang first came to Hanze Town. At the same time, they also learned that Yunzhu was not only alive, but had also given birth to a daughter, a daughter with the bloodline of the Prince Huan's Mansion.

It was only then that the two realized they had been fooled by their prince all these years.

At the time, he did not want to kill his crown princess. On the contrary, he cared about her a lot, so much so that he could endure it for three years without making a move, and only dared to expose them to outsiders when everything was almost stable.

They had long known that Xiao Mingzhang was no ordinary man, which was why they had been willing to follow the Prince Huan's mansion for so many years. But it seemed that only now did they realize just how extraordinary their heir truly was, and how much deeper his thoughts were than they had imagined.

"Your Highness, we have learned most of the details on the way here. Your urgent task now is to find the location of Prince Yi's forces in order to rescue the young lady. In our opinion, there are several directions in this town that we can focus our search on..."

Leaving aside the matter of Yunzhu for the time being, on their way here, Yan Qian and Lou Kongcheng had already gotten a general understanding of the situation and the terrain of Hanze Town.

They laid out a map and showed it to Xiao Mingzhang, highlighting two circled areas.

One is the southeast corner of Hanze Town, and the other is the northeast corner.

Yunzhu stood to the side, not turning around, but her ears were firmly perked up, listening to the sounds coming from the hall.

Upon hearing Yan Lou and the other person take out a survey map, Yun Zhu twitched her ears and finally could no longer pretend to be indifferent. She turned around and walked to the table.

Yan Qian looked up at Yun Zhu, exchanged a glance with Lou Kongcheng, and remained silent in tacit agreement.

Both men continued to explain intently to everyone why they believed that the Prince Yi's men would be hiding in these two locations.

“Liangzhou is located north of Hanze Town. Now, Liangzhou is completely surrounded by our troops, so we can be certain that Prince Yi’s forces have never passed through Liangzhou…”

Yan Qian spoke eloquently, analyzing the situation layer by layer, and finally successfully persuaded everyone to try their best to search in the southeast and northeast directions of the town first.

According to their advice, Hanze Town is not large. Even if we include some nearby villages and towns, we can basically turn the whole place upside down tonight. If we still can't find the whereabouts of Prince Yi and Mu Zhaozhi by dawn at the latest, then we will proceed with the next step.

Yunzhu stood in the hall, watching the two of them arrange things in an orderly manner, one thing after another. Her expression remained unchanged, but her eyes kept meeting Ayan's gaze many times.

Ayan then walked to Yunzhu's side.

In this hall, besides Xiao Mingzhang, perhaps only Ayan knows Yunzhu's current dilemma.

She hated the strategist surnamed Yan, and she also hated the one surnamed Lou, since they had genuinely wanted her dead back then, but now they seemed to be genuinely helping Mu Zhaozhi's safety.

Yunzhu's heart was filled with such a complex mix of emotions.

She didn't want to forgive these two people so easily, but because of Mu Zhaozhi's matter, it seemed that she couldn't hate them anymore for the time being.

“It’s what they should do.” Ayan squeezed Yunzhu’s hand and expressed her thoughts, which finally pulled Yunzhu out of her troubled state.

She grasped Ayan's hand in return and nodded slightly.

Their operation began at night.

After nightfall, the guards who had already inspected the town in the afternoon once again set out in full force, heading straight for the southeast and northeast of the town.

Yunzhu and Ayan sat in the hall, continuing to wait.

And Xiao Mingzhang.

This was the first time since they met again that the three of them sat together so harmoniously, without arguing or treating each other coldly.

Yan Qian and Lou Kongcheng sat far away in a corner of the hall, silent and resting with their eyes closed.

Seeing the candlelight in the hall dim and gradually burn out, and still no news from outside, Xiao Mingzhang finally got up and walked to Yunzhu's side, advising, "Why don't you go and rest first? I'll keep watch here, and I'll wake you up immediately if there's any news."

Ke Yunzhu shook her head. She couldn't sleep. She had already taken a nap in the afternoon, but now she was worried about Mu Zhaozhi and couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

According to Yan Qian and the others' estimation, it wouldn't take long to search the southeast and northeast corners of the town, and there would definitely be news by dawn at the latest. Now that midnight has passed, she was determined to sit here and wait for all the guards to return.

Xiao Mingzhang was helpless. Seeing her sitting in the hall in plain clothes, he turned around, went into the house, and took a cloak, which he draped over Yunzhu's shoulders.

Hanze Town is located on the northwestern border. After autumn arrives, the weather gets colder day by day and cools down very quickly. At night, the hall is left open so that the guards can return to report news. Every now and then, the bleak autumn wind will brush against the door and blow into the spacious room.

Noticing something on her shoulder, Yunzhu turned her head, intending to refuse Xiao Mingzhang, but Xiao Mingzhang pressed her shoulder and said, "Azhi hasn't come back yet. You can't afford to ruin your health first. How will you face Azhi then, and how will you get revenge on me?"

"..."

Yunzhu finally fell silent again.

Xiao Mingzhang's cloak was very comfortable. It looked thin, but it was actually lined with rare snow fox fur. The snow fox fur was white and warm, and not heavy, making it perfect for wearing in autumn.

Although Yunzhu was not short of money, she had never worn anything so precious since leaving the palace.

For some reason, she suddenly gave a ridiculous twitch of her lips.

Someone in the hall changed the candles, and after the interlude, the group of people waited quietly in the room. Before they knew it, the night had passed.

As dawn broke and the east gradually turned a pale white, the guards finally began to return one after another.

As Yunzhu listened to their reports, one after another, all they said was that they hadn't found it, her heart sank deeper and deeper into despair.

Before long, it was the last batch.

When Yunzhu saw the last batch of guards rushing back under the rising sun, drenched in sweat, her heart leaped into her throat.

The guards hurriedly told Xiao Mingzhang, "Found it! Found it!"

Yunzhu burst into tears of joy.