"Help me..."

"Yi'er—" Yinzhen called out softly, suddenly sitting up and opening his sharp eyes.

He had another nightmare.

Startled awake by his movement, Nian, who was sleeping on the outer side, sat up, still half-asleep, clutching the sheet. "Master, are you thirsty?"

"No, you go to sleep first. I have things to take care of." Yinzhen lifted the covers, got out of bed, grabbed his coat, and walked out.

Lady Nian felt a little disappointed. She had been accompanying the emperor for more than two months, but she hadn't had many nights to attend to him. Each time, he would leave in the middle of the night.

My father is always very busy, spending all his time buried in his study handling official business.

When they were at the manor, things were fine; they could always sleep through the night together. But the opportunities were few and far between, and usually the master would get up and leave around 4 a.m.

However, compared to her, Lady Li Jia, who accompanied the emperor, was much worse off, having hardly ever been intimate with the emperor. Thinking of this, Lady Nian couldn't help but feel smug; even if she couldn't serve the emperor, he still spent a lot of time with her.

Ms. Nian curled the corners of her lips, pulled up the sheet, and lay back down on the bed.

Upon entering the study, Yinzhen was greeted by Su Peisheng, who busied himself with helping his master wash up. After finishing, Su Peisheng took out several secret letters from his bosom and presented them to the desk.

"Is that all?" Yinzhen asked casually, flipping through the pages.

Su Peisheng understood his master's unspoken meaning, but he was also helpless. It was as if Consort Tong had vanished into thin air, and he couldn't find a trace of her.

The master was anxious, but he was even more anxious. When his master got angry, he, as the personal eunuch, was the first to bear the brunt. After Master Tong disappeared, he received a scolding every day without fail.

Yinzhen's face was dark, and the secret letter was almost burned through by the anger in his eyes.

Su Peisheng shrank his neck, looking utterly hopeless, thinking to himself that he was about to get scolded again.

He was dejected and had no will to live. Meanwhile, the secret guards who were searching the world for Consort Tong were watching the days pass by without finding their mistress. They were like ants on a hot plate, almost ready to go to the temple to burn incense and pray to their mistress to come out and save them.

After reading the secret letter, Yinzhen's face was extremely tense, on the verge of exploding, when Quanfu suddenly knocked on the door from the outside.

Su Peisheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, breathed a sigh of relief, and thought to himself, "That was close! Quanfu is such a lucky star; he's saved me from a terrible situation."

Quanfu held a small bamboo tube, about the thickness of a little finger, in his palm. "Master, news has come from Shanxi about Master Tong."

Yinzhen suddenly stood up. "Bring it here."

Quanfu opened the bamboo tube, took out the letter inside, handed it to his master behind the table, and then stepped aside with his head down to wait.

There were two letters, one containing only a few words and the other a portrait. Yinzhen glanced at the portrait and knew it was Tong Shi in disguise.

He put away the portrait, put his hands behind his back, and asked, "What happened in Taiyuan Prefecture? Is there any official report from there?"

Su Peisheng: “Reporting to Your Majesty, the Governor of Shanxi recently reported that there was a bandit problem in Jinzhong. People have been sent to suppress the bandits. In addition, Li Lin, the Prefect of Taiyuan, will soon be transferred back to Beijing to serve as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.”

Yinzhen was deep in thought, fearing something else might have happened. Otherwise, how could his beloved concubine have become a wanted criminal, some kind of notorious bandit? It was utterly absurd.

When Tong arrived in Taiyuan, she left a note saying she was coming to find him.

A whole host of questions were swirling in my mind.

However, Yinzhen couldn't care less about all that. The local government was issuing warrants for her arrest everywhere. This woman had become a rat in the street, and it was anyone's guess where she was hiding.

Did he need to save his life? Yinzhen felt a pang of heartache, but also wanted to laugh. He thought to himself, "Serves you right for being so restless. Why didn't you stay in the manor? Why did you run away from home?"

It's good to have news. It's as if all the previous grudges have disappeared in this moment. After more than two months of summer vacation, it's time for Father Emperor to return to the capital.

Yinzhen said, "Quanfu, you must set off for Taiyuan immediately. No matter what, find the person in the painting and bring her back safely."

"twitter"

After Quanfu left, Su Peisheng cautiously stepped forward, refilled his master's tea, and tentatively asked, "Master, is there any news about the concubine?"

"Where did this concubine come from?" Yinzhen coldly stared at his personal eunuch.

Su Peisheng covered his mouth and shook his head. He was wrong again. He had been scolded by the master for more than a month, and he had really been dumbfounded. His eyesight had also decreased a lot. "This servant misspoke. Consort, um, has there been any news about the Consort?"

Yinzhen nodded, slowly sat down, and focused on the official documents.

Almost simultaneously, when Fourth Master received news of Nan Yi, Old Master Kang also received the news. Li Dequan did not present it to the Emperor until the next day.

They received more comprehensive information.

After finishing his breakfast, Emperor Kangxi got up and went to his study. Li Dequan accompanied him and whispered a few words to him.

Kangxi was taken aback. "Tong Shi, that girl from the fourth prince's family?"

"It is indeed her, Your Majesty. It is said that Consort Tong was thinking about the Fourth Prince and left a letter before leaving the mansion to find him. Somehow, she appeared in Taiyuan Prefecture. She was dressed as a man, and the government is looking for her. When our people found her, they were not sure at first. It was only when they saw that the Fourth Prince's men were also looking for her that they confirmed that it was Consort Tong."

"Men's clothing," Kangxi murmured. Then, as if struck by a thought, he paused for a moment, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, saying, "I'm afraid they've gotten lost."

If a girl could get lost even in the Forbidden City, she would be even more disoriented in the vast Qing Dynasty. Luckily, she wasn't kidnapped by a swindler. The Aisin Gioro family would not tolerate a woman with a tarnished reputation.

As for Shanxi... Kangxi's face darkened. "Summon the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to await my instructions."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Li Dequan said, then asked, "What do you think of the matter of Consort Tong?"

For a prince's wife to leave the residence without permission is a serious crime. At best, she would be arrested, stripped of her rank, and imprisoned to reflect on her actions. At worst, she would be detained for life. But judging from His Majesty's attitude, it seems he doesn't want to pursue the matter.

His Majesty truly treats Consort Tong very well.

Emperor Kangxi did not want to show such obvious favoritism, but then he changed his words and said, "I order them to bring them back safely and secretly send them back to the Consort's palace for reprimand. I will deal with them when I return to the palace."

Finally, he added, "Let me inform the fourth brother, so his men don't wander around aimlessly."

Quanfu led his men back to Taiyuan overnight, only to find they had come up empty-handed.

Nan Yi, outside Anyang City, fought with all his might but only managed a draw against the man in blue, both of them suffering serious injuries.

Nan Yi stabbed the man in blue in the chest, while the man in blue slashed her waist with his sword, resulting in injuries to both of them.

Fearing that someone else would chase her, she held on to her last breath, hastily bandaged her wound, and continued to flee. When night fell, she saw a hunter's hut in the mountains and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she didn't have to sleep in the mountains; otherwise, wolves and tigers could easily have taken half her life.

The wound was too deep; with every step she took, she felt the blood draining away. Having no medicine in hand, she simply cleaned it lightly, re-bandaged the wound, and decided to wait until dawn to make a decision.

Although the hunter's hut was small, it was fairly clean, suggesting that people often came here, as it was well-stocked with food and water.

In addition, the wound was too painful for her to cook, so she grabbed the only blanket in the room, wrapped it around herself, and fell asleep immediately.

Due to the severity of his injuries, Nan Yi suddenly developed a fever in the middle of the night.