That night was destined to be anything but peaceful in the capital. Soldiers lit bonfires in every alleyway of the city, while palace servants searched for Gu Qingfeng's whereabouts.

But even as the sun rose, they still couldn't find any trace of Gu Qingfeng.

Gu Heng was furious and immediately ordered Gu Qingyao to be placed under house arrest. Even Consort Rong, for the first time ever, lost her temper with Gu Qingyao.

Everyone's attention was focused on finding Gu Qingfeng, and no one cared about Gu Qingyao, who was under house arrest.

In a manor outside Beijing, the pain in his wrist brought Gu Qingfeng back to his senses. When he opened his eyes, he had an incredulous look on his face.

"It's you, you're not the little girl who gave out porridge that day..."

Gu Qingfeng's lips were dry and peeling. That day, it was the little girl in front of him who asked him if he was the Empress's child.

Pei Zhi silently squeezed the wound on Gu Qingfeng's wrist, while the black-clad man behind her, whose face was covered, caught the dripping blood in a bowl.

"Why did you tie me up here? My father will not let you get away with this!" Gu Qingfeng began to struggle, but Pei Zhi grabbed his wrist tightly. "Shh, don't move. You'll die if you move."

Pei Zhi carefully carried the bowl full of blood out of the house, and the house fell into an eerie silence. Gu Qingfeng huddled in a corner, trembling. How could this be? Why would the little girl who had kindly given him porridge kidnap him?

But less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Pei Zhi returned, angrily grabbing Gu Qingfeng by the neck, "You lied to me, you are not the Empress's child at all!"

"How could that be!" Gu Qingfeng's face turned red with anger. "Even if you kill me, Gu Qingfeng, today, it won't change the fact that I am the legitimate daughter of the Empress."

“The Jiang family has served in the military for generations. From a young age, the young and old in the family have been taking a medicinal soup that can make wounds heal quickly. This has been passed down from generation to generation. The Jiang family’s descendants have the ability to heal wounds quickly in their blood from birth.” Pei Zhi’s pretty face was cold. “Your blood has no effect at all.”

She went to great lengths to come to the capital, all for the sake of obtaining the blood of the Jiang family, but the blood of the Second Prince in front of her was completely useless on her father.

Seeing Pei Zhi's certainty, Gu Qingfeng panicked a little. "I don't know where you heard this rumor from. My mother and uncle have never mentioned such a thing. It's just nonsense."

"Useless thing." Pei Zhi strode out of the room. "Try bleeding his other wrist first thing tomorrow morning."

......

"My lord, this was found near where the second prince went missing."

The news of Gu Qingfeng's disappearance did not reach Jiang Yu and Gu Qingyan. Jiang He kept the news outside the Marquis's mansion. During this period, the fact that it took seven days for the whip wounds on Gu Qingfeng's body to completely scab over weighed heavily on Jiang He's heart.

Jiang He took the token and stroked the clearly visible Pei character on it. "I'm afraid it was deliberately left here to lure me into a trap."

The head of the Pei family in Longyou suddenly developed malignant sores all over his body, and no doctor in the world could cure him. Combined with the disappearance of Gu Qingfeng, Jiang He easily connected the whole thing.

Therefore, he had a compelling reason to go on this trip.

"You don't need to follow me."

Pei Zhi left Jiang He with traces that would lead him to the manor. When Jiang He arrived at the manor, Pei Zhi had already prepared tea and was waiting in the courtyard for a long time.

"I never imagined that the Second Prince wasn't a descendant of the Jiang family." Although Pei Zhi was still young, Jiang He dared not underestimate this designated heir of the Pei family.

"Even if you summon the Empress, it will be of no use. All you need is the blood of the direct descendants of the Jiang family." Jiang He casually made a cut on his wrist, and Pei Zhi caught it with a bowl almost without hesitation.

An hour later, Pei Zhi returned to the courtyard and kowtowed to Jiang He, saying, "Thank you, Lord Marquis. If there is anything we can do to help you in the future, we will do our utmost."

The so-called rumors about the Jiang family bloodline are all true.

“Back then, the Pei family saved my grandfather’s life. My grandfather told me this to repay the debt of saving his life. Now that the debt of gratitude is settled, I ask Miss Pei to keep this a secret, otherwise my Jiang family will suffer a catastrophic disaster.” Jiang He said softly, “I hope this news will end with the Pei family.”

"If this matter is leaked even slightly, I, Pei Zhi, will lead the entire Pei family to commit suicide as an atonement."

Pei Zhi left with her people, but Jiang He sat in the courtyard for a long time without making a move, his eyes fixed on Guan Gu Qingfeng's room.

He lied to Pei Zhi. There is no such thing as a direct descendant of the Jiang family. Anyone with Jiang family blood has the ability to heal wounds quickly.

Only the head of the Jiang family in each generation knows about this matter.

But Gu Qingfeng doesn't have that ability; he's not Ayu's child.

A mouthful of blood spurted from Jiang He's mouth, and a dull pain swept over his entire body. Jiang He slowly raised his head and cried out, "Heavens, why are you treating A Yu like this?"

Ayu suffered so much protecting Gu Qingfeng, always trembling with fear and caution, only to find out in the end that the child wasn't even her own.

What about Gu Qingling? What about Gu Qingyao? Are they Ayu's children?

For the first time, Jiang He felt a tremendous sense of powerlessness. He didn't even dare to think about what kind of treatment his sister had received after marrying into the palace, and how she was still kept in the dark.

And who is the mastermind behind all of this?

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang He raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth and walked step by step into the house.

“Uncle, you’ve finally come, Uncle.” The blood from Gu Qingfeng’s wrists pierced Jiang He’s heart like needles. “They tied me up here and bled me out, saying I wasn’t Mother’s child.”

Jiang He twitched the corner of his mouth. "They're just repeating hearsay. My uncle was also bled out, but it didn't help."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingfeng was completely relieved and burst into tears, "I knew it! How could I not be Mother's child..."

“Feng’er, listen to your uncle. You must not mention today’s events to anyone when you get back.” Jiang He stared intently into Gu Qingfeng’s eyes. “If others find out, malicious people will say that you are not the Empress’s child.”

"I won't mention anyone, I won't mention anyone."

Seeing Gu Qingfeng's somewhat frightened expression, Jiang He forced a weak smile. He couldn't alert the enemy; he needed to thoroughly investigate what happened back then.

There was another thing that Jiang He had been hesitant to think about.

It's true that Jiang Yu is pregnant. If Gu Qingling and Gu Qingyao are not Jiang Yu's children, then where did the children that Jiang Yu gave birth to after risking her life go?