"Yes, Your Majesty," Song Huiru replied demurely and gently, her fingernails, half-curled in her palm, digging tightly into the skin of her hand.

That damned bandit is actually an alchemist!

Was she sent by God specifically to oppose me?

In the Ninth Prince's mansion, she was showered with the Ninth Prince's favor;

Now that she's outside the Ninth Prince's residence, does she still think she can steal his thunder in front of the Venerable One?!

Song Huiru gritted her teeth and followed behind Shang Beiyu, staring intently at Ji Fengyao's back like a venomous snake: So what if she's a pill refiner? Anyone who dares to block my way will die!

Spirit Gathering Stage 2?

Once my cultivation surpasses yours, I will kill you with my own hands!

Horse ranch on the outskirts of Beijing.

More than three hours had passed since the hunt began, and the other young soldiers had returned one after another with their prey, but the main characters, including Shang Xiye, Ji Fengyao, the Crown Prince, Di Lijunyi, and Di Lirong, were still nowhere to be seen.

The emperor, empress, a group of ministers, and several envoys from the Di Kingdom patiently waited for another two hours, until dusk had fallen, before they saw Di Lirong and her several maids emerge from the forest, covered in dust and looking disheveled.

Dili Rong was filled with grievance and anger.

She was so happy that she thought Dili Junyi had accomplished something that she forgot to send someone to find her. She was just about to come back and have a good time with her brother, but when she returned to the horse farm, she saw everyone staring at each other blankly. She was immediately confused as well.

"My brother...they haven't come back yet?"

"Princess Ronghe, where is the Ninth Prince?"

Di Lirong and Shang Xiche, who appeared to be furious, asked the question almost simultaneously.

Mentioning Shang Xiye, Di Lirong was also furious, her voice sharp as she accused, "The Ninth Prince broke the agreement and deliberately rode off on his warhorse halfway through. There must be a conspiracy involved. Therefore, no matter how much prey the Ninth Prince's mansion has this time, it doesn't count."

Shang Xiche: "..."

Everyone: "..."

That's an idiot!

Don't they realize it's already this late? None of the people who were supposed to come back have returned.

Something serious must have happened, yet she still has the mind to worry about this!

"Princess, His Highness the First Prince has not yet returned." An envoy from the Di Kingdom could no longer bear it and anxiously reminded her, "The Ninth Prince, Princess Chonghe, and the Crown Prince of Dazhao have not yet returned either."

"What!"

Di Lirong then grasped the crux of the matter, her expression changed drastically, and she instinctively looked up at Empress Chen Ziyun on the main seat.

Chen Ziyun's face was ashen, revealing little about her condition: it wasn't that she wasn't worried, but there was no point in worrying now that things had come to this, and she had already secretly sent people to look for her.

Seeing that Chen Ziyun ignored her, Di Lirong's heart sank. She quickly said to the remaining Di Kingdom envoys, soldiers, and servants, "All of you, set off in batches and along different routes. Quickly go into the mountains and find the eldest prince. Whether you find him or not, send someone back every half hour to report on the progress and the situation in the mountains!"

Seeing that Di Lirong and others had sent people to search for someone, Shang Xiche, as the emperor, could not just sit idly by, so he also pretended to send Gao Chengwei with people to search.

The Crown Prince and the Ninth Prince were his greatest threats;

Whoever gets into trouble today, it's something he'd be happy to see.

As hundreds of people set off into the forest to search for the missing person, no one noticed that the three girls, Xique, Bailu, and Linshuang, had also changed their clothes and mingled into the crowd as they entered the mountains.

The three girls quietly separated from the main group as soon as they entered the mountains.

Lin Shuang followed behind Xi Que, her eyes occasionally glancing at the communication jade slip in Xi Que's hand, which was flashing with several bright spots.