"Your Majesty, let Miss Xi go with you. I will ensure her safety and bring her back to you unharmed." Dongfang Youyu also had a good impression of Xi Xizhi. Although An Honghan had agreed to Xi Xizhi's request but not his, which made him feel a little embarrassed, he would not take his anger out on a child.
Besides, Xi Xizhi's eyes were too innocent; it was clear at a glance that she didn't mean to embarrass him. Arguing with a simple child wasn't Dongfang Youyu's style.
An Honghan frowned, seemingly disliking hearing Dongfang Youyu say those words.
"No need. I will take care of my people myself."
Whenever An Honghan said "my people", the palace maids and eunuchs around him would wonder, "Who exactly are they?"
“Since you want to go, then I will go out of the palace with you later and see who dares to cause trouble in my territory.” An Honghan placed his hands on the child’s waist.
Xi Xizhi was very ticklish, but dared not move. She held An Honghan's fingers with her two small hands, trying to pry them open, but An Honghan's grip was too strong. She tried her best, but she couldn't move his big hand away.
Seeing the child's struggle, An Honghan leaned close to Xi Xizhi's ear and whispered, "What? Don't you want to leave the palace?"
With just one sentence, he successfully made Xi Xizhi stop what she was doing.
Once An Honghan opens his mouth, she will never be able to step out of the palace gates.
After thinking it over for a while, Xi Xizhi finally gave in and bowed her head.
Who told An Honghan to hold so much power and have such a heavy influence?
Dongfang Youyu was somewhat incredulous when he heard that An Honghan wanted to go there in person.
Was he being too nice to this little girl?
With so many official duties to attend to in the palace, why would he go out to help him find someone? In Dongfang Youyu's mind, An Honghan would never have such a free moment.
No one had seen An Honghan treat anyone so well, and everyone could only sigh that it was unreal.
"Your Highness, please wait for me at the palace gate. I will change into civilian clothes and then we will go out together," An Honghan said calmly, taking Xi Xizhi's hand as they walked out of the gate.
An Honghan and Xi Xizhi first returned to Panlong Palace to change into casual clothes before secretly leaving through the palace gate.
This time, when Xi Xizhi left the palace, she didn't have the leisure to stroll around the streets like she did last time.
They rode in a carriage all the way to the outskirts of the city with Dongfang Youyu.
The scenery in the suburbs is quite nice, and the weather is sunny today, so many young men and women have come to enjoy the spring scenery.
Many girls couldn't help but glance in their direction when they saw the two handsome men, An Honghan and Dongfang Youyu.
If it weren't for the imposing presence of the Imperial Guards patrolling the area, many women would probably have come over to chat them up.
Just by looking at their extraordinary appearances, one can tell that their identities must be extraordinary, otherwise why would they be escorted by such a large group of imperial guards? Moreover, judging from their demeanor, they are clearly people who can command the imperial guards.
In short, they're not to be trifled with.
"You few go search over there again and see if you can find any clues." An Honghan sent a few Imperial Guards to the bushes on the right.
Dongfang Youyu looked anxious. He had been searching for quite some time, but hadn't found a single clue.
"The Imperial Preceptor's jade pendant was found here. I've already sent a team to search for it, but unfortunately, they haven't found any useful information." Dongfang Youyu pointed to the grass beside the road, indicating that this was the location where the jade pendant was found.
Xi Xizhi walked beside An Honghan, listening quietly to their conversation without interrupting.
All the young men and women who were out enjoying the spring outing were stopped by the Imperial Guards and were not allowed to enter the search area.
This is something that An Honghan can do, but Dongfang Youyu cannot: the Imperial Guards can drive away irrelevant people when they are on duty.
The last time he came to search for clues, there were always many people enjoying the spring scenery there and refusing to leave, which hindered his search progress.
“The Imperial Advisor has been missing for a day. Even if there were any clues, they have probably all disappeared by now.” An Honghan looked around at the surroundings. This was a popular tourist spot, and usually, in crowded places, clues would only remain for a shorter period of time.
Dongfang Youyu also held little hope for this. "Your Majesty, let's expand the search area further. Perhaps we can find even the slightest clue elsewhere."
He couldn't give up hope; without finding the Imperial Advisor, he wouldn't be able to return home and answer to his father.
Xi Xizhi strongly agreed, "It's very likely that Old Man Xu was accidentally captured by someone while he was out of town for a stroll. Your Highness, do you think Old Man Xu has any enemies?"
"An enemy?" Dongfang Youyu had considered this possibility before, but he immediately dismissed it. "Impossible. The Imperial Advisor has always been a kind person; he couldn't possibly have offended anyone..."
He was a kind person, and Xi Xizhi knew this was one of his virtues after spending many days with Old Man Xu.
"Perhaps he is an enemy of your country, and doesn't want Grand Preceptor Xu to return, so he deliberately plotted against him?" Xi Xizhi continued to speculate, feeling that the old man Xu couldn't have disappeared for no reason.
An Honghan, who had been keeping a cold expression, shook his head and said, "That's possible. If that's the case, it would be troublesome."
Dongfang Youyu also looked worried. No one understood the importance of the Grand Preceptor to their Luyun Kingdom better than him.
"In short, Your Majesty, please do your utmost to assist our country in finding our national advisor. Once the Xu Kingdom is found, the Lüyun Kingdom will surely repay Your Majesty's kindness."
Unlike other princes and nobles who squander money and put on airs, Dongfang Youyu is humble and patient when faced with difficulties. His ability to be both proud and easygoing sets him far apart from other princes.
"Your Highness is too kind," An Honghan said politely, and continued to order the Imperial Guards to search.
The search area was doubled, and everyone carefully checked every inch of the place.
News of the mobilization of the Imperial Guards quickly spread throughout the entire capital.
Many rumors circulated that a very important person had gone missing.
However, no one knew the identity of that person; all that was known was that His Majesty was looking for someone.
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