The guards of Prince Rui's mansion quickly rushed over from the front yard, fighting the fire and battling the assassins at the same time.
The fire in Fengyi's courtyard was finally extinguished just before dawn.
The air above the vast city of Lingyang was filled with the acrid smell of burning firewood.
Shen Hanshan traveled day and night, and when he arrived at the city gate, he heard people leaving the city talking all at once.
"Hey, did you guys see that? The fire at Prince Rui's mansion last night was terrifying!"
"Yes, Prince Rui is far away in Chaoyang County. Only the Eldest Princess and a few guards are in his residence. I wonder what state his house is in after the fire."
"The fire last night was truly terrifying!" An old man shook his head and sighed, his face full of regret. "The Prince Rui's mansion was such a big place, I wonder what it looks like now that it's burned down."
Someone in the crowd recognized Shen Hanshan and quickly tugged at the sleeve of the person next to him, "Don't say anything, it's Prince Rui!"
Shen Hanshan rode his horse wildly through the city, causing pedestrians to scatter in panic.
Upon arriving at Prince Rui's residence, he abruptly pulled on the reins and dismounted.
"Your Highness—" Nanxing saw Shen Hanshan and finally found her pillar of support. She broke down in tears, "His Highness is gone! Aunt Lanru, Aunt Fenghong, they are all gone!"
Shen Hanshan staggered and almost fell to the ground, but was caught by Du Heng who arrived later, preventing him from falling.
"Your Highness!" The guard, looking exhausted, stepped forward and recounted in detail what had happened the previous night.
"Your Highness has been captured by bandits. There are too many of them. Your subordinate is incompetent!" He knelt heavily on the ground.
“You don’t need to blame yourself for this. The other party came prepared and was targeting me.” Shen Hanshan’s fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
"Nanxing, look at you, you can't even deliver a message properly. His Highness was just kidnapped, it's not like he's not..." Du Heng scolded.
Nanxing glanced at Du Heng with a wronged expression, then remained silent.
"Was there anything unusual before the fire?" Shen Hanshan asked, looking at Nanxing.
Nanxing shook his head. "His Highness was in a good mood today and went to rest early. The rocket was launched suddenly."
"So, did those thieves leave any clues?" A sharp glint flashed in Shen Hanshan's eyes. The other party had taken advantage of the chaos to kidnap the princess, hoping to exchange her for the pear wood box in his possession.
Du Heng frowned and said in a deep voice, "The guards in the manor have all been checked, and apart from those rockets, no other abnormalities have been found."
Shen Hanshan was at a loss, but he knew he had to report the matter to the Emperor.
"Du Heng, you come with me to the palace; Nan Xing, you stay here. If there is any news about His Highness, immediately send someone to inform me."
Du Heng and Nan Xing replied in unison, "Yes, Your Highness!"
Shen Hanshan took a deep breath, straightened his robes, and strode out of the mansion.
In the imperial study, Zhao Yi had just finished yelling, "The Eldest Princess is missing?! What were your people doing?!"
Li An stood tremblingly to the side, head bowed. "Your Majesty, it was Feng Hong who was cunning and impersonated Your Highness. That's why our men fell for the trap of being lured away from the mountain."
Zhao Yi waved his hand, "Never mind. If Zhizhi is smart, she won't show herself again for the time being. We just need to make good use of this time to achieve our goal."
While the two were talking, Shen Hanshan was already requesting an audience outside the Imperial Study.
Zhao Yi sat up straight and began to carefully review the memorials.
Shen Hanshan strode in, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "My residence caught fire last night, and Your Highness was kidnapped by thieves. I hope Your Majesty will order the city gates to be sealed off and a full-scale search for the thieves to be carried out."
"Chunhua is missing?!" Zhao Yi exclaimed in shock, leaping from his seat and angrily demanding, "Li An, immediately issue my decree ordering Qin Gang, the commander of the Imperial Guards, to lead five thousand elite troops to impose martial law throughout the city and secretly search for Chunhua's whereabouts!"
Upon hearing the order, Li An dared not delay in the slightest and immediately bowed, replying, "Yes, Your Majesty! I will go and do it right away!" He then turned and hurriedly left.
Zhao Yi comforted Shen Hanshan, saying, "Prince Consort, there's no need to worry. Chunhua is a lucky person and will be alright. You should go back and start repairing the Prince's Mansion. Otherwise, Chunhua will be heartbroken when she returns!"
Shen Hanshan accepted the order and withdrew.
On the way back to the manor, Shen Hanshan rode his horse at full speed when he suddenly heard a whooshing sound.
An arrow shot out from the shadows, with a letter attached to its end.
A hint of wariness flashed in Shen Hanshan's eyes. He nimbly dodged to the side, his two fingers clamping the arrow firmly like iron pincers.
He took the letter down and gently unfolded it. On it, written in strong, vigorous handwriting, was the message: "If you want the princess to live, bring the box in exchange."
A cold smile curled at the corner of Shen Hanshan's lips. He lightly rubbed his fingers together, and the letter turned into fragments that drifted away in the wind.
He knew in his heart that they must be after that mysterious pear wood box.
"Hmph!" he said loudly. "Your methods are indeed impressive, but this box is nothing more than an external object to me. However, you must know the identity of the person you kidnapped. If even a hair on her head is harmed, I, Chen Hanshan, will grind you to dust."
As soon as he finished speaking, birds scattered in fright from the dense forest nearby.
Shen Hanshan knew that the other party had heard his words, and felt somewhat relieved.
Zhao Yi is right; he needs to get the Prince Rui's mansion repaired as soon as possible. Since that's the case, he's not in a hurry to bring Zhao Chunhua back.
With the box in his hands, the other party certainly wouldn't do anything to Zhao Chunhua.
Meanwhile, on the Yunxuan Grand Canal, a merchant ship was sailing at full speed towards Yunchao, braving the wind and waves.
Inside the cabin, Zhao Zhi, dressed in a simple and loose-fitting ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), lay on the couch, fast asleep.
Cui Shenghe stood quietly by her side, his eyes full of concern.
After a while, Cui Jiu poked his head in and made a gesture to Cui Shenghe.
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