"How long until we hear anything?" Shen Qingyu's nervousness was obvious; she gripped Qi Yunxiao's arm so tightly it hurt, but she didn't even feel it herself.
Qi Yunxiao reached out and patted the back of her hand, then took her hand in his own and patted it again to comfort her. Only then did he look at Shen Zhongyi, who was still lying down, and Zhao Yuzhu beside him.
"Father-in-law and mother-in-law, I'll keep an eye on things here. Don't worry, I'll bring the baby back safely."
“Okay. We’ll leave Da Bao and Xiao Bao here. You can go ahead and do your thing.” Zhao Yuzhu readily agreed.
Shen Zhongyi glanced at his wife, opened his mouth, and finally nodded.
It's not a new phenomenon that the general manager can't outmaneuver the chairman.
Shen Zhongyi was used to it.
The two went directly to the palace.
Prince Cheng was then confined to the palace.
By the time the two arrived at the palace, the interrogation had already ended. Prince Cheng had never experienced such torture in his life, and he couldn't withstand it. In just a few moments, he confessed everything clearly.
There was a prefect named Gao Jingye who had secretly taken a mistress named Hu Jinxiu, who turned out to be a shrewd businesswoman whose Jialefang general store had spread throughout major cities across the country.
Previously in Anyang Prefecture, Hu Jinxiu unexpectedly encountered the Mad Taoist and Erbao. Originally, she wanted the Mad Taoist to help her predict her marriage, but unexpectedly learned that Erbao was actually Qi Yunxiao's child when she watched the Mad Taoist tell the fortune of another wealthy family.
Hu Jinxiu took this to heart.
Just then, Gao Jingye let slip in bed that Prince Cheng had a lot of opinions about Qi Yunxiao and was planning to take action against him. Hu Jinxiu then told Gao Jingye about Erbao's whereabouts.
It was Gao Jingye who sent people to arrest Erbao and the Mad Taoist.
The Dragon Guards were also captured because they were outnumbered.
Gao Jingye originally intended to send the child to Prince Cheng as leverage against Qi Yunxiao, but before Gao Jingye could even deliver the child, Prince Cheng was forced to raise an army ahead of schedule...
The child was never used, and Gao Jingye was also arrested.
"What about Erbao?" Shen Qingyu was going crazy with anxiety.
Qi Yunxiao said with a stern face: "Originally, Hu Jinxiu pretended to be a merchant caravan and brought Erbao and the Mad Taoist to the capital. However, they received news halfway there that Hu Jinxiu and those people had disappeared."
"Let's go! We'll head towards Anyang Prefecture and search all the way there!" Shen Qingyu gritted her teeth.
"Okay," Qi Yunxiao agreed, and led the people out.
His Majesty the Emperor was worried about the child, so he ordered Qi Yunxiao to lead a thousand men out of the capital and head towards Anyang Prefecture.
Once the thousand men left the city, they split into two groups. One group rushed along the official road to Anyang City, while the other group searched for useful information along the way.
Because they had to search along the way, the group didn't move very fast. As soon as the carriage left the city, Shen Qingyu called Qi Yunxiao to get in: "Get in and rest for a while. I'll call you when I have any news."
Qi Yunxiao wasn't pretentious; he got into the car, leaned against Shen Qingyu's thigh, and fell asleep.
Shen Qingyu also leaned against Qi Yunxiao and fell asleep.
The carriage traveled for three days, and in every town it passed through, the Dragon Guard sent people to investigate any clues.
A child and a Taoist priest—the target is quite obvious.
But Shen Qingyu, recalling the methods used by those who abducted children in later generations, reminded the Dragon Guard: the Taoist priest might not still be dressed as a Taoist priest, but the child would definitely be that small.
After all, it's impossible to dress up a child as an adult.
We need to broaden our thinking a bit.
The Dragon Guards received their orders and began various searches.
On the evening of the third day, the carriage stopped in a small town with a small population.
There are only two inns in the town, and they are not far from each other.
As soon as the convoy entered the town, the guards went about their respective duties, scouting and finding places to stay.
After Shen Qingyu and Qi Yunxiao got out of the car and entered the shop, they asked the shopkeeper about the business as usual.
Speaking of the Mad Taoist's appearance, it is actually quite distinctive: long eyebrows, gray hair, and a certain smell about him...
The shopkeeper listened attentively and, seeing that they were no ordinary people, dared not speak carelessly: "I haven't seen the gray-haired person you mentioned, but a sick monk did come a couple of days ago, and the smell he had..."
The shopkeeper's expression was indescribable.
Shen Qingyu frowned: "Do they have any children with them?"
The shopkeeper recalled for a moment: "I have no children."
Are there any women here?
The shopkeeper thought for a moment longer: "There weren't any women either. Oh, wait..."
"Hmm?" Shen Qingyu instantly became highly focused.
“There was a young monk in his early twenties, but I could tell at a glance that she was a woman because she had pierced ears.” The shopkeeper thought carefully for a moment, then added, “That young monk was quite handsome, and very young, and quite filial to the old monk…”
Shen Qingyu and Qi Yunxiao exchanged a glance: "What day did they check out? Do you know which direction they went?"
The innkeeper called over the waiter and mentioned the two monks. The waiter remembered them vividly: "The young monk said that her master was ill and she needed to find a doctor, so she didn't go towards the capital, but went in that direction..."
Did they bring any large suitcases or anything like that?
The waiter thought carefully for a moment: "Those two didn't bring any large suitcases, but another group of people who came around the same time brought a suitcase, and it was quite large..."
Following the waiter's directions, Qi Yunxiao quickly realized that the direction led to Yuncheng Prefecture.
"Then let's go to Yuncheng!"
At this point, Qi Yunxiao no longer cared about riding in the carriage and led a group of people to gallop towards Yuncheng.
Shen Qingyu led another team to slowly sweep through the area: at each intersection they passed, she would send two people to scout out whether it led to a small village or whether any strangers had gone in...
In an unknown little village, a bald, mad Taoist priest muttered to Hu Jinxiu beside him, "Why don't you just leave us here? Otherwise, with me and Erbao as two burdens, you won't be able to escape."
Hu Jinxiu was in a state of utter confusion and couldn't help but angrily shout, "Shut up!"
The mad Taoist continued his magical attack: "Look, you don't dare kill us, and keeping us alive is useless. Why don't you just leave us here and find another way to survive?"
"Erbao's father will never abandon the child; he will definitely come looking for her. What will you do then?"
"Yeah, yeah, my dad loves me a lot. He'll be angry if he finds out you shaved my head. You'd better run away quickly." Little Bald Erbao touched his smooth head, deciding to save his life first, and then avenge the shaved head.
How could Hu Jinxiu not know that giving up was the best decision?
But she was not willing to give up.
She had gone to great lengths to finally capture that little thing, giving her leverage in negotiations with Qi Yunxiao. How could she bear to let it go?!
However, the current situation...
Hu Jinxiu gritted her teeth and said to the few remaining assassins Gao Jingye had given her, "Leave them here, we're retreating!"
As soon as the group stepped out of the village, they ran into the Dragon Guards led by Shen Qingyu...
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