Xuan Yuanhan never took Long Ye's arrogance, haughtiness, and unbridled provocations seriously.
But as soon as he got closer, he used his eager and deep eyes to search the crowd countless times, but he was disappointed to find no trace of the person he had been longing for.
However, what had just happened made it clear to him that Long Ye was nothing more than a clown in the Xiaolong Society. The reason the Xiaolong Society could hide so well was that Long En was the one with real skills. Otherwise, given the guard Wei Ning's abilities, he shouldn't still be trapped, and even the news shouldn't be getting out. Presumably, he was truly trapped by something.
With this thought in mind, he composed himself, as if he had already made up his mind. He then beckoned to the guard beside him to step forward. As soon as the guard stepped forward, he slowly unfurled an official notice into the crowd and said in a friendly manner, "Please take a close look at this notice from the Prince of Qin's residence!"
As soon as the guard finished speaking, the expressions of the people who had just relaxed turned to surprise again as they looked at the god-like man in front of them. Perhaps it was because they had never seen much of the world and did not know what important event had happened in the court.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, everyone crowded around the notice. Pointing and whispering amongst themselves, many speaking in their local dialect, added to the confusion.
Just as Xuanyuan Han frowned slightly upon seeing this, exchanging bewildered glances with his guard, a frail, thin old man leaning on a cane suddenly spoke from the crowd:
"Your Highness, in our isolated and remote village, everyone is illiterate and has to guess at what they read. This notice in the palace is full of portraits of beautiful women and large, continuous texts, which no one can decipher. Your Highness, please speak frankly. We will tell you everything we know!"
Before the old man could finish speaking, the crowd around him shouted in unison, "Yes, yes, Your Highness, please speak freely. We will tell you everything we know!"
Upon hearing this, the guard was about to speak when Xuan Yuanhan stopped him. Pointing to the woman's portrait on the notice in his hand, he personally addressed the crowd, saying, "I would like to inquire with you all about whether a girl like this came to the village around the Lantern Festival. Everyone, take a close look and see if you recognize her. She is from my household. I am willing to pay any price to find her."
Everyone suddenly realized what was going on, and followed the old man closer to take a closer look. The old man then stammered, "This woman..."
Instantly, everyone turned their attention to the outermost part of the crowd, where a woman in a light blue dress was staring down at her toes and rubbing the hem of her dress.
Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuanhan quickly looked in the direction everyone was looking. He paused for a moment, then took a small step and moved aside. Instantly, everyone stepped aside, making way for a narrow path.
Xuanyuan Han walked slowly along the narrow path, which was crowded with people on both sides, towards the woman in the light blue dress on the other side.
For some reason, the closer he got, the more familiar and comforting the aura became. He walked along, lost in thought.
Finally, he remembered. Yes, that scent was the scent of his mother, a scent he knew all too well. But this was clearly just a teenage girl; how could such a coincidence exist?
As he pondered this, he found himself standing right in front of her. So, unusually, he asked softly, "Little girl, what's your name?"
Despite this, the woman still seemed too afraid to raise her head even slightly. Suddenly, she knelt down before him with a thud, bowed her head, and replied, "This humble woman, Huan'er, greets Your Highness, the Prince of Qin!"
"Get up and answer!" Xuan Yuanhan was caught off guard. He thought she must be frightened by his stern expression because of her young age. So he took a step back, put one hand behind his back, raised his head slightly, and said in a deep voice.
"This humble woman dares not. Your Highness, please ask whatever you wish to ask. This humble woman... this humble woman will answer while kneeling." Huan'er kept her eyes lowered and curled up at Xuan Yuanhan's feet as she spoke, her extremely thin shoulders trembling slightly.
"I told you to get up, so get up. Stop arguing." Unexpectedly, when Xuan Yuanhan saw her stubborn appearance, he suddenly lost his patience with her and scolded her sternly.
"Huan'er, don't be afraid. His Highness the King of Qin is a good man. He won't hurt you." Seeing the King of Qin's anger, several women came forward to help Huan'er up and comfort her. Huan'er finally stood up tremblingly, but still kept her head down and her hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes.
Xuanyuan Han then unfolded the notice he had taken from the guard as he walked towards her in front of her, and asked in a deep voice, suppressing his anger, "I ask you, have you seen the woman in the portrait?"
Perhaps because she was too nervous, Huan'er didn't even lift her eyes before replying, "Your Highness, I have never seen this woman before?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan completely lost his patience and blurted out sharply, "Lying! You didn't even look, how can you say you've never seen it? If you haven't seen it, why is everyone looking at you? And why are you so guilty that you don't even dare to raise your head? Raise your head for me!"
The final shout at the end of the sentence was deafening, startling Huan'er so much that she shuddered and finally widened her eyes in terror as she looked up at that familiar face.
"You'd better look carefully and make sure you see this person clearly. This person is very important to me. If he is lying, I will not let him off easily!" Xuan Yuanhan solemnly warned Huan'er in her ear.
Unexpectedly, after a long while, Huan'er pursed her lips and finally stammered, "This humble woman...this humble woman really has never seen this woman before."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan's eyes flashed with fury, and he was about to explode when a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd: "She's lying!"
"Who is speaking? Show yourself!" Xuan Yuanhan immediately looked up and glared angrily at the group of burly men in red robes who were standing behind Huan'er and surrounded the villagers. He shouted sharply.
The burly man in red who had spoken quickly stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and reported, "Your Highness, she's lying. The reason we're causing trouble here is all because of this little girl. She conspired with outsiders to kill two of my brothers from the Swift Dragon Society. That day, we planned to find the murderer in this village and bring her back to the Swift Dragon Society for punishment. Unexpectedly, a demoness who could summon mountain beasts suddenly appeared. That demoness was even swept into the air by a mysterious and powerful purple light, and almost... even revealed her true demonic form. If it weren't for..."
Even now, as the burly man in red recounts that unbelievable scene, he still feels a chilling coldness creeping down his back.
"You're talking nonsense. Ruoxi is not a monster. She is the kindest person in the world. If you hadn't wanted to massacre the village, she wouldn't have... she wouldn't have..." As soon as the burly man finished speaking, Huan'er couldn't hold back her anger any longer. In her excitement, she revealed it all, but then belatedly realized and silently kept quiet.
"Ruoxi?" Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han turned to look at Huan'er's flustered and evasive gaze, narrowed his eyes, and asked her coldly, "What? Even now, you still want to tell me that you don't recognize the woman in the portrait?"
After a pause, seeing that Huan'er was still gritting her teeth and refusing to tell the truth, Xuan Yuanhan clenched the fist behind his back and shouted, "Hurry up and tell me, where is she now?"
"This humble woman...this humble woman..." Huan'er stammered, not knowing how things had developed to this point. The person in front of her had a cold face and a bad temper. What did he want with Ruoxi?
She had been reprimanded by the old lady last time for inquiring about Ruoxi's affairs by Young Master Lu, and the reprimand was still fresh in her mind. Now that the old lady was not around, she was truly at a loss. What should she do?
Just then, the burly man in red rolled his eyes and suddenly spoke cautiously, "Your Highness, I know that Ruoxi... she is in the backyard of the Xiaolong Society."
"What? How come she's in the Xiaolong Society? And why do you call her Ruoxi?" Xuan Yuanhan asked, puzzled.
The burly man in red said in a low voice, "She came to the Swift Dragon Society with Gang Leader Long... oh, I mean Long En, and stayed in the backyard of the East Garden where Long En was. When Long En brought her back, he said she had amnesia, remembered nothing, and had nowhere to go..."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan looked at the burly man with astonishment and interrupted him, saying, "What? She has amnesia?"
The burly man in red nodded and continued, "But Long Ye said she was Long En's mistress. Long En has been away for several days, but this morning, that woman actually poisoned Long Ye, which angered him. When Long Ye saw that he couldn't do anything about that woman, he used the excuse of coming here to take his anger out on these villagers and confront them."
"She really has amnesia!" Upon hearing this, and recalling the blood-red rock she hit when she fell off the cliff, Xuan Yuanhan was filled with rage and shame, thinking to himself.
He glanced at Huan'er beside him, then hurried over, mounted his horse, and ordered the burly man in red, "Lead the way now!"
"Yes!" The burly man in red bowed and accepted the order.
"Respectfully bidding farewell to His Highness the King of Qin, may he live a thousand years!" The villagers immediately bowed their heads and knelt down, chanting in unison as he walked away.
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