Liang Heng felt a chill run down his spine when he recalled that bloody scene.
In his memory, although the tyrant was cruel and inhumane, he rarely went mad like this after ascending the throne, although he would occasionally go crazy.
If Ji Yan hadn't known that finding Shen Jiao was the most important thing, he would have destroyed the entire city by himself.
Madam Guan personally came to inform me of Shen Meimei's abduction.
Although Shen Qingcheng arranged for Shen Qingye to deliver the message, Madam Guan still harbored resentment and distrust towards Shen Qingye because of what had happened at Zui Shan Xuan.
After returning home, Madam Guan was restless. After much deliberation, she immediately rushed to the Gu residence.
She had a premonition that if anything happened to Shen Jiao, Southern Xinjiang would inevitably be plunged into a bloodbath, and everyone would be doomed!
Upon receiving the news, Master Gu was instantly enraged. Gu An picked up his whip and, without hesitation, led all the secret guards of the Gu family to search for the person.
However, on his way to find Shen Jiao, Gu An also stopped at an inn and beat up Shen Qingye.
Shen Jiao's whereabouts are unknown, and her fate is uncertain, yet Shen Qingye is still lying in bed, soundly asleep?
Gu An was even more furious.
He immediately used all his strength to beat Shen Qingye until he cried out in pain, completely powerless to fight back.
Afterwards, Gu An did his best to whip Shen Qingye three times.
Each lash tore through clothing, leaving long, bloody welts.
Shen Qingye spat out a mouthful of blood: "Are you crazy?"
Gu An gritted his teeth and said, "It's because of your selfishness and dawdling that we missed the best time to seal off the city and find her. If it weren't for the fact that you're related to Jiao Jiao by blood, I really would want to beat you to death!"
Shen Qingye was stunned when he heard this. He was covered in blood and was barely clinging to life.
Gu An forbade anyone from treating Shen Qingye and locked the door before leaving.
Meanwhile, braving the raging wind and rain, Madam Gu spurred her horse and galloped towards the Southern Frontier Palace at top speed.
They raced against time with madness, never daring to stop for a moment.
Emperor Nanjiang was terrified to learn that the Great Tyrant was actually in Nanjiang. Knowing that Shen Jiao was of special status, he immediately ordered the city to be sealed off and dispatched several Imperial Guards to search the entire city for Princess Ming Le!
Third Master Guan, Master Wang, and the nobles who had close ties with the Gu family did not sit idly by and wait for their doom. They took the initiative to send their privately-owned guards to help find the person!
If Shen Jiao hadn't left the city, it would have been fine, but if she had left Shengcheng, it would have been like looking for a needle in a haystack.
News of Shen Jiao's disappearance did not spread.
The common people were confused, but they felt that they could see soldiers and guards everywhere they went these past two days.
People were afraid to go out, causing widespread panic.
Everyone was speculating: which important person had run into trouble?
Why such a large-scale battle?
...
As soon as Liang Heng stepped inside, he was greeted by a scene of utter chaos. Furniture and ornaments were reduced to shattered pieces, leaving no place to step.
Ji Yan was shrouded in layers of chilling malevolence, his murderous eyes were bloodshot and bloodshot, and he was on the verge of going berserk at any moment.
He sat there, like a repressed god of death.
Liang Heng sighed. His Majesty often said one thing but meant another, but this time, he truly cared about Sister Shen.
He quickly reassured her, "Your Majesty, rest assured, Sister Shen is a lucky person and will surely return safely."
Ji Yan was extremely annoyed and roughly rubbed his throbbing temples.
"There was a heavy rain last night, and there was no moon in the sky."
"Huh?" Liang Heng didn't quite understand the seemingly random sentence.
Ji Yan gripped the hairpin, her eyes blazing with rage. "She's terrified of the dark, and she has to leave a small lamp on every night before she goes to sleep."
Liang Heng suddenly realized.
It has been a day and a night since Shen Meimei went missing. If the group of thieves were in a hurry to get on their way, they would definitely choose to camp in the suburbs. A little girl who is afraid of the dark would be in a predicament, surrounded by dangers, and would definitely be very helpless.
After saying this, the tyrant suddenly walked outside.
The black hem of her dress was blown about by the wind, resembling layers of rolling black clouds, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.
Liang Heng was terrified, thinking that Ji Yan was about to go on a killing spree again, and hurriedly chased after her.
Fortunately, the tyrant still retained a sliver of reason, or perhaps it wasn't reason, but rather the constant worry about Shen Jiao that imprisoned him, preventing him from focusing on killing.
In the past, when Ji Yan was in a bad mood, he would kill people until he felt happy. After all, he was a tyrant, and tyrants should kill people!
But right now, all he could think about was whether Shen Jiao had eaten enough. Don't be fooled by the hamster's good appetite; it's incredibly picky...
Upon realizing this, Ji Yan was taken aback.
He found himself becoming unusually strange. Why would someone as cruel, ruthless, cold, and gloomy as him care so much about Shen Jiao?
He was unaware that Shen Jiao had filled the details of his life, which had originally been just for the simple pleasure of raising a frizzy hamster.
Ji Yan became increasingly agitated, as if a restless fire of anger was raging in his chest and mind, madly destroying and burning away his remaining rationality.
The tyrant came to this alley near the suburbs in the west of the city, and it was here that the hairpin was found.
This area is now largely uninhabited, consisting of dilapidated old houses awaiting demolition and reconstruction. Occasionally, beggars will sneak in for a few days when the patrolling guards don't notice.
The alley was poorly drained, and the strong, lingering smell of blood was still faint and nauseating.
After looking around, Ji Yan's gaze fell on a clump of moss in the corner.
Liang Heng looked in that direction and asked, "Your Majesty, what are you looking at?"
Ji Yan's gaze was deep. "That's her blood."
Blood was everywhere, yet he could still recognize it... Liang Heng didn't immediately deny it, nor did he think the tyrant was overly sensitive or suspicious.
He asked, "How did Your Majesty know?"
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