Chapter 26
It was past midnight, and Leng Ying still hadn't returned home. Leng Xue Ran was a little worried. She struggled in Xi Yi Min's arms for a moment, pushed away the person holding her, and softly called out, "Yi Min." Xi Yi Min hugged her tighter and asked groggily, "What is it, Xue Ran?" The woman said worriedly, "Leng Ying hasn't returned yet." Xi Yi Min replied with his eyes closed, "Maybe she's already back and asleep."
"But I didn't hear anything."
"Our room is so far from the side room, how could we hear anything?" Leng Xueran was a little angry that this man didn't care about her sister's safety, and scolded, "Xi Yimin, get up and come with me to check." Xi Yimin, hearing the woman's seriousness, also came to his senses, quickly sat up, and said softly, "I'll go check, you stay in the room so you don't catch a cold." After saying that, he got up, put on his outer robe, and went directly to the side room. Sure enough, Leng Ying's room was empty. He called the servant on night duty and asked, and it turned out that Leng Ying had gone out since morning and hadn't returned. He couldn't help but be a little worried, and called all the servants, "As soon as the curfew is lifted, immediately..." "Go find the Second Miss!" Back in the bedroom, Xi Yimin looked at the woman on the bed and comforted her, "Xue Ran, Leng Ying hasn't returned. I've already instructed the servants to go out and look for her as soon as the curfew is lifted. Don't worry, we'll go out to look for her together then. Let's get some sleep for now." The woman frowned and said helplessly, "That's all we can do. Come on up, don't catch a cold." Xi Yimin quickly got into bed, hugged the woman, kissed her forehead, and said softly, "Sleep." The woman said worriedly, "But I can't sleep." "Then close your eyes and rest, otherwise you won't have the energy during the day."
The next day, early in the morning, the entire Xi family mobilized to search for her throughout Fengcheng. However, by dusk, she still hadn't been found. Leng Xue Ran became even more worried. Seeing this, Xi Yi Min comforted her, "Xue Ran, don't worry. What if she's traveling outside Fengcheng or returning to the capital? Think about it, she has so many guards with her; how could an ordinary person possibly harm her?" "But what if she wasn't captured by an ordinary person? Fengcheng is so chaotic right now. Even though she's traveling incognito, it wouldn't be difficult for someone with ulterior motives to find out her whereabouts. What if she's been kidnapped by those with malicious intent?" Seeing the woman's worry, he took her hand and said softly, "I know all this. Let's go to the government office to report it first. Xue Ran, don't worry and ruin your health. We'll discuss everything later."
After the yamen received the report of the Crown Princess's disappearance, the atmosphere in Fengcheng became even more tense, and everyone felt insecure.
Two days later, Leng Xueran also disappeared. Inside the Xi residence, the atmosphere was tense; no one dared utter a word. Xi Yimin frowned, looking at the guards standing before him, and angrily said, "What use are you to several guards who can't even protect one woman properly?" The leader, Qi Ziyue, said worriedly, "Young Master, I know I shouldn't make excuses, but today, Madam disappeared after going into the latrine. We didn't dare get too close; she vanished without a sound. Half an hour later, seeing something was wrong, I went to check, but Madam was nowhere to be seen." Hearing this, Xi Yimin's brows furrowed even more, his voice trembling slightly, "Ziyue, who do you think it could be? Who is it?" Seeing Xi Yimin's state, Qi Ziyue couldn't help but worry. "Young Master, how can you remain calm and plan this carefully? The best course of action now is to find out if the Third Prince impersonating you knows you are Guan Haoshan. Perhaps those people are targeting the Leng family, since the Leng family's daughters have disappeared for two consecutive days. Or perhaps they are using this to threaten Leng Shouqing into betraying the court. All the suspicion seems to point to the fake Third Prince Guan Haoshan, who has been rumored to be rebelling against the court in Fengcheng recently." Hearing this, Xi Yimin calmed down and said seriously, "We will split into several groups to search whether Xue Ran and the others have been kidnapped by someone other than the Third Prince. Report back as soon as you have any news. Ziyue, come with me, let's go and investigate that Third Prince's camp."
That night, Xi Yimin and Qi Ziyue arrived at a spot twenty miles west of Fengcheng. They infiltrated the camp; their superior martial arts made it seem like an empty field. Inside the main tent, a masked young man sat in the main seat. His figure resembled that of the Third Prince. He was discussing with his subordinates below how to attack the army sent by the imperial court. There were more than ten people seated below. Xi Yimin called Qi Ziyue over and whispered, "Ziyue, go in, remove that man's mask, and run away immediately. Don't look. I'll observe his appearance from outside. This way you'll be safer. Attack by surprise, without lingering. Be careful." Qi Ziyue nodded and leaped from the tent roof to hide. She removed the mask from the main seat, thinking that with her martial arts skills, escaping would be no problem. Who would have thought that there were actually five masters among them who were not far behind her? Xi Yimin recognized the man as the Third Prince. Looking down at Qi Ziyue, who was already showing signs of defeat, she dared not think too much. She tore off the hem of her outer robe to cover her face and flew into the battle from the top of the tent. She wanted to finish the battle quickly, otherwise, when the soldiers arrived, their chances of escaping unscathed would be slim. The Third Prince, however, smiled as he watched the people fighting below, seemingly prepared. But after a moment, his smile vanished. Xi Yimin channeled her inner strength into her palm and quickly flashed past the five masters. The five men instantly clutched their chests. At this moment, Xi Yimin dragged Qi Ziyue and flew away from the top of the tent.
On the high mountain outside the camp, Qi Ziyue said worriedly, "The Third Prince had planned this all along, and the Leng family was also part of his scheme." Xi Yimin pondered for a moment, "From the time I met the Third Prince until now, I've sorted things out. When the Third Prince came to Fengcheng, he impersonated me and secretly recruited soldiers. Fengcheng is close to foreign enemies, so perhaps he could even collude with them to rebel. Xiuer also found out in the palace that the Third Prince's mother, Consort Yao, knew about An Ye'er's existence. Logically speaking, not many people should know about An Ye'er's existence, after all, it's a royal secret, how could outsiders easily know? It seems that everything..." "It's all the Third Prince's conspiracy. An Ye'er and the Emperor were probably already part of his plan. Is imperial power really that alluring? Making people scheme and plot so relentlessly, even disregarding family ties." Qi Ziyue looked at Xi Yimin with disdain and said jokingly, "Some people love the country, some love beauty; to each their own." Ignoring Qi Ziyue's joking, he said seriously, "This Third Prince is so meticulous and cunning. Xue Ran and Leng Ying must have been part of his plan as well. It seems they really have been kidnapped. Now, we must find where they are hidden as soon as possible."
The next day, at the Xi residence, Xi Yimin received a letter from General Leng. In his study, Xi Yimin frowned as he read the letter. Looking up at Qi Ziyue standing before his desk, he asked worriedly, "Ziyue, do you know what General Leng wrote in this letter?" Qi Ziyue replied solemnly, "The two young ladies of the Leng family are in the hands of that fake Guan Haoshan. If you want your daughters to be safe, stay put in Fengcheng. Someone will come to invite him." Xi Yimin's eyes reddened slightly. "The letter says exactly what Ziyue said, that he wants my adoptive father to be used by him. And this is only a few..." Before the news even reached the capital, my adoptive father received a letter and sent it back to me. It seemed he knew what was going to happen all along. In the letter, he told me he knew that the rebellious Guan Haoshan wasn't me, and blamed me for not protecting Xue Ran. Ziyue, what should I do? Looking at the man who had been barely holding on these past few days, his eyes red and swollen, Qi Ziyue comforted him, "Young Master, that man planned this all along. No matter how capable we are, we can't predict it. Our best course of action now is to find Madam and the Second Miss as soon as possible and rescue them."
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