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Chen Yu was extremely anxious. Yesterday, Hong Yu went to the palace seeking the antidote, and since then, there had been no news of her. Knowing Hong Yu as she did, she knew that Hong Yu would not give up until she obtained the antidote. Could it be that Hong Yu had disappeared from the palace?
Knowing that Hongyu was the adopted daughter of the Duke's mansion and a pawn for Liu Yu to curry favor with Prince Yan, Chenyu hurriedly went to Liu Yu and whispered, "Hongyu has disappeared."
Because there were many people and eyes outside the palace gates, the group went to the Mu family to discuss the matter.
The four sat together.
Lianxiang recounted what happened at the Mingyan Prince's Mansion:
"Last night, I used medicine to induce Prince Yan and Hongyu to consummate their marriage. This morning, the Empress launched a surprise attack, giving Hongyu a potion to prevent her from having children. Prince Yan rushed to drink it, only to discover it was poison. The Empress claimed that Hongyu had seduced the Crown Prince and bewitched Prince Yan, and therefore wanted to execute her. I sent someone to the palace to request an audience with the Emperor. Upon returning to the Dongrui Pavilion, Hongyu was nowhere to be found. All the servants in Prince Yan's residence remained silent. I concluded that Hongyu must have been hidden by the Empress, who lied to the Emperor, claiming that Hongyu had fled because she feared punishment for Prince Yan's poisoning!"
Shen Yu asked, "Since the Empress intends to order Hong Yu's death, why hasn't she acted immediately?"
"Because of the gold hairpin, the Empress has not yet found another gold hairpin, which is a family heirloom of the royal family."
Mentioning the gold hairpin, Chen Yu felt indignant and furious at Consort Gao's despicable behavior. It was clear that the Empress, Consort Gao, and the Crown Princess were all in the same faction. Fortunately, Liu Yu devised another plan, temporarily suppressing the Crown Prince's faction.
However... His Majesty is getting old, so who will Liu Yu rely on in the future? At present, he can only place his hopes on Prince Yan, since Prince Yan is a prince, and both the Duchess and Liu Yu intend to assist Prince Yan.
"Is the King of Yan still alive?"
"Is there any hope for the Prince of Yan?"
Liu Yu and Shen Yu asked the question at the same time, then looked at each other and nodded, showing that they were thinking the same thing.
Lianxiang nodded, "Prince Yan must have known it was poison, so he only took a small sip. Imperial Physician Wen also seemed to have shown mercy, and Prince Yan is fine."
Chen Yu shrugged, remembering that Hong Yu had disappeared from the Yan Prince's mansion, and decided that the investigation should begin there.
As expected, she found the medicinal herbs in the sachet in Dongrui Pavilion. It was a sachet she had obtained for Hongyu at Putuo Temple to ward off evil spirits. Unexpectedly, Hongyu used it to leave a mark.
In search of Hongyu, she and Cuiwei disguised themselves as men and wore veils, following the trail of scattered medicinal herbs. Reaching the end of Nanjing Street, the herbs were exhausted. Looking up, they saw the Imperial City Guard outside the capital, and beyond that, the Zuo family's residence. Both the Imperial City Guard and the Zuo family were territories of the Crown Prince's faction.
She arrived at the gate of the Imperial City Guard, intending to enter under the pretense of visiting a criminal, but her arm was grabbed. Turning her head, she saw that it was the Crown Prince.
Cuiwei decisively pulled her hand away from the Crown Prince, and a group of guards immediately surrounded them.
"Step back!" the Crown Prince snapped, signaling the guards to retreat. Then, a slight smile appeared on his lips. He closed his eyes, slowly approached Shen Yu, and gently inhaled the scent of her hair. He whispered, "Shen Yu's fragrance is unique, which is why I can recognize her."
Shen Yu suddenly felt a burst of hot air on her head, snapping her back to reality and quickly retreating. While she was lost in thought, she had been pondering how to find Hong Yu:
According to Lianxiang, the Crown Prince took Hongyu into his bedchamber last night, but failed to succeed. In a fit of rage, the Crown Prince beat Wencheng to death. It seems that the Crown Prince has long coveted Hongyu. If the Crown Prince knew that Hongyu was missing, he would definitely be anxious to find her. She could easily follow the Crown Prince.
The prince raised his eyes, licked his lips, and leaned closer to Chen Yu with a meaningful look in his eyes. "Is the injury on Xiao Yu's face any better? I was just a step too late yesterday and failed to protect Xiao Yu."
Shen Yu did not dodge; instead, she reached out to stop Cui Wei, intending to take the opportunity to reveal Hong Yu's disappearance to the Crown Prince. Although the Crown Prince was lustful, he was not stupid. If she directly asked the Crown Prince to find Hong Yu, he might become wary.
Unexpectedly, just as she was about to speak, the crown prince in front of her was punched to the ground. Looking closely, she saw it was Liu Yu. Liu Yu stared at her with a solemn expression and a look of astonishment.
Originally, Liu Yu and Mu Nanfeng went to the Zuo family to gather information, but Liu Yu was worried about Chen Yu, so he followed them. Unexpectedly, he saw Chen Yu behaving intimately with the Crown Prince, and he was immediately enraged, rushing up and punching the Crown Prince.
Considering the Emperor's high hopes for Liu Yu, the Crown Prince could not confront him directly. With Cuiwei's help, he tactfully stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and questioned Liu Yu, "General Yu, are you jealous of me?"
Liu Yu was even more furious. He leaned close to Shen Yu and whispered angrily, "The Crown Prince is despicable and shameless. Why does Madam want to get close to him?"
Seeing that Liu Yu's fair face had turned red and his eyes were full of displeasure, Shen Yu knew that Liu Yu was jealous. She quickly lowered her head to hide the smile on her lips and explained softly, "Shen Yu just wanted to reveal the matter of Hong Yu's disappearance to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince will definitely be anxious to find Hong Yu."
Liu Yu knew the plan was feasible, but he still kept a straight face. He was reluctant to let his beloved woman get close to the Crown Prince, nor could he let the Crown Prince suspect that he had an ambiguous relationship with Shen Yu.
So he grabbed Shen Yu's wrist and said sternly, "Hong Yu went to the Crown Prince's residence last night to ask for medicine for you, but now she has disappeared. It must be related to you and the Crown Prince."
Shen Yu was shocked, but then she understood Liu Yu's meaning and shook her head and cried out that she was wronged: "I am also looking for Hong Yu. Young Master Liu has searched Cheng Garden and all the streets and alleys, but he has not found any trace of Hong Yu. I suppose Hong Yu has been kidnapped by villains and is probably in grave danger."
The crown prince, who had overheard most of the conversation, hurriedly asked, "When did Hongyu disappear?"
Shen Yu withdrew her hand, covering her face with her handkerchief, and choked out, "I heard from the people at Prince Yan's residence that the Empress and the Crown Princess arrived at Prince Yan's residence this morning, and Hongyu has since disappeared without a trace..."
The Crown Prince frowned in deep thought. Could it be that his mother and Mei'er had gone to reprimand Hongyu because of what happened last night? This was bad. Given Mei'er's temperament, she would surely try to kill Hongyu.
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