Fourth Master found a place to secure the rope, but he was worried that Tenth Master and Fourteenth Master would find out where he had tied the rope when they returned.
Yes! What if the Tenth and Fourteenth Princes find out they secretly sneaked down from here when they return? The Fourth Prince suddenly realized that he had been controlled by an obsession: whether the Shunzhi Emperor was still alive, and whether the Kangxi Emperor had gone to discuss the matter of establishing an heir with him. Because of these two questions, the Fourth Prince hadn't thought about anything else these days! Lanqin's words suddenly appeared in the Fourth Prince's mind. She told him not to act rashly and not to show any active attitude towards seizing the throne in front of his father, the Emperor!
Thinking of this, Fourth Master stared intently at the buildings behind the mountain temple. There was a large courtyard, followed by four rooms in the east, west, south, and north.
"Is the Imperial Ancestral Law inside?" Fourth Prince wondered, but he didn't bother tying the rope down anymore. He couldn't be so reckless as to eavesdrop; what would his father think of him if he were discovered?
Fourth Master let out a long sigh of relief. Thinking of Lanqin, he was worried about her, as he hadn't written her a single letter in recent days and wondered how her pregnancy was progressing. Before leaving, Fourth Master had called the head nanny to his side and instructed her to secretly help Lanqin, keep an eye on the others in the backyard, and immediately and decisively suppress any actions that might be detrimental to Lanqin.
"Fourth Brother, look!" The tenth brother's voice rang out from behind the fourth brother; he had already caught a prey.
Fortunately, I didn't climb down, otherwise, if the straightforward Tenth Prince had found out, he would have definitely reported it to Emperor Kangxi.
"What did you catch?" Fourth Master immediately replied, then turned to look at Tenth Master's prey.
"We shot a pheasant and two rabbits! We can have a treat today," Tenth Master said happily. He was a true martial artist, not one for many schemes, and hunting was his favorite pastime.
"It's a good thing you've endured all this time. It's admirable that someone who loves meat can actually refrain from eating it." Thinking of this, Fourth Master felt that Tenth Prince had never been like Eighth and Ninth Princes, especially after marrying Lanqin's cousin. He was no longer as subservient to Eighth Prince as Ninth Prince, so he became even more amiable towards him.
"Fourth Brother!" The Tenth Brother smiled shyly, thinking to himself, "How could Fourth Brother be joking like this?"
"Where's Fourteenth? Didn't he go out with you?" Fourth Master asked with a smile.
“We separated later. He found traces of a baby raccoon and probably went to hunt raccoons,” Tenth Master said.
Fourth Master nodded, and he and Tenth Master waited for Fourteenth Master to return. At first, they waited patiently, but the longer they waited, the more uneasy they felt. Fourteenth Master hadn't returned. It was getting late; they had only come out after lunch, but they waited until the sun was almost setting, and Fourteenth Master still hadn't returned.
"No, we have to go find him. It'll be even harder to find him after dark." A bad premonition suddenly rose in Fourth Master's heart. Fourteenth was no longer a reckless young man; having been tempered by war, he was much more measured than before. It was impossible for him not to come back. Even if he hadn't captured the raccoon, he wouldn't let himself and Tenth Master wait this long just to save face.
“But it’s getting dark soon. If we don’t go back, Father Emperor will be worried if he asks,” said the Tenth Prince.
"Here's what we'll do," Fourth Master said. "Go back first and tell those guards to bring torches and search for him. Fourteenth might have been caught in something and fallen into someone else's trap." In a mountain this big, with so much prey, there must be other prey watching from all around.
"Then how do we find you?" Tenth Master asked anxiously.
"Don't worry about me, we'll use signal flares to communicate," Fourth Master said, patting Tenth Master on the shoulder. They always carried signal flares and tinderboxes, just like we always carry cell phones now, so they could use signal flares to communicate in case of emergency.
Seeing that the red sun, the size of a goose egg, had already partially disappeared into the clouds, Tenth Master nodded quickly, turned around, and headed down the mountain path.
Fourth Master glanced at his retreating figure before turning around to look at the vast woods behind him. What on earth had happened to Fourteenth Master?
Without thinking twice, Fourth Master plunged into the woods.
Meanwhile, Old Eleven was worried about Fourteenth Prince's safety, and the more he thought about it, the more anxious and guilty he became. If he hadn't been craving meat, he wouldn't have thought of letting Fourteenth Prince and Fourth Prince go hunting. If Fourteenth Prince had really fallen into a trap, it would have been quite dangerous.
He ran as fast as he could, thinking only of getting back to inform his father, the Emperor, and urging the guards to come out and search for the Fourteenth Prince's whereabouts.
When he returned to the mountain temple, the guards who had come out with Kangxi were anxiously waiting at the entrance. When they saw the Tenth Prince return, they immediately rushed forward with joy.
"Tenth Prince, His Majesty sent someone down today to invite you to the back mountain, but I found none of you were there, so I had to tell you that you had gone out," said Qin Gang, the head of the guards.
"We went up the back mountain to hunt some rabbits, but Fourteenth Prince never came back. Fourth Brother sent me back to get reinforcements. Fourteenth Prince might have fallen into the prey's trap." Tenth Prince didn't care about anything else; he was filled with regret. It seemed this matter couldn't be kept from Kangxi any longer.
Upon hearing this, Qin Gang felt a surge of anxiety. Although the Fourth Prince and the others were all adult princes, if something happened to them, it would be his responsibility, and the Emperor would definitely hold him accountable.
"Then let's go back and report to the Emperor first, and then go look for the Fourteenth Prince!" Qin Gang said immediately without thinking too much.
The Tenth Prince nodded. He knew he couldn't hide it any longer. Even if he was reprimanded by Emperor Kangxi for it, he was willing to do it as long as the Fourteenth Prince returned safely.
Kangxi did not actually come down from the back mountain; he merely sent word to the Fourth Prince and the others to come over.
Since the back mountain could not be easily accessed, the guards had no choice but to first tell the abbot about this matter, so that he could report it to Emperor Kangxi.
"The Fourteenth Benefactor has gone missing in the back mountain?" The abbot asked, his eyes widening upon hearing the Tenth Master's words.
"Yes, we went hunting in the woods. After we parted ways, we didn't see Fourteenth Master return!" Tenth Master had no choice but to tell the abbot about the killing; at this point, he couldn't care less about anything else.
"Amitabha! There are many traps set by hunters in the woods behind the mountain. How did you end up there? It's too dangerous!" The abbot was also a little anxious. This was a prince who had gone missing. If something really happened to him, their mountain temple would be in serious trouble.
"Master, I know I was wrong. The most urgent thing now is to find Fourteenth Brother as soon as possible. Please help me tell Father Emperor that we want Guard Qin and the others to help us look for him!" Tenth Prince said anxiously.
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