Hongli looked around again to see if there were any horses, but there weren't. However, he found carriage wheel tracks outside the main gate, indicating that the group had come in a large carriage, not on horseback. Now that the carriage was gone, it was impossible for them to have left so easily.
Hongli had to abandon his escape plan. Unfamiliar with the terrain, and without food or horses, the chances of escape were zero. He decided to wait and see, and wait for the bandits who had gone out to buy paper, pens, and ink to return.
After eating their fill, the group burped for a while. Hongli and Hongzhou then spoke to Awu for a long time, pleading with him not to tie their hands and feet anymore, as they felt too restricted and uncomfortable.
Ah Wu ate happily, thinking that since they couldn't escape anyway, he took pity on them and didn't tie them up anymore.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince arrived at the magistrate's office in the capital and told him that his two sons had not returned since yesterday and were still missing. The Fourth Prince did not want this matter to get out, after all, it was hard to say where Hongli and Hongzhou were now, and if the news spread like wildfire, it might be even more detrimental to them.
Fourth Master secretly felt that the two of them must have been controlled or kidnapped, otherwise they wouldn't have stayed away from home and made their mother worry.
"Your Highness, the last place the two young princes were seen was at Tan Tuo Temple. After leaving there, where did they go? Knowing this is very important," the Prefect of the Capital said to the Fourth Prince.
"I've already sent people to ask the monks at that temple, but they didn't notice anything," Fourth Master said, frowning. He knew he had given them too few clues, and he couldn't post notices all over the city; how were they supposed to find them?
“Your Highness, we have to go to Tan Tuo Temple again. The two princes left from there, and someone must have seen them leave. We have to ask them one by one to find any clues,” said the Prefect of the Capital. This was the method used by those responsible for the security of the capital, different from the method the Fourth Prince had come up with. Their method was a carpet search, similar to how police search for missing persons in later generations.
"Very well, then please accompany me to Tan Tuo Temple, Your Excellency." Fourth Prince had no choice but to agree when the Prefect of the Capital spoke.
When they arrived at Tantuo Temple again and explained their purpose to the abbot, they began to screen everyone one by one. The steward monk who had been in charge of contacting Hongli and Hongzhou had been dismissed from his post by the abbot, and now he dared not be careless and recounted the whole story to the Fourth Prince and the Prefect of the Capital.
Then, all the monks at the temple gate were summoned to the Fourth Prince and questioned one by one to see if they had seen which direction Hongli and Hongzhou went, or heard them say anything.
After a whole afternoon of investigation, a young monk's words finally gave the Fourth Prince and the Prefect of the Capital a clue.
"Are you sure that's what they said?" Fourth Master couldn't help but ask again.
“Yes, that’s what those two benefactors said. One of them looked a little dejected, while the other advised, ‘Go to the most famous tavern here.’ I did hear that.” The monk said, pressing his palms together.
The Fourth Prince exchanged a pleased glance with the Prefect of the Capital, which meant they could finally begin to investigate the whereabouts of Hongli and Hongzhou further. They dared not delay and immediately inquired at the famous tavern owned by the Princess Consort of Tantuo Temple. Although they were monks and did not usually go out to eat and drink, they still knew which taverns were in the area.
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