Gu Chaoxi looked up, but the doors and windows were closed and she couldn't see anything. She was a little curious, "Did you deliberately have this whole thing at the West Market today? Was it that person outside? Did he really kill someone?"
One question after another made Lu Zhao laugh, but not wanting the young girl to misunderstand, he clarified very seriously.
“Shi An was already tall and strong, with a rather fierce appearance. I had him smear some animal blood on his face, and with a few people helping him, we could easily cause a disturbance.”
“Unlike Jin Yang, Shi An is always protected in the shadows, so there’s no need to worry about him being recognized by the emperor’s men.”
Gu Chaoxi understood and quickly urged him, "The emperor is looking for you everywhere, probably because of my disappearance. You should go to the palace quickly and don't let him find out."
Lu Zhao was reluctant to leave the villa; he only wanted to stay with Gu Chaoxi. The joy of these two days was enough to make up for all the happiness he had experienced in the previous decades.
First, he discovered Gu Chaoxi's feelings for him, and then he learned that the person he loved was pregnant with his child, which might be his only offspring in this life.
But the young emperor was, after all, the emperor, and when summoned, he could not refuse.
After cuddling with Gu Chaoxi for a while, Lu Zhao quickly rode away from the villa and entered the capital.
The emperor was in the palace, extremely anxious and racking his brains trying to figure out who was so audacious as to dare to kidnap even one of his people. Even if it wasn't Gu Chaoxi, but just an ordinary concubine who had been kidnapped, it was still an insult to his dignity as emperor.
Unfortunately, the person sent to the Regent's Palace to summon him returned and said that Lu Zhao was not in the palace.
The emperor recalled that Gu Chaoxi and his uncle had perished together several days ago, and also noticed that Lu Zhao was not present at today's sacrificial ceremony. The emperor began to suspect that Lu Zhao might be the one who had abducted Gu Chaoxi.
But he quickly suppressed the thought. Ever since Lu Zhao learned in his youth that he was infertile and would never have children, he had never touched a woman and devoted himself to assisting him.
Moreover, Lu Zhao is usually very polite, calm and self-reliant, and would never do something like stealing his nephew's wife.
Now, he can only wait for the results of the Imperial Guard's search of the city.
More than two hours later, Lu Zhao finally arrived late and bowed to the emperor.
"I heard that Your Majesty summoned me. I am late. Please forgive me."
When the emperor saw Lu Zhao, he noticed that the other man had a slight smile on his lips, a gentle expression, and spoke with composure, lacking some of his former sharpness and instead exuding a sense of smugness.
The emperor was somewhat disheartened. He had lost face in the palace and was in a great hurry, wishing he could turn the capital upside down. What good thing had happened to Lu Zhao that made him so happy?
"Where did the Imperial Uncle go? Why is he neither attending the sacrificial ceremony nor staying at the residence today?"
Lu Zhao took out an account book from his sleeve and replied, "Yesterday I received a secret memorial. The magistrate of the neighboring Linqing County accused his superior, Prefect Wu, of extorting money from the people and selling official positions. Although it was an accusation beyond his jurisdiction, I still personally led people to investigate the prefect's residence and obtained 150,000 taels of silver, which was added to the national treasury."
Lu Zhao's words were half true and half false. The search and confiscation of the mansion did indeed take place today, but he did not go in person.
Upon hearing this, the emperor completely suppressed his previous thoughts. His uncle was indeed his uncle; how could he possibly be the thief who kidnapped Gu Chaoxi? His absence from the ceremony to search an official's residence was also typical of him.
"Your Majesty, is there something important that you have summoned me to the palace in such a hurry?" Lu Zhao asked.
The emperor solemnly recounted the events of the day to Lu Zhao.
Lu Zhao feigned ignorance, "Who dares to do such an outrageous thing under the Emperor's nose?!"
The emperor frowned. "I have no idea who it could be."
In the past two years, the emperor has become more involved in court affairs and has begun to intentionally or unintentionally weaken the power of the vassal kings, while also placing his own people in the court. This has certainly offended many vassal kings and some veteran officials.
"If it were a prince, how could he take someone away right under the noses of the Imperial Guards? Besides, what good would it do them to kidnap a mere woman?"
"I have already dispatched the Imperial Guards to search the capital. My only concern is that they may have already slipped out of the city."
The emperor felt an unbearable heartache at the thought of Gu Chaoxi falling into the hands of bandits and what might happen to her given her beauty.
"Uncle, you have no wife or children, so you may not understand how I feel right now. But Xi'er is the Empress I have chosen, so you must help me find her."
The emperor's gaze was sincere.
Lu Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly and patted the emperor's shoulder reassuringly.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will immediately send men out of the city to search. The kidnappers cannot move quickly with a weak woman in tow. I will have my men search carefully in the surrounding towns."
Of course, whether or not they can be found is another matter entirely.
Lu Zhao agreed and left the palace.
Meanwhile, at the Marquis of Changshan's residence, Old Madam Gu had just woken up from her coma. Seeing Marquis Gu sitting by her bedside attending to her, she hurriedly asked, "Has Xi'er been found?"
Lord Gu shook his head and sighed.
Old Madam Gu clutched her chest, tears streaming down her face. "My darling, why is your life always so miserable!"
Lord Gu hurriedly comforted his elderly mother, saying, "Good people are always protected by heaven. You will definitely be alright. You came back safely after falling off the cliff last time, so this time will be no exception."
Lord Gu also felt somewhat guilty for his favoritism towards his second daughter, Gu Ruiyun, over the years, always neglecting his eldest daughter, Gu Chaoxi.
Just as the mother and son were feeling sad, a maid rushed in, carrying an arrow with a note attached to it.
"My lord, madam, someone just shot an arrow and a note at us."
Lord Gu quickly took the paper and unfolded it. He saw only eight words on it: "All is well, do not make a fuss."
Lord Gu asked, puzzled, "Who shot that?"
The maid shook her head, not knowing.
Old Madam Gu, with her decades of experience, saw and thought more than others. She stared intently at the note, a suspect in her mind.
After sending Lord Gu away, Old Madam Gu called over Qiu Shuang, Gu Chaoxi's personal maid, and questioned her in detail.
Qiu Shuang knew that the girl's disappearance was no small matter, so she had no choice but to tell her everything she knew.
When Madam Gu heard that Gu Chaoxi actually liked Regent Lu Zhao and had even embroidered something and buried it under a tree, she instructed Qiushuang to go back and dig it up.
Autumn Frost dared not disobey, and went back to dig under the tree for a while, but found nothing.
Thus, Madam Gu understood the situation, but at the same time, another kind of worry arose.
Is the regent hiding Xi'er so that she will become his mistress?
Time flies, and a month has passed.
Although the emperor was young, he was quite suspicious and had long ago sent people to secretly monitor Lu Zhao's whereabouts.
That day, the shadow guard returned and reported, "Your Majesty, in the past month, the Regent has frequently left the capital, sometimes even spending the night outside the city. However, I am incompetent and always lose track of him as soon as he leaves the city, and I have no idea where he goes."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
