The next day, Zhong Muyu sorted out the intelligence on Cao Lin and his men. There was nothing about Lu Ziyuan, but they had learned quite a bit about the actions of General Zheng and the Emperor's personal guards.
Those people were idle here and kept to themselves, but General Zheng still sent people to search for Lu Ziyuan and his group in the forest from time to time. Cao Lin's elite troops followed them and found out the situation here.
After understanding the situation, Zhong Muyu assigned tasks to these people, and she and Cao Lin led a team to search for them personally.
Knowing he couldn't persuade her in early spring, he went along with Zhong Muyu's wishes and waited at the inn. Once everything was ready, they set off.
Leaving the city and arriving at the battlefield in the forest, the group discovered several soldiers patrolling outside. Zhong Muyu asked Cao Lin, "Can we quickly deal with these people?"
"Alright, leave it to my subordinate."
Cao Lin greeted the men behind him, and they silently dispersed. These men were all elite guards of the Prince's mansion, and dealing with a few soldiers was a piece of cake for them.
In a flash, the figures of several people moved, and before the soldiers could even resist, they were cut down by their swords.
After dealing with them, the group quickly ventured deeper into the forest.
Although the place was barren, the terrain was rugged, with many gravel and rocks, and one could easily get cut by the stones if one was not careful. Zhong Muyu moved forward carefully, and she climbed up a small hill, where she could see the surrounding scenery.
Zhong Muyu asked Cao Lin, who was standing below, "There's a lack of vegetation here, and you can see the whole area at a glance. Since those people have searched so many times, they shouldn't be able to find any clues in this area. Cao Lin, have our people found any special locations?"
"Your Highness, we can go to the place where the Prince went missing. Although it has been searched, there are many of them, and they might have missed some details."
"That makes sense. Let's hurry."
Zhong Muyu came down the hillside and followed Cao Lin to the place he had mentioned.
The further they went, the more complex the terrain became, and they gradually began to see clumps of bushes, forcing them to slow down.
"Your Highness, this is the place."
Cao Lin stopped in his tracks. Before him was a long, steep slope covered with withered, yellow shrubs.
Zhong Muyu peered down; the ground didn't seem steep, so it seemed unlikely that someone would fall and disappear.
Cao Lin added, "Once you cross here, you'll be out of Yuanqi's territory, and Xirong will be right across from you."
Zhong Muyu asked, "This kind of place shouldn't be so dangerous that someone could disappear, right? Do you think he might have been captured by the Xi Rong people?"
"Probably not. If he had been arrested, General Zheng wouldn't have searched this place for so many days."
Zhong Muyu pondered, "What if this is a scheme? Don't forget, the Xi Rong have already made peace with us, but this happened right afterward. Given that the Emperor deliberately sent Lu Ziyuan to his death, I think..."
Cao Lin suddenly realized: "You mean... if that's really the case, then the Emperor was determined to execute the Prince, and Xi Rong's men wouldn't have been able to protect the Prince's life until now."
If that's the case, then it's tantamount to sentencing Lu Ziyuan to death.
Zhong Muyu certainly didn't want to draw a conclusion so soon.
"Don't think about that now, Cao Lin, let's go down and take a look."
Cao Lin immediately stopped her: "Your Highness, you mustn't! This steep slope doesn't look dangerous, but the bushes are so thick. It's hard to say what the situation is down there. You should rest and let me come down!"
"Then quickly send someone down to take protective measures."
Zhong Muyu stepped aside, and Cao Lin had several guards tied with ropes and go down. While waiting, Zhong Muyu looked around and said, "I wonder if General Zheng's men have searched this place thoroughly."
“They should have searched it. Since it was the Emperor’s order, they naturally had to be careful.”
Looking at the clumps of weeds, Zhong Muyu felt only annoyed and upset.
Suddenly, she had an idea. She secretly took out a few grass-cutting knives from her spatial storage and handed them to the remaining guards: "These grasses are blocking our view, so it's not easy to find any clues. If we try to clear some of the weeds now, we might be able to find something."
Cao Lin nodded: "What the princess says makes sense. Let's get started."
The remaining people began to deal with the weeds. After a while, those who had gone down came up, but they had found nothing.
Although Zhong Muyu was disappointed, she accepted it calmly. Others had searched several times and still couldn't find it, so it was impossible for them to find it on their first try.
At this moment, one of the guards who went down said, "Although it is overgrown with weeds, the ground below is relatively flat. If we take advantage of the chaos and escape under the cover of the weeds, it is indeed feasible. Why don't we go down again and search around?"
Zhong Muyu said, "If the path below is easy, I'll go down and look for it too."
"But Your Highness..."
"Don't worry, we're already here, we can't just sit here and wait to die. Since there's no danger down there, I'll go down."
Cao Lin said, "Then I will have someone clear the slope along the way to make it easier for you to walk."
After thanking them, Zhong Muyu straightened her clothes, fastened her safety rope, and went down with them.
With the help of those around her clearing away the weeds, the slope was gradually cleared, revealing the soil underneath. Zhong Muyu tentatively slid down, and only felt relieved after landing steadily.
At this moment, the remaining guards also landed one after another.
They automatically surrounded Zhong Muyu, exploring the area as they went.
After walking for a while, everyone took a break. To improve efficiency, Zhong Muyu also sent some people to search the surrounding area.
They searched for almost a day, and as darkness fell, the cries of an unknown wild animal could be heard in the distance.
Cao Lin sighed, "Your Highness, let's go back first and come back tomorrow. There might be danger here tonight."
Zhong Muyu looked behind her and realized that they had walked quite a distance without realizing it.
If General Zheng discovers tomorrow that all the soldiers guarding this place are dead, will they still be able to enter tomorrow?
Fortunately, there were plenty of supplies in the space. Zhong Muyu gritted her teeth and said, "Keep searching."
"But Your Highness, the supplies we brought may not be enough."
"Don't worry, I have a way. You know, so many of us have left here today, but we might not be able to come back tomorrow."
After Zhong Muyu's reminder, Cao Lin instantly understood. If he wasn't worried about Zhong Muyu's health, he would naturally want to lead his brothers to search all night. Since the princess knew what was going on, then let's continue searching.
Cao Lin ordered some people to find a suitable place to pitch tents, and others to go hunting and prepare dinner, while the rest continued their search.
Zhong Muyu wanted to help them prepare dinner, but the guards all told her to go and rest. Bored, she wandered around to see if she could find anything.
The location they chose was a sheltered hillside, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and easy to observe. Zhong Muyu was using a flashlight to poke around in the grass when suddenly something reflective in the grass caught her attention.
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