Chapter 63 Xiao Mingzhang, if anything were to happen to my daughter...
Xiao Mingzhang's eleventh uncle, the current emperor's eleventh son, Prince Yi, Xiao Jing.
It was at noon that he sent men to kidnap Mu Zhaozhi.
Yunzhu looked at Xiao Mingzhang with shock and fear in her eyes. This fear was a hundred times worse than when she first learned that Xiao Mingzhang might kill her.
Given Xiao Mingzhang's status and the fact that this is a crucial period in the struggle for the throne, it's easy to understand why Mu Zhaozhi was kidnapped by such a person.
However, in an instant, Yunzhu's hand broke free from its restraints and slapped the person in front of her hard across the face.
It's all his fault, Yunzhu thought bitterly. It's all his fault! If Xiao Mingzhang hadn't insisted on coming and bothering her and Mu Zhaozhi, no one in this small town would have cared about her and her daughter.
They had lived in this place undisturbed for three whole years, and his arrival destroyed all that tranquility! Destroyed it all!
No longer caring that this was the school gate, she roared at Xiao Mingzhang with all her might, "Xiao Mingzhang! If anything happens to Azhi, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
"Yunzhu!" Xiao Mingzhang knew that today's events were all his responsibility. He did not resist Yunzhu's beatings and scoldings, but the most important thing for them to do now was to find Mu Zhaozhi. So after being slapped, he restrained Yunzhu's hand.
Xiao Mingzhang said, "If you want to settle accounts, you can come to me later, but right now, our top priority is to rescue Azhi, isn't it?"
Yunzhu trembled all over. Under the bright sunlight, she almost threw all her composure and rationality to the winds. Only a sliver of will remained, making her still listen to Xiao Mingzhang.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she glared at Xiao Mingzhang, saying nothing but making no further move.
Xiao Mingzhang then helped Yunzhu onto the horse.
None of them had time to explain what had happened in the school. Xiao Mingzhang asked a guard to stay behind, while he took Yunzhu and went back to the house he had bought in Hanze Town.
Although Yunzhu didn't say anything, tears welled up in her eyes the moment she mounted the horse, falling in large drops and landing on her clothes.
Xiao Mingzhang held Yunzhu in his arms and heard her sobbing. He looked down and saw a crystal-clear tear fall onto the back of his hand. Soon, another tear fell, and another... The continuous tears flowed like a never-ending stream, and soon they soaked Yunzhu's clothes and his hand.
Xiao Mingzhang remained silent, but a wave of endless regret washed over him.
This time, the Prince Yi's kidnapping of Mu Zhaozhi was completely unexpected by Xiao Mingzhang.
Since the resurgence of the Huan Prince's mansion, the power structure in the court has begun to reshuffle, and the Yi Prince's forces have shown signs of decline. Although he enjoys the emperor's favor and bias, he has not accomplished much in recent years, so few ministers would wholeheartedly support him.
Although both the court and the common people are speculating whether the throne will ultimately fall into the hands of Prince Huan or Prince Yi, in fact, Xiao Mingzhang, as the heir of Prince Huan's mansion, has never regarded his eleventh uncle as an opponent since he decided to fully participate in the struggle for the throne three years ago.
His uncle was a fool. Not only did he accomplish nothing in court, but he also didn't seem to be a normal person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been favored by the emperor for so many years and still be such an incompetent ruler. He even thought that this fool might start a rebellion in Jinling, but he never thought that he would go all the way to Liangzhou and send people to snatch Mu Zhaozhi.
The words Xiao Mingzhang used to threaten Yunzhu were just empty threats. Now that the Huan Prince's mansion is powerful, almost no one would dare to openly attack Yunzhu knowing her identity. But who could have imagined that this would actually happen?
The words came true.
Mu Zhaozhi, so beautiful and delicate, was abducted under the watchful eyes of the guards he had arranged.
Xiao Mingzhang didn't know how to comfort Yunzhu, so he could only speed up his horse and bring her back to his residence.
Inside the courtyard, the guards were lined up in neat rows, more than twice as many as when Yunzhu last came.
Xiao Mingzhang has summoned all the men he can currently call upon, who are hidden in the shadows of Hanze Town.
He led Yunzhu inside and asked Wuqi, who was at the head of the group, "Has there been any new news from Prince Yi?"
Wu Qi said, "Not at the moment."
Xiao Mingzhang then said sharply, "Regardless of whether he brings any new information or not, go find their hiding place first. Since they were able to kidnap someone right under your noses, they must have been observing in secret for a long time. Thoroughly investigate the surrounding area and find their stronghold first!"
"Yes!" Wuqi obeyed and immediately led a group of men down.
The hall was filled with a tense atmosphere. After Wu Qi left, many guards remained standing in the hall. As long as Xiao Mingzhang didn't speak, they didn't dare to move and just stood there.
Yunzhu rode her horse for the entire journey, tears streaming down her face. Finally, when the hall was completely quiet, she asked Xiao Mingzhang, "After Prince Yi abducted Azhi, did he send you a letter?"
"Yes," Xiao Mingzhang admitted.
"Where's the letter? What does it say? I want to see it!" Yunzhu immediately became anxious, eager to see what Prince Yi had written about Mu Zhaozhi.
Xiao Mingzhang paused for a moment, then pulled the letter from his sleeve and handed it to Yunzhu.
Yunzhu took the letter and immediately wiped away the tears on both sides of her cheeks.
She read it quickly, and when she saw the last word of the letter, she finally felt completely overwhelmed and could no longer stand properly in front of Xiao Mingzhang.
She staggered backward, and if Xiao Mingzhang hadn't caught her, she probably would have fallen to the ground.
“Xiao Mingzhang…” Yunzhu’s eyes, which had already been crying until they burst into tears, gushed out even more uncontrollable tears. She gripped Xiao Mingzhang’s arm tightly, and only by using his support could she barely stand.
But she gritted her teeth and repeated to Xiao Mingzhang, “If anything happens to Azhi, I will never let you go. I will haunt you even as a ghost!”
That last little roar came from her swollen throat from crying.
Xiao Mingzhang's expression was complicated. In the current position, he hugged Yunzhu tightly in his arms.
He said, "I know, I know everything, Yunzhu, I won't let anything happen to Azhi."
"Then what are you going to do now!" Yunzhu finally lost her temper and started hitting Xiao Mingzhang.
The letter stated that Prince Yi wanted Xiao Mingzhang to use his current power in the Western Regions to exchange for his daughter's safety. He demanded that Xiao Mingzhang surrender to the Western Regions in front of the world, be scorned by everyone, incite public anger, and completely lose his eligibility to seize the throne. Only then would he return his daughter.
Xiao Mingzhang...power...or his daughter...
Yunzhu couldn't believe it. She couldn't fully believe that Xiao Mingzhang would actually do as written in the letter and give up the power that was within his grasp for the sake of his daughter.
"If we fail to rescue Azhi, I will do as he said and write a letter of surrender to the Western Regions."
Xiao Mingzhang's tone was swift and firm, which finally made Yunzhu, with tears welling up in her eyes, stop hitting him.
She looked at Xiao Mingzhang with tears in her eyes, her gaze through layers of water droplets, as if she were pondering whether or not to believe him.
“Yunzhu…” Yunzhu could barely stand, but Xiao Mingzhang still held her close and whispered in her ear, “I know what you’re thinking, and I know what kind of person I am in your heart, but please believe me, Azhi is my daughter. Although I haven’t been by her side all these years, I’ve always kept in touch with you. My feelings for her are no less than yours. I said I would bring her back safely, and I will definitely do it. I will never let you down.”
"Then how can you guarantee what you said?" Yunzhu slumped blankly in Xiao Mingzhang's arms. At this moment, she no longer cared about intimacy. She could not even stand up straight, and her mind was filled with nothing but her daughter.
“I will prove it to you.” Xiao Mingzhang wiped away Yunzhu’s tears with his own hands and said, “Bringing Azhi back safely will be my proof.”
"..."
Yunzhu then fell silent.
She leaned silently against Xiao Mingzhang's chest, letting her tears continue to flow without a sound. What was the use of Xiao Mingzhang wiping them away the first time? Mu Zhaozhi would never come back, and her tears would never stop.
Yunzhu didn't know how long she had been crying. She only knew that she had been crying in front of Xiao Mingzhang and the many guards; later, Xiao Mingzhang took her alone into the study, and she was still crying. Finally, she couldn't cry anymore, so she lay down on Xiao Mingzhang's desk and fell asleep.
Before receiving any further news from Mu Zhaozhi, Yunzhu fainted on Xiao Mingzhang's desk.
Unbeknownst to her, she was still shedding tears in her sleep.
Xiao Mingzhang carried the unconscious Yunzhu to the bed, squatted by the bedside, and watched as Yunzhu, still sleeping, slowly shed tears. The pain in his heart felt like being beaten by vines, no less than when he first learned of Yunzhu's death.
Over the years, Yunzhu's appearance and stubborn temperament have remained unchanged. Xiao Mingzhang knew that Azhi was her closest daughter and her rare source of emotional support over the years. Although her harsh words were directed at him, if anything were to happen to Azhi, the person who would suffer the most in this world would be herself.
He had no doubt that if something really happened to Azhi, Yunzhu would probably not survive either.
He gently took Yunzhu's hand and slowly pressed it against his cheek.
Over the course of those three years, Xiao Mingzhang had fantasized countless times about how Yunzhu would return to his side after their reunion, and how they would lie on the same bed together.
But he never imagined that his wish would be granted for such a reason.
He held Yunzhu's hand for a long time before wiping her cheeks clean again; he leaned down and placed a barely perceptible kiss on her forehead, his gaze towards Yunzhu filled with tenderness.
“Yunzhu…” Xiao Mingzhang uttered the name of the person in front of him softly, and murmured it again, “I will definitely bring Azhi back to you safe and sound.”
"Knock knock—"
Perhaps it was a sudden inspiration, but as soon as Xiao Mingzhang finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.
He opened the door and went out, whereupon he saw Wuqi say, "Your Highness, they've arrived! The Prince of Yi's second letter!"
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