She had previously thought herself very lucky and unique, but she never expected that the family she trusted and relied on would also choose profit when faced with the choice.
After leaving the side hall, the people the Crown Prince had sent out to investigate the matter returned.
"What's going on?" The crown prince asked, looking at his personal eunuch.
"Your Highness, nothing has been found out about this matter. Our people only said that the day before yesterday, His Majesty still intended to send Princess Yongchang to marry a foreign ruler. However, yesterday, the Fifth Prince of Zhou entered the palace and discussed matters with His Majesty in the Imperial Study. After the Fifth Prince left, His Majesty gave up the idea of sending Princess Yongchang to marry a foreign ruler."
"So, it was Zhou Wenli who refused the marriage alliance?" The Crown Prince frowned. Why was that?
The young eunuch kept his head down and did not answer the prince's question. He knew that the prince was only asking a question and did not really expect an answer from him.
"Can't we find out anything about what was said in the Imperial Study?" the Crown Prince asked again.
"Yesterday, only His Majesty, the Fifth Prince of Zhou, and Eunuch Laifu were in the Imperial Study. There was no one else present," the young eunuch replied, bowing his head.
As the emperor's man, Eunuch Laifu would never reveal what happened in the imperial study.
"Alright, I understand." The Crown Prince waved his hand.
Regardless of Zhou Wenli's reasons for abandoning the marriage alliance, now that Zhou Wenli has left, only the Emperor knows about this matter.
Yongchang was already disappointed in his father, so he wouldn't ask him what exactly happened. He had just said those things to Yongchang, so Yongchang should now believe that he was the one who helped him.
If I wait a while longer, until Yongchang's mood has calmed down a bit, and then bring up the matter with the Kong family again, I'm sure Yongchang won't refuse.
Once the matter between Yongchang and the Kong family is settled, the Kong family can truly become his own power. The Crown Prince seemed to be able to foresee what would happen next.
The only thorny issue now is the Xu family. The Crown Prince has already decided that if Ren Nuanyun is still unwilling to marry Xu Yingying as his concubine, then he will have no choice but to make Ren Nuanyun suffer. He is determined to get the Xu family's support.
In any case, whether Ren Nuanyun is a concubine or the principal wife, I can guarantee that I will only favor Ren Nuanyun. In the Eastern Palace, favor is the most important thing. As long as I favor Ren Nuanyun well, what does it matter whether she is the principal wife or a concubine?
After finally seeing Zhou Wenli off, He Liufeng breathed a sigh of relief. After dealing with matters in the palace, he planned to go back and spend some time with Qu Qingxi. He had been very busy lately, and now he could finally relax.
However, before He Liufeng's carriage arrived at the Nanqing Prince's Mansion, Qingdai came running towards them in a panic.
When Qingdai saw He Liufeng's carriage, her eyes lit up, and she quickly ran to the front of the carriage.
"What happened? Why are you in such a panic?" He Liufeng looked at Qingdai suspiciously.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort is missing." Qingdai wished she could lower her head to the ground. She was ordered by the prince to protect the Princess Consort, but she didn't even know when the Princess Consort had disappeared.
"What?" He Liufeng slammed the teacup in his hand onto the table and looked at Qingdai with a sharp gaze.
When did this happen?
"At noon, I was drugged and knocked unconscious. When I woke up, the Princess was gone." Qingdai lowered her head and spoke softly, her voice full of guilt.
"Then hurry up and send someone to investigate this matter!" He Liufeng could hardly hide his anger.
Because he was worried about Qu Qingxi's safety, he specifically told Qu Qingxi yesterday and today not to leave the palace. The palace was almost entirely staffed by his people and was heavily guarded, so he felt at ease.
Who would have thought that Qu Qingxi would be taken away like this?
Moreover, he knew Qu Qingxi's skills and vigilance. The fact that the other party was able to take Qu Qingxi away in such a short time and successfully leave the palace was obviously very impressive.
Almost instantly, He Liufeng thought of the person from that night. He was very skilled, and most importantly, he was very good at hiding.
He Liufeng was very flustered, but he forced himself to calm down. The fact that the person could take Qu Qingxi away so easily meant that he was very familiar with the Prince's Mansion.
"Has anyone visited the Prince's residence today?" He Liufeng frowned as he looked at Qingdai.
“No, no one has entered the Prince’s mansion today.” Qingdai shook her head almost without thinking.
Suddenly, a name flashed into He Liufeng's mind, "Where is Lan Cangyuan? Is he still in the manor?"
"This, I don't know." Qingdai realized she had been drugged. When she woke up, she found that Qu Qingxi was gone. She didn't have time to care about anyone else and rushed over to find He Liufeng.
"Go back to the Prince's Mansion first, quickly."
Now the only thing to do is return to the Prince's Palace. Perhaps we can discover something there.
For some reason, He Liufeng felt that this matter was related to Lan Cangyuan.
Back at the Prince's Mansion, the group hurried to Qu Qingxi's courtyard.
He Liufeng pushed open the door to find the room empty. He glanced around the room, trying to see if the other party had left any traces or clues.
But after searching around, they found nothing.
The men sent to investigate Lan Cangyuan returned at this moment, saying, "Your Highness, Lan Cangyuan and his guards are not here."
Qingdai and Lingmu exchanged a glance. Could it be that Lan Cangyuan took the princess away?
But his injuries haven't healed yet, have they? How was he able to disappear from the Prince's mansion so quietly without being detected by the Prince's guards?
He Liufeng closed his eyes slightly. "Go to Cuiwei Pavilion and get ten experts who are currently in the capital to accompany me in pursuit."
After He Liufeng finished speaking, he turned and left.
Although Qingdai and Lingmu hadn't figured out who to chase, they immediately set off for Cuiwei Pavilion to mobilize manpower.
He Liufeng rode his horse directly to the outskirts of the city.
On the other side, Qu Qingxi woke up groggily to find herself lying in a carriage. The carriage was swaying, and a familiar person, Cang Yuan, was sitting next to her.
Cang Yuan's eyes were always on Qu Qingxi, so he immediately noticed any movement from her.
Seeing Qu Qingxi wake up and stare at him, Cang Yuan showed no embarrassment whatsoever.
"Miss Qu, you're awake? Here, have some water first." Cang Yuan poured Qu Qingxi a cup of tea as if nothing had happened.
Qu Qingxi didn't even glance at the cup of tea; her expression was unusually calm.
"Cang Yuan, what do you mean by this?" Perhaps he was too confident. Cang Yuan had only drugged Qu Qingxi and hadn't tied her up, so Qu Qingxi calmed down and sat up directly. However, she had almost no strength and could only lean against the side of the carriage.
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