The Duke of Zhenguo pretended to be nonchalant and sat back down in the main hall, but he saw the look that Marquis Ningyuan was giving him.
Marquis Ningyuan, feeling guilty, asked anxiously, "Lord Duke, I remember that she was Zhou Wan from Tianxiang Pavilion. I didn't expect that you, at your age, would still want to know a young lady of your age. May I ask what brings her to you in such a hurry?"
The Duke of Zhenguo felt very awkward upon hearing this and was about to lash out when he couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows.
"My lord, please don't tease me. I'm not so fortunate. But this child and A-Yue are close. Now that A-Yue has gone to the Underworld Moon Kingdom, I naturally want to help her sister, lest she blame me when she comes back..." He paused, a troubled look on his face, and quickly continued, "However, she has indeed encountered some difficulties. I really don't know how to tell my lord. Since my lord has asked, I will tell you the truth—"
"Chen-ge'er also came along today. The child is naughty. When the fire broke out earlier, he ran off somewhere. Please ask the Marquis to search for him everywhere, so that he doesn't get lost."
The Duke of Zhenguo deliberately brought it up in front of so many people, just in case the Marquis of Ningyuan would deliberately not come later.
With so many people around, even if it's just for show, Marquis Ningyuan will definitely order someone to go find them.
As expected, Marquis Ningyuan immediately showed an anxious expression: "What!? The child is lost! We must search for him carefully! Steward Zheng, Steward Zheng!"
He immediately summoned people.
"Lord Marquis." Zheng Bo was currently searching everywhere for Jiang Shichen, fearing that the villain might discover something he shouldn't have seen. Now that he had been summoned by Marquis Ningyuan, he was even more flustered.
Marquis Ningyuan, unaware of what had happened in the prison, quickly said, "Miss Zhou Wan's child is missing. Quickly take people to search the courtyard, and make sure the child doesn't get hurt."
"Yes." Zheng Bo dared not say more and immediately withdrew.
He led his men to search the courtyard again, but still found nothing.
Just when they were at a loss, the Duke of Zhenguo and the Marquis of Ningyuan appeared near the dungeon with their men.
The Duke of Zhenguo's face turned cold: "Steward Zheng, your banner is only this big, how come you can't even find a child? If Chen'er goes missing, I won't let you off the hook."
"Lord Duke..." Zheng Bo was even more at a loss.
Seeing the group of people surrounding the dungeon and not knowing what to do, Marquis Ningyuan couldn't help but panic, fearing that the person in the dungeon would be discovered. He scolded, "Why aren't you going to find the person? What are you doing here! Go now, or I'll skin you alive if you can't find him."
“Yes, Lord Marquis,” Zheng Bo replied, his hands clasped at his sides.
He had searched everywhere he could think of, and only this dungeon remained. However, he dared not bring it up openly with Marquis Ningyuan, and for a moment he was at a loss as to what to do.
The Duke of Zhenguo looked around the area and immediately spotted the entrance to the dungeon.
He immediately asked, "My lord, where is this place?"
“Oh…” Marquis Ningyuan’s eyebrows twitched slightly. “It’s just a cellar. It’s been in disrepair for years and no one has gone down there for many years. Your Excellency should not go and see it, lest you get covered in dirt.”
As he spoke, he tried to pull the person away.
The Duke of Zhenguo immediately waved his hand: "My lord, this child is playful and likes to crawl down. Maybe he's down there. Why don't we have someone open this place up and go down to take a look?"
"This..." Marquis Ningyuan hesitated.
"My lord, could there be something shady hidden down there?" the Duke of Zhenguo continued.
Marquis Ningyuan is now in a predicament, unable to accept or reject the marriage proposal.
In an instant, all eyes were on Marquis Ningyuan, who immediately looked extremely uncomfortable.
"My lord, could it be that I've hit the nail on the head? Could it be that you're hiding a virgin down there? If so, then so be it." Seeing that the Marquis of Ningyuan remained silent, the Duke of Zhenguo added fuel to the fire at the opportune moment.
"How could this be? Men, prepare torches and open the dungeon!" Ningyuan Hou's face turned pale and then red. If he still didn't dare to open it after all that, it would seem like he was trying to cover up the truth.
After the dungeon was opened, the Duke of Zhenguo grabbed the torch and was the first to go down.
Marquis Ningyuan's heart skipped a beat as he thought to himself: This old fellow really doesn't give me any chance at all.
He had originally planned to send someone in to tidy things up first, but the Duke of Zhenguo didn't give him any chance, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.
The dungeon wasn't very big, and Jiang Shichen needed to walk a few more steps, but for the Duke of Zhenguo, it was just a few steps to the end. What came into view were two children. Jiang Shichen's complexion was still somewhat normal, but Anan's face was extremely pale, as if he hadn't seen the sunlight for a long time.
"No wonder the Marquis wouldn't let me inspect him. So it was you who imprisoned someone without permission. Not only that, but it was a child. Marquis Ningyuan is guilty of breaking the law, which is an even greater crime. You'll have to wait and explain to His Majesty." The Duke of Zhenguo said with a sneer.
After saying that, she picked up Anan, told Jiang Shichen to follow her, and then took the two children out.
Without even giving Marquis Ningyuan a chance to explain, he was suddenly left alone in the dungeon. The confined environment made his heart skip a beat, and it took him a while to recover.
After leaving the dungeon, the Duke of Zhenguo did not linger. Ignoring the whispers around him, he handed Jiang Shichen over to Zhou Wan and then returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion with Anan.
Jiang Shichen was still somewhat reluctant, but Zhou Wan reassured him that entrusting it to the Duke of Zhenguo was the safest option, which put his mind at ease.
The Duke of Zhenguo carried Anan back to his mansion and, panting heavily, sent someone to find a doctor.
When Consort Jia and the Duchess of Zhenguo heard that the Duke of Zhenguo had brought a child back from the Marquis's residence, they rushed over to check on the situation. Upon seeing the wounds on Anan's body, the Duchess of Zhenguo was immediately heartbroken.
“Lord Duke, it would be best if we didn’t meddle in other people’s business. If we offend Marquis Ningyuan, we’ll never have a good outcome,” Consort Jia replied with a frown.
She had previously advised her elder sister, thinking the matter would be over, but unexpectedly, the Duke of Zhenguo brought back a child from the Marquis of Ningyuan's residence. Moreover, it seemed that the child had been imprisoned by the Marquis of Ningyuan. Her heart was immediately filled with unease.
"I'm not afraid of him." The Duke of Zhenguo scoffed at the Marquis of Ningyuan.
Just as Consort Jia was about to speak, the physician she had summoned arrived. After examining the child, he said, "Your Excellency, the child only has some superficial injuries and is also somewhat malnourished. With some good food and a few days of rest, he will be fine."
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