Just who had kidnapped Grand Concubine Yi? What were their motives?
Han Yunxi and Long Fei Ye rushed back to the scene at South Ning Prefecture's Duke of Qin's estate and sent men to Tian An City's Marquis Pingbei's estate to check on Murong Wanru's condition.
No matter what the kidnapper's motives were, they had to take precautions. They had to prevent Grand Concubine Yi from leaking the secret. Murong Wanru might be unconscious like a vegetable, but she was the key to threatening Grand Concubine Yi.
By the time they reached the Duke of Qin's estate in South Ning, it was already late at night. Grand Concubine Yi's ancestral hall was hidden in the bamboo forest behind the estate, secluded and quiet.
Han Yunxi and Long Fei Ye hadn't come to see her since she moved in. Today was their first visit.
The Shadow Guard's corpses were all motionless, scattered throughout the bamboo forest. The fire in the ancestral hall flickered on and off. From a distance, it didn't look as solemn and holy as usual, but cold and terrifying.
Han Yunxi, Long Fei Ye, and Han Yunxi walked all the way over, examining multiple Shadow Guard corpses. Without exception, all of them had been killed with a single slash to the throat.
When they reached the ancestral hall, they found it neat and tidy. There were no signs of fighting, as if nothing had happened at all. Grand Concubine Yi could walk out from behind the curtains at any moment.
There were three layers of defense around the ancestral hall, totaling 100 guards. Yet they had all been wiped out without arousing the attention of the other guards. What kind of skills were these? How fast were they?
Long Fei Ye narrowed his Icy eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. "Where's Gui mama?"
Chu Xifeng immediately brought Gui mama inside. She was the only servant girl in the ancestral hall who took care of Grand Concubine Yi's daily needs.
"This servant greets Your Highness Duke of Qin, esteemed wangfei," Gui mama trembled as she kowtowed on the ground. She was the one who'd discovered Grand Concubine Yi's disappearance.
"When was the last time you saw the grand imperial concubine?" Long Fei Ye asked.
"In the time it takes to make a bowl of noodles, Your Highness Duke of Qin, this is too strange! That day, this old servant had been accompanying Imperial Concubine Dowager the entire time. In the evening, she said that she wanted to eat vegetarian noodles and asked this old servant to make a bowl. In the time it took to make a bowl of noodles, when this old servant returned, Imperial Concubine Dowager had already disappeared. I couldn't find her anywhere in the temple hall. "Gui Momo reported honestly.
Han Yunxi looked suspiciously at Long Fei Ye and Long Fei Ye knew that she was doubting Nanny Gui's trustworthiness. To be able to kill the Shadow Guard and kidnap the person without anyone knowing, it would be very difficult to do so without a spy.
Long Fei Ye gave Han Yunxi a reassuring look. Gui mama had served Grand Concubine Yi for years and was loyal and devoted. Even if she wanted to betray her, she wouldn't have waited until now.
"Have the decorations here been touched?" Long Fei Ye asked again.
Gui Momo looked around and was certain. "Your Highness Duke of Qin, nothing has been touched in the temple hall."
Chu Xifeng added, "Your Highness, this subordinate has checked everything inside and out. The kidnappers should have only gone to the temple hall."
"In other words, even Imperial Concubine Dowager didn't sense the movements outside?" Long Fei Ye wanted to confirm this point.
If Grand Concubine Yi had sensed the movements outside and knew there were assassins, she would have at least called for help. Even if she didn't, there would have been signs of a struggle.
To kill 100 Shadow Guards in the time it took to cook a bowl of noodles without attracting the attention of Grand Concubine Yi in the temple hall meant that there were few people in Cloud Realm Continent with such skills.
"Your Highness, could it have been Cang Qiuzi?" Chu Xifeng asked doubtfully.
"Why would he kidnap Grand Concubine Dowager for no reason at all?" Han Yunxi asked, but Chu Xifeng could only shake his head. "I can only say that he's a suspect. There are probably only six people in the world with such skills."
"Which six?" Han Yunxi was curious. She knew very little about the martial arts world's experts.
"Tianshan Kenzō Kenzō, Cang Qiuzi, City of Daughters' City Lord Lady Leng Yue, Carefree City's City Lord Qi Zonglin, and the Tang Clan's Tang Zijin," Chu Xifeng replied.
"And the last one?" Han Yunxi asked next.
"It's His Highness Duke of Qin himself …" Chu Xifeng felt helpless. Actually, if Gu Beiyue's martial arts hadn't been crippled and Chu Yunyi hadn't gone blind, the two of them would be on the list as well.
Both His Highness Duke of Qin and Tang Zijin could be eliminated, leaving only Cang Qiuzi, Lady Leng Yue, and Qi Zonglin as the biggest suspects. Unfortunately, all three of them used swords.
The Shadow Guards had all been killed with a single slash to the throat. It was impossible to tell what kind of sword skills the culprit had used, and the wounds were very ordinary. There was nothing special about the sword, either. Thus, it was impossible to eliminate the three suspects.
Of course, it wasn't certain that the culprit was one of the three, but they were the biggest suspects.
If it was Cang Qiuzi, then it'd be fine. But if it was Lady Leng Yue or Qi Zonglin, then things would get even more complicated. The City of Daughters and Carefree City were both paid to do business. If the culprit really was one of the two city lords' flowers, then they'd have to find out who hired them.
"Your Highness, we should've silenced them ages ago," Chu Xifeng muttered. He'd never had a good impression of Grand Concubine Yi, an old woman who coveted glory and was afraid of death.
Long Fei Ye was cruel and heartless. He'd placed Grand Concubine Yi under house arrest and forbade her from leaving the ancestral hall. He refused to let her see Murong Wanru, but he wasn't so heartless as to kill his own foster mother. In the end, he'd called Grand Concubine Yi 'mufei' for over a decade.
In the midst of his silence, news from Tian An City arrived. Murong Wanru was still at Marquis Pingbei's estate, lying there perfectly fine without any abnormalities.
Long Fei Ye thought it over before he said Coldly, "Chu Xifeng, go personally and set up an ambush."
Murong Wanru had teamed up with Empress Dowager Li to kill Grand Concubine Yi and frame Han Yunxi, but ended up suffering the consequences of her own actions. She'd been poisoned and left in a vegetative state. She'd always assumed that Han Yunxi's monthly supply of medicine was enough to keep her alive.
As long as Murong Wanru hadn't fallen into the kidnappers' hands, Grand Concubine Yi would have some scruples.
"Also, arrange for people to ask around in the City of Daughters and Carefree City," Long Fei Ye added.
"This subordinate understands. I'll do it immediately," Chu Xifeng obeyed and left.
"You don't seem to suspect Cang Qiuzi," Han Yunxi remarked.
Long Fei Ye nodded. Cang Qiuzi didn't have enough motives. Moreover, the man wouldn't go so far as to threaten him by kidnapping Grand Concubine Yi. News of his plans to ascend Celestial Mountain hadn't spread, so Cang Qiuzi wouldn't be on guard against him.
Right now, Cang Qiuzi's biggest headache should be his engagement with the Tang Clan. He wasn't stupid enough to make both the Tang Clan and Cloud Realm Trade Consortium his enemy, so he could only find a way out for himself.
"If the culprit is after your birth, then I'm afraid there won't be any news of Grand Concubine Yi. If not …" Han Yunxi's eyes flickered with a complicated look. "Let's just wait for the ransom letter to come to our door."
Although the situation was serious, Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi could only wait and see how things developed.
"Take care of the corpses and make arrangements for the funeral. Don't talk about the ancestral hall again!"
Long Fei Ye instructed the guards before leaving the ancestral hall with Han Yunxi.
Hand in hand, they walked along the quiet paths of the Duke of Qin's estate. Soon enough, they reached the Hibiscus Courtyard and walked up the wooden winding corridor.
South Ning Prefecture's Duke of Qin's estate was exactly the same as the original one. Walking here, Han Yunxi felt as if she'd returned to the Duke of Qin's estate two years ago in Tianning's capital city.
Two years ago, they'd often walked the long corridors together, one in front of the other. Today, he was holding her hand while she walked shoulder to shoulder with him.
Everyone said that the affairs of the world were hard to predict, but people were the hardest to predict.
Once again, they reached a fork in the road. To the right was his sleeping quarters, while to the left was her Leisurely Cloud Pavilion. He didn't stop to accompany her all the way to her room.
In the middle of the night, the only light on was in the courtyard. The entire building was shrouded in darkness. Han Yunxi assumed that Zhao mama and the rest had all gone to bed, but she heard sobbing as soon as she reached the courtyard gates.
Someone was crying!
"Who is it?" Han Yunxi asked in a low voice.
Long Fei Ye didn't speak, but kicked the door open. Grand Concubine Yi's kidnapping proved that the Duke of Qin's estate wasn't completely safe.
"Who is it?!"
Han Yunxi recognized the voice as Baili Mingxiang's.
Very soon, Baili Mingxiang walked out from the corner of the room. As soon as she saw Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi, she gave a start. By the time she recovered her senses, Han Yunxi had already walked in front of her.
"Mingxiang, what's wrong? Who bullied you? "Han Yunxi asked seriously.
Although there wasn't enough light, she could still see that Baili Mingxiang's eyes were swollen from crying. Heaven knows how long she'd been crying.
Before Baili Mingxiang could reply, Long Fei Ye said to Han Yunxi in a Cold Voice, "Rest early. Tomorrow we'll make a trip to the south central regions' commander-in-chief's estate."
So speaking, he turned to leave.
At the door, he called for a guard and ordered in a low voice, "Increase the defenses, especially around the Hibiscus Courtyard."
Baili Mingxiang hung her head, her hands clenched into fists. She told herself not to look anymore. She was lucky enough to hear his voice, so she couldn't look anymore.
But in the end, she couldn't help but lift her head. Unfortunately, his cold figure had long disappeared from sight.
Seeing esteemed wangfei staring at her, she quickly averted her eyes. "Esteemed wangfei, you … when did you come back?"
"Who bullied you?" Han Yunxi asked unhappily. "How long have you been crying? Don't you want your eyes anymore? "
Baili Mingxiang finally realized her loss of self-control and hastily wiped away her tears. "No … I just, I just missed my mother. Today's the anniversary of her death."
"Really?" Han Yunxi asked doubtfully.
"Did you suffer grievances at Pill Fiend Pharmacy? Or … did Xiao Yu 'er do something to you? " Han Yunxi asked again. That stinky girl, Su Xiaoyu, had a vicious mouth. It wasn't as if she hadn't made things difficult for Baili Mingxiang before.
"No, no!" Baili Mingxiang immediately denied it. "Esteemed wangfei, Xiao Yu 'er is still a child. She wouldn't make me cry. I really do miss my mother. "
In reality, Su Xiaoyu had humiliated her again tonight and chased her away.
Ever since Gu Beiyue left South Ning, Su Xiaoyu had caused her no small amount of trouble. Su Xiaoyu was indeed a child, but she wasn't an ordinary child.
In just a few short months, Su Xiaoyu had doused her with cold water, caught a snake to scare her, put dead rats on her bed, and even tripped her several times. She could endure and forget about it, but that little girl's mouth was truly too vicious. She could humiliate someone to death with just her mouth.
Although she had been raised in a boudoir since she was young, she still wouldn't be bullied to this extent by a child. Unfortunately, Su Xiaoyu had something on her.
Han Yunxi thought that no matter how bad Baili Mingxiang was, it was impossible for that little girl, Su Xiaoyu, to bully her to this extent. She believed in Baili Mingxiang.
At this time, Su Xiaoyu suddenly opened the door and came out …
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