His Highness Duke of Qin wanted to take a detour to Celestial Mountain through East Jing Prefecture, which was the only way to get to the City of Daughters!
"Your Highness, are you going to the City of Daughters?" Baili Yuanlong asked.
"Your lordship won't let anyone who dares to kidnap someone from the Duke of Qin's estate go," Long Fei Ye said.
Han Yunxi remained silent on the side. Even if Long Fei Ye didn't seek Lady Leng Yue out, she'd persuade Long Fei Ye to do it herself. After all, this matter involved not only Duanmu Yao and Lady Leng Yue, but that poisons expert as well.
"Alright, this soldier will make arrangements as soon as I return." Baili Yuanlong was a soldier, so he wasn't like Chu Xifeng. Even if he had doubts, he obeyed without question.
After returning to South Ning Prefecture, Long Fei Ye mulled things over for an entire night before delaying his departure time. He had to wait for Chu Xifeng to return from Tian An.
"Someone come, send a flying pigeon to Chu Xifeng. Tell him to bring Murong Wanru back, no matter the method, immediately," he ordered Cold.
"You mean …" Han Yunxi didn't understand.
"This matter isn't that simple," Long Fei Ye intoned.
On the surface, Duanmu Yao seemed to be the mastermind who kidnapped Grand Concubine Yi to threaten him, but he had a feeling that things weren't that simple.
"How is it not simple?" Han Yunxi asked.
"Duanmu Yao might be stupid, but Lady Leng Yue isn't. They wouldn't really take Grand Concubine Yi to Lost Void Lake," Long Fei Ye intoned.
Although he hadn't sensed Cang Qiuzi's movements back then, he had sensed the Celestial Mountain servant girls hiding in the woods. He never expected Grand Concubine Yi to be there.
If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have wasted so much words with Duanmu Yao.
Han Yunxi came to a realization at his words. She gave Long Fei Ye a thumbs up, her face full of admiration.
This guy was even more meticulous than a doctor like her to notice such details.
That's right, Duanmu Yao might be stupid, but Lady Leng Yue wasn't. Duanmu Yao's goal was not the Profound Frost Sword, but to kill her so that she could have Long Fei Ye heal her. How could he be so honest as to bring the hostage there?
Facing an expert like Long Fei Ye, no matter what, he had to be on guard!
"If that's the case, then it's possible that they returned Grand Concubine Yi to us on purpose?" Han Yunxi asked doubtfully. "Why would they return her to us?"
Han Yunxi thought for a while and asked, "What are they trying to mislead us about? There must be a conspiracy! "
Long Fei Ye rubbed her bangs lovingly. He liked to discuss problems with this woman more and more. She was very smart and could understand with just a little bit, so he didn't have to spend too much effort to explain.
"It's just a guess. Bringing Murong Wanru here was the safest option. Only Grand Concubine Yi knows the truth. "
No matter what the truth was, Long Fei Ye only cared about one thing: whether or not Grand Concubine Yi could reveal the secret of him not being part of Tianning's imperial bloodline.
Murong Wanru was the key to making Grand Concubine Yi tell the truth.
By now, it was already daybreak.
After breakfast, Zhao mama came to report, "Your Highness, esteemed wangfei, Grand Concubine hasn't woken up yet."
On the way back, Han Yunxi had inspected Grand Concubine Yi's body. First, she hadn't been poisoned, injured, or ill. Everything was normal. She guessed that Grand Concubine Yi had been frightened and would wake up after a day or so, so she left her in Zhao mama's care.
"She hasn't woken up yet? That can't be, right? "Han Yunxi grew uneasy." I'll go take a look. "
Long Fei Ye went with her as well. Grand Concubine Yi was placed in the room behind the ancestral hall. She lay quietly on the bed as if she was sleeping peacefully.
Han Yunxi carefully examined her again, but still didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Still, nothing out of the ordinary was the biggest anomaly. She made a prompt decision. "Long Fei Ye, looks like we'll have to send someone to find Gu Beiyue."
After Gu Beiyue arrived, he did the same examination on Grand Concubine Yi as Han Yunxi did. Still, he didn't find anything out of the ordinary.
"How long has she been unconscious?" he asked seriously.
"She was unconscious when I saw her yesterday afternoon. It's impossible to determine the time before that," Han Yunxi replied.
"Let's wait a bit longer. If she doesn't wake up by tonight, then the problem will be bigger." A complicated look flitted past Gu Beiyue's eyes before he added, "Let this one accompany esteemed imperial concubine today. It'll be easier to observe her."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Long Fei Ye said as he led Han Yunxi out the door. He didn't want Gu Beiyue to know too much about his lack of Tianning's imperial bloodline.
He'd have to reveal his identity one day, but now wasn't the right time.
There were some things that couldn't be explained with words. Only actions could convince people. The trip to Celestial Mountain was fraught with dangers, so he didn't want to cause too much trouble for himself.
If it was only a guess before, Han Yunxi was certain now. "Grand Concubine Yi's coma must have been caused by someone. They must have gotten something out of her! "
Long Fei Ye's eyes darkened as he walked slowly with his head bowed.
"Long Fei Ye, this has to be a trap! It has to be! "Han Yunxi said again.
Long Fei Ye finally spoke up. "The key is, who's the one who set this trap?"
If Grand Concubine Yi didn't wake up, they wouldn't be able to confirm anything even if they knew this was a trap.
This matter should have nothing to do with Tian An's empress dowager. Just who was it that suspected his origins, and how?
Long Fei Ye couldn't figure out where the problem lay. Where had he exposed himself to arouse suspicion?
For now, all they could do was wait.
A few days later, Chu Xifeng brought Murong Wanru back, but Grand Concubine Yi was still unconscious. Gu Beiyue was at his wit's end as well.
He said, "Under these circumstances, there must be some sort of injury to the head. But this one can't figure it out yet."
"Then can you figure it out or not? How long will it take?" Long Fei Ye asked.
"There's no way to confirm," Gu Beiyue admitted.
Long Fei Ye paused, then said, "I'll leave this matter to you. Leave Pill Fiend Pharmacy to Mu Ling 'er for now. You'll live in the ancestral hall."
Han Yunxi looked at the unconscious mother and daughter pair and sighed with emotion. When she first entered the Duke of Qin's estate, she'd suffered quite a bit at their hands. Fate made fools of people. She never thought they'd end up like this, much less themselves.
"I'll listen to Your Highness's arrangements."
Gu Beiyue's words had a hidden meaning. Long Fei Ye wanted Gu Beiyue to live in the ancestral hall because it was easier for Gu Beiyue to communicate with the Shadow Guard.
The war between the three nations was still ongoing, so they had to keep an eye on Chu Tianyin's situation.
Chu Xifeng brought back Murong Wanru along with another piece of news.
"Your Highness, Jun Yi Xie went to the Wintercrow Country. I'm afraid he went to buy horses with Northern Li's crown prince and second imperial prince."
"The crown prince and second imperial prince are traveling together?" Long Fei Ye laughed coldly. "Has the poison in his shoulder been treated?"
"This subordinate really couldn't find anything," Chu Xifeng found himself in a dilemma. This time, he'd lost quite a few subordinates after finding out that Northern Li had sent an envoy to the Wintercrow Country.
Jun Yi Xie's own subordinates might not even know about the poison, so how could outsiders find out?
Long Fei Ye didn't speak, but flipped to the Wind Clan page in his Annals of the Seven Noble Families.
Baili Yuanlong and Chu Xifeng stood on either side of him, reading the Wind Clan's records clearly. The Wind Clan was familiar with astronomy and geography, as well as the art of divination. They were skilled at controlling the wind and using it to lay out traps and move troops.
Seeing this record, the two of them looked at each other in dismay. They only knew that the Wind Clan was skilled in astronomy and could predict the weather. That was why they'd relied on them for grain production in the past. They never expected the Wind Clan to have such skills beyond astronomy.
"Divination, controlling the wind …" Long Fei Ye muttered to himself, lost in thought.
After a while, he said Coldly, "Baili Yuanlong, prepare to send troops north at any time."
"Yes!" Baili Yuanlong obeyed.
"Your Highness, why don't we slow down a bit before going to Celestial Mountain? I'm afraid there'll be trouble this fall! "Chu Xifeng coaxed.
"If I don't go, there'll be more problems," Long Fei Ye said.
At Lost Void Lake, Cang Qiuzi had clearly been hiding nearby, but waited until Duanmu Yao was seriously injured to save her. Without a doubt, he was trying to keep Duanmu Yao in check. His master was in the midst of frequent bouts of illness. If he didn't go now, his master would be in danger.
Moreover, Cang Qiuzi and Duanmu Yao had not only hooked up with the City of Daughters, but that poisons expert as well. Whether the power of the imperial court affected the jianghu, or whether the jianghu's power affected the court, was a question worth pondering.
Either way, it showed the importance of keeping the jianghu under control.
Once Cang Qiuzi gained the upper hand, the jianghu's power would be fully involved in the court's struggles. His years of planning would be thrown into disarray.
There was no avoiding this trip to Celestial Mountain.
"Then this subordinate will go make preparations!"
Chu Xifeng didn't have time to leave before Long Fei Ye refused. "Just have Xu Donglin come with you. You stay behind. I'll leave Gu Beiyue's safety to you. If anything happens, your lordship will hold you accountable! "
"Your Highness!" Chu Xifeng panicked.
Long Fei Ye wouldn't pay him any attention, so he asked Coldly, "Have you delivered the gift for the City of Daughters yet?"
"Yes …" Chu Xifeng replied helplessly.
"What's the situation with Tang Li?" Long Fei Ye asked next.
"I heard he took Ning Jing out on a trip. He said something about …" Chu Xifeng thought for a long time before he remembered the words. "Something about a honeymoon after marriage. Your Highness, Young Clan Head Tang's trying to find a way to leave the Tang Clan!"
Chu Xifeng assumed that His Highness would stop asking questions about pleasing a woman, but His Highness asked again, "How long?"
"One month. Supposedly it's a sweet month, so they call it a honeymoon in short," Chu Xifeng explained in detail. On the side, General Baili felt uneasy at the words.
"Your Highness, you must take care of yourself on the road. This soldier will wait for your return!" he said with a respectful salute before leaving.
"Your Highness, that brat Xu Donglin's never been to Celestial Mountain before. Moreover, you're going to the City of Daughters on the way as well.
Why don't you … "Before Chu Xifeng could finish, Long Fei Ye had already risen to his feet and left the room.
When he reached the corner of the corridor, he paused to glance at Leisurely Cloud Pavilion, only to see that it was still dim. They were leaving tomorrow, so Han Yunxi should still be at Pill Fiend Pharmacy. He'd said he'd reward her when he returned, but she hadn't asked. She must have forgotten, hadn't she?
Long Fei Ye smiled helplessly. He didn't go to Pill Fiend Pharmacy to find Han Yunxi, but went to the ancestral hall instead.
Perhaps it was because of Gu Beiyue's arrival, but the Cold and quiet ancestral hall was now especially peaceful. Even the lights were warm.
By the time Long Fei Ye arrived, Gu Beiyue was sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat, looking up at a Buddha statue.
His thin profile was illuminated by the lamplight, while his calm eyes were filled with piety. Long Fei Ye had already walked up behind him without him noticing.
"You believe in Buddhism too?" Long Fei Ye asked.
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