Upon returning to the Prime Minister's Mansion, Prime Minister Gu immediately sent someone into the palace that night to invite the imperial physician to bandage Mu Yichen's wounds. At the same time, he dispatched people to search for the whereabouts of the eldest prince, Mu Shengze.
Gu Qinglan was holding Leng Nier's hand, consoling her when the people sent out to search rushed back.
"Your Highness, this subordinate... this subordinate..." The guard stammered, not knowing where to start.
Mu Yichen frowned, slamming the table hard. "Can't you even speak properly?!"
The guard knelt on the ground with a thud. "Your Highness, this subordinate and others found a half - hanging carriage by the cliff, but... we didn't see the eldest prince or the eldest princess. Our men have already gone down the cliff to search."
Mu Yichen clenched his fists tightly. The veins on his forehead bulged, and there seemed to be flames burning in his eyes. "Damn it!"
Seeing Mu Yichen losing control of his emotions, Leng Nier quickly let go of Gu Qinglan's hand, walked over, and held Mu Yichen's hand. She gave him a gentle smile. Seeing Leng Nier, Mu Yichen gradually calmed down. He closed his eyes and began to sort out what had happened that night...
After a moment, he opened his eyes, and the anger had dissipated.
"Uncle, send more people to continue the search. Also, send people to guard the Listening Wind Inn. No one is allowed to approach. Those who violate the order will be executed first and reported later. I will go and investigate myself tomorrow to find out who wants to take my and the eldest brother's lives!"
Prime Minister Gu and Gu Qing exchanged a look. Gu Qing received the order and withdrew.
Prime Minister Gu turned to Mu Yichen with a smiling face to comfort him. Gu Qinglan felt something was wrong after seeing what had just happened. She sneaked out secretly and called Gu Qing.
"Brother Gu."
Gu Qing paused. She walked up to him and looked into his eyes. He looked back and gave a faint smile.
Gu Qinglan glanced around and saw no one. She asked straightforwardly, "Was tonight's incident arranged by my father?"
"What are you thinking, Lan'er? How could it be the adoptive father?"
Gu Qinglan pulled him outside the mansion. "I'll go with you to find the eldest cousin."
"Lan'er, although the rain has stopped, we don't know when it will rain again. Be obedient and stay in the mansion. I'll come back immediately after I find them."
She jumped onto Gu Qing's horse without hesitation. Gu Qing had no choice but to get on the horse and take her with him.
"Take me to the inn first!"
Gu Qing sighed. "Have you forgotten what your second cousin said? No one is allowed to approach the inn. What are you going to do there?"
She snatched the reins. "We can start tracking from the inn to see if there was anyone else tracking the eldest cousin while they were besieging the second cousin."
Gu Qing held her hand and controlled the horse. "There must be. Otherwise, how could your eldest cousin have driven the carriage to the cliff..."
"Alright, let's go down to the bottom of the cliff to check the situation first."
Gu Qinglan stopped talking and let Gu Qing take her to the bottom of the cliff.
They searched all night. Finally, at dawn, they found a piece of clothing torn from the eldest prince's body, but the eldest prince and his wife were nowhere to be seen. Since it was raining heavily when the incident happened, the blood had been washed away completely, so they couldn't tell how injured they were.
Gu Qinglan held the piece of cloth and looked up at the cliff.
There were also high mountains on the other side. This cliff seemed to be formed by a mountain being split in half.
The ground was full of gravel with only a small amount of stagnant water. If someone fell directly, they would surely die.
But now the people were missing. It was really suspicious.
She looked at Gu Qing and found that he was standing not far away, also checking the surroundings.
"Brother Gu, could there be wild beasts here? Could they...?"
Gu Qing put his arm around her. "Let's go back first. We'll report to the second prince and see what to do next."
Gu Qinglan nodded. There was nothing else she could do for the time being.
Back at the Gu Mansion, Mu Yichen was still sitting there, refusing to rest.
"Second cousin, we went down to the bottom of the cliff. We found a piece of the eldest cousin's clothes, but we searched everywhere and couldn't find the eldest cousin." As she said this, tears welled up in her eyes.
Gu Qinglan felt a tightness in her chest and had a bad feeling.
After Mu Yichen heard this, he stood up. "Nier, accompany me into the palace. I need to report this to the emperor."
Leng Nier grabbed him. "Your Highness, you're still injured. I'll go into the palace alone to find the emperor and the empress. You should rest and recuperate, okay?"
Mu Yichen didn't say a word but gently shook his head. Leng Nier knew that Mu Yichen had made up his mind, so she had no choice but to support him and go into the palace together.
...
When they arrived at the imperial study, Mu Yanming was also there.
Mu Yichen knelt on the ground. "Your son pays respects to the father - emperor." He looked at Mu Yanming. "Elder brother."
"What's going on?" Mu Linyi walked down from behind the imperial desk and helped Mu Yichen up.
Mu Yichen bowed. "Father - emperor, last night, your son and the elder brother stayed at the Listening Wind Inn. We were assassinated. The elder brother is missing. I beg the father - emperor to immediately send more people to search for the elder brother."
Hearing this, Mu Linyi suddenly looked at Mu Yanming. Mu Yanming stood there, calm and composed, not even raising his eyelids.
Mu Linyi clenched his hand in his sleeve and thought to himself, "Mu Yanming, if it was you, I will never let you go!"
Just then, the empress walked in quickly. Seeing Mu Yichen, she stroked her son's face, her eyes full of distress. "Chen'er, where's your elder brother?"
Mu Yichen lowered his head. "Mother, your son is useless. I failed to protect the elder brother well and caused him to go missing."
"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. Mother has heard everything. You did your best to protect the elder brother and even got injured. Stay in the palace to recuperate well. Your father - emperor and mother will send people to search for your elder brother."
Mu Linyi walked back to the imperial desk. "What does the regent think of this matter?"
Mu Yanming finally lifted his eyelids, looked at Mu Yichen, and said slowly, "It's obvious that someone doesn't want the two princes to return to the capital. In that case, of course, we should find out the mastermind behind this. Otherwise, the two princes will not be able to sleep or eat in peace even if they stay in the capital."
Mu Yichen walked up to Mu Yanming with a sincere and sorrowful look. "Elder brother, I'm counting on you."
"Your Highness, you're being too polite. This king will surely do his best. Saving people can't be delayed for a moment. Since the emperor has entrusted this matter to this king, this king will take his leave."
He walked out of the imperial study. Bai Ke stepped forward and whispered in Mu Yanming's ear, "My lord, the princess has already entered the Prime Minister's Mansion."
"Good. Send someone to follow her at all times and ensure her safety. Also, immediately send people to search within a hundred - mile radius of the cliff. I don't believe that two living people can just disappear into thin air."
...
At the Prime Minister's Mansion.
"Brother, what's wrong with you? Brother..." Gu Qinglan was being held tightly by Gu Qing and wasn't allowed to approach the crazy Gu Yishu.
When Mo Qinghuan walked in wearing a veil hat, she saw Gu Yishu holding a sword and slashing randomly at the air in front of him.
"Divine doctor, please take a look at my younger brother and see what's wrong with him."
Mo Qinghuan remembered the time when she hugged Mu Yanming and coughed lightly. "Let go of me first."
A gust of wind blew, lifting the veil on Mo Qinghuan's head. Gu Qinglan seemed to see a familiar face.