They searched for about two and a half hours. When the night was deep and the dew was heavy, Zuo Yan still returned without success.
“I only heard that she was in a wine shop near the city gate just a moment ago. We've searched half of the capital, but there's still no news. As for the Empress Dowager and the Prince of Qi, there's no movement either.”
By the time he finished speaking, Helian Duo had already put on his black cloak.
It was obvious that he was going to look for her in person.
Thinking of Cheng Xiran beside him, he explained again, “Whenever you want to go back, just ask someone to take you. If you don't want to go back, the South Courtyard will always be empty for you.”
Before Cheng Xiran could reply, he suddenly hugged her tightly. Before she could savor the moment, the black figure had disappeared into the moonless night.
Seeing Zuo Yan still standing there, Cheng Xiran got up obediently. “Now that I've returned to the Cheng Mansion, I'm afraid those people will seize on my weaknesses again. So please take me back first. It's not very convenient for me to stay here.”
After returning to the Cheng Mansion, Cheng Xiran couldn't calm down. At this moment, she completely trusted Helian Duo. She believed that he wouldn't let her down, and that there was nothing between him and Hua Bairu. However, there was an inexplicable uneasiness lingering in her heart, which she didn't know where it came from, only knowing that she had never felt it before.
Especially when Zhuque accidentally dropped and broke the glazed teapot, this uneasiness instantly magnified a thousand times or even more.
It made her whole body tremble.
Zhuque thought she had scared her and quickly asked, “Miss, are you okay?”
Cheng Xiran patted her chest gently with one hand and shook her head. “I'm okay. Don't worry.”
Only then did Zhuque start to clean up the broken pieces on the ground. As for Cheng Xiran, she also convinced herself in her heart that she was just overthinking.
She slept dreamlessly all night and woke up early the next day.
Even though it was still just dawn outside, she still struggled to get up. After a quick tidying up, she set off for the Prince's Mansion.
After asking the guard at the gate, she found out that Helian Duo really hadn't returned all night.
Zuo Yan was also not there.
So she simply did nothing and just waited in the Prince's Mansion, waiting for him to come back and continue sending out the invitation cards with her.
After waiting for about an hour, there was finally some noise outside. But it wasn't Helian Duo, but Zuo Yan.
“How could there still be no news? Could it be that the Prince is missing? What's the use of you people? You can't even keep track of one person!”
Cheng Xiran's heart sank instantly. She shouted in the direction where Zuo Yan was coming from, “What on earth has happened to the Prince!”
Zuo Yan was startled. After reacting, he told her the whole story without any concealment. “Last night, the Prince went out to look for the Princess. At first, he was still in contact with us, but finally, his message was cut off when he passed through the area near the city gate. Our people searched all night. We were mainly afraid that making too much noise would attract attention, so now only a very small number of people are still looking.”
Even though she knew that he must be okay, as long as there was no definite news about him, Cheng Xiran still couldn't feel at ease.
After a while, she made a decision.
“I think that since he may not be in the capital, we can also check the outskirts of the city. He's so smart that he couldn't have disappeared for no reason. We should pay more attention to whether he left any signals. Also, before we find them, I'll stay in the mansion and take care of the trivial matters.”
Since she had already said so, Zuo Yan had no choice but to agree.
Seeing that Zuo Yan was about to leave, Cheng Xiran suddenly had an idea and called him back. She叮嘱 him, “The Prince didn't go to court today. It may arouse suspicion. Tell the people looking for him to be more careful and not to be discovered.”
Zuo Yan gave a heavy “hmm” and then turned around and left.
The maid prepared breakfast, but she had no appetite at all. She was worried about Helian Duo's safety, and also very worried about all the problems that might arise because of his absence.
She temporarily put aside the matter of the newspaper office. Around noon, someone came from the palace.
Looking at the face of this person, Cheng Xiran couldn't help but be shocked. Wasn't this the person she had seen beside the Minister of War in the Huayan Pavilion that night?
It was none other than Xia Gonggong, the personal eunuch of the Empress Dowager.
Seeing Cheng Xiran in a daze, Xia Gonggong called her several times in succession. “Miss Cheng?”
Cheng Xiran sorted out her thoughts and then smiled at him. “So it's Xia Gonggong. I wonder what's the matter in the palace?”
Hearing him say respectfully, “It's like this. The Empress Dowager invites you to enter the palace to have lunch with her. She also wants to talk to you about something.”
Being invited to dinner for no reason, there must be something fishy about it. But now that Helian Duo was not around and Zuo Yan had just left, she couldn't lose her composure. Even though she knew that she was about to go to a feast of the tiger, she still had to go.
The waves in Cheng Xiran's pair of black and charming almond eyes were swirling. For a moment, a chill flashed across, and then it turned into a curve of her upturned lips. “Please wait here, Xia Gonggong. I need to go to the back yard to change my clothes. I have to dress more formally.”
Xia Gonggong nodded slightly and joked, “It seems that the relationship between the Miss and the Prince is really good.”
She smiled amiably, turned around and went to the South Courtyard, but didn't forget to tell the servant to serve tea.
When she came to the South Courtyard, she changed into a more convenient dress and a short jacket. Then she went to one side to get the Four Treasures of the Study and started writing a letter to Helian Duo.
She also told Mu Li, “Before you leave later, send someone to Feiyu Mountain Villa to deliver a message to Xue Lianyu.”
Mu Li agreed. Her eyes showed a killing intent that Cheng Xiran had never seen before. “Miss, the Prince suddenly disappeared. Now you're being invited to the palace. It's obvious that this is a scheme of the Empress Dowager. I think you shouldn't go. What if...”
“Precisely because he's not here, I must go even more...” Cheng Xiran calmly put on the hairpin and paused for a moment before continuing, “If the Empress Dowager spreads the news of his disappearance at this time, it will surely cause panic.”
With a cold and solemn face and deep eyes, she said word by word, “I will hold on until the last moment before his return.”
Mu Li didn't try to persuade her anymore.
After getting everything ready, Cheng Xiran followed Xia Gonggong into the palace. Fortunately, Mu Li was also in the carriage, so she felt a little more at ease. Maybe Xia Gonggong thought that Mu Li was just a weak maid and it would be easy to deal with the two of them, so he didn't mind having one more person.
After entering the palace, Cheng Xiran was led to the Chengxiang Palace where the Empress Dowager was. After bowing, she found that the participants of this feast of the tiger today were not only the Empress Dowager, but also the Prince of Qi.
She bowed to them respectively and then was arranged to sit in the guest seat below.
“I thought you weren't coming.”
The Empress Dowager gave her a bright smile, but Cheng Xiran knew very well how much hatred was hidden in this smile.
“Since it's the Empress Dowager's invitation, Xiran wouldn't dare not come. And I haven't been to the palace for a few days. I really miss it.”