After getting a deeper understanding of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Chu Qing couldn't help but praise Chu Zhan. Her compliments made him blush.
"Qing'er, you're not... eyeing the Mysterious Pavilion, are you?" Chu Zhan felt that Chu Qing was acting strange. It seemed like she had something to ask of him.
The Drunken Immortal Pavilion was founded by him alone. If Qing'er asked for it, he'd give it to her without hesitation. But the Mysterious Pavilion... it wasn't a matter of whether he was willing to part with it...
It was...
"Do you think I'm that greedy?" Chu Qing pouted and gave him a sidelong glance upon hearing his words. Then, she scoffed and continued, "Even if you were willing to give it, I wouldn't dare to take it... something for a token of love or to pay off a love debt..."
"Qing'er! I really have nothing going on with Ling'er!" Seeing that Chu Qing had brought it up again, Chu Zhan blushed and quickly tried to stop her.
Chu Qing raised an eyebrow and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, so familiar with 'Ling'er' already."
"I..."
"Alright! I won't tease you anymore! It's getting late. I have to return to the prince's mansion."
"Aren't you staying at home tonight?"
"No, the prince's mansion needs me."
"Okay. Be extra careful. Send me a message if anything happens."
"Okay."
After they finished talking, Chu Qing first followed Chu Zhan back to the Chu Mansion to bid farewell to their parents. Then, she returned to the prince's mansion with Green Ivy and Liu Xin.
...
Without Wei Ying around, Chu Qing still felt a bit out of sorts.
Thankfully, she didn't idle away. Every day when she woke up, she'd spend the whole day practicing martial arts.
Although her days seemed full, Chu Qing still remembered what the little meatball had told her - they were going to face a catastrophe.
It was like a thorn in her heart, pricking her every now and then, making her extremely uncomfortable. But no matter how she threatened or coaxed, every time the little meatball appeared and heard her ask about Wei Ying, it would always keep silent.
Chu Qing was extremely angry but also felt rather helpless.
It had been almost two months since Wei Ying left. Just like any other day, Chu Qing woke up and was about to go to the Pohuang martial - arts training ground when she was stopped by Green Ivy, who came rushing over.
"What's going on?" Chu Qing asked when she saw Green Ivy out of breath.
Green Ivy patted her chest to catch her breath and then said nervously, "My lady! The emperor... is here..."
"What?" Chu Qing was a bit surprised.
As far as she knew, in the past, whenever there was something, the emperor would summon her to the palace. She wondered why this kid had actually left the palace today.
Surprised as she was, Chu Qing quickly came to her senses.
The emperor coming to the prince's mansion in person...
Most likely...
Something had happened to Wei Ying!
Thinking of this, Chu Qing no longer cared about her grace and immediately ran towards the front hall.
In her panic, she completely forgot that she could use light - footed skills. Instead of leaping over a few rooftops to get there, she took a much longer route.
When she reached the front hall, she saw the emperor in plain clothes standing there waiting for her.
"Your Majesty?" Chu Qing frowned slightly and called out.
Seeing Chu Qing coming, the emperor turned around.
When Chu Qing looked up and saw the emperor's expression, her heart skipped a beat.
"Auntie..." The emperor hesitated.
"Wei Ying..." In her panic, Chu Qing no longer cared about addressing Wei Ying by his given name in front of others.
The emperor didn't mind. He wanted to say something, but when he thought of the contents of the letter, his heart ached again.
The emperor's eyes were red as he handed a letter to Chu Qing.
Chu Qing was a bit stunned. Then, she reached out her trembling hand to take it.
"On the tenth day of the seventh month, Prince Ning personally led ten personal guards from Qingzhou to Chuanzhou to gather intelligence. On the fourteenth day of the seventh month, Prince Ning was ambushed by the Xiliang people outside Chuanzhou. Prince Ning fought bravely in the blood - soaked battle. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, Prince Ning and his men were cornered in a small mountain gully east of Chuanzhou. At the time of Xu, the Xiliang people retreated. The bodies of Prince Ning's ten personal guards were found. Their deaths were extremely tragic. However, Prince Ning went missing, and his life or death is unknown."
Chu Qing read the contents of the letter over and over again. Even though she saw the words "Prince Ning is missing", she still felt like she couldn't breathe.
"He's missing. There's no sign of his body if he's dead, and no news of him if he's alive." The emperor finally spoke in a deep voice.
Chu Qing silently returned the letter to the emperor and said firmly, "He must be okay. He's... Prince Ning!"
"But..." The emperor's eyes dimmed. Although he was sad, he still said what was on his mind, "If he were alive, he would surely send us a message of his safety. But days have passed, and there's still no news of him."
Chu Qing didn't want to think of the worst - case scenario. She just lowered her eyes and replied in a low voice, "He... might have some plans."
"But all his subordinates who followed him were killed in action. How could he possibly have survived!" The emperor was a bit out of control. His red eyes were even a bit scary.
He knew that Chu Qing must be feeling terrible right now. So was he.
Since ancient times, people have always said that emperors are the most heartless.
But... he was an exception.
After getting in touch with Wei Ying, he became more and more dependent on him.
At first, he wasn't completely without suspicion of him. But as time went on, he trusted him more and more. To him, Wei Ying was like both a father and an elder brother.
Now, he had gone to fight the enemy to help defend the Great Yan Dynasty, and now he was missing, with no sign of life or death.
How could he not be sad?
Seeing the emperor like this, Chu Qing felt both bitter and heart - pained.
She understood what the emperor had said.
But she really didn't want to think about the worst outcome.
In her previous life, she had experienced losing a husband. But at that time, she didn't have any feelings for that husband.
Call her cold - blooded or heartless.
The other person didn't have any feelings for her. How could she be so stupid as to have unrequited love?
But now, it was completely different.
Completely different.
Although some things hadn't been said out loud, she and Wei Ying should have understood each other's feelings.
If... he...
Just thinking about it made Chu Qing feel like her heart was being repeatedly pounded and tugged at by countless people.
"Auntie...?" The emperor came to his senses. Seeing Chu Qing frowning and covering her chest, he asked worriedly.
Since something had happened to Prince Ning, he couldn't let Princess Ning get into trouble.
Chu Qing waved her hand to indicate that she was okay.
In the struggle between pain and reason, Chu Qing forced herself to calm down. Only by not thinking about it for the time being could she think normally.
"Your Majesty, about this matter..."
"Only you and I know about it." The emperor said seriously.
Chu Qing nodded and continued, "For now, don't spread the news. Prince Ning... is a solid pillar in many people's hearts."
She didn't shy away from talking about Wei Ying's status among the common people in front of the emperor because after getting along for so long, she thought this great - grandson of hers was a wise emperor who understood reason.
Sure enough, after hearing Chu Qing's words, the emperor didn't show any signs of annoyance. Instead, with a worried look on his brow, he said, "But if we don't say anything, the enemy will surely spread the news. After all... if they're not stupid, they'll try every means to disrupt the morale of our people."
"Every day we can delay is a gain. Some things can't be left to him alone."
...
After the emperor left, Chu Qing went to Pohuang expressionlessly.
Wei Zhi was teaching new people martial arts. When he saw Chu Qing walking in with a gloomy face, he told the others a few words and then went to greet her.
"Wei Zhi, if... something happens to Prince Ning, what should we do?" At this moment, there was no emotion on Chu Qing's face.
Wei Zhi was stunned. Thinking that Chu Qing was just curious, he said, "Before the master left, he told us that if anything happened, everything should be decided by... you, Princess."
Chu Qing took a deep breath and then slowly said, "Now, summon all the leaders of the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth departments of Pohuang to me."
Seeing Chu Qing's serious expression, Wei Zhi's heart skipped a beat. He said in disbelief, "Master...?"
"My words are now the highest order in Pohuang."