The Beauties of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 107

Zhao Defang paused for a moment, then lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, "Then... let's go together."

Seeing him turn his horse around to whip it, Xue Weiji quickly stopped him, saying urgently, "Your Highness, please wait! Has the Emperor investigated the whereabouts of the Lady?"

"We only know she went towards Junzhou, but we don't know her exact location." Zhao Defang sighed inwardly, glancing sideways at Xue Weiji, who looked thoughtful. "Young Master Xue, do you know anything?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but Madam must be very weak after the floods and the plague. Besides, Lan Wu is still recovering from his injuries. They shouldn't have gone too far. In my opinion, Madam may not have even reached Junzhou." He paused, then hesitated before adding, "Your Highness, there's something I find strange. When I saw Madam a month ago, she heard you were planning to retire and then stopped telling anyone about her whereabouts. But now that everyone knows you've returned to the capital, Madam should know too, so why is she still avoiding me?"

Zhao Defang glanced back at the city gate, spurred his horse to signal them to move, and explained in a low voice, "Wanlan left Xingyang before I returned to the capital. If we keep searching in the direction of Junzhou, we will definitely find her."

Perhaps Xue Weiji is right. Once Wanlan learns that he has gone to the capital, she will no longer avoid him. Perhaps she is on her way back to the capital now. Perhaps... they will meet on the way.

At this moment in Chongde Hall, the uncle and nephew, who were staring at each other in a daze, suddenly became suspicious because of Zhao Defang's words.

Zhao Jiong stared intently at his expressionless nephew and asked in a deep voice, "What did you do?"

"Your Majesty, I do not understand your meaning." Zhao Dezhao raised his lowered eyes and asked in a calm voice, "What have I done?"

"Is it necessary to feign concern in front of me? Deqing returned to Xingyang a month ago, and you even met with her. Why didn't you bring her back to the capital instead of leaving her alone in Xingyang?"

Zhao Dezhao smiled calmly, hands behind his back, "Your Majesty, didn't you also not want her to return to the capital on her own? Otherwise, you could have simply sent someone to fetch her, or sent someone to inform Defang to go and pick her up."

“Indeed, I do not wish for her to return on her own, but I have my reasons for doing so.” Zhao Jiong stared at him coldly, his face quite grim. “Then what is your purpose in doing this? Don’t tell me you haven’t given up on Deqing yet.”

"No, Your Majesty. My reason is the same as yours."

Zhao Jiong's gaze darkened, his piercing eyes fixed on him. Just like him? In other words, he also didn't want Defang to retire, but his purpose was definitely different from his own.

"If Your Majesty has no urgent business, I would like to take my leave."

Zhao Dezhao cupped his hands in greeting, and seeing the person opposite him nod slightly, he turned and left Chongde Hall, quickly passing Xuanyou Gate and walking towards the palace gate.

In front of Xuande Tower, Xiao Luzi saw him leaving the palace and immediately went to greet him, saying, "Your Highness, Prince Qin has left the capital and is heading towards Junzhou. Accompanying him are Lan Wen, Xuan'er, and Young Master Xue."

As Zhao Dezhao took the reins from him, he glanced at him and asked, "Young Master Xue?" Just now, Defang said that Young Master Xue had found Deqing, which means that the only people who saw Deqing and knew about her condition after the flood were him and Xue Weiji.

Deqing, who left because she was worried about bringing trouble to Defang, should have appeared when she learned that Defang had returned to the capital and compromised with the emperor. However, she did not make any contact with Deqing. Does this mean that she was held up by something or that something happened?

"Your Highness, we—"

"Go to Junzhou."

He mounted his horse, turned it around, and galloped away with a whip.

He didn't handle this matter properly. Even if he wanted to use that woman to keep Defang around, he should have left someone to take care of her before leaving that day, instead of leaving the still-injured Lan Wu by her side alone.

He had already tasted the pain of losing his beloved twice; he didn't want Defang to experience it again. He could only hope that Deqing was unable to contact them due to limitations, or that she was already on her way back to the capital, so that Defang could meet her on this trip.

"Your Highness! Should we catch up with the Prince of Qin and his entourage?" Xiao Luzi asked loudly as he rode up on another horse.

Zhao Dezhao didn't even turn his head. "No! Try not to run into them!" In the Chongde Hall, Defang's attitude suddenly became extremely firm, presumably because he already knew about Deqing's matter.

It's best not to meet with Defang before finding Deqing.

The journey from Kaifeng to Junzhou takes at least half a month, but can be completed in just a few days. Moreover, Defang must be traveling at full speed, without stopping, straight to Junzhou. He guessed that it would take about seven or eight days to reach Junzhou.

Although Zhao Dezhao's guess was accurate, he misjudged Zhao Defang's intentions.

The Emperor's investigation revealed that Wanlan had traveled towards Junzhou, but it was uncertain whether she had actually gone there. Zhao Defang could not possibly rush straight to Junzhou without stopping; instead, he inquired about all the information about her along the way.

So Zhao Dezhao chased after him all the way, but missed Zhao Defang.

Zhao Dezhao rode swiftly towards Luoyang in the southwest, and from Luoyang he went south to Junzhou, while Zhao Defang went directly south from Zhengzhou through Yingchang Prefecture and Gunzhou, intending to search all the way to Junzhou from Gunzhou.

However, he hasn't made much progress.

Along the way, Zhao Defang would stay for a day or two in every village, town, and city he passed through, making inquiries about the woman who had vanished without a trace. It seemed that the prefects, magistrates, or village officials of the towns he visited could predict when he would arrive. Often, as soon as he stepped into a town or city, these people would appear in front of him the next moment and report the results of their investigation.

He knew that all of this was arranged by the Emperor.

However, he was not grateful; he could not forget the Emperor's actions until Wanlan was found.

In early September, they arrived at Wancheng in Gunzhou, which is Nanyang.

The "Shiming·Shizhouguo" states: "Nanyang is located in the south of China, and is situated in a sunny place, hence the name." Here, "China" actually refers to the "Central Plains" or "the center of the country," and "sunny" is because Nanyang is located south of the Funiu Mountains (note: the watershed between the Huai River and the Han River) and north of the Han River, surrounded by mountains on three sides with only an opening to the south.

As soon as Zhao Defang stepped into Wancheng, before he could even rest, he saw Li Chongju, who was supposed to be dealing with the Yellow River flood, waiting at the city gate for a long time. Upon seeing them enter the city, he hurriedly came forward to greet them.

"Your Highness."

Zhao Defang couldn't hide his surprise. "What brings Lord Li here?" He glanced up at the green-robed official behind Li Chongju, whose head was half-lowered. "And who is this?"

"This humble official greets Your Highness." The official in green robes bowed respectfully.

"This is Prefect Zhang of Wancheng," Li Chongju introduced. "Your Highness must be tired from your journey. Please go to the government office to rest for a while. I have something to tell you."

Zhao Defang's heart skipped a beat, and he almost instinctively blurted out, "There's news about Wanlan, isn't there?" He didn't know how many people the Emperor had summoned to help him search for her along the way, but as long as he didn't give up, the Emperor certainly wouldn't give up either. And the fact that Li Chongju, who shouldn't be here, had actually appeared meant that something had happened.

Li Chongju hesitated slightly, then slowly nodded. "Yes, we have news of the Princess Consort. The Emperor has also ordered that no one should disturb her. Everything will be decided upon when the Prince arrives, but..."

Zhao Defang gritted his teeth, the initial elation of finally hearing news of her quickly replaced by overwhelming fear. "But what? Where is she now? Take me to her immediately!"

Seeing that the person in front of him would never listen to him and go to rest, Li Chongju took a step back and said, "Your Highness, this way please. The Princess Consort is in Nanyang now. I will take you there."

Chapter 98 Two Places of Contemplation, Each Knowing Their Own Insight (3)

In early September, they arrived at Wancheng in Gunzhou, which is Nanyang.

The "Shiming·Shizhouguo" states: "Nanyang is located in the south of China, and is situated in a sunny place, hence the name." Here, "China" actually refers to the "Central Plains" or "the center of the country," and "sunny" is because Nanyang is located south of the Funiu Mountains (note: the watershed between the Huai River and the Han River) and north of the Han River, surrounded by mountains on three sides with only an opening to the south.