"Princess, please stop crying. You'll only hurt yourself if you keep crying. Besides, it won't help. We still can't find the Empress of Northern Lu."
As soon as Xiao Ke said that, Feng Qian forgot to cry and became anxious. Now she was sure that Ling'er was probably really hidden by her brother. If her brother did hide her, then she must be in the palace. Where in the palace was Ling'er hidden?
Now that I have questioned my elder brother, I fear he has already taken notice of the movements at Yuehe Palace. If I make any further moves, it will surely arouse his suspicion.
So who should be sent to search the palace? This matter must not be alarmed by Ye Lingfeng, because if Ye Lingfeng finds out, he might be willing to destroy the Great Zhou Dynasty. Nor should Helian Qianxun be alarmed, because his elder brother is currently hostile to him, and if he gets involved in this matter, things will probably become even more complicated between them in the future.
Thinking about all this, Feng Qian felt extremely troubled. Her mind raced, trying to think of someone who could help her. Soon, one person came to mind.
Previously, Feng Qian's impression of her seventh brother, Prince Jing, was that he was simple and without any guile. However, upon seeing him again, she discovered that he was upright and clear-headed, as well as courageous and resourceful in his dealings with others. Moreover, she had heard that he had been friends with Ling'er since she was still a chubby girl, so he would definitely help her. Thinking this, Feng Qian was overjoyed. After glancing around to make sure there was nothing else in the palace, she quickly gave instructions to Xiao Ke.
"Find someone you trust quietly and send a letter to Prince Jing, asking him to come to my palace tonight. I have important matters to discuss with him."
"Yes, Princess."
Xiao Ke nodded immediately. Having served in the palace for many years and once being the princess's personal maid, she naturally had people she could trust. Xiao Ke went out to run errands, and Lian Yi, seeing that the princess was getting weaker and weaker, quickly advised her to rest for a while. That evening, when Prince Jing came to the palace, she would have to entertain him. If she couldn't hold on any longer, Feng Qian finally listened to her words and lay down to rest.
That evening, Prince Jing, Feng Zihe, secretly entered the palace.
Feng Zihe is now not only in a high position of power, but also a prince trusted by the emperor, in charge of the Ministry of War.
Today, upon entering the palace, he unexpectedly received a letter from his elder sister, who sent someone to deliver it to him. She also asked him to secretly come to the palace to see her. Feng Zihe didn't know what his elder sister wanted to do so mysteriously, but he had liked her since childhood, so he didn't tell anyone and secretly came to the palace.
In the palace of Yuehe Palace, Feng Zihe stepped forward to greet Feng Qian. As soon as Feng Qian saw him, she disregarded the formalities and immediately beckoned him to sit down. Xiao Ke, who was standing to the side, reached out to help the princess sit up.
Seeing that her elder sister looked pale and anxious, Feng Zihe knew something was wrong and couldn't help but feel concerned.
"Elder sister, what happened?"
The ministers in the court were unaware that the Empress of Beilu had disappeared from the palace today. Feng Zixiao had ordered the news to be suppressed to avoid causing unnecessary panic. Therefore, Feng Zihe was unaware of Hailing's disappearance. Seeing that her elder sister was anxious, she assumed it was her own affair and did not suspect Hailing.
Feng Qian waved her hand, signaling Xiao Ke to go out and guard the gate, before speaking in a heavy tone.
“A major event happened this morning. Hailing came to the palace to say goodbye, but I didn’t see her. She disappeared in Yuehe Palace?”
"Hailing has disappeared at Yuehe Palace?"
Feng Zihe was stunned and couldn't quite react. How could she have disappeared from Yuehe Palace? But when he thought of Hailing's accident, Feng Zihe suddenly became anxious and stood up abruptly.
"What's the situation now? Have they found her?"
Feng Qian shook her head, then gestured for Feng Zihe to sit down. She recounted what had happened that morning, and then began to speak with a heavy heart.
"I suspect that it was the Emperor who hid Ling'er."
"No way, why would my brother do such a thing?"
This news was like a thunderclap. Feng Zihe instinctively shook his head, unable to believe that his elder brother would do such a thing. The emperor of Beilu had helped his brother successfully reclaim the throne, and besides, Hailing was pregnant. How could his brother do such a thing? Even he, who had once liked Hailing, was genuinely happy for her now that he saw her happy.
“I only suspected it before, but I tested him this morning and he got angry. If I’m not mistaken, he has hidden Ling’er somewhere in the palace. But we sent people to search the palace and couldn’t find her.”
Speaking of Ling'er's current situation, and thinking of Ye Lingfeng who loves her deeply, he must be going crazy right now. He must have ordered people to search the entire capital. It's hateful that his brother hid her. How could he do such a thing?
Feng Qian grew increasingly resentful, but that person was her imperial brother. When she asked him, he denied it, so now they had to find a way to find Ling'er on their own.
Upon hearing Feng Qian's words, Feng Zihe's face turned ashen, and his hands trembled. How could his elder brother do such a thing? Was he still the elder brother he respected?
Although Hailing was once his empress, he was the one who drove her away. The day he learned that he had actually driven Hailing out of the palace, he searched for her all over the capital, but he could not find her whereabouts. Now that Hailing has reappeared, she has become the empress of Ye Lingfeng of Beilu. So the past is the past, and they, as friends, should bless them. How could they do such a thing?
Thinking that Ling'er was locked up at this moment and was probably feeling uneasy and panicked, Feng Zihe was furious and really wanted to immediately question his elder brother.
However, if we question the emperor now, he will not admit it since he can hide people, so it will not help and will only alarm him.
"Did my elder sister send me to the palace to secretly investigate Hailin's whereabouts?"
Feng Qian nodded: "That's right. Because I questioned my brother this morning, he must have become alert and sent people to keep an eye on the movements of Yuehe Palace. So I can't do anything. But you are different. He thinks you don't know about this, so you can secretly investigate Ling'er's whereabouts. I believe she must be somewhere in the palace. Although we haven't found Ling'er, I believe there must be somewhere in the palace that we don't know about where Ling'er is being held. Think about it carefully."
"Okay, I'll do it."
Feng Zihe took on the task without hesitation, even if his elder brother would blame him in the end. He didn't care, since his elder brother was in the wrong. Even if his brother was furious, he would never allow him to hurt Ling'er.
After accepting the task, Feng Zihe quietly left Yuehe Palace. As he left, he noticed that someone was indeed monitoring the movements of Yuehe Palace from the shadows. It seemed that everything was as his elder sister had said. Ling'er was indeed hidden by his elder brother. So where was she hidden?
Feng Zihe quietly left the palace and returned to the Jingwang Mansion to instruct his trusted subordinates to enter the palace and hide in various places, keeping a close watch on the palace's movements. He also personally entered the palace to search for Ling'er's whereabouts and tried to think of any places in the palace that others did not know about.
West Prefecture.
Ye Lingfeng, his eyes bloodshot, paced back and forth in the hall. The hall was in complete disarray; many precious antiques and jade artifacts had been destroyed in his rage. The huge hall was now empty, with nothing left to smash, but the floor was piled high with rubbish.
Inside the hall, there were quite a few people standing. This time, it wasn't just Ye Lingfeng who was envious; Shen Ruoxuan and Ji Shaocheng's eyes also turned red. Mingzhu cried several times, and whenever she thought about Ling'er's current situation, she would get angry and shed tears again.
Everyone in the hall was furious. Shi Zhu had already led the Feather Guards to split into several groups to gather information. This time, even the four hall masters of Wuying Tower were mobilized, but after a whole day, no one had found any information. That's why Ye Lingfeng was so enraged that he destroyed everything in the hall.
Everyone was in a frenzy, so everyone lost their minds and wanted to turn the entire capital upside down. Now, not only was there no news of Hai Ling, but they also couldn't find any news of Jiang Fei Xue. Jiang Fei Xue seemed to have vanished into thin air.
What should we do next? A perfectly healthy person has simply disappeared.
Nalan Mingzhu cried for a while, then suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"Could it be that Feng Zixiao hid Ling'er?"
The moment she spoke, Ye Lingfeng's eyes turned bloodthirsty, a sinister light flickering in his deep pupils. Their previous rage had clouded their judgment, and seeing Feng Zixiao actively ordering searches throughout the palace, no one had considered him as a suspect. But now, hearing Nalan Mingzhu's words, they suddenly thought of him. In truth, if anyone in the palace was to be targeted, only Feng Zixiao was truly capable. It was just that no one had considered him because they had helped Feng Zixiao reclaim the throne, and even out of a sense of duty, he shouldn't have done such a thing.
However, there is absolutely no news from inside or outside the capital. It is suspicious that the people they have cannot find any information. This means that Ling'er is likely still in the palace. So, who else could hide Ling'er in the palace so easily without being discovered, besides Feng Zixiao?
Moreover, Nalan Mingzhu then mentioned another matter.
"You may not know, but I was with Ling'er the whole time and saw Feng Zixiao secretly staring at her several times. I can't be wrong about his eyes. He likes Ling'er. If that's the case, it's very likely that he's hiding someone."