Chapter 79: Missing
Yan Shiyi Lang craned his neck and asked, “You really didn’t hide my sister?”
Jinsui glared at him and said, “Why would this King do that? Use your turtle brain to think about it.”
He had been stubbornly holding his ground, but seeing Jinsui’s angry face and Hei Hu’s menacing presence beside her, he finally couldn’t hold on any longer.
He even wailed in stark contrast, “Miss Yan is lost, Eldest Brother will beat me to death when he returns!”
Jinsui’s anger turned to speechlessness. This guy was simply a face that invited scolding, the kind that made people want to kick him twice.
She suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for Yan Jiu; it truly wasn’t easy to have such a pair of younger siblings.
“What are you crying about? Are you even a man? If your sister is lost, go find her. Will crying bring her home?”
“I can’t find her!”
Jinsui truly stepped forward and kicked him twice, then re-examined the scene, not letting any clue slip by.
She ruled out possibilities such as ‘kidnapped by the Zheng Family,’ ‘missing and fallen into water,’ and ‘went out to relax.’
She then questioned Baozhu and the Yan Clan Bodyguards separately, to prevent collusion. In the end, Jinsui had to admit that Yan Shiyi Lang’s guess was correct.
Based on what she had learned, Yan Shiyi Lang was indeed likely to have come to the Border City.
Because the soldiers of the Black Feather Army who delivered the gifts said that when they arrived at the Yan family’s residence, Miss Yan specifically came out to meet them, asked about the Prince, and personally inspected the gifts.
Shortly after they left, Yan Shiyi Lang disappeared.
Either they covered for Yan Shiyi Lang’s escape from the Yan family, or she hid herself among the group. At that time, they were driving a carriage and had also bought some supplies from the city.
If Yan Shiyi Lang had hidden in the carriage, she could have passed through unnoticed.
But the problem was, after she arrived at the Border City, no one had seen her. It had been a day and a night. Without an inside accomplice, she couldn’t have hidden for so long.
Jinsui pondered for a moment and searched the entire Border City again, including the cellars, but still found no trace of Yan Shiyi Lang.
She didn’t interrogate the Yan family members or the soldiers who entered the city again. Instead, she deliberately spoke in front of everyone.
She mentioned that wolves roamed the Border City at night, and there were bandits in the borderlands. If Miss Yan was hiding outside the city, it would be very dangerous after dark.
As expected, everyone else looked worried, but only Chen Yunniang showed panic amidst her worry.
Jinsui understood. Yan Shiyi Lang, disregarding her own safety, wanted to protect Chen Yunniang and fulfill her eternal love with Cheng Yu.
If Yan Shiyi Lang had asked Chen Yunniang for help, Chen Yunniang would absolutely not have refused.
Jinsui waved her attendants away, leaving only Cheng Yu and Chen Yunniang, and spoke directly:
“Lady Chen, this King will not blame you. The most important thing now is to confirm Miss Yan’s safety. Where did you hide her?”
Cheng Yu was not surprised, which meant he had also guessed that Chen Yunniang had helped Yan Shiyi Lang escape.
Jinsui twitched her lips. Was he planning to take the blame for whatever his wife did?
Chen Yunniang, however, was so anxious that tears streamed down her face:
“Your Highness, it was indeed I who hid Miss Yan in the cellar yesterday. However, after Young Master Yan came looking, I discovered Miss Yan was gone.”
Jinsui hurried to the cellar to check. It was narrow and dark, covered with a layer of straw. Yan Shiyi Lang had actually hidden there for a night.
This girl…
Sigh, if only I were a man, I would definitely do my utmost to marry you.
She immediately summoned all the manpower in the Border City, including the Zheng Family captives, partly to prevent them from holding Twelve Niang hostage, and instructed Huo Zi’an to keep a close watch.
If captives commit a crime, their superiors are held accountable.
Huo Zi’an: …Why does it feel like the Li King is trying to find fault with me, to find a legitimate reason to execute me?
If Jinsui could hear his thoughts, she would have firmly told him that his suspicion was correct!
She, Han Xing, Cheng Yu, and Yan Shiyi each led a team and searched in all four directions around the Border City.
Cheng Yu mainly headed towards the East Sea, because Yan Shiyi Lang had been heading towards the East Sea at that time, and was halfway there.
Jinsui, on the other hand, searched towards the river embankment. That day, she had mentioned wanting to take Twelve Niang to play on the river embankment, so perhaps this foolish girl had come on her own.
Soldiers patrolled the river channel on the embankment day and night, so it was certain that Miss Yan had not been there.
Jinsui looked towards the borderlands, gritted her teeth, and spurred her horse out of the pass.
Han Xing was terrified. What if there were bandits or Tartars there? The Prince would be in danger.
But thinking that if Miss Yan had indeed gone beyond the pass, she would also be in danger, he gritted his teeth and charged out with Jinsui.
Yan Shiyi, seeing this from a distance, felt a pang in his heart. As a member of the gentry, he had been taught from childhood that one must never leave the pass!
No matter how big a mess you made within the pass, your family would cover for you.
But once you left the pass, your life and death were uncertain.
He never expected that the Prince would leave the pass without hesitation to find Twelve Niang.
Thinking of his sister at home these past two days, clamoring to go to the Border City, saying she had taken a fancy to the Li King and would marry no one else.
Yan Shiyi sighed in his heart. If the Li King’s identity were simpler, it wouldn’t be impossible for his sister to marry him.
Given my Yan family’s situation, there’s no need to use my sister for an alliance.
But the Li King’s situation was too complicated. If his sister married him, it would be a declaration to the Emperor that the Yan family supported the Li King.
The Yan family had no desire to get involved in those royal messes, so they had to cruelly sever their sister’s thoughts. The Li King was truly not a suitable match.
Furthermore, after Jinsui and her group left the pass, they initially saw Tuntian Soldiers cutting fodder. As they went further out.
What greeted their eyes were prairies, Gobi deserts, and mountains, but not a single person.
Jinsui shouted at the top of her lungs, “Miss Yan!”
Hei Hu, imitating her, shouted, “Miss Yan!”
Their calls echoed back and forth, and everyone started shouting, but there was no response.
It wasn’t until the meticulous Han Xing discovered hoof prints on the grassland that didn’t belong to them. Everyone busied themselves following the hoof prints.
When the tracks disappeared, they spread out again, searching inch by inch.
Various dangers flashed through Jinsui’s mind: bitten by a snake? Fallen into a deep pit? Chased by wolves? Kidnapped by bandits?
Until she found a piece of fiery red fabric, which was a garment Yan Shiyi Lang often wore.
While happy, her heart sank again. Yan Shiyi Lang, please don’t be in any trouble!
Just then, she heard the sound of flowing water. She quickly pushed aside the wild grass that was as tall as a person, and on a pile of rocks by a shallow stream, lay a person.
Jinsui practically sprinted over. Without even seeing the person’s face, she was already certain it was Yan Shiyi Lang.
At this moment, Yan Shiyi Lang’s injured arm was still bandaged, but her uninjured hand was submerged in the stream water.
The whole person was unconscious, her lips were purplish-blue, clearly poisoned.
She quickly looked at Yan Shiyi Lang’s hand and indeed saw two red marks. It was unclear if it was from a snake or a scorpion, or some other venomous insect.
Fortunately, although the poison was potent, it wouldn’t be fatal for a while.
She first retrieved medicine from her space and gave it to Yan Shiyi Lang, then disinfected the wound.
After dealing with it, she picked the person up horizontally and shouted, “Found her!”
As Han Xing and the others’ footsteps approached from a distance, Twelve Niang in her arms slowly woke up.
“Your, Your Highness. Is it really you?”
Jinsui truly wanted to scold her. Was she infected with your Second Brother’s foolish illness? How could you do something so reckless with your own safety?
