Chapter 19: The Prince of Jin’s Wrath

Inside the Zi Chen Hall of the Jin Prince’s Mansion, dark clouds loomed overhead as wind and rain battered the palace.

Yu Chi knelt in unison with several shadow guards inside the hall, while outside, countless guards and servants were also kneeling densely packed.

Even Wen Shizhi, the mansion’s steward, lowered his head silently beside Chu Hanxiao.

An incense stick’s time earlier, after Yu Chi and the shadow guards had entered and exchanged a few words, Chu Hanxiao’s expression instantly darkened.

“A single covert guard, and you say you can’t find her!” Chu Hanxiao shouted, slamming the teacup in his hand harshly onto the floor.

The esteemed shadow guards of the Imperial Guards Office of the great Liang Kingdom couldn’t even find a nameless covert guard!

This was a humiliation the Jin Prince’s Mansion had never before endured.

Most crucially, that covert guard was a woman!

And yet, she had vanished without a trace!

“Clean up the mess quickly,” Wen Shizhi signaled to the nearest attendant, who tremblingly crawled over from the hall’s entrance to clear the shattered teacup fragments.

Though publicly the steward of the Jin Prince’s Mansion, Wen Shizhi was in truth Chu Hanxiao’s chief strategist and deputy commander of the Imperial Guards Office.

At this moment, he was the only one still bold enough to speak under Chu Hanxiao’s wrath.

Yet even he found the matter inconceivable.

A female covert guard whom Chu Hanxiao himself had seen with his own eyes, yet she had managed to hide so thoroughly that the shadow guards had spent three entire days without uncovering a single clue.

This woman, who had even performed emergency surgery on the Red Hare horse, who was she?

Where was she?

“Keep searching!” Chu Hanxiao suppressed his fury, his dark eyes sweeping over Yu Chi and the others as he ordered in a low, commanding voice.

For the past three days, he had involuntarily recalled those eyes — a pair that seemed to smile and yet not, gleaming with a mysterious light.

A persistent obsession gnawed at his heart, repeating three words over and over: Find her!

Yet she was not on Liu Ruyu’s carriage.

From Anzhou to Jin City, not a single shadow guard had found any trace of her!

She seemed as if a figment of Chu Hanxiao’s imagination, as if she did not exist in this world at all.

He had detained all of Liu Mingyu’s maids and nannies at the Jin City courier station, hoping to force them to reveal that covert guard’s whereabouts.

Especially a maid named Chun Tao, who had personally seen him carry the female covert guard inside.

But no matter how much he pressed her, she only admitted that on that day, she indeed saw the Prince of Jin carrying a woman into the mansion.

However, that woman was the Prime Minister’s daughter, Liu Mingyu!

“General Yu, you may all leave now,” Wen Shizhi waved his hand to dismiss Yu Chi and the others.

Yu Chi and his men exited Zi Chen Hall, their faces filled with confusion.

Wen Shizhi stood silently beside Chu Hanxiao for a moment before softly asking, “Your Highness, was there anything unusual about that woman?”

Unusual?

Chu Hanxiao folded his hands behind his back, frowning deeply.

“Her skills were formidable, not inferior to General Yu.”

“And her appearance was breathtaking.”

Wen Shizhi’s gaze darkened slightly. The qualities Chu Hanxiao described were indeed special, yet not quite extraordinary.

He dared not speak plainly, so he cautiously inquired, “Did General Yu get a good look at her?”

Chu Hanxiao shook his head. “No.”

On that day, exhausted, she had fallen asleep on a pile of hay in the stable. He did not want his men to see her in such a state, so he stopped Yu Chi from entering.

Yu Chi likely only saw a side profile of him carrying that covert guard.

Wen Shizhi furrowed his brow and reminded him, “General Yu said that when you went to rescue the Liu family’s daughter, Ayi was unusually excited, wasn’t it?”

Chu Hanxiao’s mind replayed the scene outside Anzhou city when they rescued Liu Mingyu.

From afar, the wedding procession came into view, and Ayi became strangely ecstatic, charging wildly toward Liu Mingyu’s carriage.

There had to be someone Ayi favored inside that carriage, which explained its extreme excitement.

At the time, Chu Hanxiao naturally assumed the woman was hidden on Liu Mingyu’s carriage.

Ayi was a White Night Jade Lion, pure white all over and especially intelligent.

Besides Chu Hanxiao himself, Ayi was the only one who had seen that woman with their own eyes.

Suddenly raising his voice, Chu Hanxiao commanded, “Issue orders immediately! Bring Ayi out of the camp and let it roam freely from the courier station to the mansion!”

His starry eyes gleamed. He refused to believe she could evade Ayi’s keen nose!

“Yes, Your Highness,” Wen Shizhi bowed in acknowledgment.

Before Wen Shizhi could leave to convey the order, a woman’s voice called out at the hall’s entrance.

“A servant sent by Miss Liu from Jade Blossom Garden requests an audience with the Prince of Jin!”

Wen Shizhi glanced at Chu Hanxiao, seeking his decision. “Your Highness, shall I admit her?”

Normally, if a maid dared to cause a disturbance in Zi Chen Hall, she would have been beaten and thrown out long ago.

But the guards at the door hesitated upon hearing it involved Jade Blossom Garden—the residence of the future princess betrothed by the emperor himself.

They could only stop the intruding maid and await the master’s orders.

Hearing this, Chu Hanxiao shot Wen Shizhi a glance. “Let her in.”

They had served together for many years, and Wen Shizhi only sought Chu Hanxiao’s opinion when he deemed it necessary.

If Wen Shizhi thought the maid did not need to be seen, he would have already driven her away.

“I shall go deliver the order. If Your Highness has further instructions, please command me,” Wen Shizhi bowed and withdrew.

“R-Respectfully, Prince, I am Hua’er, a maid attending Miss Liu at Jade Blossom Garden,” the maid stammered nervously, stepping into Zi Chen Hall for the first time and coming face to face with her lord, nearly unable to speak coherently.

Chu Hanxiao frowned and asked coldly, “What is it?”

“The new mistress of Jade Blossom Garden sent me... to deliver a message to Your Highness,” Hua’er’s voice grew softer and her fear more palpable.

“Speak.”

For a proud mansion such as the Jin Prince’s to harbor such a timid and weak maid was astonishing.

Chu Hanxiao’s frown deepened; the head housekeeper clearly neglected her duties and should be replaced.

“The mistress requests that Your Highness visit Jade Blossom Garden—she has urgent matters to report.”

Chu Hanxiao’s heart stirred.

Could it be that Liu Mingyu wished to speak to him about the covert guard?

As Xia Qiqi returned from Wanshou Garden to Jade Blossom Garden, dusk had already fallen.

After coaxing Yue’er to eat some white radish and herbs, Xia Qiqi patiently waited to assist Yue’er in relieving herself.

Only when she saw the firm, round droppings fall onto the embroidered mats did she finally relax.

She felt a twinge of regret.

She had hoped that after saving the little rabbit for the old madam, she could ingratiate herself deeply with the old madam, laying a solid foundation for her future escape.

But reality proved her naive and foolish.

The old madam did cherish the rabbit and rewarded her for saving the beloved pet.

Yet the old madam seemed unwilling to meet her.

Instead, she had Ning Aunt fetch some sweet treats from the palace as a gift, then quickly ordered the palace guards to send her back to Jade Blossom Garden.

Feeling dejected, Xia Qiqi dragged her weary legs across the threshold of Jade Blossom Garden, where Hua’er approached quietly and whispered, “Your Highness is inside.”