MCSCPM -Chapter 252 Asking About Their Whereabouts

Lan Rao’s tongue was truly sharp, splashing filth all over her. Liu Sishui’s voice turned cold as she said, “Noble Consort Lan, you may have no worries behind you, but let me tell you—don’t be too smug. If Prince Jing really comes to harm, just wait and see how you’ll fall. As for Ling’er, you don’t need to worry about him. Think about it—if something happens to Prince Jing, are you afraid that Miss Yin and Ling’er won’t have a chance?”

“So that’s your intention,” Lan Rao said coolly.

“Yes, that’s exactly my goal. But it’s still better than you trying to draw Prince Jing to your side,” Liu Sishui replied unabashedly.

Lan Rao shot her a glance, having no desire at all to deal with this woman. She turned her back and said, “Since Consort Liu’s intentions are so open and upright, why come to my palace at all?”

“I merely came to see you, Noble Consort Lan—to offer some comfort. Otherwise, if Prince Jing truly meets with misfortune and I come to comfort you then, it might be too late.”

“Consort Liu is truly considerate. I appreciate your kindness. But Prince Jing is blessed by fate—nothing will happen to him.”

“Then Noble Consort Lan should pray sincerely to Heaven, that Prince Jing returns safely to the palace,” Liu Sishui said coldly, her words dripping with sarcasm.

Lan Rao was furious and snapped, “Fine. I will certainly pray to Heaven. And thank you for the reminder, Consort Liu.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I wish to rest now. Consort Liu should leave. I won’t see you out.”

Though plainly dismissed, Liu Sishui hadn’t suffered much—at least she had managed to anger Lan Rao.

“Then rest well, Noble Consort Lan. I’ll come visit again when I have time,” Liu Sishui said, flicking her sleeve as she left, not forgetting to let out a few cold laughs.

Once she was gone, Lan Rao ground her teeth and muttered, “Liu Sishui, since you want to oppose me, fine. I’d like to see who gets the last laugh.”

Outside the Capital

Night was gradually falling as the group pressed on without stopping toward the place where Prince Jing had been ambushed.

Both Yin Qingyue and Ding Ying were extremely anxious—Ding Ying had already cried several times along the way.

“All right, Ding Ying, stop being sad. Prince Jing will be fine, and so will Leng Feng,” Yin Qingyue comforted her.

Ding Ying nodded. “Qingyue… I’m scared.”

Yin Qingyue gently patted her back and said softly, “Ding Ying, think about it—given Prince Jing’s strength, how could anything happen to him? His personal guards are all top-notch fighters. Leng Feng will be fine too. Don’t cry. Do you really want Leng Feng to see your eyes all swollen?”

“Yes… I won’t cry anymore. I won’t be afraid,” Ding Ying said firmly.

“Don’t worry. We’ll definitely find Leng Feng. He’ll be fine.”

Ding Ying straightened herself, nodded lightly, then took Yin Qingyue’s hand. “Qingyue, Prince Jing will definitely be fine. If he knew how worried you are about him, he’d be so happy.”

Yin Qingyue didn’t reply. She turned her gaze toward the outside of the carriage.

Chu Jingcheng… didn’t you say my life belongs to you? Then how can anything happen to you? If something happens to you, who am I supposed to give my life to?

The next day, the group arrived at Tuoshui County, about ten li away from the prefecture where corrupt officials were being dealt with—the very place where Prince Jing’s party had been ambushed.

“Miss Yin, we’ve arrived. This is the place. The palace guards already searched here before, but no trace of Prince Jing was found,” a guard outside reported.

Yin Qingyue and Ding Ying got down from the carriage.

It was a stretch of grassland—no cliffs, no bloodstains, but clear signs of fighting.

“Is it here?” Yin Qingyue asked.

“Yes, this is the place,” the guard replied after dismounting.

“What did the palace guards find earlier? Were there any survivors?” Yin Qingyue asked.

“Not a single survivor. Prince Jing, Guard Leng Feng, and Guard Leng Yi—all three are missing.”

All three missing…

Ding Ying looked around anxiously and, seeing no one, panicked. “Could they have escaped? Or been seriously injured? Qingyue, we must find them quickly!”

“I know,” Yin Qingyue nodded. Then she ordered the guards, “Search the surrounding area carefully. If there are villages or households nearby, check them as well—but don’t alarm the villagers.”

The lead guard hesitated. “Miss Yin, we already searched this area earlier and found no trace of Prince Jing.”

“Perhaps something was overlooked, or there’s another possibility. Prince Jing must have left while injured. If he weren’t hurt, he would’ve shown himself already—there’d be no need for us to look for him. Since he was injured, he couldn’t have gone far. Search the area thoroughly again.”

“Yes,” the guards responded, dispersing to search.

Prince Jing had always kept her red dudou close to him. For such an intimate item to fall—it could only mean he had encountered an extremely brutal pursuit.

The thought made her heart sink with worry.

She led Ding Ying and the remaining guards along the edge of the grassland, searching every possible hiding place. But the more they searched, the slimmer their hope became.

After a long while, they rested briefly in a pavilion.

“Qingyue, I’m still worried. I want to keep looking—there are places over there we haven’t checked yet,” Ding Ying said, about to get up, but Yin Qingyue stopped her.

“All right. There are guards searching over there. Rest for a bit—if there’s news, they’ll inform us,” Yin Qingyue said firmly, pulling her back down to sit.

Ding Ying rubbed her hands together nervously, her eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

At that moment, a guard ran over and reported, “Miss Yin, there’s a village not far ahead. We didn’t dare alarm the villagers—what are your instructions?”

“A village? Was it searched before?” Yin Qingyue asked.

“We asked around and searched once. The villagers all said no one came through, and we didn’t find anything, so we didn’t continue.”

Yin Qingyue sprang to her feet. “Good. You all wait outside the village for now—don’t go in. We don’t want to panic the villagers. Ding Ying and I will go in ourselves.”

“But—”

“No buts. Just wait,” she said decisively.

With that, Yin Qingyue and Ding Ying headed into the village.

The villagers were extremely simple and rustic. Doors to the houses were wide open—nothing seemed amiss.

Ding Ying lagged behind and stopped a villager to ask, “Excuse me, have you seen a few young men dressed differently pass through here?”

The man carrying a bamboo basket waved his hand dismissively and walked off, clearly unwilling to talk. After all, two unfamiliar women suddenly asking such questions would naturally make villagers nervous.

Yin Qingyue approached a younger woman instead. “Miss, may I ask—has anything unusual happened around your village recently?”

The woman was pretty and didn’t seem wary. She shook her head. “No, it’s been quite peaceful lately.”

“I see. Thank you, then.”

“You’re welcome. You two must be from out of town. If anything even slightly unusual happened here, the whole village would know. You may have come to the wrong place. You look anxious—perhaps you should try asking elsewhere,” the woman kindly advised.

Yin Qingyue nodded. Could it be that Prince Jing truly isn’t here?

After the woman left, Yin Qingyue and Ding Ying had no new leads. Thinking there was likely nothing more, they were about to leave the village when an elderly woman sitting nearby called out to them.

“Young ladies—are you looking for someone?”

“Do you know something, Auntie?” Ding Ying rushed over to ask.

The old woman smiled. “What would I know? I rarely leave the village and hardly see anyone. But the girl named Shaoyao in the eastern part of the village often goes out to gather herbs. Perhaps she knows something.”

“Shaoyao?” Ding Ying echoed.

“Yes, Shaoyao. She has no parents and learned medicine from the village doctor. After he passed away, she took over treating the villagers. She’s a kind-hearted girl,” the old woman said, praising her warmly.

Yin Qingyue and Ding Ying exchanged a look—they were of one mind. No matter the outcome, they couldn’t give up.

After thanking the old woman, they headed toward the eastern part of the village. Asking along the way, they eventually found Shaoyao’s house.

The courtyard was filled with drying herbs. The scent was strong yet pleasantly fragrant.

This mysterious Shaoyao was definitely no ordinary person.

Yin Qingyue knocked on the door. “Miss Shaoyao, are you home? Miss Shaoyao?”

She called several times, but there was no answer.

“Could Shaoyao have gone into the mountains to gather herbs?” Ding Ying suggested.

Unwilling to give up, Yin Qingyue knocked again. Still, it seemed no one was inside. “She may really have gone to collect herbs. Let’s wait a bit. No matter what, we should ask her.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than the inner door opened. Shaoyao came out, glanced toward the outer gate, then closed the inner door before opening the outer one.

As soon as she saw Yin Qingyue, she froze. That peerless beauty instantly caught her eye—like a celestial being descended to earth. Shaoyao had always thought herself pure and refined, yet she’d never imagined a woman like this could exist.

Noticing her stare, Yin Qingyue knew the reason. She cleared her throat lightly and said, “You must be Miss Shaoyao. We heard you often leave the village to gather herbs, so we came to ask—have you noticed anything unusual these past few days?”

Shaoyao’s gaze flickered. She unconsciously took a small step back, sizing up Yin Qingyue and Ding Ying, then shook her head. “No. Nothing at all.”

For some reason, Yin Qingyue sensed guilt in her. She tried to read her expression—but Shaoyao’s eyes were guarded, and after a brief moment of eye contact, she quickly looked away.

That only made Yin Qingyue find her more suspicious. But on second thought, she didn’t want to expose anything prematurely—what if she was mistaken? So she said calmly, “Then thank you for your time. Sorry to disturb you.”

“It’s fine,” Shaoyao replied.

Yin Qingyue pulled Ding Ying away. Ding Ying seemed reluctant to leave and opened her mouth to speak, but Yin Qingyue squeezed her hand firmly. Ding Ying understood and followed.

They hadn’t gone far when Yin Qingyue turned back—and saw Shaoyao retreat quickly into the house, cautiously closing the door behind her, as if afraid of being discovered.

Ding Ying stopped and asked in confusion, “Qingyue, don’t you think she’s strange?”

“Of course I do,” Yin Qingyue replied, glancing back at Shaoyao’s house. “The villagers here rarely shut their doors when they’re home. Besides, there’s nothing valuable in a villager’s house. And this village seems harmonious—the neighbors should treat her well, especially since she’s a doctor. Yet she’s extremely wary. There must be something inside that house.”