Chapter 41: Go Find Her

That night, Nan Xueyin changed into dark night-traveling clothes, left the Eastern Palace, and stepped into Jiaoyuan.

Wu Zhui had already been waiting for her in the courtyard for quite a while.

"Has something happened?" Nan Xueyin asked the moment she opened her mouth.

"Yes," Wu Zhui did not hide it, "Wang Yong has been caught."

Nan Xueyin frowned.

Wang Yong was the Assistant Prefect of Lianzhou and had very close dealings with Xiao Mingyu.

She immediately recalled what she had heard in the Eastern Palace: recently, they had captured a major corrupt official.

On the way to the study, Wu Zhui briefly stated the situation: "The Crown Prince's faction had been eyeing Wang Yong for a while, and they have likely been collecting quite a bit of evidence of his crimes in secret. Recently, Wang Yong's son forcibly took a woman of the people and caused her death, which implicated Wang Yong. The matter blew up, and the Emperor personally issued an order to have Wang Yong escorted to Fengdu for interrogation."

Nan Xueyin nodded slightly.

In the study, Xiao Mingyu was knitting his brows, pacing back and forth anxiously.

Upon seeing Nan Xueyin, he gritted his teeth and said, "Wang Yong must die!"

Nan Xueyin raised her eyes, and he added, "You go and kill him."

"What about the mission in the Eastern Palace?" Nan Xueyin asked.

"What, are you reluctant to part with the Crown Prince?" Xiao Mingyu asked in return, his gaze dangerous.

Nan Xueyin said, "It is not a matter of being reluctant or not. Wu Zhui has already told me the ins and outs of the matter. Wang Yong is currently in the Dali Temple Prison in Fengdu; the security there is strict and practically airtight. If I am to kill him, I will have to spend time and energy. I have finally gained the Crown Prince's trust, and everything is going smoothly in the Eastern Palace. If I go to kill Wang Yong, these things will cease to exist."

Xiao Mingyu stared at her for a long while and said, "The urgent priority right now is Wang Yong. They are determined to find something out from him. Wang Yong is a man with a spineless character; with a little interrogation and coercion, he will certainly spill things that are disadvantageous to this Prince. If that happens, even if you remain in the Eastern Palace, even if you truly discover the Crown Prince's hidden illness or his secrets, it will be useless. Because if it involves a corruption case, even if I topple the Crown Prince, I will have no chance of ascending to the Eastern Palace."

Nan Xueyin fell silent.

"What's more, aren't you very favored by the Crown Prince right now? Having served him in bed so many times, you should already be very familiar with his preferences," Xiao Mingyu's tone carried a hint of mockery, "Once you kill Wang Yong, I will find an opportunity to give you a new identity and plant you back in; you will still be able to make the Crown Prince fall in love with you."

Nan Xueyin frowned.

Wu Zhui cleared his throat, "Well... Your Highness, at this moment Wang Yong is locked in the Dali Temple Prison. Asking Lady Nan to kill him is no easy task. We must deliberate at length and plan in detail."

Xiao Mingyu uttered an "Mm," but his gaze remained fixed on Nan Xueyin's face, "You are still wearing this Human Skin Mask?"

Nan Xueyin had left in a hurry tonight and had not removed this mask of Doukou.

She paused briefly and raised her hand.

When she removed the last bit of the mask, revealing her original, richly beautiful face—a look that the Crown Prince Xiao Youlan had never seen—Xiao Mingyu seemed to be in a slightly better mood and said, "Very well, come here."

Nan Xueyin's voice was cold as she replied, "Yes."

The next day.

The Eastern Palace.

After Xiao Youlan woke up, he did not wait for that "Your Highness," and had to let others serve him in dressing first.

Why hasn't she come yet? Is she sleeping in?

"This is bad! Something has happened!"

Cui Mama's shouts came from outside the door; she ran over in a frantic rush, only to be intercepted by Feihong halfway.

"Cui Mama, no matter what has happened, you cannot barge in on the Crown Prince."

Cui Mama caught her breath, "Dou... Doukou is gone!"

Before Feihong could ask anything, Xiao Youlan turned his head abruptly, "What did you say?"

Cui Mama's face was covered in sweat, and she said in a panic, "Recently, it has been this servant and Linglang attending to Lady Doukou. This morning, Linglang and I went to knock on the door, but after knocking for a long time, no one answered. At first, I thought Lady Doukou hadn't woken up yet, but after waiting a while and knocking again, there was still no one. I felt something was wrong, so I called two people to break the door open. Who would have thought there was not a single person in the room! Doukou is gone!"

"Your High..."

Before Feihong could finish his sentence, Xiao Youlan was already striding outside.

He went straight to the room where Doukou was staying; the door had been broken open with brute force, with one half dangling and the other still hanging on the wall.

In such a small room, one could see everything at a glance.

Standing outside the door, he saw a set of clothes resting quietly on the bed; it was the set she had worn yesterday.

He walked inside and saw jewelry neatly arranged on the dressing table: the green Jade Hairpin, the white magnolia pearl flower, the jade pearl flower—all were there, and even the Jade Bracelet gifted by Zong Taihou was there.

But apart from these, the room was empty and quiet.

She was not there.

She was truly not there.

Xiao Youlan's lips moved, as if he wanted to ask something.

"Your Highness!" Feihong hurried as fast as he could and finally caught up.

He looked inside and saw the Crown Prince standing alone in front of the dressing table.

He had come out in a rush and had not even had time to tie his hair; it was now scattered loosely over his back. His usual poise and decorum had vanished completely. A few rays of sunlight shone in from the half-covered window and fell upon him, making him appear dejected and lonely.

"Your Highness..." Feihong called to him, wanting to comfort him and say it would be fine.

"Find her," Xiao Youlan suddenly spoke.

He turned his head and looked outside the door.

Meeting his gaze, Feihong was completely stunned.

The Crown Prince's eyes were bloodshot, looking as if he were in sorrow or perhaps helpless.

He said, "Find her."

He raised his voice, "Find her!"

Jiaoyuan.

The matter was urgent; Nan Xueyin, Xiao Mingyu, and Wu Zhui worked through the night to come up with a plan. Once it was settled, Nan Xueyin prepared to set off.

As she and Wu Zhui walked out of the study side by side, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and Nan Xueyin thought of Xiao Youlan.

At this hour, he would have already risen and likely gone to the morning court.

She wondered how long it would take for him to discover that "Doukou" was gone, and what his reaction would be once he found out.

"Sister?"

Nan Xueyin turned her head.

Hua Lianying came over from the side courtyard and asked with a face full of surprise, "Why have you returned? At this hour, shouldn't you be in the Eastern Palace accompanying the Crown Prince?"

Nan Xueyin was concise: "I had another task, so I returned."

Hua Lianying hurried forward two steps, "Then after you finish this task, will you still go back, Sister?"

"Go back?"

Nan Xueyin repeated, "If I recall correctly, I am a person of the Duan Prince Mansion. What do you mean by me going back to the Eastern Palace?"

Hua Lianying was stunned.

"Also," Nan Xueyin narrowed her eyes, "Hua Lianying, are you that worried about me coming back?"

Hua Lianying squeezed out a smile, "Sister, you have misunderstood me; I am very happy to see you return."

She walked forward and tried to affectionately hook her arm around Nan Xueyin's, but Nan Xueyin turned her body to avoid her with an expressionless face.

Her smile stiffened briefly, but quickly returned to normal, and she said in a soft voice, "It is like this: recently, the young lady of the Yan Family has been coming to Jiaoyuan from time to time, and I was just worried that you would be unhappy if you saw her, Sister."

The young lady of the Yan Family, Yan Zhirong?

"The Yan Family is powerful; if the Prince could marry this Miss Yan, it would not be impossible for him to contend for the throne in the future," Hua Lianying observed Nan Xueyin's expression and sighed, "Sister, you must not be angry."