Chapter 1425

Grand Eunuch Zhou Desheng hurriedly ushered everyone out, then quietly returned to Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao's side. Seeing her emotions slightly calm, he whispered, 'Empress Dowager, the honored guests in the Eastern Hall are causing a disturbance!'

Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao pinched her brows and said, 'Whoever dares to cause trouble, seize them!'

Grand Eunuch Zhou Desheng showed a difficult expression; Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao was clearly furious to the point of losing her senses. Those people were all prominent figures, including princes from various states, none of whom could be easily offended. Just then Hu Buwei came to visit the Empress Dowager; Zhou Desheng, sensing the situation, withdrew. Seeing Hu Buwei arrive, Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao grabbed his hand and trembled, 'Buwei… Long Jing has been abducted…' Before she could finish, tears streamed down.

Hu Buwei nodded and whispered, 'Empress Dowager, please stay calm! As the mother of the state, if you lose your composure, who will lead the officials?'

After Long Xuanjiao was reminded by him, she realized they were in the palace where anyone could come at any moment. She released Hu Buwei's hand, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said, 'I don't know who is so vicious and cruel as to have snatched Long Jing away.'

Hu Buwei said, 'The urgent priority is not to investigate the root cause, but to find the king.'

Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao nodded and said, 'The whole city has already been mobilized, but searching a vast crowd for one person is hardly easy.'

Hu Buwei said, 'The kidnappers must have planned this for a long time; abducting the king surely serves another purpose, and before they achieve it, they would not harm the king.' He appeared extremely composed—perhaps men are naturally far more resilient psychologically than women; though both have lost their sons, his bearing is far steadier than Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao's.

Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao was about to speak when she heard Grand Eunuch Zhou Desheng loudly announce from outside, 'The Heavenly Master Su has arrived!'

The Heavenly Master Su is Su Yujin; Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao reveres her as the Heavenly Master. If anyone else came, Grand Eunuch Zhou Desheng would not dare disturb their conversation. Su Yujin is different—she and Hu Buwei are the two persons Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao trusts most, and their standing in her heart is nearly equal.

Hu Buwei also did not choose to avoid it; given such a major event in the court, his coming to offer condolences was quite natural.

Su Yujin entered the palace, saw Hu Buwei there, and felt no surprise. She bowed to Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao and said, 'Empress Dowager, I too have just heard of the king's matter; please, Empress Dowager, remain calm in handling it.'

Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao said, 'Long Jing is more important to me than my own life; he must absolutely come to no harm.'

Su Yujin said, 'I just went to the Summer Resort Villa; the several attendants serving the emperor were all subdued by a special acupuncture technique, and judging from the method, it does not belong to Central Plains martial arts.'

Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao blinked slightly, but she did not understand what special significance this detail held.

Hu Buwei said, 'Today just happens to be the day for selecting a prince consort. Could the abduction of the emperor and the prince-consort selection be secretly connected?'

Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao snapped, 'If anyone among them dares to use this method to blackmail the court and select him as prince consort, I will surely tear him to shreds to ease the hatred in my heart.'

Su Yujin said, 'Those people's backgrounds are extraordinary; without evidence, we must not act rashly. Announcing a prince-consort selection to the world and gathering so many in Fragrant Mist City makes people's motives inscrutable—who knows what they truly aim for?' She said this while giving Hu Buwei a cold stare. Evidently speaking from feeling, since she left her retreat she has clearly expressed her opposition to this prince-consort selection; in her view, the one who proposed it harbors impure motives.

Hu Buwei also couldn't be bothered to argue with her; he is a smart man and knows Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao's trust in Su Yujin. Therefore he never speaks ill of Su Yujin in front of the Empress Dowager; Su Yujin's attacks on him, Hu Buwei interprets as her being annoyed and angry—perhaps Su Yujin has already guessed who stole the skull from her, but lacking solid evidence, she dare not openly break with him.

Hu Buwei said, 'Heavenly Master Su is right; this matter must be handled properly. Today was originally set for selecting a prince consort, but because the king suddenly disappeared, the plan has been disrupted.'

Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao said, 'How could I possibly have the mind to select a prince consort now? Postpone this matter! Just let them all disperse.'

Hu Buwei said, 'Empress Dowager, this cannot be done hastily. As Heavenly Master Su said, these people's backgrounds are far from ordinary; they come not only as individuals but as representatives of their respective nations and clans. If we dismiss them without explanation, we risk provoking their displeasure, and it could even affect the future diplomatic relations of the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom.'

Su Yujin said, 'I suspect the mastermind behind this may be among these hundred people; if we interrogate them one by one, we will surely find the king.'

Hu Buwei said, 'We must not startle the snake by beating the grass. All we want is the king's safe return; as for assigning blame, we can discuss that later. I have a plan: to stabilize them while also helping to find the king, we might as well make this clear—if anyone among these hundred can safely retrieve the king, that person will become the future prince consort of the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom.'

Su Yujin said, 'Wouldn't that mean announcing the king's disappearance to the world? That would be improper and would surely cause nationwide panic.'

Hu Buwei replied calmly, 'Do you think that if we don't speak of it, it won't leak? The kidnappers won't keep it secret; they will surely leak it to put pressure on us.'

Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao nodded and said, 'Very well! Then let it be as Mr. Lan says.'

Hu Xiaotian had long anticipated this outcome; with Yang Longjing missing, today's prince-consort selection would surely come to nothing. Hearing the news that the selection was temporarily postponed, everyone seethed with indignation. The Black Hu Eighth Prince, Wanyan Tianyue, was the first to shout, 'Are you toying with us? Going back on your word—what prince-consort selection? I, the prince, don't care. Since the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom shows no sincerity, why should we remain here?'

The others echoed his sentiment.

The one who came to announce this was Minister of Rites Wang Qiezhi. Seeing the crowd's emotions flare, he repeatedly pressed his hands down, signaling for silence, yet none of these nobles and officials would take him seriously. As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, Wang Qiezhi finally could not help but shout, 'Everyone, quiet down and hear me out—it's not that our court intends to be negligent, but… but our king vanished suddenly this morning…' Although the Empress Dowager had already permitted it, announcing this news still felt extraordinarily difficult for Wang Qiezhi; in fact, most officials did not understand why the Empress Dowager wanted to make this public.

Upon hearing this news, the entire hall fell silent at once; this morning's events now had a reasonable explanation. Even the king had been lost, so the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom naturally had no leisure for a prince-consort selection, and postponing it was quite natural.

Hu Xiaotian secretly approved, thinking the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom was handling the crisis fairly well and had not deliberately concealed Yang Longjing's disappearance; they must have realized they couldn't keep it hidden on their own. Now he could be certain that Ji Feihua had fully completed her mission, and it was time for him to take the next step.

Wang Qiezhi publicly announced, 'By order of the Empress Dowager, please return to your lodgings and await the outcome in peace; do not act rashly. If anyone among you can find my lord the king and bring him back safely, that person shall be the future prince consort of the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom.'

He'erdan said, 'You all can't find him; where are we outsiders supposed to look?'

The Seventh Prince of Da Yong, Xue Daoming, said, 'Could it be that if we fail to find your king, we are not allowed to leave Fragrant Mist City?'

Murong Feiyan, who had remained silent all along, said, 'Please understand, no one may leave the kingdom without permission until the king's safety is confirmed.'

Hu Xiaotian deliberately said, 'What do you mean by that, Commander Rong? Are you suspecting that your kingdom's king's disappearance is connected to us?'

Murong Feiyan glanced at him, her words heavy with meaning, and said, 'Before the matter is clarified, no one can clear themselves of suspicion.'

These people were no ordinary figures; upon hearing the news of the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom's king disappearing, they immediately grew much quieter, knowing how to read the situation. In such a tense moment for the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom, causing trouble would hardly be wise; under the present circumstances, it would be best to leave the palace promptly.

As Hu Xiaotian was leaving, Murong Feiyan called him to stop. Hu Xiaotian halted, smiled, and looked at Murong Feiyan, asking, 'Commander Rong, do you recognize me now?'

Murong Feiyan said, 'I merely wish to remind Master Hu not to go out these two days if possible; we will be checking your residence at any time.'

Hu Xiaotian replied, 'Go ahead and inspect! I leave my doors wide open, awaiting your visit.'

That afternoon, Murong Feiyan led a team to Verdant Garden; this was routine procedure, a search of Verdant Garden. In fact, at the same time, a full-scale search was underway for the other candidates, and Hu Xiaotian cooperated fully throughout.

While everyone was searching in all directions, Hu Xiaotian asked Murong Feiyan, 'Have there been any leads on the king's disappearance?'

Murong Feiyan replied irritably, 'If we had any leads, why would we need to search your place?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Commander Rong, your remark is mistaken; everything requires a motive. What suspicion do I have? Why would I harm your lord the king? What benefit would that bring me?'

Murong Feiyan said, 'Perhaps someone, realizing they have no hope of becoming prince consort, devised this ploy to drain the pond—disrupting the prince-consort selection, or perhaps they are using the king as a hostage to coerce the court into agreeing to marry the princess to them.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed heartily and said, 'So that's what you think of me? How stupid would a person have to be to pull off such a foolish act?'

At that moment, a Phoenix Feather Guard approached Murong Feiyan and reported the search results: aside from Hu Xiaotian's study, everywhere else had already been searched, and no suspicious traces were found.

Murong Feiyan said, 'Go check the study!'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'If Commander Rong wishes to search, he must do it personally; my study contains too many private matters, and it would be inconvenient to let outsiders see them.'

Murong Feiyan sneered, 'Fine, then I'll go search it myself.'

The two entered Hu Xiaotian's study, one after the other. Before Murong Feiyan could react, Hu Xiaotian lunged at her like a starving tiger pouncing on prey, grabbed her in his arms, lowered his head to kiss her, but was blocked by the dagger in her hand pressed to his throat. Murong Feiyan's clear, beautiful eyes stared coldly at him and she said, 'You're asking to die!'

Hu Xiaotian completely ignored the dagger in her hand, saying, 'I want to die! I'm dying for you!' He still lowered his head to kiss her; Murong Feiyan hadn't expected him to dare force himself, and as he leaned forward, the dagger in her hand reflexively pulled back. She lowered her voice and said, 'I really stabbed…' Though it was a threat, her voice revealed the weakness and helplessness deep inside.

Thanks to the handsome guy with smelly feet who flew red into the alliance, thanks to 150302225934485 for giving a reward despite the pain, thanks to all who gave rewards, supporting brothers and sisters. (To be continued~^~)