Chapter 192: Four Kingdoms Paying Tribute

Li was pushed until she sat hard on the ground; she reached out to pull over Jun Zhengyuan, who was hiding behind her, and wailed so miserably that her voice nearly tore through the roof.

"Master, even a servant girl dares to act like this; you must stand up for Hao'er."

Seeing that even a servant girl dared to bring up the shameful deeds his son and daughter had committed, Jun Zhengyuan felt as if a knife had been plunged into his heart.

He felt a surge of rage rush straight to his head; his blood boiled violently, and his face turned so red it was as if it were about to smoke.

Yet, this servant girl was sent by the Crown Prince to protect Jun Zijin, and he dared not offend her easily. The ball of rage in his heart deflated like a pricked balloon with a soft "pfft."

He put on a forced smile and said to Guazi:

"Miss, do not speak nonsense. As long as you hand over my son, I will let bygones be bygones regarding today's events."

Li scrambled up from the ground and patted her backside, looking for all the world like a hen that had just emerged from a coop, and shrieked at the top of her lungs:

"Don't waste your breath on her. Go in and search! I don't believe my son could just vanish into thin air!"

Li's shrill voice echoed before the gates of the Jun residence; her eyes were bloodshot, and she reached up to adjust the slightly disheveled headscarf on her head.

The retainers looked at each other in dismay—what a joke, were the many guards at the gate just for show? But since the Proprietor had given the order, they dared not disobey, so they helplessly steeled themselves and charged into the house.

The guards at the gate immediately stepped forward to block them.

"Presumptuous! Whoever dares to cause trouble, beware—swords have no eyes."

They didn't care about a war of words, but if someone wanted to lay a hand on Princess Qingping, and the Princess suffered any harm, they would be the ones to take the fall. This was their duty, and they could not afford the slightest negligence.

The guard's voice made Li's eardrums ache; she felt a bit of fear and subconsciously took half a step back.

But thinking of her only son, she gritted her teeth, a flash of determination in her eyes, and simply began to throw a tantrum, grabbing the guard's thigh and howling:

"The Emperor's Dragon and Tiger Guards are beating people! Do you still have any sense of justice? Why won't you let me look for my son?"

Li cried until she was a mess of snot and tears, looking as if she had truly suffered some immense grievance.

The guard was so pestered by Li that he lost his temper. He shook his leg, but he couldn't shake off this "sticky candy," so he could only helplessly look up at the sky and groan inwardly.

Just then, a cold voice rang out; Jun Zijin had spoken:

"General, let her in."

If she wasn't allowed to see for herself, how could she give up?

Jun Zijin tilted her head slightly to scan Li and Jun Zhengyuan, the corners of her mouth lifting in a faint, ambiguous smile, yet that smile did not reach her eyes; instead, it made people feel a chill.

Li scrambled up from the ground and signaled for the retainers to swarm into the Jun residence in a flock.

Jun Zijin's voice rose again:

"Remember, if you damage any items in my residence, you will have a hard time of it."

Li and Jun Zhengyuan exchanged a glance; though they were unwilling, they dared not be too reckless and slowed their pace as they led the retainers inside.

Jun Zhengyuan followed behind, and as he passed Jun Zijin, he glared at her fiercely, a gaze that could almost pierce right through her. He threatened in a low voice:

"If I find out you have anything to do with Zhihao's disappearance, you'll see what happens!"

This threat, though spoken in a low voice, was filled with a chilling murderous intent.

Jun Zijin remained unhurried, her gaze as clear as water.

"Second Uncle, one must not speak nonsense. If you cannot find anyone later, how will you wrap this up?"

Her voice remained cold, yet carried a hint of mockery.

Jun Zhengyuan snorted coldly, offered no reply, and strode into the residence.

The interior of the Jun residence was quiet and peaceful, the flowers in the garden lush and dripping with dew.

As soon as she entered, Li began to clamor, directing the retainers to rummage here and search there.

The retainers were driven dizzy by her urging, though their movements were quite nimble, turning the perfectly fine courtyard into a scene of chaos.

Jun Zijin ordered the servants to bring out a table and chairs, set them in the sun, and then brought out tea and melon seeds.

She gently brushed off her robes and sat there quietly, basking in the warm winter sun, drinking tea and cracking melon seeds while watching the spectacle, looking elegant and at ease.

From afar, Jun Zhengyuan watched Jun Zijin's calm and composed demeanor, and his heart grew increasingly uneasy.

He gritted his teeth inwardly, thinking:

"This Li is truly useless; she ruins more than she accomplishes. It looks like we won't find him this time, and we've offended that ancestor for nothing. I fear life will be even harder from now on."

Sure enough, Li directed the retainers to search everywhere—the courtyard, the rooms, the woodshed, the stables—not a single place where a person could hide was spared, but after searching every corner, there was no sign of Jun Hao.

Li panicked and began to scream Jun Zhihao's name like a madwoman, but only an empty echo answered her.

Finally, her shouting turned into muttering, her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Zhihao, where on earth are you? Don't scare your mother... It's impossible, Zhidie clearly said Zhihao came here..."

Seeing the sky darken, they hadn't even found a single hair of Jun Zhihao.

Jun Zhengyuan stood dejectedly to the side.

Jun Zijin sat by the table, the teacup in her hand swaying gently; with a playful and mocking glint in her eyes, she spoke with a half-smile:

"The two of you, now that things have come to this, do you have anything else to say? You slandered this Princess for no reason; how should we settle this account?"

Jun Zhengyuan looked decadent, clearly lacking confidence, but he still steeled himself and said:

"Even if Zhihao isn't here, Zhidie said he came to find you. It must have something to do with you; you had better tell us everything you know."

Jun Zijin sat down slowly, picked up the tea on the table, and took a light sip.

"Since Second Uncle doesn't believe me, I have nothing to say. However, I advise Second Uncle to calm down first and think carefully about whether Jun Zhihao learned some incredible secret of someone else's; perhaps there is another story behind this."

Li, nearly driven mad, gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with malice:

"Don't be smug, this isn't over! Zhihao must have been hidden by you. I will definitely find evidence and make it impossible for you to deny it!"

Jun Zijin sneered, this time not even bothering to call him Second Uncle:

"Then I shall wait for Lady Li to produce the evidence. However, before that, I ask Master Jun and Lady Li not to come to my Jun residence to run wild again; otherwise, do not blame me for being impolite."

"Guazi, see them out!"

Having said this, she flicked her sleeves and rose to leave.

Hmph, Jun Zhihao had been burned until not even slag remained; where would they find evidence? Besides, she had merely punished a petty thief who climbed the wall in the middle of the night to commit a crime—there was no such person as Jun Zhihao.

Just like that, Jun Zhengyuan and his wife inquired everywhere about Jun Zhihao's whereabouts. But Jun Zhihao seemed to have evaporated into thin air, disappearing without a trace.

Jun Zhidie, who knew the inside story, could not fathom why this was the case and spent her days in constant, fearful anxiety.

While the Jun residence was in an uproar searching for their son, the year drew to a close, and the envoys bringing tribute from the Southern Kingdom, Shu Capital, Eastern Zhou, and the Northern Kingdom arrived one after another in the capital of the Tianqi Kingdom over these few days.