An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 181 Prince Jing Was Captured (Party Two)

A while later, the Imperial Commander, who had left to find Lady Wen, rushed in. He knelt in front of

Emperor Ning and reported, "Your Majesty, I didn't find Lady Wen. I saw Lady Wen's maid at the

bathroom, and she said Lady Wen was inside. I received no response after I called to the Lady a few

times. So I burst in and no one was inside."

"In that case, it was probably Lady Wen who has been taken away. Why did Lady Wen lure Prince Jing

to the Pavilion? Any other findings?" Emperor Ning asked.

"Your Majesty, I found some signs of struggle in Qingsi House. My guess is that there was a fight there,

" the Imperial Commander instantly replied.

"Let's go and take a look at Qingsi House, " Emperor Ning said as he hastily rose to his feet.

Then Yun Shang followed Emperor Ning to Qingsi House. Some arrows lay on the ground. However,

the arrowheads were hollow, which was strange.

The others looked at the hollowed arrowheads for a long time but could not tell what they were for. Yun

Shang knitted her brows. She noticed a strange, choking smell in the air.

"Something must have happened to Prince Jing, father, " said Yun Shang as she turned to Emperor

Ning with a grave look.

Everyone's attention was on Yun Shang. She looked a little pale as she added, "I smell smoke in the

yard, and it is choking. I think it's some kind of toxic smoke." Hearing this, Qian Yin who was standing

beside Yun Shang, took out a small bottle of medicine from her sleeve. She quickly poured out some

pills and gave one to each onlooker.

"My uncle gave me this medicine, just in case. The toxic smoke is very effective. Be careful." Yun

Shang reminded everyone present.

As soon as she had finished speaking, she saw that some of the older people seemed to be getting

dizzy. She immediately told Qian Yin to give them the medicine first. It took a while for those people to

recover.

The rest, seeing what had happened, quickly swallowed the pills in their hands.

Yun Shang then continued, "I guess the hollow arrowhead is probably for the toxic smoke. I just

observed that the arrowhead design is quite ingenious. Just blow the toxic smoke into the arrowhead,

then gently twist it, and the toxic smoke is hidden inside. Besides, the arrowhead is so fragile that if it

hits something hard, it will break. Then the toxic smoke is released. There are so many broken arrows

here. If my uncle inhaled even a little bit of toxic smoke, he would soon lose consciousness."

At this time, Emperor Ning stared at Yun Shang with slight surprise and doubt. Yun Shang then realized

that she had been so anxious about Prince Jing that she said a lot of things she shouldn't have said. As

the others watched, she bent her head. In this case, the best thing to do was to stay quiet.

Before Emperor Ning could speak, the Imperial Commander said, "But the temporary imperial palace is

heavily guarded..."

Emperor Ning interrupted him, "Heavily guarded? Humph, if it were really so heavily guarded, how

could evildoers dare to set such a big trap here? And now, Prince Jing is in danger. Is that what you call

heavily guarded?"

Yun Shang's mouth tightened slightly, and she sighed, "In this world, no matter how heavy the guard is,

it can only protect against average criminals. If someone really wants to cause mischief, it would be

impossible to stop them. If my uncle was unconscious, it would not be easy for the culprits to take him

out of the temporary imperial palace. After all, father is in the palace, and there are many guards for a

few miles. There are only three possibilities. The first is that they are still in the palace. The second is

that there are secret passages in the palace." Yun Shang paused before going on, "The last possibility

is that many of the guards have colluded with the criminals."

After listening to the analysis, Emperor Ning waved his hands in frustration. His veins throbbed on his

forehead. He ordered in a cold tone, "Investigate it! Investigate it thoroughly at all costs!"

'Although Prince Jing guards the border all-year round, he is the eternal invincible protector in the

hearts of the people. If news of his disappearance leaks out, I'm afraid...'

Emperor Ning's eyes?held?a stern look. 'I hope it's not that bad.'

Yun Shang remained silent for a moment before she said again, "Father, then... What about Lady

Wen? It is not known whether she was mistaken for me and kidnapped or whether she was involved in Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

the plot..."

Emperor Ning gave Yun Shang a meaningful look and commanded, "Somebody, lock up all the people

from the Wen Mansion."

It was getting dark, but no progress was made. The Emperor's face became more and more gloomy,

and even Yun Shang was a little uneasy.

She wanted to ask the Shadow Guard, whom Prince Jing had arranged to protect her, about the

Prince's whereabouts.

As the palace lantern lit up, Yun Shang sprang to her feet. Seeing Emperor Ning looking at her, she

lowered her head and said softly, "The ladies are still in the backyard. I'll go and see them. If there is

any information about my uncle, please send someone to inform me, father. I'll come here quickly."

Emperor Ning's gaze lingered on Yun Shang for a moment before he nodded.

Yun Shang then hurried to the backyard with Qian Yin. When no one was around, Qian Yin whispered,

"Your Highness, when you talked about those arrows, His Majesty looked at you... in a strange way..."

Yun Shang had felt it too. She suddenly stopped and her mouth lifted in a wry smile. "I felt it. Qian Yin,

he's doubting me. My father is doubting me..."

After that she walked on, but much more slowly. In her previous life, she had not had much contact with

Emperor Ning while growing up. So she took the initiative to get closer to him in this life. She

remembered that she had believed that although her father was not be a good husband, he was a good

Emperor. She smiled bitterly and thought, 'He may not be a good father either.

In his heart, the most important things are the state power, his dragon robe, and the throne. Twenty

years ago, for the throne, he hurt my mother and married a woman he did not like. And twenty years

later, he begins to doubt me.

After all, I'm close to Prince Jing. If I were a gentle but senseless Princess, I would be Prince Jing's

weakness once I married him. But, if I were not as stupid as my father thinks me to be, he would fear

me. A married daughter is like discarded water. Once I'm married, I have to listen to my husband. I'll be

a threat to him by then...'

Yun Shang bit her lip. When she was reborn, she thought that her father would be the lifelong support

for her and her mother, but now it seemed that she was wrong... She had thought of everything, but

she had forgotten that her father was not only a father and a husband, he was also an Emperor.

She didn't want to be in the Palace anymore.

Yun Shang thought as she quickened her pace toward the backyard.

"Slow down, Your Highness, slow down..." Qian Yin's hasty exhortation came from behind her.

Yun Shang paused. She had forgotten that she had already aroused suspicion and should not expose

her Kung Fu.

"Come out." Yun Shang looked around. When she was sure that nobody was around, she spoke out.

Qian Yin was startled when she saw a black figure kneeling in front of Yun Shang. "Your Highness."

Yun Shang nodded and asked, "How is Prince Jing? Do you know where he is? Is he in danger?"

Jing Ying was puzzled. After a long while she shook her head and answered with a wry smile, "Since

the day I was sent to protect you, I have no way of knowing of His Highness's whereabouts. I have

been by your side all day. I haven't seen him."

"Does his Shadow Guard have any contact with you?" Yun Shang frowned.

Again, Jing Ying shook her head and answered, "I tried to contact them a little while ago and found that

they were not in the temporary imperial palace. His Highness seems to have left..."