Chapter 64: Bao'er Has Gone Missing

  "It's her, that woman. Under Xuan Ye's icy and impatient gaze, the woman couldn't help but feel a little afraid in her heart. Although Xuan Ye usually didn't care about what happened in the backyard, if something really happened to you..."

  Her eyes involuntarily gazed at the water's surface, seeing it calm and waveless, completely restored to its former tranquility, as if what had just happened was merely her illusion, and no one had fallen in at all.

  Xuan Yuan's eyebrows furrowed even more, presumably because they had another dispute over petty things, and he grew increasingly annoyed. He spoke in a low voice, "Such trivial matters shouldn't bother me." Cruelty was his nature; towards those dispensable women, his emotions were zero.

  The woman couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, and a hint of joy slowly appeared on her face. It turned out that the prince had...

  She didn't care about that woman anyway, so she smiled sweetly and said, "Yes, yes, I'm foolish and shouldn't have ruined the king's mood." She paused for a moment, swayed her waist slightly, and slowly approached Xuan Yuan Chen, saying softly, "King, you came to the backyard today, is..." She was usually quite favored, so she dared to be so arrogant. Now that she saw King finally come to the backyard, it was only natural that she wouldn't let go of this opportunity easily, using all her skills to try and entice the king.

  Many women glared at her with angry faces, but at the same time, soft or charming smiles involuntarily floated on their faces, and they all leaned in towards Xuan Yuan Chen.

  Chu Wei, who was following Xuan Yuan Che, felt a little strange and asked, "What time did it happen?"

  If it was just a recent drowning, there might still be hope. In any case, that's a life at stake. The prince said such trivial matters couldn't bother him, naturally meaning he wanted him to handle it.

  That woman was completely focused on seducing Xuan Yuan Zhi, and for a moment she didn't understand what Chu Wei meant. She glanced at him with slight impatience and said discontentedly, "What time is it?" A servant actually dared to be so rude, and now he didn't even know to leave.

  Chu Wei's face also sank slightly, "I'm asking when that person fell into the water?" Is a life so insignificant in the eyes of these women, or are they not considered human beings in their eyes?

  Although they are Xuan Yuan Chen's women, in this palace, it is likely that no one can match his status, so Chu Wei directly calls himself me, without a hint of respect.

  If you want others to respect you, you should at least know how to respect others. People like them don't even respect themselves, so why would they expect others to respect them?

  The woman finally understood, but still looked dissatisfied and said casually, "It was just what happened earlier. It was just before the prince arrived."

  Xuanyuan Chen's icy face involuntarily sank slightly, a hint of abnormality flashing across quickly, and his heart inexplicably crossed something, as he couldn't help but ask, "You said she just fell into the water?"

  "Yes, she scolded me for no reason and wanted to hit me. I instinctively dodged, but didn't expect her to fall into the water instead." The woman was obviously lying with a straight face, without batting an eyelid or showing any signs of nervousness, which was quite impressive.

  While the other women were slightly dissatisfied, none of them spoke up. After all, Ling Feng was their greatest enemy at this moment, and getting rid of him first was the most important thing.

  Xuanyuan Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, as if thinking about something, motionless and silent, just coldly staring at her.

  The woman couldn't help but feel a little flustered, and she muttered again, "But she's also strange, falling into the water, not struggling at all, just sinking to the bottom like that."

  Normally, when someone falls into the water, shouldn't they be shouting for help? Shouldn't they be struggling? But that woman didn't do anything. If she had just shouted for help, Xuan Yuan Chen would have definitely heard her.

  Xuanyuan Chen's face changed slightly, the thousand-year-old coldness on his face also changed, and his eyes narrowed slightly, staring straight at the woman, saying harshly, "Who was the one who fell into the water?" That woman just now had deliberately spoken ambiguously, intentionally not clarifying who it was.

  "Is... is..." The woman's body trembled involuntarily, and her voice became stuttering. "It was, it was the woman that the prince had just married a few days ago, wasn't the prince already given her to..."

  With a "slap", her voice involuntarily stopped, and her body also uncontrollably tilted to one side, falling straight to the ground. Her face instantly turned red with swelling, showing just how much force he had used in that slap. "You have quite a nerve, daring to play tricks in front of me, your king."

  As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't even glance at her and walked straight to the riverbank, his eyes fixed on the calm surface of the water, rapidly spreading anger, but no one noticed that beneath that anger was a layer of urgency.

  "Murong Lingfeng, if you dare to escape, I guarantee that Murong Lingyun will not see the sun tomorrow." This woman obviously fell into the water on purpose. Given her intelligence, she must have known that this river leads out of the city. She wanted to pretend to be dead and then escape, but it's not that easy. However, he didn't know that the woman was actually a good swimmer.

  Ling Feng sank to the bottom of the water, holding her breath all along, and was already a bit unable to hold on, but she didn't dare move recklessly. She had thought it through thousands of times, but still hadn't anticipated that Xuan Yuan Chen would arrive in the backyard at this exact moment, ruining her chance.

  Upon hearing Xuan Yuan Zhi's words, she became even more frightened. It seemed that Xuan Yuan Zhi had already seen through her intentions. If she didn't go up now, Mo Rong Ling Yun might really be in danger. Moreover, since he had already discovered her, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to escape either.

  But if she just obediently went up, wouldn't that be equivalent to admitting that she wanted to escape, and make Xuan Yuan Chen even more convinced of his own thoughts? No, she couldn't let Xuan Yuan Chen know that she understood the situation. As she pondered, she suddenly remembered what that woman had said earlier.

  That woman's ability to turn right and wrong upside down is really high, however, Xuan Yuan Chen must have also listened to her words, that's why he determined she intentionally wanted to escape.

  A faint flash in her mind, she slowly drank a few mouthfuls of water, then slowly closed her eyes, pretending to have fainted.

  Xuan Yuan Chen stood on the shore, seeing no reaction from her, the urgency in his eyes became even more apparent. Had he thought wrong? Did this woman not understand water at all?

  Suddenly a thought struck him, he had been here for some time, but there was no reaction on the water's surface. Even if it were him, he couldn't hold his breath that long underwater.

  At this thought, his heart suddenly panicked, and before he could think twice, he leaped into the water with a loud splash.

  The people on the shore were also shocked, Chu Wei took a step forward and loudly exclaimed "Your Highness, be careful." As he spoke, he also jumped down, he never thought that His Highness would personally go down to rescue someone, it can be seen that His Highness's feelings for the princess are truly...

  Those women on the shore all had a face full of jealousy, the king actually jumped into the water for that woman? This... this was too surprising for her, the king usually didn't care about their lives or deaths.

  Normally, if they made a slight mistake, they would be severely punished and even lose their lives. Today, however, they actually went into the water to rescue that woman.

  Ling Feng felt a pair of hands grasping her tightly, then suddenly using force to pull her into his arms. Although the water resisted, Ling Feng still felt that it was Xuan Yuan Chen, still as overbearing and arrogant as ever.

  Then her body slowly floated up, but she still closed her eyes, as if she had no feeling at all, only secretly surprised in her heart, not expecting that Xuan Yuan Chen would personally dive into the water to save her. Originally, she thought that Xuan Yuan Chen would at most order Chu Wei to dive into the water to save her.

  As soon as his head emerged from the water, Ling Feng quietly took a breath, and then held it again, stopping his breathing.

  Xuan Yuan's hand was close to her lips, without feeling any breath, and he couldn't help but be shocked again. His face suddenly sank, but he supported her and said in a stern voice, "Mu Rong Ling Feng, if you dare to die, I will make sure that Mu Rong Ling Yun has no place to rest in death." It was another threat, but at this moment, he didn't know whether he was threatening her or reminding himself.

  Ling Feng remained still in his arms, but secretly smiled to herself. If she had really died, would she have been able to hear such threats? This man, it turned out he also had such childish moments.

  "Your Highness, the princess should just be temporarily shocked. As long as she is infused with true energy, she should be able to..." Chu Wei, who had jumped ashore, couldn't help but think of a plan upon seeing Ling Feng's expression.

  Xuanyuan Chen seemed to have come back to his senses, and immediately quickly helped her sit down on the ground, then secretly operated his internal energy on her back.

  Chu Wei couldn't help but shake his head secretly, never expecting that the usually astute and somewhat intimidating Prince Wang would also have a moment of losing his composure.

  Lingfeng only felt a warm current slowly flowing through his body, and the water he had just drunk suddenly surged up like a tidal wave. Lingfeng couldn't bear it, and suddenly opened his mouth to spit out all the river water.

  Xuan Xuan let out a breath of relief, withdrew his hand, but the urgency in his eyes quickly disappeared, and he turned to face Ling Feng with an icy expression, saying "You think you can die that easily?"

  Ling Feng slowly opened his eyes, gazing at him with a hint of deliberate puzzlement in his gaze, "As the saying goes, it's better to live shamefully than to die honorably. Who would want to die when they can live?"

  Xuanyuan was taken aback, looking at her slightly puzzled eyes, and he suddenly realized that this woman was sometimes too good at deceiving people. From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever deceived him, but it seemed that after meeting her, everything had changed completely.

  His eyes slightly softened as he stared straight at her, asking slowly, "What's going on?" He certainly wouldn't completely believe what the woman had just said.

  After a moment of contemplation, Ling Feng's eyes slowly turned towards the woman who had just slapped her, and she said with a calm face, "I was beaten by her." As she spoke, she subconsciously touched her still slightly swollen face. Cruelty is something everyone will learn in order to survive in this society, and Ling Feng is no exception.

  Xuanyuan Cheng was taken aback, and Ling Feng's determined expression made it impossible for him to lie. As he looked at her slightly swollen face, a pair of eyes flashed with frost for an instant.

  The woman's body stiffened, and she hastily shouted at Xuan Yuan Zhi's suddenly cold eyes, "Your Highness is not like that, don't listen to her nonsense, just now it was clearly her who scolded me first..."

  "Not listening to her, should I listen to you? When did my affairs become yours to decide?" His eyes turned cold and he interrupted her words, but a hint of ruthless indifference flashed in his gaze before he calmly said, "You should understand the rules of this palace. From now on, you should know what to do." Just because he usually doesn't interfere with the matters of the harem doesn't mean they can be reckless.

  The woman's body trembled visibly, and her voice also became stuttering, constantly begging for mercy, "Your Highness spare my life..."

  "Bring people, tie two stones on her body and throw her into the river." Without any emotion, his voice was colder than his expression. This method of using others' methods to repay others, in his view, was so reasonable.

  Ling Feng's eyes were calm and cold, without a hint of fear for the punishment he had inflicted on that woman, nor did he show any sympathy for her tragic fate, as if everything was unrelated to him.

  That woman, unable to restrain herself, loudly shouted, "Prince Wang, this really isn't my fault, it's all because of that woman, that cheap woman." Once again she resumed her wailing and cursing voice, immediately turning her face ferociously towards Ling Feng, indignantly scolding, "You're a man who bullies women, you're the cheapest...you're the one..." She was scolding with relish, yet completely failed to notice that Xuan Yuan Chen's face turned darker and darker.

  This woman actually foolishly provoked the deepest taboo in Xuan Yuan's heart, it can be seen that she is really tired of living.

  "Chu Wei..." Xuan Yuan's voice was as cold as ice, escaping from his thin lips, "Don't let this king see that woman again."

  "Yes." Chu Wei couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow for this woman, yet he didn't sympathize with her at all. He walked up to her with an icy expression and sneered, "Please do." It seemed that a woman like her was useless in this world, and it would be better if she were dead.

  Two family servants walked over, completely ignoring the woman's wailing voice, and following Xuan Yuan Chen's orders, they submerged the woman into the river. Originally a delicate life, not long after, she slowly sank to the bottom of the river, all her struggles and cries were mercilessly drowned out.

  This was the fate of women in ancient China, pitiful and miserable, yet undeserving of sympathy.

  "Take her to Luofeng Pavilion, without my order, she doesn't need to take half a step out." Xuan Yuan Chen spoke again, still speaking to Chu Wei, but this time the object had become Ling Feng.

  "Your Highness?" Chu Wei was startled, looking at Xuan Yuan Chen with a hint of suspicion. The king actually wanted to move into the Luofeng Pavilion? That place had been uninhabited for years, and the king had explicitly ordered that no one was allowed to enter. The last time someone tried, a curious woman from the backyard had sneaked in and ended up having her legs broken and being thrown out. Even the king himself seemed to have not gone there in a long time. Why would he suddenly let the queen move in today?

  Luo Feng Pavilion? Ling Feng slightly furrowed her brow, hearing this name, it seemed to still have some connection with her?

  It's just that the maple is not the wind in her name, because there are maples all over the yard, and every autumn, the red maple leaves will fall to the ground, beautiful but also sad.

  It was actually its previous name, not Luofeng Pavilion, but a few years ago, due to a special reason, Xuan Yuan Chen suddenly changed it to this name.

  "Is Master Wang referring to the Luofeng Pavilion?" Chu Wei asked somewhat uncertainly, he might not have doubted anything else, but this matter alone, he found it hard to accept.

  When Chu Wei asked the question, Xuan Yuan Chen's body stiffened slightly, but he didn't say anything else. He quickly glanced at Ling Feng and then left quickly.

  Chu Wei naturally understood the prince's meaning, and after he left, he took Ling Feng directly to Luofeng Pavilion.

  No one noticed a cold gaze watching Ling Feng leave in the background, slowly flashing with malice.

  It's still late summer and hasn't entered autumn yet, so the leaves haven't turned red.

  It is said that if you unknowingly pick up a maple leaf or pluck one, the person who will spend their life with you will appear within 1 week of picking up the maple leaf.

  Ling Feng suddenly remembered something a classmate used to say when they went to see the maple leaves together during their school days. At that time, they were all full of fantasies, so she secretly plucked one and hid it away.

  Who would be the one to spend a lifetime with her?

  But forgot that in a world where people are densely packed, it seems like you see many people every day. How can such rumors be believed?

  Let's see who the first man is that appears in front of her, from the moment she picks up the maple leaf, let's see who will be the first to appear in front of her.

  At that time, there were five female classmates with her. Because they were afraid that the five of them would meet the same person together, they dispersed one after another and went in different directions.

  It turned out to be so coincidental that she happened to meet an upperclassman whom she had some good feelings for. At the time, the excitement in her heart was indescribable. For several days after returning, she only thought about how to confess to that upperclassman. However, she hesitated for a week and didn't say a word. As a result, a week later, that upperclassman became the boyfriend of one of the girls in her dormitory, who was also one of the five girls on that day.

  She wondered if the first person that girl saw after picking up the maple leaf that day was also a senior?

  At that time, I was regretful for a long time. But today, it seems funny.

  She would never do such childish things again today.

  Moreover, she also knew that once she moved in, the only person she might be able to see in the future would be Xuan Yuan Zhi.

  Walking along the edge of the maple forest, my footsteps slow down involuntarily. It's really beautiful and quiet here. Living here isn't bad at all.

  As she walked slowly, a maple leaf fell slowly and floated around her, along her clothes, slid down to the hem of her dress, made a curve, and then fell down with a hint of reluctance.

  ……

  Deep in the night, within the imperial palace.

  "Zhen'er, you come and tell me what's going on!" The Empress Dowager shouted angrily at Xuan Yuan Zhen who had just walked in.

  Xuanyuan Chen slightly furrowed his brow, somewhat perplexed as he accepted the letter handed to him by the Empress Dowager. To be precise, it should be an anonymous letter.

  The letter clearly stated that on the day of Xuan Yuan's wedding, the Emperor went to the Wang Mansion and took away Ling Feng. And afterwards, everything that happened was written down clearly and in detail.

  "I trusted you so much, how could you deceive me like this?" The empress gazed into his eyes, where there was a hint of sadness and struggle.

  Xuan Yuan Chen couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, knowing that only a few people knew about the events of that night. He, Chu Wei, the imperial guard by the Emperor's side, and then there was Murong Lingyun...

  Chu Wei would never betray the Empress Dowager, and even less so would Murong Lingyun's people. As for that guard's words, he is now in prison and doesn't have such an opportunity either. So who else could it be?

  Was it that woman from that night?

  "What? Don't you have anything to explain to me?" His silence irritated the Empress Dowager even more, and her voice involuntarily rose.

  "Empress Dowager, this matter is feared to have other hidden circumstances, let's wait..." Xuan Yuan Chen's face slightly sank, and his thoughtful eyes had a few more suspicious thoughts.

  "Wait, are you still asking me to wait? The Emperor has been unconscious for so many days already, how can I continue to wait?" The Empress's voice grew more and more agitated. "And now even you are deceiving me, I don't know who I can trust anymore."

  "This letter says that you deliberately let the Emperor take Lingfeng away, and then after she poisoned the Emperor, you brought her back to the Wangfu." The Empress Dowager's eyes slowly became deep and solemn, but still had a hint of conflict. "I want to hear your explanation now."

  "This letter is obviously someone trying to frame us on purpose, wanting to stir up internal strife. Can't the Empress Dowager see through this?" Xuan Yuan Chen said with a hint of annoyance, he who had never liked explaining things, showed obvious impatience.

  "All right, I'll ask you, that night, did the Emperor take that maid away or not?" The Empress Dowager continued to press.

  Xuan Yuan Cheng hesitated for a moment, seemingly having second thoughts, before responding coldly, "No." No matter what, he didn't want to drag her into this, because he knew that even if the Empress Dowager suspected him now, she wouldn't do anything to him. After all, Xuan Yuan Cheng was indispensable to the current regime; if someone else were in power, those old ministers would have rebelled long ago.

  However, for her, the empress dowager did not have so much mercy and patience.

  "You're still protecting that woman to this day." The empress's face suddenly sank, and she coldly said, "Could it be that you've really been enchanted by that woman? The people in your palace saw with their own eyes how you, the emperor, took that little maid away from the palace."

  Xuan Yuan Chen was secretly shocked, the people in the Wang Fu? The people in the Wang Fu, only Chu Wei knew about this matter, but it was absolutely impossible for him to betray him.

  "You don't have to think about it, I'll tell you directly. It's the women in your backyard who saw the Emperor take that maid away that night." The Empress Dowager explained voluntarily, seeing Xuan Yuan Chen's puzzled face. The Empress Dowager didn't explicitly say who it was, she knew that if she said who it was, Xuan Yuan Chen would definitely kill them directly. However, she only mentioned the people in the backyard, believing that Xuan Yuan Chen wouldn't kill all the women in the backyard.

  Xuanyuan Chen's eyes flashed a cold light, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a faint cold smile. No wonder the Empress Dowager was so certain - now they had both eyewitnesses and physical evidence.

  It's no use hiding it, so he said in a low voice, "That's right, the emperor did take her away that night, but that person was not the real Ling Feng, but a fake one. Later, I also found the real Ling Feng from Murong Lingyun."

  "Are you too naive? Or do you think I'm a fool?" The empress's face grew increasingly dark, "How did you know this wasn't a trap set by Murong Lingyun and her on purpose?"

  "It's impossible." Without any hesitation, he spoke quickly, "She is innocent, this matter has nothing to do with her."

  "Is she innocent? Even now, you're still protecting her?" The empress's anger spread through her eyes, "I also heard that you let her move into the Luofeng Pavilion?"

  Xuanyuan's eyes widened slightly as he raised his gaze, but instead of responding, he simply gave the empress a profound glance with a deeper meaning.

  And his silence, in the eyes of the empress dowager, naturally became consent. The anger in her eyes continued to rise, "You actually let her move into Luofeng Pavilion, letting such a woman profane the place where Ruo'er lives?" Her words paused slightly, and a hint of abnormality flashed quickly in the depths of her eyes, then she said in a low voice, "Ruo'er's life or death is still uncertain, you're quite...".

  On Xuan Yuan's cold and hard face, a hint of abnormality flashed by, but he immediately asked in a cold tone, "What does the Empress Dowager want." The cold voice had an obvious hardness, as if there was also a hint of threat hidden within.

  The empress was taken aback, forcibly suppressing the anger in her eyes, and said with a sorrowful face, "What are you talking about? What do you mean by 'what I want'? I'm doing this for your sake. If we don't deal with that woman now, later on...".

  "There's no need for the Empress Dowager to worry about this matter." His words paused slightly, his face growing even colder and harder, "And as for the Empress Dowager wanting to move against the woman I care about, I'm afraid that would require my consent first."

  The empress was shocked, and the anger that had just subsided spread again. At this moment, she didn't dare to make a move, and could only endure it with difficulty. Not to mention that the emperor was now unconscious, even if he were awake, he would be no match for Xuan Yuan Chen.

  In the Wang Fu's Falling Maple Pavilion, Ling Feng suddenly received a flying pigeon letter, which was the one she used to communicate with Murong Lingyun when she was in Qing Shan.

  Ling Feng was shocked, quickly took down the letter on the flying pigeon's leg, hastily unfolded it, and when he saw the words clearly, he froze involuntarily.

  She recognized it as Murong Lingyun's handwriting, but what petrified her was the content above: Bao'er had gone missing.