Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 448 - 427: One More Update

Chapter 448: Chapter 427: One More Update

Zheng Congyuan’s men moved quickly, and due to Zheng Congyuan’s poor mood, Qi Ling, Qi Zhu, and others dared not speak further. As Lord Ju always acted prudently, Qi Ling and Qi Zhu both hoped that nothing unfortunate would happen, preferably nothing at all.

Zheng Congyuan’s men had waited for quite a while below but had still not heard any reports of incidents.

The clues they examined were already very clear; the absence of any footprints next to the fallen horse suggested that no one had fallen off and, given the great distance from the cliff to the river below, it was unlikely that anyone had fallen directly into the river.

Zheng Congyuan coldly stared into the darkness, unaware of what he was waiting for anymore. The scattered direction of the fallen equipment did not seem to result from a direct impact with the ground.

The conclusion was almost certain; he only waited for the guards, who were slowly descending from above, to make the discovery.

After a while, someone hurriedly came down from above. Qi Ling breathed a sigh of relief; according to the timing, after four Shichen Chinese Time had passed and considering the cliff fall and entrapment, he just hoped that Ju Nanyi wouldn’t make any foolish decisions that could cost him his life.

"Did you find the entrance?" Qi Ling asked eagerly.

"Your Highness, we indeed found an entrance. The tree that had fallen earlier had blocked the entrance, so it had not been discovered before," the guard quickly explained.

"Did you find the person? Who cares about the entrance right now?"

"Our men entered the cave and discovered it is quite large inside. There are signs of a fire being lit. I suspect that Lord Ju, along with the Commandery Princess, entered deeper into the cave to find a way out," the guard immediately responded.

Zheng Congyuan’s gaze turned icy—she had not been found.

"Your Highness, the experts from the Cartography Office have arrived. They say that there is indeed an exit from the cave which opens at the base of the mountain. The head of the office suggests dispatching another team to enter from the exit, which would make the search more..."

"Qi Ling, take the remaining men and leave now," Zheng Congyuan immediately ordered. Qi Ling promptly took command. The exit was on the other side of the mountain, and Zheng Congyuan’s men moved very quickly.

The guards quickly uncovered a narrow entrance at the base of the mountain, covered in wild grass and dead branches, and a chilling breeze immediately emanated from the entrance.

"The cave has an internal river; Lord Ju must be following the river," one member of the Fire Order Squad joyfully suggested.

Qi Ling was frustrated—it was like never hearing the end of it. Zheng Congyuan was already charging ahead, ready to enter the cave. Qi Ling wanted to advise him against it but didn’t dare, so he steeled himself and quickly followed, but cries of anguish soon rushed towards them from behind.

Zheng Congyuan halted his steps at the cave entrance, and Qi Ling breathed a sigh of relief, quickly directing the guards to scout ahead.

"Nian Ru, Nian Ru, I’m here—" Prince Duan cried out, supporting Housekeeper He as they staggered toward the cave, the servants from Prince Duan’s Mansion also running and pulling each other along, each in their own way, until they finally reached the entrance.

"Fu Xun, is he inside?" Zheng Boding grabbed Zheng Congyuan, breathless. Nearby, Housekeeper He was faring even worse, running until he was pale and unsteady, needing a house servant’s support to maintain his stance.

"Imperial Uncle, every moment we delay, Nian Ru stays a moment longer in this cave," Zheng Congyuan didn’t want to answer, didn’t want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to see Zheng Nianru as fast as possible, even if it meant overriding Zheng Boding.

"Oh, oh, I’ll go in with you," Prince Duan immediately nodded. Exactly, the sooner they rescued Nian Ru, the better.

Qi Ling wanted to stop Prince Duan, but at this moment, he couldn’t find a single reasonable reason to stop Prince Duan. With what reason? By what means to stop Prince Duan?

Moreover, Prince Duan was even more anxious than Zheng Congyuan. At this moment, he didn’t care about anything else and directly squeezed into the cave. The following house servants saw that the Crown Prince had not yet left, and for a moment, they didn’t know whether to stay or go.

Zheng Congyuan didn’t want to pay attention to these people and naturally wouldn’t even give them a glance. He directly stepped in, instantly relieving everyone’s awkwardness as they followed into the cave one by one.

Speaking of the cave, it was actually a large fissure cracked open in the mountain. In the darkness of night, one could feel the ceiling of the cave very high, but what they didn’t know was that the fissure had cracked open from the mountaintop and due to years of weathering and soft soil, it had slowly been compressed to form a sloping cave connected with an original cave in the mountain, spanning across the whole mountain.

Qi Ling was anxious in his heart, and naturally, he wasn’t the only one; Qi Zhu, Qi Min, and others also vaguely guessed something.

"Your Highness, there are three forks ahead..."

"Split into three paths..." Zheng Congyuan thought of the position at the opposite end of the cave entrance, "Yu Yuan, you take one path; Prince Duan, take another. The teams quickly split up, and Qi Ling gave Qi Zhu a look, and Qi Zhu understood the hint and quietly moved to join the team headed by Prince Duan.

"Prince, the Crown Prince has ordered me to accompany you as a precaution," Qi Zhu knew how to handle the situation well. Taking advantage of Zheng Congyuan having moved away and lagging behind slightly, he approached Prince Duan, who had already started moving.

"The Crown Prince..." Prince Duan, hearing this, was visibly moved, but finding Nian Ru was urgent now, the rest could wait.

"Prince Duan, please slow down." Qi Zhu quickly helped Prince Duan, who nearly stumbled, and naturally took over Housekeeper He’s position, who was displeased as he was already worn down to the bone from searching for someone in the middle of the night, already half dead from exhaustion.

"Lord Qi Zhu, thank you." Housekeeper He, who needed someone to support him, quickly expressed his gratitude, "This old servant is aged and has become a hindrance to the Prince; if I cause any delay..."

"Housekeeper He, don’t mention it, just go on your own; I’ll support Prince Duan," said Qi Zhu as he immediately helped Prince Duan.

Qi Zhu was quick-witted, and the look from Qi Ling naturally meant he should take some action.

Given the current situation, it seemed inevitable that Lord Ju Nanyi couldn’t be left untouched. Thus, who would end Ju Nanyi’s life became a thorny problem. Naturally, their Highnesses would prefer not to act personally, and before achieving their goal, the fewer people who knew, the better.

The most justifiable person to take action now was Prince Duan. If Prince Duan, upon seeing that scene, were to lose his temper and act impulsively, the Crown Prince, unguarded, might not stop him.

Then this matter...

Qi Zhu glanced at Prince Duan, whose face was full of urgency, and prepared what he had to say.

"Prince, I have some words I’d like to share with you," Qi Zhu led Prince Duan away for some distance, deliberately creating a gap from the people behind before he spoke.

"Ah, what matter can’t wait until after we find the Commandery Princess?" Prince Duan clearly was not in the mood for small talk.

"Prince, Prince, it’s precisely something I must say before we find the Commandery Princess. You have treated me very well, so I’ve taken the liberty of sharing this with you beforehand," Qi Zhu hastily spoke, unaware of how deep the cave was—if they were to find the Commandery Princess in the next moment, it would then be too late to speak.

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