This was Chengyu, the shadow guard whom Her Highness the Princess had assigned to Lord Fan!
Chengyu had been requested by the Princess from the Emperor. She had originally been nameless, so the Princess gave her the name Chengyu.
There were two others, Green Jade and Purple Jade, who were always by the Princess’s side.
“Chengyu, where is Lord Fan? Why are you…”
Before she could finish asking, Chengyu rushed into the side room and knelt before the Princess.
“Your Highness, something terrible has happened. Lord Fan is missing.”
Rongyao rose to her feet and looked down at Chengyu. “What happened?”
Chengyu said anxiously, “Lord Fan was taking the day off today. He rose early and was preparing to come to Bai Xiang House to meet Your Highness. But before he could leave, someone summoned him to the Censorate. The Censorate is heavily guarded, so I couldn’t enter. I waited outside, but now two hours have passed and Lord Fan still hasn’t come out. I went inside to look for him, but the people at the Censorate all claimed they had never seen Lord Fan!”
Rongyao frowned, helped Chengyu to her feet, and headed outside.
Hongyu hurried after her. “Your Highness, where are you going?”
“To look for Lord Fan.”
Chengyu quickly followed as well. “Your Highness, are you going to the Censorate?”
“We’ll go to the Censorate first.”
Hongyu and Chengyu both quickened their steps to keep up.
Along the way, Rongyao specifically sent Hongyu to Fan Xiuwen’s residence to search for him. It turned out that Fan Xiuwen had indeed never returned home.
The carriage arrived at the Censorate on the eastern side of the imperial city. Rongyao got out and walked toward the main entrance of the government office.
The guards at the gate naturally noticed her. Several of them instinctively rubbed their eyes and stared at the young lady striding toward them. They even wondered whether she was blind to dare trespass into the Censorate.
“Who goes there? This is a government office! Idlers are forbidden to enter!” one of the guards shouted angrily after recovering from his surprise, drawing his saber and blocking the way.
Hongyu stepped forward with her head held high, adopting the imposing manner of the chief palace maid at the Grand Princess’s side.
“This is Grand Princess Fuxi! Quickly summon the Left and Right Chief Censors to receive her!”
The guards froze for a moment before widening their eyes and looking at Rongyao.
They realized that this young lady truly was no ordinary person. Despite her tender age, she possessed an intimidating air.
Who in the capital had not heard of Grand Princess Fuxi? She loved wandering into all sorts of government offices. This girl might really be Grand Princess Fuxi!
The guards at the gate fell into a panic. They hurriedly retreated to the side, not daring to stop her, while several others ran inside to alert the officials.
With no one blocking her path, Rongyao lifted her foot and prepared to enter. Seeing the Princess walk inside, Hongyu, Chengyu, and the others immediately followed.
Yet just as she crossed the threshold of the Censorate, Her Highness suddenly stopped.
The others looked at her in confusion.
They were about to ask what was wrong when the Princess abruptly turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
“Your Highness,” Hongyu asked, “aren’t we going inside the Censorate to look for Lord Fan?”
Rongyao frowned. “He isn’t here.”
“That’s impossible!” Chengyu exclaimed. “I personally saw Lord Fan enter the Censorate.”
Rongyao climbed into the carriage and instructed the guards driving it, “Take us to the prison of the Ministry of Justice.”
The carriage set off once more.
Hongyu and Chengyu were both restless.
“Your, Your Highness…” Chengyu stammered. “Why are we going to the prison of the Ministry of Justice?”
Rongyao looked at Chengyu. “While you were waiting there earlier, did you see anyone come out of the Censorate?”
Chengyu furrowed her brows and thought back. Then she remembered something and suddenly opened her eyes wide.
“Yes! There was a wagon transporting prisoners. They said it was headed for the Ministry of Justice!”
“Does Your Highness suspect that Lord Fan has been harmed?”
Rongyao popped a preserved fruit into her mouth and nodded.
“But why would Lord Fan be taken to the prison of the Ministry of Justice?” Chengyu asked.
Rongyao did not answer. She merely kept her face grim and ate another preserved fruit.
In her previous life, she had only heard that Lord Fan, who had disappeared at the Censorate, had been found by the Grand Secretary in a prison.
But the Censorate had no prison at all.
Any prisoners interrogated by the Censorate were sent to the prison of the Ministry of Justice.
So Fan Xiuwen was very likely in the prison of the Ministry of Justice.
In her previous life, Fan Xiuwen had suffered a severe leg injury and been left with a limp.
This time, she would not let anything happen to Fan Xiuwen!
The carriage traveled at full speed and soon reached the Ministry of Justice on the western side of the imperial city.
After getting out of the carriage, Rongyao saw an acquaintance standing at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice.
It was Yan Kuan, Minister of Justice.
The Minister of Justice was an old man with graying hair. He was being helped into a carriage by several people.
When Yan Kuan noticed a carriage arriving so abruptly before the Ministry of Justice, he gave it a curious look, wondering who it belonged to. The area in front of the Ministry of Justice was usually the quietest place in the capital, and ordinary people generally did not approach it.
Besides, all the officials were taking the day off today. Why would a carriage suddenly arrive here?
Yan Kuan glanced over only once. But when he saw who had stepped down from the carriage, his entire body trembled.
He hurriedly jumped down from his own carriage and walked toward Rongyao.
“Your Highness!” After kneeling, Yan Kuan said, “This subject pays his respects to Your Highness!”
The guards and officials on duty at the Ministry of Justice promptly knelt as well.
Rongyao looked at the Minister of Justice before helping him to his feet.
“There is no need for such ceremony, Lord Yan.”
Yan Kuan said, “May I ask why Your Highness has come here today? The Ministry of Justice is different from the other government offices. Most of the people held here are serious criminals. I fear they may disturb Your Highness.”
“I’ve come to look for someone.”
Yan Kuan grew even more bewildered. Apart from the officials, the Ministry of Justice housed only criminals who had committed offenses. Whom could the Princess possibly be looking for? Could it be that she intended to use her authority to have a criminal released?
“May I ask whom Your Highness has come to find?” the Minister of Justice asked patiently.
Rongyao looked at him and said, “Did the constables of the Ministry of Justice just bring several prisoners here from the Censorate?”
Yan Kuan was taken aback. “Yes. Around this time, several vicious criminals are indeed usually sent here from the Censorate.”
“Have you personally inspected those prisoners, Minister?”
Yan Kuan’s face flushed slightly. “This subject… has not.”
Rongyao raised her head to look at him. “Then, Lord Minister, do you bear any grudge against Fan Xiuwen, Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief?”
Yan Kuan’s eyes widened. “This old minister has never done anything dishonorable in his entire life! I have always served the public good! I have no reason to fear Lord Fan, and naturally have no grievance against him!”
“But one of my people saw Lord Fan knocked unconscious and sent here to the Ministry of Justice just now,” Rongyao said.
Yan Kuan felt as though he had been struck by lightning.
He could hardly understand what the Grand Princess was saying.
What did she mean by Lord Fan being knocked unconscious? What did she mean by Lord Fan being sent to the Ministry of Justice?
How could those words possibly be put together?
He had served as an official for half his life, yet never before had he been so utterly unable to understand what someone was saying.
After holding it in for a long while, he finally said, “Impossible! This old minister has absolutely no grievance with Lord Fan! Why would I harm him?”
“Whether it is true or not, you may enter with this Princess and inspect the prisoners,” Rongyao said. “If he is not there, I will clear your name.”
“Very well! This subject will accompany Your Highness inside at once!”
The Minister of Justice clearly did not believe Rongyao. He felt that the Princess had come to the Ministry of Justice out of boredom and was merely playing a prank on him.
If she found nothing, he would certainly write a memorial tomorrow impeaching Grand Princess Fuxi for acting willfully and recklessly.
There was no harm in accompanying the Grand Princess for a trip.
