Chapter 81
When Li Zhiwei woke up again, she found herself in a dust-filled room.
"Cough!" She choked slightly on the stale air.
"Is anyone there?" Li Zhiwei scanned the room but saw no sign of Lin Ziyi. Fortunately, she wasn’t restrained, so she tried calling out, hoping someone would hear her.
She had no idea who had kidnapped her this time.
At this thought, she couldn’t help but sigh. This was the second time she’d been abducted, yet she didn’t feel particularly nervous—just a little exasperated. Wasn’t this the same old story all over again?
Couldn’t those people just kidnap someone else for once?
After so many close calls, Li Zhiwei suddenly felt a strange sense of pride. She had grown so accustomed to danger that she could even comfort herself now.
But she wondered—whose attention had she drawn this time?
She had been in the palace just moments ago. There was no way she could have been smuggled out so quickly, right?
With that in mind, Li Zhiwei tried to push open the dilapidated door.
The room clearly hadn’t been lived in or cleaned for years. Though she wasn’t born into nobility, her parents had raised her in comfort.
A place like this? She couldn’t stand it.
But when she tried to open the door, she found it locked from the outside.
"Are they planning to trap me here until I die?" Li Zhiwei muttered with a frown.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" She raised her voice, hoping to attract attention.
Yet no one came.
---
Imperial Study
Zhu Jingchen glared coldly at the kneeling palace maid.
"Say that again!" He wondered if he had misheard. How could the maid claim that Li Zhiwei had disappeared?
Disappeared?
How could a living person just vanish into thin air?
"Then... where is my wife?" Wei Jing'an interjected, disregarding the emperor’s presence in his urgency.
"Lady Wei is still in the room, but..." The maid hadn’t expected trouble to arise in the brief moment she had stepped away.
Remembering the emperor’s order for the two ladies to freshen up and come to the study, she had rushed to report the incident.
But now, under Zhu Jingchen’s icy gaze, she finally realized the gravity of her mistake.
"But what?" Zhu Jingchen’s face darkened like storm clouds. He was in no mood for hesitation.
"Your Majesty, Lady Wei is unconscious."
Before the maid could finish, Wei Jing'an had already vanished.
"Your Majesty, shouldn’t you give me an explanation for this?" Xu Heming took a deep breath, his expression displeased.
He had secretly arranged for Li Zhiwei to enter the palace, only for her to go missing?
"Send someone to investigate! Find out who took Lady Li and where!"
Zhu Jingchen barked the order, and a shadowy figure swiftly departed.
"Your Majesty, I must also search for my betrothed." Xu Heming clasped his hands and strode out of the study without waiting for a reply.
"Your Majesty, this..." Eunuch Liu hesitated, unsure how to react to the officials’ boldness.
"Enough. I am at fault here. Let’s go see for ourselves." Zhu Jingchen waved his hand dismissively.
They were all desperate to find her.
---
Outside the Cold Palace
"So, this ‘fun place’ you mentioned is a dog hole?" Xu Qingshi’s lips twitched as he stared at the gap in the wall, then at the third prince, Zhu Hanyu.
His face was full of disbelief—and disdain.
Did the prince think he was an idiot?
He had a dog hole at home too.
Once, he had sneaked out through it to play and nearly got beaten to death by his father.
"Shh! It’s not a dog hole—it’s a secret passage! There’s something amazing inside!" Zhu Hanyu whispered, glancing around nervously.
Only after confirming no one was nearby did he relax.
"You mean there’s something in there?" Xu Qingshi’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"It’s a huge courtyard. Last time, I heard a strange noise but couldn’t figure out where it came from. Maybe it’s some kind of talking monster? If we find it first, it’ll be ours!" Zhu Hanyu said excitedly.
"You’d actually want a monster? Aren’t you afraid it’ll eat you?" Xu Qingshi gave him a puzzled look, wondering what went on in the prince’s head.
"What do you know?" Zhu Hanyu rolled his eyes, as if Xu Qingshi were the fool. "I found a secret manual in my father’s study. It describes all kinds of mythical beasts. If I heard a voice, maybe the heavens are guiding me to become the first prince in Lanuo Kingdom to tame one!"
He puffed out his chest proudly.
"Really?" Xu Qingshi was half-convinced, half-skeptical. But what if it was true?
If he helped the prince capture a mythical beast, wouldn’t that make him someone who had seen one firsthand?
First time for luck, second time for skill—next time, maybe he’d have his own beast.
With a mythical creature by his side, no one like that fat bully would dare mess with him again.
The thought made Xu Qingshi eager to try.
"Have I ever lied to you? I brought you here, didn’t I? Hurry up, before someone sees us!" Zhu Hanyu urged, spotting a eunuch in the distance.
Without another word, Xu Qingshi crawled through the hole.
Zhu Hanyu quickly followed.
---
"Strange, I could’ve sworn I heard something over here..." A eunuch scratched his head, confused.
But the area outside the Cold Palace was considered unlucky, so he didn’t linger.
Once the coast was clear, the two boys patted their chests in relief.
"Tsk. Why does your family have a place like this?" Xu Qingshi wrinkled his nose at the overgrown courtyard.
Wasn’t the palace supposed to be grand and luxurious?
This place looked abandoned—nothing like the imperial grounds at all.
"The palace is huge. Of course there are a few unused spots!" Zhu Hanyu retorted, unwilling to admit any flaw in his home.
"Fine. But are you sure there’s a mythical beast here? What if it’s a ghost? Did your book say what to do if we meet a monster?" Xu Qingshi asked nervously.
"Uh... I forgot that part," Zhu Hanyu admitted sheepishly.
"Maybe we should go back?" Xu Qingshi eyed the eerie courtyard, his courage waning.
If a monster appeared and they had no way to fight it, wouldn’t they end up as lunch?
"Alright." The prince sighed in disappointment but agreed that caution was wise.
They decided to retreat the way they came.
"Hmm? Did you hear someone calling for help?" Xu Qingshi had just crawled out of the dog hole when he seemed to catch Li Zhiwei's voice, prompting a puzzled question.
