After Tantai Ye and his group left, two figures emerged from behind the trees.
"A'Luan, should we follow? Is Mu Rou really in trouble?"
Wei Qingge anxiously stepped over the thorns and walked out of the woods.
Ye Luan followed her, squinting slightly at the mask in her hand, her expression chilling.
Seeing her silence, Wei Qingge turned back, asking curiously, "What are you holding?"
"I just picked it up by the coffin."
When they had chased after them, they saw the tragic scene here. As she went to investigate, she found the mask dropped beside the coffin.
Wei Qingge couldn't manage anything else, her heart filled with anxiety.
"Why don't we follow them? What do the Northern Qi people want by abducting her?"
Ye Luan shook her head, "We can't help much."
"Then what should we do? What if something happens to her----"
"It won't." Ye Luan held her hand and said calmly, "If they really wanted to kill her, they would have done it just now. There's no need to take her away."
Wei Qingge didn't understand the complexities. Hearing her say it was fine, her tense heart settled.
"Tantai Ye has power and influence, he should be able to bring her back, right?"
Upon hearing her words, Ye Luan scoffed, and walked back indifferently, "What's the point of bringing her back? He should suffer a bit."
"A favored son of heaven, who has never suffered any hardship in his life."
"Born into the Tantai family, he was enfeoffed as the Great General who Pacified the West before he even reached the age of twenty. He controlled the northwestern army, arrogant and overbearing, always having his way. What's wrong with suffering a little bit from love?"
"This is his tribulation from heaven."
With a "puchi" sound.
Wei Qingge laughed.
She slapped Ye Luan on the shoulder, "You really dislike that dog Tantai."
"Does he know you call him that?"
Ye Luan lazily glanced back at her.
Wei Qingge snorted, "Of course, she wouldn't dare to say it in front of him. If his vicious temper flares up, no one can handle it."
"Hey, should we go back? Are we really not going to do anything?"
Ye Luan clutched the mask in her hand and replied, "Don't worry, she should be fine."
After the two returned to the capital, they saw people from the military camp everywhere, searching with extreme strictness.
Wei Qingge mumbled a few words and then hurried off to inquire about the situation.
Ye Luan did not follow her. Holding the mask in her hand, she went to Tingyu Pavilion.
Tingyu Pavilion was a secret intelligence organization. On the surface, it was a place for drinking tea and listening to music, but in secret, it engaged in the dirty business of collecting and trading information.
She had also heard her cousin Bai Muheng mention this place before.
Upon entering, she paid silver and went to a private room on the second floor. Inside, there was a small window.
She knocked with a small iron hammer, and the window opened from the inside.
Ye Luan immediately handed the mask in her hand in.
After a moment, a slip of paper was passed out.
She quickly opened it to read.
"Northern Qi Xinglin Shi."
What the heck is Xinglin Shi?
Ye Luan looked at it suspiciously for a moment and then left.
By the time she returned to Beigong, it was already dark.
"Has the Prince not returned yet?"
Long Tian respectfully replied, "The Prince has gone to the military camp. Does Miss want to eat first?"
Ye Luan raised an eyebrow, "Where is Xue Ren?"
"---"
Long Tian paused for a moment and then smiled, "The Prince sent people from Xue Shi to help the General pursue the person, and Xue Ren also went."
Upon hearing this, a hint of cunning flashed in Ye Luan's eyes, and she asked softly, "Have you already found out who it is?"
"This... this subordinate does not know."
Ye Luan narrowed her eyes slightly, leaning against the glazed pillar behind her, and patted Long Tian's shoulder with a soft smile.
"Let me ask you something."
Under the moonlight, on the palace corridors, with ancient bronze lamps, a warm yellow glow filled the air.
However, Long Tian felt his shoulders break out in a cold sweat.
He quickly took a step back and bowed respectfully.
"Miss, please speak your mind."
Ye Luan was amused by his actions.
"What are you doing? I'm not going to eat you."
She just wanted to get closer and gather information from him. Look at how scared he was.
Long Tian "---"
If the Prince knew that Miss Ye had touched him, he might chop off his arm. He had to stay away.
"Oh, don't be afraid, I'm just asking something casually."
Long Tian intuitively felt that the person in front of him was not hiding her intentions, but she was their future Princess Consort, so he dared not disobey.
"Miss, please say it."
"Do you know who the Xinglin Shi are?"
Xinglin Shi?!
Long Tian looked up, "That is the Northern Qi Yelü--"
Before he could finish speaking, he felt a chilling coldness from his back, as if he were being stared at by a malevolent ghost.
He quickly turned his head and saw a man in a luxurious black robe standing not far away, his devilishly handsome face devoid of any expression.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
Ye Luan followed the sound and looked up. Seeing Xiao Chi Zhan with a predatory expression, she quickly forced a smile and ran over, leaping onto him.
"You're back."
This vinegar jar had to be appeased, lest he go mad.
Xiao Chi Zhan immediately supported her hips, embraced her, and cast his crimson eyes towards Long Tian with a sinister glare.
The latter broke out in a cold sweat and silently retreated.
"You're smiling quite beautifully."
Said in a sarcastic tone.
Ye Luan rolled her eyes inwardly, but smiled sweetly, and planted a kiss on him.
"Isn't it because I'm looking at you?"
Xiao Chi Zhan bumped her with dissatisfaction, "Fake."
Ye Luan's face turned red from his action, and she quickly twisted her waist, wanting to get down.
"Don't move."
His voice was hoarse and low, inexplicably alluring in the darkness.
Ye Luan's back trembled slightly, and she gently bumped his waist.
"Let me down."
Xiao Chi Zhan hooked his lips playfully, "Didn't you jump onto me?"
"----"
Ye Luan huffed, "You're so stiff, you're not pleasant to hold at all."
Xiao Chi Zhan chuckled, holding her and leaning her against the glazed pillar behind them. He whispered something ambiguously into her ear, causing Ye Luan to blush immediately.
Seeing her shyness, he stopped teasing her and lowered his head to kiss her fiercely.
Ye Luan instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist, and quietly raised her eyes to look at him.
The moonlight refracted in those deep, bewitching crimson eyes, casting soft specks of light.
She unconsciously embraced him and responded, their lips entwined.
He kissed her ferociously, biting her lips, parting her mouth to tangle, then following her cheeks to suck on her earlobes and rub.
Ye Luan's breathing became erratic from his teasing, and she arched her neck backward.
He relentlessly entwined himself with her again, licking and biting the hollow of her neck endlessly, with passionate and lingering kisses.
The evening breeze in the garden suddenly blew, lifting the corners of their robes, entangling and grinding, making the scene even more enchanting.
"Did you find the person?"
She panted slightly, her mouth slightly agape.
Xiao Chi Zhan paid no attention, burying himself in her neck to kiss and lick, his hands also unceremoniously reaching into her clothes.
Ye Luan pinched his waist, "I'm talking to you."
"No."
"Then did you find anything?"
Xiao Chi Zhan kissed her clingily, his voice muffled.
Ye Luan hugged his neck and bit her voice, urging him from above, "Is that all?"
"They can't escape. All the prefectures and counties near the capital have been sealed off."