The arrangements at the North Gate Pavilion had been made early, so there shouldn’t be any cause for concern. Yet, for some reason, on this rare day off, Shen Zaiye hadn’t gone anywhere. He was simply lying on a lounge chair in the courtyard, lost in thought.
Zhanlu stood nearby, observing his master’s distant gaze. He cleared his throat softly and said, “The weather is pleasant today. Don’t you want to visit the palace?”
Shen Zaiye’s eyes focused. He turned his head, his disheveled black hair covering half his face, looking extremely lazy. “I’m rather tired. I don’t feel like moving.”
From waking up until now, he had only gone to Zhengchun Pavilion to deliver someone. What could be tiring about that? Zhanlu couldn’t understand. He couldn’t help but reach out to feel his master’s forehead.
Is something wrong?
Shen Zaiye frowned and swatted away his hand. “If you have time to stand around here, why don’t you go check on how things are progressing?”
“Don’t worry, Master,” Zhanlu replied. “Everything is going according to plan. Miss Jiang is completely unsuspecting. Once she eats the prepared meal at noon, she’ll be on her way.”
“What if she doesn’t eat?”
“She will. The mansion deliberately didn’t prepare breakfast for Miss Jiang, and with Prince Jing present, she’ll certainly eat something, even if just for appearances. Even if she truly doesn’t eat, the maid standing beside her will feed it to her,” Zhanlu considered for a moment before adding, “But she’ll likely eat on her own.”
“I see,” Shen Zaiye nodded, continuing to lie flat and watch the clouds above. He let out a soft sigh.
This sigh might have sounded unremarkable to others, but it startled Zhanlu. His pupils constricted slightly as he glanced at his master with surprise and doubt.
Zhanlu had been by Shen Zaiye’s side for too long, long enough to sense changes in his mood from his tone of voice. The last time he sighed like this was two years ago when they left that place. It was heavy and tinged with regret, but the end of the sigh was firm and resolute as if he had made a difficult but necessary decision.
For two years, his master’s emotions hadn’t experienced any significant fluctuations. Why today…
Zhanlu frowned, pressed his lips together, and took a few steps back. He waved over someone standing at the courtyard gate and asked, “How are things at the North Gate Pavilion?”
The servant looked apprehensive, hesitating for a long time before saying, “Word just came from the capital’s yamen. The Prime Minister’s carriage was ambushed halfway… They’re investigating the situation now.”
What? Zhanlu was shocked and quickly turned to report the situation, nearly bumping into Shen Zaiye’s chin.
“Something’s happened, and you didn’t report it earlier?” Shen Zaiye was standing right behind Zhanlu, his face somewhat gloomy. “If I hadn’t asked, were you planning to keep it hidden?”
The servant’s face turned pale, and he quickly knelt, saying, “Prime Minister, please understand. The news just arrived, and I was about to come in to report…”
“How long ago did this happen?” Shen Zaiye impatiently interrupted.
“About… half an hour ago.”
“Useless!”
Angrily grabbing his cloak, Shen Zaiye strode out with a dark expression. “When did the Prime Minister’s Manor become so slow with information?”
Zhanlu hurriedly followed, whispering, “You closed down the Wenfeng Hall two days ago.”
The people in Wenfeng Hall were responsible for transmitting information to the Prime Minister’s Manor, but there had been a spy, and Shen Zaiye had shut it down in a fit of anger. For the time being, no one could relay messages as swiftly as they could.
Shen Zaiye let out a cold snort, mounted his horse, and galloped towards the North Gate Pavilion without another word.
The capital’s yamen officials were assessing the situation at the street corner. Seeing it was the Prime Minister’s carriage, no one dared to interfere. But with three unconscious people nearby and no one in the carriage, there was a possibility that an important person had been kidnapped, which would be a major problem. So the yamen officials were anxiously trying to figure out what to do and hadn’t immediately notified the Prime Minister’s Manor.
There weren’t many passersby on this street corner, and no one knew what had happened, making the investigation quite difficult.
The chief constable was staring blankly at the carriage when he suddenly heard a horse neighing behind him. Before he could turn around, his collar was grabbed.
“Where are they?”
Shen Zaiye’s expression was relaxed as if he was asking casually, but the cold glint in his eyes frightened the young constable so much that his legs went weak. He quickly replied, “This lowly official doesn’t know! It seems something happened here, and the people in the carriage are missing…”
Frowning slightly, Shen Zaiye released him and lightly patted his clothes. “The people are missing, and you’re not looking for them?”
“Yes, sir!” The constable shuddered and quickly waved his hand, dispatching the constables present to search in all directions.
Searching like this, what could they possibly find? Suppressing his anger, Shen Zaiye lifted the carriage curtain to look inside, then glanced at the three people lying nearby.
“Zhanlu, wake them up.”
“Yes.”
After fetching a bucket of water and splashing it on their faces, two of them immediately woke up.
“Prime Minister!” The two guards panicked and knelt on the ground.
“What happened?” Shen Zaiye looked down at them. “You couldn’t put up any resistance at all?”
Alarmed, the guards quickly said, “It’s not that we didn’t resist, Your Excellency. We were caught off guard. Someone attacked us from behind and knocked us unconscious before we could react.”
From behind? Shen Zaiye was taken aback and scanned the surroundings again. “How many people did you bring when you left?”
“Four, Prime Minister.”
Four? Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes slightly.
There were no signs of struggle in the carriage, and two guards were missing. Rather than being kidnapped, it was more likely that the woman had escaped with her people.
But why would she run? Could someone so seemingly naive and dull-witted have sensed the danger ahead?
“Zhanlu, go calm Prince Jing first,” Shen Zaiye considered for a moment before ordering in a deep voice. “I’ll go back to change clothes and then keep the appointment. The rest of you, return to the manor and check the personnel. If two guards are missing, immediately lead a search party throughout the capital. If no one is missing… then let the capital’s yamen search for the people.”
“Yes!” Everyone present began to move, following their orders.
Shen Zaiye mounted his horse again. Holding the reins, he thought for a moment, shook his head lightly, and galloped back.
He hoped it wasn’t as he thought. Jiang Taohua was already dangerous enough. If she turned out to be clever as well, it would truly be troublesome.
It wasn’t yet noon, but the sky had inexplicably darkened. The sun had disappeared, and the wind had picked up. The side gate of the Prince Nan’s Manor was half-open, and soon someone ran out.
“Lady Jiang?”