Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

"What, Xiuning is in trouble? How is that possible!"

When Wu Zhao suddenly heard that Wu Xiuning was in trouble, her face changed drastically. She rushed forward, grabbed the maid by the collar and lifted her up alive.

"Tell me clearly, what happened?"

The maid was so frightened that she trembled and dared not even breathe. She said quickly: "It was the people of the Crown Prince of Chu who came to report. They found the bodies of our imperial guards on the way here.

The Crown Prince of Chu asked them to come and deliver the message. When passing by the city gate, they learned from the Minister of Rites that Her Royal Highness the Princess had taken the imperial guards out of the city to welcome the Crown Prince of Chu without authorization.

However, they did not find Her Royal Highness the Princess, so perhaps there is still a chance for her to survive."

As soon as these words were spoken, Wu Zhao felt as if all her strength had been drained away. She took two steps back helplessly, and the maid fell to the ground.

Shangguan Qing'er, who was behind her, saw this and immediately stepped forward to support Wu Zhao, asking with concern, "Your Highness, are you okay?"

Wu Zhao forced herself to stabilize her body, took a few deep breaths, and tried to calm herself down.

"Order the city defense battalion, the imperial guards, and all the soldiers and horses in the city to leave the city immediately and search for the princess!"

Although she was extremely anxious, Wu Zhao did not forget her responsibilities as a mother.

She must find Wu Xiuning as soon as possible!

But Shangguan Qing'er's face changed drastically when she heard this, and she quickly persuaded him, "Your Majesty, now that the envoys from various countries have arrived, if they know about this, they will definitely make a fool of our dynasty.

The Crown Prince of Chu must be looking for her now. We only need to send people to search for her secretly. There is no need to make a big fuss."

From a big picture perspective, this is indeed the best way to deal with it.

But Wu Zhao had a gloomy face, staring at Shangguan Qing'er, and said coldly: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Cold sweat instantly soaked Shangguan Qing'er's back, and she was so scared that she immediately knelt on the ground and apologized:

"That's not what I meant, but this matter is too serious, Your Majesty, please think twice."

Wu Zhao just stared at Shangguan Qing'er without saying a word, and a depressing atmosphere filled the entire hall.

After a long while, Wu Zhao snorted coldly: "Your words are not without reason, but you have to understand that since the assassin dared to take action, he must want to embarrass me!

Even if our dynasty blocks the news, the assassin will spread the news. What should we do then?

Rather than waiting for the assassin to release the news and put me in a passive position, it is better to take the initiative and spread the news first."

After a pause, Wu Zhao made a prompt decision: "Immediately send troops out of the city to search. In addition, summon the envoys from various countries and ask them to come to the palace as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!" Shangguan Qing'er didn't dare to say anything more. She responded and immediately went down to pass on the order.

Wu Zhao stood alone at the entrance of the palace, looking out of the city, muttering to herself:

"All I can do now is to delay the envoys from other dynasties for two days. I hope you can find Xiuning!"

At this moment, Wu Zhao placed all her hopes on Chu Ning.

She knew very well that the assassin this time must be someone from one of the major dynasties.

What she had to do now was to delay all the dynasty envoys so that Chu Ning would have enough time to find Wu Xiuning.

Of course, she didn't want to cancel the enthronement ceremony two days later.

Because she believed that Chu Ning would definitely find Wu Xiuning!

Since Wu Xiuning’s body has not been found yet, it means that Wu Xiuning is very likely still alive.

No matter if he was kidnapped by an assassin or broke out of the siege under the cover of the imperial guards, at least he was alive!

As long as you are alive, there is still a chance for everything!

As Wu Zhao's order was passed on, the city of Kyoto was suddenly in an uproar.

No one expected that such a thing would happen to the emperor's most beloved princess outside the capital.

For a moment, the people in the city were talking about it.

The envoys from various dynasties who had received the news were now on their way to the palace.

They all knew that they were the most suspicious when something like this happened. If they did not go to the palace at this moment, they would definitely be caught on the spot by the angry Empress of Great Zhou.

At the same time, Chu Ning outside the city followed the horseshoe prints on the official road and chased quickly for more than an hour, and a city vaguely appeared in front of him.

The horse hoof prints also disappeared three miles outside the city.

Chu Ning pulled the reins, jumped off the horse, and checked the hoof prints himself.

Seeing this, Zhao Yu immediately signaled the white horse cavalry behind him to search the spot. At the same time, he took out a map to check it.

After a moment, Zhao Yu stepped forward and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this city is called Weicheng, and it is a companion city that protects the capital of the Great Zhou."

Chu Ning nodded slightly, frowned and said: "The horseshoe prints disappeared here, which means Xiuning may have been here."

He raised his head and looked towards the city wall, and said in a cold voice: "There are only two possible outcomes now. Either Xiuning is captured here and falls into the hands of an assassin.

Or maybe Xiuning walked into the city, so the horse hoof prints disappeared here."

If it is the former, is Wu Xiuning still alive?

If it is the latter, the chances of survival are very high!

Just as he finished speaking, a cavalryman came to report: "Your Highness, there is a smell of blood over there!"

Chu Ning was shocked, and a rare look of fear appeared on his face.

He is afraid!

Afraid something might happen to Wu Xiuning!

However, his responsibility as a father forced him to muster up the courage to go and find out.

"lead the way!"

Under the guidance of the soldiers, Chu Ning turned from the official road to the ridge below.

In front of us was a turbulent river with reeds swaying on the river bank, which were as tall as an adult.

At this moment, many white horse cavalrymen were searching in the reed marsh.

Just as Chu Ning passed by, a soldier shouted: "There is blood here!"

Everyone's face changed slightly and they gathered around.

Chu Ning went forward to take a look and indeed found bloodstains.

"Search, keep searching!" Chu Ning almost uttered these words through gritted teeth.

The White Horse Cavalry did not dare to delay and immediately followed the blood trail to search.

A quarter of an hour later, they found traces of dragging and the warhorse that had been hacked to death.

Chu Ning looked at the warhorse with an expressionless face, his hands clenched tightly.

He tried not to think the worst, but after seeing the warhorse, he panicked.

Although it was not visible on the surface, the panic in his heart made him lose the ability to think.

He never thought that he would lose Wu Xiuning one day.

The criss-crossing knife marks on the warhorse were like those on Wu Xiuning's body, making his breathing rapid, his blood boiling, and his body trembling uncontrollably.

Zhao Yu noticed Chu Ning's strange behavior and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, search the area within a ten-mile radius from this place!"

At the command, the white horse cavalry dispersed.

Chu Ning and Zhao Yu were the only ones present. Zhao Yu then stepped forward and said sternly, "Your Highness, don't worry too much. Since you haven't thought of Princess Xiuning yet, anything is possible."

As long as you don’t see a body, there’s still hope that he’s still alive!

Chu Ning, who was about to collapse, was shocked when he heard this!

Yes, if the body hasn’t been found, Wu Xiuning might still be alive.

Perhaps, Wu Xiuning is hiding somewhere now, waiting for him to find her.

With Wu Xiuning's cleverness, he might be able to deceive the assassins.

He can't give up!

"Call a team of people and follow me into the city to search!"

No one knows Wu Xiuning better than Chu Ning.

Perhaps, this warhorse is just a decoy!