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

"Zhao Yu, go find the garrison here immediately and ask them to cooperate with me and search for Xiuning with all our strength!"

After entering Weicheng, Chu Ning immediately asked Zhao Yu to mobilize troops without saying a word.

But Zhao Yu looked embarrassed: "Your Highness, this place is the territory of the Great Zhou after all. It is still unknown whether the soldiers stationed here will listen to you."

"Why not send someone to ask the Queen of Great Zhou for an imperial edict or a warrant? With an imperial edict and a warrant here, they won't dare to disobey."

After all, they were Chu people, and the Zhou Dynasty's troops would not obey their orders.

But Chu Ning snorted coldly when he heard this: "It will take too much time to ask for the imperial decree now. We can use this time to search many places."

Zhao Yu's expression changed slightly.

Your Highness the Crown Prince is going to use force.

Just as she was about to persuade him, Chu Ning said in a tough tone: "I have done a favor to the Zhou Dynasty, and this time we are looking for their own princess. Do you dare not obey?"

A rhetorical question made Zhao Yu react.

Yes, they were mobilizing the troops here in order to look for Wu Xiuning.

If Wu Xiuning really got into trouble here, all the Zhou Dynasty soldiers here would be responsible.

After figuring this out, Zhao Yu immediately bowed and said, "I will go and inform the garrison here right away!"

Afterwards, the two of them split up.

Chu Ning led the white horse cavalry and began to search the city.

Zhao Yu persuaded the Weicheng defenders and then led the Zhou soldiers to search.

They searched many places, whether it was residents or local wealthy families, or restaurants, teahouses, any place where someone could hide.

The two men led their troops and divided the work among themselves. One led the troops from south to north, and the other led the cavalry from east to west.

But we continued until midnight and still found nothing.

As night fell, Weicheng became quiet. Zhao Yu and his men met Chu Ning in the local county government office.

"Your Highness, we have searched all the places that should be searched, but no trace of Princess Xiuning has been found." Zhao Yu said with a guilty look on his face.

Chu Ning's face was gloomy: "I have searched everywhere, but still have no clues."

Having no clues is not a good thing for them.

This means that Wu Xiuning either met with an accident or hid in a place where no one could find him or where no one could expect him to be.

But Wu Xiuning was just a child after all, a three-year-old child. How could he hide in a place where even they couldn't find him?

Zhao Yu's face changed slightly when he heard this, and he asked cautiously: "Then what should we do next?"

"try to find!"

Chu Ning gritted his teeth and said, "No matter what, I want to see him alive or dead!"

After a pause, he looked out at the dark night and said seriously: "The best news for us now is that it's dark!"

"If Xiuning is still alive, it would be difficult for the group to find her under the cover of night."

"Let the county magistrate summon all the noble families and have them send people to search together. All three-year-old children in the city must be checked."

"Anyone who is suspicious should be brought to the government office immediately!"

Chu Ning was very worried when he couldn't find Wu Xiuning. He was afraid that he would lose Wu Xiuning.

Since we can’t find them, then bring all the suspects to the government office.

After all, the soldiers and white horse cavalry here did not know Wu Xiuning, and he was afraid that these people might have been missed.

If he brings everyone to the government office, there will be no question of whether he knows them or not. He will examine them all carefully.

Zhao Yu instantly understood what Chu Ning meant. His eyes lit up and he saluted: "I understand!"

Soon, as Chu Ning's order was passed down, the city suddenly became lively.

The local noble family had already fallen asleep, but was awakened by the yamen runners.

Although they were very reluctant, it was related to the princess's life. If Wu Xiuning really had an accident here, their noble families would also be responsible.

All of a sudden, all the local noble families took action. They didn't care how old the children were. They brought all the children aged two to five to the government office for identification.

With the idea that it is better to kill someone by mistake than to let someone go by mistake, a large crowd quickly gathered at the gate of the government office.

Chu Ning sat in the lobby of the government office, looking at the group of children in front of him. It was obvious that several of them were over three years old, but they were still brought here. He couldn't help but look gloomy.

"Humph, I'm here to see Princess Xiuning, not to ask you to bring these people here to fill in the gaps!"

"If you dare to bring an older person here again, I will never let you off easily!"

"Come here, take these people away and give them thirty severe punishments!"

Chu Ning, who was already furious, didn't bother to waste time talking and directly ordered the punishment of those people from the aristocratic families.

Soon, screams were heard outside the hall.

The noble families who were waiting outside were suddenly terrified. They no longer dared to fill in the numbers and ordered their subordinates to make a careful identification.

But even so, there were too many children in the city, and one after another, noble families brought in children around three years old.

Every time he came in, a look of anticipation would appear on Chu Ning's face.

But every time I look forward to something, I am disappointed.

As the sky gradually brightened, Chu Ning's heart became more and more agitated.

"No, no, none of them, all of them, get out of here!"

"None of them, back off!"

"These people are not, retreat immediately!"

As Chu Ning's voice grew louder, everyone outside the hall could sense that something was not right with him.

At this moment, outside the county government office, many yamen runners, people from noble families, local garrison troops, and white horse cavalry gathered, blocking the entire street.

On the roof of a teahouse across the street, several strong men were staring at the county government office.

Although they were separated by a street and even the street was crowded with people, they could still hear Chu Ning's roar.

The leader sneered: "It seems that Chu Ning is really anxious, otherwise he wouldn't be so out of control."

The other person sneered: "Even we couldn't find the little girl's trace, how could Chu Ning find her?"

As he was speaking, a man dressed in black suddenly jumped up from the street.

"There's news that a child who looks like Wu Xiuning is being brought here!"

As soon as these words came out, the other person's face changed drastically: "How is this possible? How could they find Wu Xiuning before us?"

"Our people have confirmed that the clothes and hair accessories that person wore are exactly the same as Wu Xiuning's."

"Then what are you waiting for? Report to the commander immediately. Wu Xiuning must not be allowed to go to the county government office."

"Yes, let's go over and kill him now while it's still dark!"

"That's right, she's just a little girl, and she's surrounded by yamen runners and people from noble families. It would be easy for us to kill her!"

After discussion, everyone reached a consensus and left immediately.

The sky gradually brightened, but a conspiracy unfolded before dawn.

After receiving the news, the assassins gathered their men and immediately set up an ambush on the road leading to the county government office!