Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Qian Ming worked quickly, and within the space of a stick of incense, he had driven all the people in the matchmaking house, from the manager to the maids, a total of more than a dozen people, to the open space in front of the building. They were all disheveled, with panic-stricken faces, and trembling in the flickering light of the torches.

"Young Master, all the people have been brought out." Qian Ming bowed and reported.

Zhang Jingwei's face was as gloomy as water, and his gaze swept through the crowd like a cold knife, finally settling on Ningxiang's personal maid. He walked over slowly and looked down at her.

"I remember your name is Coral, right?" His voice was calm, but it revealed a chilling pressure.

Shanhu was so frightened that she fell to her knees with a thud, her voice trembling: "Yes... yes, sir..."

"Where is Ningxiang?" Zhang Jingwei asked directly.

"I...I don't know..." Shanhu lowered her head and didn't dare to look at him.

The matchmaker beside her screamed, "You damned girl! It's already this hour, and you're still hiding something when the adults are questioning you! Come on, tell me! Do you want to kill all of us?"

Shanhu was frightened and cried, "This servant... This servant really doesn't know where the young lady has gone..."

Zhang Jingwei didn't dwell on the question and instead asked, "Did you put 'Chunxiang' in the room?"

"Yes..." Shanhu didn't dare to deny, "But it was Miss... Miss Wei who asked me to order it! She said... she said it was to calm the Madam... I really didn't know that it was something that could harm people, my lord!" She kowtowed desperately, and soon bloodstains appeared on her forehead.

"An Shen?" Zhang Jingwei sneered, his laughter particularly piercing in the silent night. "You almost ruined my wife's life... Do you know what the consequences will be?"

Shanhu collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face. "I know I was wrong! I really never intended to harm Madam! It was the young lady...she deceived me..."

"I'll ask you one last time," Zhang Jingwei's voice suddenly turned harsh, carrying unquestionable authority, "Ningxiang, where is she?"

"I... I..." Shanhu spoke incoherently. She indeed did not see Ningxiang after returning to the matchmaker's house. She was so frightened at the moment that she lost her mind. There was a water stain at her feet. She was actually incontinent.

Looking at her like this, Zhang Jingwei's face flashed with a trace of extreme impatience. He raised his hand and scratched his ear with his little finger. The action was casual but carried a kind of depression before the storm.

Wang Ergou, who was standing beside him, had a tacit understanding with him. Seeing this, a fierce light flashed in his eyes, and he raised his knife and struck -

"Ah——!" The matchmaker let out a shrill scream. One of her ears was cut off. She rolled on the ground in pain, bleeding profusely.

"If you don't tell the truth, the next blow will take your life." Zhang Jingwei's voice was cold and emotionless, as if he was stating an established fact.

The matchmaker endured the severe pain and cursed loudly, "You damned slut! You're trying to kill us! If you know anything, just tell us!"

Shanhu was completely frightened and cried breathlessly: "I... I am a slave, and my life is in the hands of the young lady. I really... I really don't know where she has gone... Sir, please spare my life!" She cried and kowtowed desperately, and the blood on her forehead was particularly eye-catching on the bluestone slabs.

"Kill her! Kill them all!" Zhang Jingwei waved his sleeves and shouted angrily, the anger in his chest almost bursting out of his body.

At this moment, Huang Liang ran over breathlessly and shouted, "Stop! Sir, no! You must not kill people indiscriminately!"

Zhang Jingwei turned around suddenly, his eyes bloodshot. "Huang Liang! Do you know what Ningxiang did to my wife?!"

Huang Liang stepped forward quickly and lowered his voice, saying, "I have already received a brief report of what happened in the government office. My Lord, I know you are furious, but please calm down! Our superiors from the capital are still in the city, so it's not appropriate to cause any casualties now! First, arrest these people and interrogate them slowly!"

"How can I swallow this!" Zhang Jingwei clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

"Sir, it was Wei Jiajia who wanted to harm the lady, and these servants may not be directly involved. I know very well that you are not a bloodthirsty person, so you need to handle the situation calmly at this moment to avoid giving others an advantage..." Huang Liang advised earnestly.

Zhang Jingwei's chest heaved violently several times as he stared intently at the group of servants who were as silent as a mouse. After a long while, he squeezed out a breath from between his teeth and said dejectedly, "Forget it! Sigh... I'll just listen to Master Huang."

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the murderous intent that was surging within him, and gave a solemn order: "Listen! Wei Jiajia, the former Yunzhou's most beautiful woman, is vicious and intends to harm my wife, Huangfu Ling! An arrest warrant is being issued, and the entire city and state is seeking her! Anyone who can provide accurate clues to her whereabouts will be rewarded with ten strings of cash! Anyone who can capture her and bring her to the authorities will be rewarded with one hundred strings of cash, dead or alive!"

His gaze swept over the frightened crowd and the pitch-black night again, and he added, "Pass my order: today's curfew will be advanced! Notify Zuixianlou and have them close early!"

As soon as the order was issued, the yamen runners immediately took action. The light of the torch illuminated Zhang Jingwei's still gloomy profile.

Zhang Jingwei rubbed his stinging temples and said to Huang Liang, "Huang Zhubu, I'll leave this to you. Interrogate and detain him according to the law. I also need to hurry back to look after my wife. She's been frightened, and I'm worried."

Huang Liang bowed quickly and said, "Don't worry, sir. I will do my best to handle this matter properly."

……

Zhang Jingwei said no more, turning and striding away. Walking down the cold street, the night breeze blew, and fragments of memories from his past life inappropriately surged through his mind. In this life, Wei Jiajia had once slept with the company leader, firmly cuckolding him.

Unexpectedly, after traveling this far, she actually wanted to put another hat on him! A wicked fire burned in his chest, and he gritted his teeth and swore in his heart: "In this life, it was the rule of law that saved you two, this pair of dogs! In this life, in this world, I will make sure that you, Wei Jiajia... die a miserable death!"

As he was pondering this, Wang Ergou quickly caught up and whispered, "Master, I've checked with the several pairs of 'eyes' stationed near the matchmaker's building, and they all say that from dusk until now, they haven't seen Ningxiang in or out. It's like she's... she's just vanished into thin air."

Zhang Jingwei paused, his eyes sharp, "Disguise... She must be an expert in this art. This makes it even harder to find her."

Wang Ergou looked ashamed: "It's my incompetence that I failed to notice it in advance..."

"Now's not the time to discuss this," Zhang Jingwei interrupted, quickly ordering, "Wang Ergou, prepare immediately. Leave tonight and personally deliver a letter to the Yunzhou prefectural governor's residence, requesting that the teacher surround all brothels in Yunzhou and conduct a thorough investigation into Wei Jiajia's whereabouts. If he evades..." A cold glint flashed in Zhang Jingwei's eyes. "There's no need to go through the authorities. Find a way to directly reveal the entire matter, especially Ningxiang's intention to harm Ling'er, to my father-in-law. I believe that with my father-in-law's temper, he will go mad upon learning that someone is plotting against his precious daughter. Then, he will intervene, and the Yunzhou authorities will have no choice but to act!"

"Yes! I understand! I'll do it right away!" Wang Ergou took the order and turned away without hesitation.

Zhang Jingwei hurried back to his residence, his worry for Huangfu Ling growing even worse. He gently pushed open the bedroom door, but the sight that greeted him startled him—Jiu'er, the woman responsible for taking care of Huangfu Ling, was once again tied up and thrown beside the bed like a dumpling, with a cloth stuffed in her mouth, making muffled "wuuuuuuuu" sounds and twisting her body like a worm.

Zhang Jingwei frowned and stepped forward to tear the cloth out of her mouth. "Why are you pretending to be a maggot in my bed again? Where's my wife?"

Jiu'er gasped for breath and cried anxiously, "Bah! Who's pretending to be a maggot? It's Ling'er. She...she ran away!"

"What? She...ran away?" Zhang Jingwei's heart sank.

At this moment, the groom Zhang Shiyi rushed out of the door, tumbling and crawling, and shouted in panic: "Master! Master! It's bad! The only fast horse in the mansion is gone!"

Almost at the same time, Qian Ming also ran in breathlessly, reporting solemnly, "Master, the brothers on duty at the South City Gate said that just now, a woman wearing a cloak, whose face could not be seen, suddenly rode out on horseback! The woman was so strong that she actually forced the city gate open a crack and squeezed out!"

"She's very strong..." Zhang Jingwei murmured. This characteristic matched Huangfu Ling perfectly! He hurriedly asked, "Did the soldiers guarding the city hurt her?"

Qian Ming looked troubled. "Well...it happened suddenly, and the brothers didn't react in time. Plus, the horse was going too fast...I'm not sure if anyone was injured..."

"Chase!" Zhang Jingwei could no longer maintain his composure, his voice hoarse with anxiety. "Prepare the horses immediately! No, there are no fast horses... Go get the post horses from the government office! Everyone, follow me! Quick!"