Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Qingxin Pavilion

Upon returning, Su Qianrou summoned Yingyue and asked, "Did the secret guards find anything?"

"Your Highness, the results of the secret guards' investigation are identical to those found by Chief Steward Xu. The news was spread by Aunt Fanghua from Changshou Palace. When Aunt Fanghua saw you and Chief Steward Xu at Changshou Palace, she guessed that things might have been exposed, so she hanged herself."

"Has she found out why she did this?"

"The secret guards discovered that Aunt Fanghua has a son, but it's unclear if this is related."

“Son, she’s not married, so where did this son come from?”

"We haven't found the specifics yet."

"Have the secret guards investigate as soon as possible."

"Yes".

Southwest Military Camp

They had searched everywhere they could think of, but still couldn't find any trace of Mu Jinchen. The generals were at a loss, not knowing what to do.

“We’ve searched almost the entire dense forest, but we still haven’t found the prince. Do you think the prince might have already…”

"Impossible, Lao Lin, shut your mouth."

"We found the Third Prince's body near the swamp. Logically, the Prince should also be nearby, but we searched the entire area and couldn't find him. We were afraid that the Prince had fallen into the swamp."

No one present objected, because they thought the same thing; if that were true, Mu Jinchen would probably be dead already.

At this moment, a voice rang out from outside the tent, "Report, there is a man named Su Haoyu outside the camp looking for General Yang, saying that the Princess sent him."

Upon hearing this, Yang Lin immediately said, "Let him in quickly."

General Zheng asked, "General Yang, do you know that person?"

"He is the princess's younger brother and also my cousin."

"Then isn't he Minister Su's son?"

"Yes".

"Why would he come?"

"It must have been the princess who sent him to find the prince."

Just then, Su Haoyu walked in and said, "Greetings, generals."

"Why is General Su here?"

"Upon hearing that my brother-in-law had gone missing, my sister was very worried, so she asked me to come and help the generals find him."

Apart from Yang Lin, the other generals present actually looked down on him, believing that he only got the fifth-rank Dingyuan General position because of Su Qianrou. Therefore, their words were somewhat barbed.

"General Su, is this your first time here? You're unfamiliar with this place, so I don't know how you can be of any help."

"We don't want to end up having to look for you when the prince hasn't been found yet."

"General Su must be tired from his journey. General Yang, please take General Su to rest," General Zheng said.

"I'm not tired, finding my brother-in-law is more important."

"General Su, rest assured, we will definitely find Your Highness. General Su, why don't you rest for the night and recharge your energy? What do you say, General Su?"

“I…”, Su Haoyu wanted to say something more.

Yang Lin stopped him, "Xiao Yu, let me take you downstairs to rest first." As he spoke, he gave him a look, signaling him to come out with him first.

Although Su Haoyu was a little angry, he still went out with him.

The generals chuckled lightly, their tone slightly mocking.

After coming out, Su Haoyu said angrily, "Cousin, why did you drag me out? You saw their attitude. I don't think they have any intention of finding my brother-in-law at all."

"They are just a bit xenophobic."

“What time is it now? Instead of looking for a brother-in-law, they still have the mind to be xenophobic.”

"Alright, the most important thing now is to find the prince. Let's go to the tent and talk in detail."

The two then went into the tent.

Yang Lin asked, "Xiao Yu, do you have a way to find the Prince?"

"Answer a few questions for me first."

"you say".

Where was the Third Prince's body found?

"Less than a mile from the swamp."

"It has been confirmed that the Third Prince was killed by his brother-in-law."

"It's confirmed. The wounds on the Third Prince's body match the sword the Prince used. In addition, we found the Prince's sword nearby."

"It seems that my sister's deduction is probably correct; my brother-in-law was probably rescued by someone."

"That's impossible. The dense forest is a military stronghold, and the local people all know that anyone who trespasses will be put to death. So, it's impossible for them to be in the dense forest."

"You should have searched the dense forest quite thoroughly by now, but you haven't found any trace of your brother-in-law. There are only two possibilities: either he fell into the swamp, or he was rescued. However, my brother-in-law once told my sister that when he was in the southwest, he led a group of people into the dense forest to hunt, so he knew there was a swamp there. Therefore, it's impossible for him to have gone towards the swamp."

“But…” Yang Lin still felt it was unlikely.

“There is food and medicine in the dense forest, so it’s inevitable that some people will be willing to take the risk for money.”

Now, Yang Lin couldn't help but waver, because it was indeed possible. "So, you mean we should go and search in the surrounding villages now?"

"No, let's find a side path first."

"A minor path?" Yang Lin was somewhat puzzled.

Su Haoyu said excitedly, "Let's go, let's go find the Shadow Guard now," and then quickly walked out.

Yang Lin hurriedly followed.

Yingfeng has been working tirelessly these past few days, leading his men to search for Mu Jinchen's whereabouts in the dense forest.

Meanwhile, on the other side, after half a month of recuperation, Mu Jinchen's body was still somewhat weak, but he was able to get out of bed and walk around. So he walked to the door, wanting to go out, but heard voices outside.

“He’s been eating and living here for so many days without doing any work, and he even needs to be waited on. We don’t have the money to support a useless person. Let him go.”

"Mother, isn't he injured?"

"If someone gets injured, they need money to see a doctor. If they die because they don't have money, then they deserve it. If you ask me, boss, you shouldn't have brought him back in the first place."

"Mother, I'm a doctor, I can't just stand by and watch someone die."

"Yes, Mother."

"I don't care, just get him out of here," he said, and walked away without looking back.

Zhang Taohong looked at her father, "Father, please persuade Mother."

“He really shouldn’t stay here. So many people in the dense forest are looking for him, which shows that he is not of low status. Who knows when he might come to our house? If that happens, your older brother will be in trouble, and he might even lose his head. So, before he regains his memory, we should send him away quickly. Otherwise, it will be too late once he regains his memory.”

“Father, his injuries haven’t healed yet. If we send him away now, what if his injuries worsen? You are a doctor, how can you bear to do that?”

"Yes, Father, even if we are to send him away, we should wait until his injuries have healed before he leaves."

"He must be sent away by the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"Thank you, Dad," Zhang Taohong said happily.

Inside the room, Mu Jinchen heard their conversation, walked to the bed and sat down, seemingly lost in thought.

Qingxin Pavilion

The eldest princess arrived at the study door and saw Su Qianrou writing a letter again. She did not go in, but waited outside. Then she saw Su Qianrou ask Chunzhu to put the letter away.

It was at this moment that Su Qianrou saw her and said, "Why don't you come in?"

As the eldest princess went inside, she said, "I saw you were busy and didn't want to disturb you."

"It's alright."

Were you writing a letter just now?

"Ok".

"But why put it away?"

"Just writing whatever comes to mind when I have nothing else to do; it's nothing important."

"It was written to the Imperial Uncle."

"I guess so."

"Uncle will be safe and sound."

“I know. Let’s go have dinner,” Su Qianrou said, getting up and walking outside.

The eldest princess followed silently.