What to do if you receive the wrong package?

Because of her worries, Gu Yan didn't sleep well all night. As soon as it was light, she went out early and wandered around the vicinity of the Prince's Mansion gate.

Instead of waiting, Jiang Si and his group received an urgent secret order.

Seeing the imperial guards who delivered the message follow the escort into the Chu King's courtyard, Gu Yan stopped guarding the gate and immediately ran back into the courtyard to wake up the others.

"Sisters, wake up! Wake up, something seems to have happened."

Apart from Shen Mujin, who was also somewhat worried like Gu Yan and had already gotten up, the other two looked sleepy and not fully awake.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Why did you wake up so early today?

"Hurry up, hurry up, we'll know everything when we get to the King of Chu."

When the group arrived at the King of Chu's courtyard, the imperial guards who had delivered the message had already left. Only Duan Chenke remained, standing in the courtyard with a heavy expression, clutching the secret order, lost in thought.

"Your Highness, what happened?" Zhou Yuran stepped forward and asked softly.

"My elder brother went missing at Shaolin Temple last night." Duan Chenke's tone was low, but his calm expression revealed no emotion.

"Huh? Prince Ning... what's going on?" Zhou Yuran looked up in surprise and stared straight at Duan Chenke.

Duan Chenke handed the secret order to Zhou Yuran and let out a cold laugh, "Those guys hiding in Shaolin Temple probably can't hold back anymore."

Zhou Yuran was stunned after receiving the secret order. She looked at the letter in her hand and then glanced at Duan Chenke. After hesitating for a moment, she quickly opened the envelope, and the people around her quickly gathered around.

After reading it, I also gained some understanding of the matter.

Last night, Prince Yu suddenly fell seriously ill, and the Emperor specially dispatched Prince Ning and two imperial physicians to Shaolin Temple to treat him. However, shortly after entering Shaolin Temple, the two physicians were attacked and their heads were knocked over. When they awoke, they found themselves no longer at Shaolin Temple, but in a desolate wilderness. Apart from themselves, all the accompanying guards and apprentices had been killed, and Prince Ning had vanished without a trace.

Although the two elderly imperial physicians were terrified, they knew the matter was of great importance. They gritted their teeth, supported each other, and rushed back to the palace to report the incident.

Upon learning of this, the Emperor was furious and immediately ordered the Prince of Chu to thoroughly investigate the matter. He commanded that even if it meant digging three feet into the ground at Shaolin Temple, the Prince of Ning must be brought back.

After reading the contents of the secret order, Zhou Yuran handed it back to Duan Chenke with both hands and asked, "How does Your Highness intend to investigate?"

"Surround the Shaolin Temple first," Duan Chenke said, his tone growing increasingly cold.

Zhou Yuran was startled by Duan Chenke's tone. She lowered her eyes slightly and continued to ask in a low voice, "This matter arose because of Prince Yu. Why don't we ask Prince Yu about it first?"

"Because Prince Yu is also missing." After saying this, Duan Chenke seemed to realize that his tone was too cold, and then softened his tone as he spoke to the group:

"I am not in the manor, and Xuan Yi and the others have not returned yet. I have already sent someone to summon Yu Bai. Do not leave the manor without permission."

Zhou Yuran: "Don't worry, Your Highness, you don't need to worry about us."

"Please don't tell Axi about this. Although Prince Yu and Axi aren't close, Axi is young and impulsive, and I'm afraid he..."

Although Duan Chenke didn't finish his sentence, Zhou Yuran and the others understood what he meant and nodded repeatedly in assurance.

"Your Highness, may we tell Sister Lin about this?" Gu Yan asked, raising his hand.

"I'm afraid Sister Bihua already knows about this. Don't underestimate your Sister Lin; she's no ordinary woman."

After Duan Chenke gave a few more brief instructions, he looked up and saw Yu Bai and his guards appear at the courtyard gate.

Following Duan Chenke's gaze, Gu Yan and the others realized that he was about to leave. After saying goodbye to each other, they followed Yu Bai back to their own courtyard.

"Has Young Master Yu written to us recently?" Gu Yan asked suddenly, looking at Yu Bai, who was standing to one side with his sword in his arms.

Yu Bai shook his head. "No."

"We're in complete chaos here. I wonder how Qiqi is doing." Gu Yan leaned against a pillar and looked up at the sky.

Although everyone got up early, their drowsiness immediately vanished after learning about Prince Ning's disappearance, and they became exceptionally awake.

"What time is it now?" Shen Mujin subconsciously looked down at her wrist, and only asked when she saw that her wrist was empty.

Yu Bai recalled hearing the night watchman's gong on his way back, "It must be 5:45 AM."

"It's already dawn. Xuan Yi and the others should have returned by now. Why haven't they come back yet?" Shen Mujin looked towards the courtyard gate with some concern, glancing around every now and then.

"Don't rush, wait a little longer. Maybe they'll have breakfast on the way back!" Hua Yin patted Shen Mujin's hand, comforting her.

"No. I need to find something to do. If I just sit here waiting, I'll start to overthink." Gu Yan stood up. "Want some xiaolongbao? I'll make some to pass the time."

"Ayan, I'll go with you." Shen Mujin followed Gu Yan towards the small kitchen.

"Then what should we do?" Zhou Yuran turned her head to look at Hua Yin.

"I haven't finished reading half a book yet, do you want to come with me?"

"Forget it, I can't stand watching anymore. I'll go play with Big Yellow for a while instead."

However, after the group finished breakfast, Xuan Yi and the others still hadn't returned.

Gu Yan and the others were a little anxious, wanting to find someone but not knowing where to look.

Duan Chenke wasn't there either, so there was no one to discuss things with.

"What's going on with the three of them? Have they disappeared too?" Gu Yan sat in his chair and couldn't help but complain.

"Pah, pah, pah, don't jinx it, Ayan." Zhou Yueran almost manually muted Gu Yan's words again.

Startled by Zhou Yuran's outstretched hand, Gu Yan shrank back and lost his balance, falling off the stool.

"Ouch!" Gu Yan winced in pain.

The other three couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Hua Yin helped Gu Yan up from the ground and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Gu Yan shook his head, indicating that she was alright. He glanced at Zhou Yuran, then switched places with Hua Yin before sitting back down to continue their previous conversation.

"Mumu, don't you have the bodyguards Xuan Yi gave you? Could you have them go look for Xuan Yi?"

“There are two people. Let me ask. It should be fine.” Shen Mujin pulled a bone whistle from her neck and was about to blow it when Hua Yin interrupted her.

"Don't rush. Even if those two are capable, it's daytime now, so it's not convenient to make a move. Why don't we send someone to patrol the vicinity of Shanshui Mingyuan and see if any news gets out?"

"Leave this job to me." Zhou Yuran took the initiative to accept the task, got up and walked a few steps outside, calling out, "Xiao Yi, Xiao Er, come out and get to work."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than two black shadows swiftly landed in the courtyard.

Xiao Yi: "What are your instructions, Miss Fang?"

"You and Xiao Er should have heard what we just said. I only trust the three of you in this manor. San'er, stay with me. You two go and take a stroll around Shanshui Mingyuan and see if you can find any news."

Xiao Yi and Xiao Er exchanged a glance, somewhat hesitant, because the King of Chu had ordered them to follow Miss Fang closely at all times.

Zhou Yuran understood Xiao Yi and the others' concerns. "Don't worry, we promised His Highness before he left the palace that we would never leave. Besides, San'er is with me, so it's good for you two to go together and look after each other."

"Yes, I obey."

Xiao Yi was aware of Zhou Yuran and the others' current situation. After pondering for a moment, he accepted the order and took his leave.

Time passed second by second, and the sun slowly moved from the east to the top of their heads.

Fearing that Su Xinian might discover something amiss, Gu Yan and the others had no choice but to suppress their anxiety and eat lunch with him, chatting and laughing.

After lunch, with the help of Bai Hongsheng and Lin Mu'an, the two little ones, they successfully coaxed Su Xinian back to his courtyard. Gu Yan and the others then ran directly to the koi pond, which was closest to the gate.

"Why aren't they back yet?" Zhou Yuran leaned against the railing, muttering anxiously.

"Who are you talking about? Xuan Yi and the others, or Xiao Yi and the others?" Hua Yin asked as she tossed some fish food into the water, seemingly having found it somewhere.

"It doesn't matter who it is, even just one of them coming back is fine." Zhou Yuran snatched a fish food from Hua Yin's hand and threw it in the water when she saw Yu Bai walking quickly towards them.

"Miss Fang, your people are back."

The group was overjoyed and immediately followed Yu Bai towards the courtyard.

As Zhou Yuran ran, she suddenly realized that Xiao Yi and Xiao Er were both bodyguards, and they wouldn't just casually walk in through the main gate. It was so stupid of them to be lying in wait at the gate.

Gu Yan was the first to rush into the courtyard, heading straight for Xiao Yi.

"Any news?"

Xiao Yi shook his head. "There's nothing unusual about Shanshui Mingyuan, and I haven't been able to find out any information."

"No news is good news." Hua Yin patted Gu Yan's shoulder, looking at her disappointed eyes.

"The lack of news means that Xuan Yi and the others were not captured. It's very likely that something happened during the investigation that tripped them up."

---------------

Hua Yin's guess was very accurate.

Xuan Yi and the other two did indeed encounter some difficulties.

Because the three of them were trapped in an illusion.

Last night, Xuan Yi and Jiang Si, led by Jian Yuheng, successfully bypassed the guards and sneaked into a side courtyard of Shanshui Mingyuan, where they discovered the unusual artificial hill.

The mechanisms in the artificial mountain were not difficult to solve. Only after entering the mountain did we discover a secret passage at the bottom. The passage was dark and we had no idea where it led.

"Shall we go down and take a look?" Xuan Yi raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice.

Jiang Si nodded and wanted to be the first to go down, but Jian Yuheng stopped him.

"Here you go. They're not as useful as torches, but something is better than nothing." Jian Yuheng took out three fist-sized luminous pearls from his pocket and handed two of them to Jiang Si and Xuan Yi.

Xuan Yi looked at the luminous pearl in his hand that emitted a faint light, "Your Highness is indeed very wealthy. This one doesn't need to be returned, right?"

Jian Yuheng smiled and shook his head, then raised the bead in his hand and stepped into the tunnel first, followed closely by Jiang Si and Xuan Yi.

The tunnel wasn't as complicated as Jian Yuheng had imagined. There was only one path, but it was very rugged and kept turning left and right.

After walking for a while, the three of them suddenly heard gusts of wind ahead. After putting away the luminous pearl in their hands, they saw a cave entrance that was taller than a person by the moonlight.

After Xuan Yi picked up a small pebble and threw it out, nothing unusual happened. Then the three of them quietly walked out of the cave entrance one after another.

Outside the cave entrance was a relatively open space. Before the three could even observe, they heard a strange noise coming from the bushes nearby. They quickly flew to a tall tree next to them and, using the branches for cover, saw a burly man who looked like a thug pulling up his pants as he walked out of the bushes.

As the man walked toward the cave entrance, he cursed under his breath, "Damn it, what kind of lousy food did they bring? I've had to run to the toilet so many times."

Jian Yuheng and Jiang Si exchanged a quick glance; it turned out there were guards at the cave entrance. The three of them were lucky; they happened to arrive when the guards weren't there.

The burly man leaned against the outer wall next to the cave entrance, still cursing under his breath.

"I don't know what's so interesting about this hole. I've been guarding it all night and no one's shown up. All they do is mess with me."

Seeing this, Jian Yuheng glanced around and noticed a fire in the south. He then made a hand gesture to Jiang Si and Xuan Yi, and the three of them silently flew south, leaping and bounding among the tree branches.

The three dared not get too close to the firelight and stopped when they were still some distance away.

Looking around at the towering trees and overgrown weeds, Xuan Yi asked softly, "Where is this?"

"It looks like the back mountain of Shaolin Temple to me," Jian Yuheng said, estimating the general location.

"The back mountain of Shanshui Mingyuan is connected to the back mountain of Shaolin Temple. Therefore, when Shanshui Mingyuan was built, security issues were taken into consideration, so its back mountain was separated from Shanshui Mingyuan. Moreover, a team of guards was stationed there to prevent anyone from sneaking into Shanshui Mingyuan."

"So I think the purpose of the secret passage in the back mountain is to connect the back mountain of Shaolin Temple with the famous scenic gardens again."

"Why would the mysterious person connect the back mountain of Shaolin Temple with the scenic garden? Is he perhaps leaving himself an escape route?" Xuan Yi wondered.

Jian Yuheng: "No matter what, the mysterious person must have a reason for choosing Shanshui Mingyuan. Let's see if we can find that reason tonight."

Jiang Si: "Let's go, let's go over there and take a look first."

The three of them lowered their breaths and carefully made their way towards the light, using the weeds as cover.

After walking for a while, the scenery in front of him became clearer. Just as Jiang Si was about to take another step forward, he suddenly noticed what seemed to be a light on his right. He instinctively dodged back and saw that a wooden arrow was stuck in the spot where it had been.

Jiang Si and the other two immediately looked up and saw a figure flash quickly through the woods and then disappear.

Jiang Si pulled out the wooden arrow, and there was a strip of cloth still tied to the arrowhead. On the wrinkled strip of cloth, two large characters were written crookedly: "Go quickly."

Xuan Yi frowned slightly as he looked at the two characters on the cloth strip, his gaze fixed on the woods. "What does this mean?"

Jian Yuheng shook his head. "It's unclear whether the person who came is friend or foe, but they probably don't want us to continue on this path."

"So, are you going or staying?" Jiang Si put away the strip of cloth, held the wooden arrow, and looked at Xuan Yi and the other person.

"We've come all this way, it would be such a waste to leave like this." Xuan Yi leaned against the tree trunk with his arms crossed, stating his thoughts directly.

Jian Yuheng nodded in agreement, saying, "Since the person who came doesn't want us to investigate further, it means there must be something we absolutely have to investigate."

"Alright, let's go then." Jiang Si seemed to have guessed their choice and continued to lead the way forward.

As Jiang Si walked, he suddenly realized that the place where the light was originally within reach seemed to be out of reach no matter how he walked.

Not only Jiang Si, but Xuan Yi and the other two also discovered the same problem. They had just touched the edge of the light, but after walking for so long, the scene they saw still seemed to be just the edge.

"Go back," Jiang Si said without hesitation, turning his head away.

The three of them immediately turned around and ran a few steps back, when they heard an old but familiar voice coming from behind them.

"Now that you're all here, why not stay a little longer?"