Chapter 227: Trouble Deepens

In order to exchange them for actual cash would probably take some time… and right now, he did not want to stay here for even a single second longer.

He turned the matter over and over in his mind, yet could not come up with any good solution. Left with no choice, he trudged back to his courtyard in a gloomy mood.

When Sui He saw Yue Mingxuan return with clear displeasure on his face, she wisely refrained from disturbing him.

She only placed his favorite pastries in the room before quietly retreating.

Yue Mingxuan picked up a piece of pastry and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

He thought of the scene when Miaojue had sneaked in to see him last time.

It seemed that the cleanup and arrangements for his escape would still have to rely on the Midnight Blade.

With that thought, he could no longer sit still.

He wished he could fly out of the palace immediately and find Tang Lubao to properly discuss the matter.

While hurriedly stuffing pastries into his mouth, he straightened his clothes and called out toward the door, “Sui He, I’m going out of the palace for a bit. You don’t need to wait for me for dinner.”

After getting everything in order, he opened the door, only to find Sui He standing right outside.

She looked at him with grievance in her eyes. “Your Highness, is it that this servant has done something wrong? Is that why recently you never want to take me with you no matter what you do?”

Yue Mingxuan scratched his head awkwardly.

The fewer people who knew about his plan to escape, the better, especially Sui He.

This was not avoidance, but a form of protection. “This time… it’s not convenient. Next time.”

He had thought Sui He would step aside as she always did, but unexpectedly, she insisted. “Your Highness, Sui He has always served you with all her heart, yet I never imagined that even now, Your Highness still regards Sui He as an outsider.”

Yue Mingxuan’s expression grew even more awkward. It was only a trip out of the palace, how had it turned into something so serious? “Alright, alright, good Sui He. Next time, I’ll definitely take you with me.”

Seeing that Yue Mingxuan insisted on not taking her along, a trace of dejection flashed through Sui He’s eyes.

Left with no choice, she could only step aside helplessly.

She never dared to forget the distinction between master and servant, status and rank were clearly defined.

For someone like her to block the prince’s path like this was already an act of overstepping.

When Yue Mingxuan saw the gloom in Sui He’s eyes, a hint of guilt stirred in his heart as well. Yet in the end, he still hardened his resolve and walked out.

Because of this small interlude, when he finally met Tang Lubao, his expression was still clouded with melancholy.

Tang Lubao’s face, too, carried a heavy gravity, only Yue Mingxuan failed to notice it at the time.

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, Tang Lubao went straight to the point and asked bluntly, “Mingxuan, what brings you here today?”

He truly had neither the spirit nor the energy to see anyone right now.

If the visitor had been anyone other than Yue Mingxuan, he would not even have granted them an audience.

Hearing the low, pain laced tone in Tang Lubao’s voice, Yue Mingxuan glanced at him in surprise, only to realize that after not seeing him for some time, Tang Lubao’s temples had already begun to show specks of gray.

Compared to their first meeting, the difference was like night and day.

Yue Mingxuan asked, “Brother-in-law… what happened to you?”

Tang Lubao pondered for a moment, then decided to tell him the truth. “Yue’er and Miaojue have both been taken.”

Upon hearing this news, Yue Mingxuan felt the world spin around him.

He nearly could not remain standing. “What? Sister Bai and Miaojue were taken? Brother-in-law, do you know who did it?”

Tang Lubao shook his head.

Bai Huayue and Miaojue had been abducted while they were out offering incense.

Although the brothers who accompanied them had fought with all their might, suffering heavy casualties, they still could not withstand the sheer number of experts on the other side.

Afterward, he had dispatched numerous scouts to investigate, but that group of people seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

Seeing the deep pain on Tang Lubao’s face, Yue Mingxuan felt a sense of foreboding rise in his heart.

This incident was likely aimed at Sister Bai from the very beginning and Miaojue was probably only an afterthought.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

Although he had not known them for long, he had already come to regard them as his own elder sister and younger sister.

Now that they had been abducted, the anxiety in his heart was no less than Tang Lubao’s.

Tang Lubao gave a bitter smile.

Yue Mingxuan was, after all, nothing more than a prince held hostage in a foreign land what help could he possibly offer?

“Mingxuan, you still haven’t said what you came to find me for.”

With such a major incident having occurred, all of Yue Mingxuan’s personal matters instantly retreated to the background of his mind.

He shook his head and said, “What I came for is just a trivial matter, it’s not worth mentioning. But Sister Bai and Miaojue…”

He paused, uncertain whether he should voice the worry in his heart.

He had an instinctive feeling that this incident could not be separated from the time he had been imprisoned in Piaoxiang Courtyard.

That man had always harbored despicable intentions toward Sister Bai.

If… if something had happened…

Seeing Yue Mingxuan hesitate, Tang Lubao said, “Mingxuan, if you’ve thought of anything, say it. One person’s ideas are limited; two people can see further.”

Hearing this, Yue Mingxuan weighed his words carefully before speaking. “Brother-in-law, have you considered that the ones who abducted Sister Bai and Miaojue this time might be the same group of people?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep