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墨書 Inktalez
Lo Cheng had been searching for Luo Jingxian for years, but despite his best efforts, he had found no trace of her. He never expected to encounter her here by chance; he was even more eager than Ye Xiaohan to learn what had transpired during her absence.
"Miss Ye, you saved me and the Princess. I truly don't know how to thank you," Lo Cheng said, expressing his gratitude once more before asking, "Could you tell me what happened? Why has the Princess... why has she become like this?"
After the initial surprise wore off, he quickly noticed something was off with Luo Jingxian. This was not the girl he remembered; she had changed during her time away.
Ye Xiaohan recounted everything she knew to Lo Cheng, from the moment they moved into the residence until they rescued Luo Jingxian.
"That's all I know," Ye Xiaohan said. "As for what she endured before that, I'm not sure."
Hearing about Luo Jingxian's current state filled Lo Cheng with tension, and a pained expression crossed his face. His sister, whom he had cherished and protected at home, had been treated so cruelly. How could he not feel anger rising within him?
His gaze fell on Luo Jingxian, whose occasional expressions of terror pierced his heart. If it hadn't been for the fortunate encounter with Ye Xiaohan and Gu Bei, perhaps he and his sister would never have seen each other again in this lifetime.
Lo Cheng collected his thoughts and informed everyone of his situation.
"The Princess and I share the same mother; our Mother Empress is the Queen of the Exiled Nation."
Ye Xiaohan was taken aback by his opening statement. She had previously thought that these siblings were born of a neglected concubine, which explained their mistreatment and suffering.
She never imagined their identities were so noble; being the children of a Queen and a favored consort made a significant difference. After all, one was a legitimate wife while the consort, no matter how favored, was still just a concubine.
"My sister and I grew up together; our bond is deeper than that of any other siblings," Lo Cheng said, reminiscing about their warm past with a faint smile.
However, that smile quickly faded as he fell into sorrow.
"We were doing well until three years ago when the Princess suddenly went missing."
Lo Cheng and the Queen were frantic and immediately dispatched people to search for her, but it was as if Luo Jingxian had vanished without a trace.
"For these three years, we have never given up," Lo Cheng continued, looking at Luo Jingxian, who seemed lost in her own world. His eyes reflected a mix of emotions. "Mother Empress has cried countless times for the Princess. In these three years, I have never seen her genuinely smile."
Ye Xiaohan listened in silence, feeling the pain of separation that could not be easily comforted. After a moment, she could only say, "Now that the princess has been found, you can rest easy."
"Yes!" Lo Cheng's expression finally relaxed a bit, and there was a softness in his gaze. "Mother Empress would be so happy to see the Princess."
Ye Xiaohan patted her chest and laughed exaggeratedly, "Look at that! Isn't this fate? Just as you were sent on this mission, you happened to faint right along our path. What a coincidence!"
It felt as if some divine force was watching over the world from above, bringing together those who had been separated.
However, Lo Cheng denied this notion. "I came to be part of this envoy specifically by request."
It turned out that during the ongoing search for the princess, Lo Cheng had gradually uncovered some clues until recently. Following these traces, he discovered that Luo Jingxian's last known location was near the border of Dongchuan Kingdom.
"Eh?" Ye Xiaohan asked in confusion, "At the Dongchuan border? Why would she go so far?"
The Exiled Royal Palace was separated from the Dongchuan border by more than a thousand miles; there was no reason for Luo Jingxian to be there.
Lo Cheng shook his head. "I couldn't figure that out either. There were only fragmented clues up to that point, and after that, all leads went cold."
He continued, "Coincidentally, during this time our court was planning to send someone to Dongchuan, so I took the initiative to request to go. I intended to secretly continue searching for the Princess's whereabouts."
Once Lo Cheng entered Dongchuan, he indeed found some previously undiscovered clues within its borders. He left the Envoy Group and tracked down leads that pointed directly to the capital city.
"The capital?" Ye Xiaohan furrowed her brow. "So that's why you didn't stay with the Envoy Group but instead went alone into the capital?"
Lo Cheng nodded. "I was anxious; just thinking that the Princess might be in the capital made it impossible for me to wait any longer. So I took a few guards and left ahead of time."
"And you had guards?" Ye Xiaohan recalled when she found Lo Cheng; he hadn't even had a dog with him. "Those guards..."
Lo Cheng smiled wryly. "I thought that after disguising myself, no one would recognize my identity. A few people would be enough for the journey. I never expected we would be ambushed along the way!"
Some of the guards died on the spot, while the rest fought desperately to protect Lo Cheng as they fled, their fates now unknown.
"This is truly..." Ye Xiaohan searched for a word to describe it, "so convoluted. Who would ambush a foreign prince in the capital? Who could it be?"
Was it the people from Exiled Nation or those from Dongchuan?
If it was Exiled Nation, what could their motive be?
If it was Dongchuan, what reason would they have?
Most importantly, who would benefit the most from eliminating Lo Cheng?
There were too many strange aspects to this incident; it must be hiding a huge conspiracy!
Ye Xiaohan glanced around at the others, noticing that only Liu Yang shared her shock. Luo Jingxian seemed completely detached, as if she were listening to someone else's story, showing no particular reaction.
Perhaps she hadn’t absorbed any of it at all.
Gu Bei appeared calm and collected, behaving just as he usually did. It seemed that Lo Cheng had already informed him beforehand.
Noticing Ye Xiaohan's gaze on him, Gu Bei explained, "I have met the Prince several times before. I had heard a little about this matter; only after the two princes told me the specifics did I realize there was so much more to it."
The disappearance of a princess could be classified as a major scandal by the royal family. Whether she left on her own or was abducted, it would bring shame upon the royal house.
Thus, Exiled Nation kept Luo Jingxian's situation under wraps and searched discreetly.
Lo Cheng looked at the dazed Luo Jingxian and managed a slight smile. "At least your injuries weren't in vain; if it weren't for the ambush, we wouldn't have stumbled upon the Princess."
"Right, right!" Ye Xiaohan quickly chimed in. "In terms of results, it's still a pass!"
She could hardly stand the oppressive atmosphere any longer. Why did all these grudges and grievances never seem to cease? With everyone so busy, couldn’t they just take a moment to relax?
Lo Cheng had basically grasped the situation here; the timeline of events matched up. Everyone's gaze fell on Luo Jingxian, as the biggest mystery now rested with her.
Only Luo Jingxian knew why she had suddenly disappeared from the heavily guarded Exiled Royal Palace, how she ended up in the imperial city of Dongchuan, and nearly lost her life to cruel means.
“Prince, have you tried asking her what happened?”
Luo Jingxian held absolute trust in Lo Cheng. She felt relaxed in his presence, unlike when she was around others, where she would instinctively become guarded at the slightest approach.
If it were Lo Cheng, perhaps he could help Luo Jingxian accept and recall the blank three years.
“It’s no use.” However, in the next moment, Lo Cheng shattered that hope. “I’ve tried asking her several times; she refuses. Every time she thinks back on it, she clutches her head as if in pain.”
Lo Cheng sighed. “There’s no rush. If she doesn’t want to remember, we can wait. As long as we find her, everything else doesn’t matter.”
Compared to the deep worries and longing of the past three years, this was already a pleasant surprise.
Ye Xiaohan nodded; pushing her too hard wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing. It was better to let things unfold naturally.
However, Luo Jingxian's headaches likely indicated that she was beginning to recover some memories. This kind of pain was both physiological and psychological.
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