Chapter 603: Looking for Her

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Xiao Juan had disguised himself and sneaked into the city without attracting anyone’s attention.

He quietly returned to the Langjun Imperial Palace and found that it had been searched haphazardly. Even the soil in the garden had been dug up.

From the looks of it, someone was looking for something.

Xiao Juan thought for a moment and guessed that the emperor was probably looking for the charred corpse.

However, Yu Niaoniao had not hidden the charred corpse in the Langjun Imperial Palace at all. The person sent by the emperor could only return empty-handed.

Then, Xiao Juan secretly went to the Yu Residence.

Today, the palace was holding a birthday banquet. Yu Kangtai had entered the palace early in the morning, leaving only Yu Sheng and Yu Pingping at home.

They were shocked to see Duke Lang suddenly appear.

Yu Sheng said, “Your Highness, didn’t you go to Liaodong County? Why are you here?”

Xiao Juan said, “I came back secretly to do something. I hope you won’t tell anyone.”

After seeing the siblings nod in agreement, Xiao Juan continued to ask.

“Have you seen Niaoniao recently?”

The siblings shook their heads, indicating that they had never seen him.

Yu Pingping could not help but ask, “Why do you ask? Did something happen to Sister?”

Xiao Juan did not want them to worry, so he lied, “It’s fine. She’s fine now. Have there been any strange things going on in your family recently?”

Yu Sheng thought for a moment and said, “There’s nothing special recently. The emperor once sent someone to our house and said that he was looking for something very important. Those people searched our house, but they didn’t find anything. I asked them what they were looking for, but they told me not to ask too much. Brother-in-law, what’s going on?”

Xiao Juan knew very well that the charred corpse was a thorn in the emperor’s heart. As long as he did not find the charred corpse, the emperor would not be completely at ease.

The emperor could not find the charred corpse in the Langjun Imperial Palace, so he sent someone to the Yu Residence to look for it.

Unfortunately, he still returned empty-handed.

Xiao Juan had no intention of explaining. Instead, he reminded him in a low voice.

“Hurry up and pack your luggage. When your father returns, leave the Imperial Capital with him. The farther the better.”

With that, he turned around and left.

Yu Sheng and Yu Pingping hurriedly chased after him, wanting to ask for clarification.

But when they chased him out of the house, they realized that the courtyard was empty.

Duke Lang was long gone.

After Xiao Juan left the Yu Residence, he was about to enter the palace to take a look when he happened to meet Zheng Changle, who was in a hurry, near the palace.

Zheng Changle lowered his head, his legs moving quickly, and he kept muttering.

“Duke Lang, where can I find Duke Lang? Princess Consort, you’re making things too difficult for him…”

In the end, because he ran too quickly, he accidentally bumped into someone.

When he looked up and saw his face clearly, he exclaimed.

“Your Highness!”

Xiao Juan was also very surprised. “Why are you here?”

Zheng Changle thought to himself that this was too much of a coincidence. It was simply impossible for this to happen!

He did not even care about etiquette and hurriedly grabbed Duke Lang’s forearm.

“I was just about to look for you! I saw the Princess Consort in the palace just now. She said that there was an accident in the palace and asked me to quickly leave the palace to look for you. Do you know what happened in the palace? Our opera troupe won’t be implicated, right?”

When Xiao Juan heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he immediately had a bad feeling.

He pulled him behind a large tree and lowered his voice.

“Calm down. How did you meet the Princess Consort? How is she now? Tell me in detail.”

Meeting Duke Lang’s dark and deep eyes, Zheng Changle calmed down a little.

He recounted his encounter with Yu Niaoniao in detail.

Xiao Juan listened carefully and already had an idea.

It seemed that Niaoniao had been held hostage by the Crown Prince and would not be able to leave for a while.

Fortunately, she was still safe and shouldn’t be in any danger for the time being.

Xiao Juan felt a little relieved. As long as she was fine.

He instructed solemnly.

“Don’t tell anyone about the Princess Consort when you get back.”

Zheng Changle still had a stomach full of questions, but because he was afraid of Duke Lang’s aura, he could only nod obediently. “Yes.”

Although meeting Zheng Changle was unexpected, this did not change Xiao Juan’s plan to enter the palace.

He looked up at the towering palace wall with unparalleled determination— “Niaoniao, wait for me.”

‘I’ll come and get you home soon!’

When it was almost noon, there were gradually more people below the stage.

The old emperor, Empress Dowager Deng, Empress Wen, and the others sat steadily on the main seat in the middle.

The others sat down according to their identities.

Yu Niaoniao’s position was very ingenious. From her angle, she could see the entire scene below the stage, but the people below the stage could not see her.

She glanced over and quickly found the old emperor among the many people.

Because she was a distance away, she couldn’t hear what he was saying, but from the looks of it, he seemed to be in good spirits.

She had thought that he was terminally ill and incurable. She did not expect his body to improve.

This was really in line with the old saying—

A good person did not live long, but a scourge lived for a thousand years!

Yu Niaoniao suppressed the indignation in her heart and turned to look at Empress Dowager Deng, who was sitting beside the old emperor.

As the protagonist today, Empress Dowager Deng was naturally the focus of everyone’s attention. After carefully dressing up, she was really graceful and elegant.

Unfortunately, she had not been feeling well recently and did not seem energetic. Other than saying a few words to the old emperor occasionally, she barely made a sound.

Empress Wen still looked calm and gentle. She was not overly outstanding, but it was impossible to ignore her existence.

Further down was Crown Prince Shen Zhuo. He was wearing the ceremonial robe that represented his status as Crown Prince today. He looked even more luxurious and solemn than usual. Even his every move looked exceptionally dignified.

He seemed to notice that someone was looking at him. He suddenly turned his head and looked in Yu Niaoniao’s direction.

Yu Niaoniao subconsciously dodged to the side.

However, she quickly realized that she had done something unnecessary. Shen Zhuo could not see her from that angle.

When the auspicious time arrived, the birthday banquet began.

First, the dancers went on stage to dance, making the atmosphere warm.

Fine wine and delicacies were served like flowing water. The tempting fragrance of food and wine spread in the air, accompanied by the melodious sound of bamboo. It was really intoxicating.

When the atmosphere was about right, it was time for the birthday gifts to be presented.

From the princes and princesses to the civil and military officials, to the foreign envoys, and even the representatives of the aristocratic families everywhere, they all had to go forward to offer birthday gifts.

In order to take this opportunity to please the Empress, everyone racked their brains to search for all kinds of rare treasures.

Therefore, the birthday gifts presented today were of all kinds.

But without exception, they were treasures that money could not buy.

The long gift list made Yu Niaoniao sleepy.

When the official from the Ministry of Rites read the name Duke Jing, Deng

Yuchuan, Yu Niaoniao instantly woke up..