I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 402 Something Strange

Abducting someone from a heavily guarded military camp sounds like a fantasy, but Chu Liuzheng simply disappeared.

Initially, the most suspicious individuals were the prisoners who suddenly caused trouble.

Especially Qingjiu, who killed several soldiers.

But all those who caused trouble were either arrested or killed; even Qingjiu died under Lü Feidao's knife. Not one of them escaped.

They couldn't even escape themselves, let alone kidnap people.

Worried that Chu Liuzheng might be disguised as a wounded soldier or a prisoner, Huang Shen personally checked the roster and counted everyone, no more and no less, and it was clear that Chu Liuzheng was not on it.

The head eunuch pondered for a while, then his eyelids twitched, and he suddenly thought of a possibility.

—Could it be that Miss Liu Zheng has become a runaway slave?
Xiao Jingfan pinched the bridge of his nose hard, also considering this possibility.

However, he only thought about it for a moment before rejecting the idea.

Although the woman wanted to leave the palace, she would never leave without saying goodbye, even if it was for the sake of her family.

Therefore, the woman could only have been kidnapped.

who can that be?

Xiao Jingfan's first suspect was Ping Xuan.

However, when Chu Liuzheng disappeared, Ping Xuan was helping to capture Qing Jiu, who had escaped, and did not have time to abduct anyone.

The second person to suspect was Jiang Yao.

But Jiang Yao hasn't woken up yet, so it can't be her.

Tongniang stayed by her side every step of the way, never leaving the tent, so it was impossible for her to kidnap anyone.

As for Feng Jing, putting aside the fact that Feng Jing doesn't know martial arts, even if he did, he and Chu Liuzheng got along like siblings. After learning that Chu Liuzheng had disappeared, he was so anxious that he almost jumped into a stream. He followed the soldiers everywhere to search for her, which doesn't seem like the kind of person who kidnaps people.

As for the others, Xiao Jingfan also suspected Huang Xin.

The Huang family is sending a daughter to the palace; what if it's part of a power struggle within the harem?

But after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was unlikely to be Huang Xin.

Chu Liuzheng is still a palace maid, so even if Huang wants to compete with her, she shouldn't.

After much thought, no suitable candidate could be found for the time being.

Xiao Jingfan gripped the Bodhi bead string tightly in frustration, took two deep breaths to force himself to calm down, and his gaze inadvertently swept over the blue hem of his clothes before suddenly pausing.

There is also a suspect who, logically speaking, is the least likely to be suspected.

He suddenly looked up at Zhou Yuande and asked, "How is Yin Lanci?"

"She's still unconscious." Zhou Yuande was somewhat surprised that the emperor would ask about Yin Lanci at this time, but he answered truthfully, "Doctor Feng said that Abbot Jiang forcibly put the Netherworld Gu in her body into a deep sleep. Yin Lanci was too dependent on the Netherworld Gu, so she also fell into a deep sleep. We have to wait for Abbot Jiang to wake up and awaken Yin Lanci before we can ask her any questions."

If he is still asleep, then he is no longer Yin Lanci.

Xiao Jingfan frowned, feeling for some reason that this matter was somehow related to Yin Lanci.

He stood up, intending to go and check on the tent where Yin Lanci was being held.

Just then, Lü Fei strode into the tent, his face beaming with joy: "Your Majesty, we've found Miss Chu!"

Xiao Jingfan was overjoyed: "Where is he?"

“In the tent where Miss Chu is resting,” Lü Fei said. “Miss Chu has injured her arm and twisted her ankle. Doctor Feng is bandaging her up.”

Xiao Jingfan frowned upon hearing this, and strode out, asking as he went, "Where were they found? How were they injured? How badly are they injured?"

“The person was found by the stream.” Lü Fei quickly caught up. “Miss Chu said she wanted to go into the forest to pick some fresh perilla leaves to boil water, but she accidentally went too far and got lost. She was chased by a big wild boar and stayed in a tree until the boar left before she dared to come down.”

"The injury on her arm was from being scratched by a branch when she came down from the tree, and the sprained ankle was from being chased by a wild boar. She can barely walk, so it's not serious."

Zhou Yuande asked curiously, "Are there wild boars in the woods?" Lü Fei replied, "Perhaps they came out from the nearby mountains in search of food."

As he spoke, he glanced at Xiao Jingfan. Although Chu Liuzheng's return was a good thing, he had some doubts that Chu Liuzheng's disappearance was not to avoid wild boars.

Since Chu Liuzheng disappeared, Xiao Jingfan has sent many people into the forest to search for him.

Such a commotion would scare even a wild boar away; there's no reason for it to stay under the tree just for a piece of Chu Liuzheng's meat.

Besides, the soldiers were shouting at the top of their lungs when they were looking for someone, but Chu Liuzheng didn't hear a single word.
Why didn't you respond when you heard it?

You can't just fall asleep in a tree, can you?
These various questions inevitably made Lü Fei suspicious of Chu Liuzheng.

Seeing Xiao Jingfan's expression, he hesitated for a long time, but still called out to him before Xiao Jingfan entered the tent: "Your Majesty, please wait and hear what I have to say first."

Xiao Jingfan paused, turned around to look at him: "What is it?"

Lu Fei glanced at the tent and lowered his voice, saying, "This matter is strange. I urge Your Majesty to pay attention to it."

He was ready to be scolded after he finished speaking, knowing perfectly well what His Majesty's feelings were for Chu Liuzheng. The man had just returned from his disappearance, injured, and yet he dared to speak ill of him in front of His Majesty; it would be unreasonable for him not to be reprimanded.

But Xiao Jingfan only stared at him for a moment before stepping into the tent.

Lu Fei was slightly surprised, and quickly grabbed his knife and followed.

Zhou Yuande shouted, "His Majesty has arrived!"

There were quite a few people in the tent, including Chenxing, Tongniang, Siyue, and even Lao Wu.

Upon hearing this announcement, everyone immediately stood up and bowed.

Xiao Jingfan waved his hand: "Get up, everyone."

He walked straight to the bed, his gaze falling on the person on it, subtly observing him.

Chu Liuzheng was leaning against the pillow, his black hair loose, his eyelids drooping listlessly, and his lips slightly pale.

The right sleeve was rolled up to the elbow, revealing a few scratches on her fair skin. A thick layer of gauze was wrapped around her wrist, and there was a faint herbal scent.

The blankets covered his lower body, so the injury on his ankle was not visible.

"Your Majesty." Chu Liuzheng tried to get out of bed to pay his respects, but Xiao Jingfan pressed him back down and ordered, "Stay put."

Chu Liuzheng glanced at the hand gripping her shoulder, her long eyelashes trembling slightly: "I have caused everyone a lot of trouble because of my fault, please punish me, Your Majesty."

"It wasn't your intention. You're already injured, so why punish you?" Xiao Jingfan helped her lean back.

Zhou Yuande coughed lightly and winked at the crowd: Let's retreat!

Everyone: We understand!

They all tactfully withdrew.

Seeing that Chu Liuzheng was alright, Lao Wu went straight to the kitchen after leaving the tent, wanting to tell Tang Laosan and the others the good news.

Siyue coughed softly twice, her face still pale. She looked into the tent and said worriedly, "Sister Liuzheng must have been terrified by the wild boar."

"Your injury hasn't healed yet, go back and lie down first, I'll be fine here." Chen Xing reached out and placed her hand on her back to help her catch her breath.

"I'll take you back, young lady." Tongniang stepped forward to help Siyue up. Siyue thanked her, and the two walked away slowly.

Feng Jing stared blankly at the tent.

Chen Xing reached out and tugged at his sleeve, reminding him, "Doctor Feng, remember to brew a calming medicine for Sister Liu Zheng."

Feng Jing absentmindedly hummed in response.

Lu Fei, holding the knife, looked at him and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

“Something’s strange.” Feng Jing raised his hand to touch his chin and muttered to himself, “Could it be… impossible… wrong?”

(End of this chapter)