"Bah da bah..." The rapid sound of horse hoofs sounded. Xuanyuan Liuyun saw the light of torches in the forest, so he rode over with the soldiers of Prince Ren's palace.
"Have you found Zi Ling?" Xuanyuan Liuyun asked after getting off his horse.
Shen Wan shook her head, handed the earring in her hand to Xuanyuan Liuyun, and said, "Not yet. I only found traces of fighting, horse hoof prints, and this."
"Earrings?" Xuanyuan Liuyun frowned.
Shen Ming said: "Zhao He said that these are the earrings worn by men in the Northern Territory."
When Xuanyuan Liuyun heard this, he hurriedly rushed to his bodyguard and said: "You immediately take my token and enter the palace, and tell me that Song Heng, the son of General Zhenbei, has been captured by the people from the Northern Territory."
He also didn't expect that what happened to Song Ziling was actually the work of the people from the Northern Territory. Now that Song Ziling is alive and dead, and his body is only found, only traces of the fight and some traces left by the other party were found, so Song Ziling was obviously captured by the people from the Northern Territory. The purpose of seizing Song Ziling is naturally known to everyone on the road. The matter is of great importance and must be reported to the emperor immediately.
Since the war between the Northern Territory and the Dongchen Kingdom, Dongchen has no longer allowed people from the Northern Territory to enter the country. It is not known how these Northern Territory people sneaked into Dongchen.
"Yes," the guard got on his horse, turned the horse's head and galloped away in the direction of the city.
The dark clouds closed over the moon, the "rumbling" thunder sounded, and it was about to rain.
Shen Wan frowned. If it was a sunny day, the people from the Northern Territory could still be traced based on the horse's hoof prints. However, if it rained, the rain might wash away the horse hoof prints left by the people from the Northern Territory, making it more difficult to track.
Xuanyuan Liuyun took the people from Prince Ren's Mansion and followed the horse's hoof prints to search before the heavy rain came.
Not long after, heavy rain fell.
Shen Wan was persuaded by Zhao He and Shen Ming to go back. It was raining heavily and there was no use for her to stay, so Shen Wan returned to the city first.
Shen Ming stayed behind to search for traces of people from the Northern Territory with Zhao He and the others.
The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and the torches cannot be used, let alone the traces left by the people from the Northern Territory on the ground. Xuanyuan Liuyun ordered a team of ten people to disperse and search. If any traces of the people from the Northern Territory are found, do not expose them first, and let them know. One person comes back to inform, and the rest continue to follow.
After Xuanyuan Yu in the palace heard the report from the guards, he immediately summoned the commander of the Royal Forest Army, counted 2,000 people, and searched from the imperial city. He also ordered all prefectures to set up checkpoints in the prefectural cities and counties to strictly check people entering and leaving the city. If anyone discovers someone from the Northern Territory, they should be arrested first. After passing the order, Xuanyuan Yu even summoned the palace painters to paint a portrait of Song Ziling overnight and hurriedly sent it to the various states.
next day
Xuanyuan Liuyun and his men searched all night, but were unable to find Beiyu and the captured Song Ziling. The Royal Forest Army continued to search, but they returned to the city first.
"Madam, Master Shen is back." Hui'er whispered to the lady sitting on the kang. The lady came back last night. She didn't eat a bowl of rice or a sip of water after she came back. After the young master fell asleep, the lady didn't sleep either. , just sat on the kang all night.
Shen Wan who was sitting suddenly stood up and walked out the door. As soon as she reached the door, she bumped into Shen Ming who was soaked all over and looked tired.
"How's it going? Did you find it?" Shen Wan asked, holding her brother's hand.
Shen Ming looked at his blind and black-eyed sister and shook his head, saying: "It rained all night last night. The torches were extinguished and the traces were hard to find. We and the imperial guards searched for them all night but couldn't find them. The emperor has ordered that two thousand people be mobilized." The Royal Forest Army also ordered the various states to carry out strict inspections. As long as they are still in the Dongchen Kingdom, they will not be able to escape."
Shen Wan's shoulders slumped, and after a while, she said again: "Go take a hot bath first and change your clothes! If you are sick, it won't be good. Hui'er, please have someone prepare some hot water, and then you can Some ginger soup."
"Yes," Hui'er said happily and asked Dongmei and Xia Zhu to prepare hot water and ginger soup.
Qiu Ju looked at Shen Wan and comforted her: "Madam, don't worry, the second young master has his own destiny, and he will definitely come back safely."
Shen Wan closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and murmured: "How can I not worry about this..."
After the hot water was ready, Shen Ming took a shower in the compartment of Song Ziling's room and changed into his brother-in-law's clean clothes.