Chapter 261 Thoroughly investigate the whole palace
Not long after Su Ranhua was taken away by Chu Hang, Ximen Hao came to Jinyang Palace.
"Why are you here again? Have you not left the palace yet?" Ximen Xianchu asked.
"Father, are you still awake or are you up early?" Ximen Hao glanced at Li Bing beside him and asked.
It was still dark at this time, so no matter who was sitting neatly dressed in Jinyang Palace, it would be a bit strange.
After Ximen Hao left Nanwang Mansion, he thought about it carefully. If Su Ranhua was really not with Ximen Yi, then the most likely outcome would have fallen into the hands of the emperor.
Therefore, he returned to the palace, intending to find Li Bing alone, but he did not expect that Li Bing was still staying with the emperor in Jinyang Palace at this time, so he decided to see Ximen Xianchu again.
"Say, why do you come to see me?"
Neither of them cared that the other didn't answer their own questions. Ximen Xianchu leaned comfortably on the dragon couch and asked.
"Father, your minister's princess has disappeared. Please order a thorough investigation of the palace." Ximen Hao cupped his hands and directly explained his purpose of coming, secretly paying attention to Ximen Xianchu's every expression.
His expression was relaxed, as if Su Ranhua's incident had not had any impact on him.
"Your princess is missing, why are you searching the palace?" Ximen Xianchu asked.
"To be honest with my father, I had some disputes with the princess. The princess said that she wanted to go to the palace to find someone to comment, but there was no news after that. The palace is very big, and I was afraid that the princess would get lost for a while, or be caught out of curiosity.
What's holding me back?" Ximen Hao explained calmly.
"Are you so sure that Su Ranhua is in the palace?" Ximen Xianchu stared at Ximen Hao with burning eyes. Although Ximen Hao's words were an explanation, the implicit meaning was suspicion of his father.
A living person cannot remain silent even if something happens. Therefore, Ximen Xianchu knew that Ximen Hao was doubting him. Only he, the emperor, had the ability to make a person disappear without a trace in the palace.
Even Ximen Hao can't be found.
"The Third Emperor's Brother admitted that he was the one who brought Su Ranhua into the palace." Ximen Hao said.
"Oh?" Ximen Xianchu raised his eyebrows. He was a little strange about the evidence presented by Ximen Hao. Ximen Hao was not surprised to know that it was Ximen Yi who brought Su Ranhua into the palace. What surprised him was that the relationship between the two kings of the north and the south was
There was no dispute. Ximen Hao came in front of him to find someone, and even brought out Ximen Yi as evidence. It felt like their brothers had unexpectedly found themselves on the same line.
However, Ximen Hao arrived a step too late, and Su Ranhua had already been taken away. If they had met together, he would have found Su Ranhua from the secret room under Ximen Xianchu's eyes, which made it difficult for him to explain.
"Please ask Father to order a thorough investigation of the palace." Ximen Hao said again. Even if he misunderstood the emperor, he still had to find a reason to search the palace openly and secretly.
Outside the palace, he could search freely, but inside the palace, his spying alone was still limited. Especially when Su Ranhua's whereabouts were unknown, in order to find her as soon as possible, he had to search with all his strength.
"Okay, I will issue an order now and let Guard Li take you to search." Ximen Xianchu readily agreed, wrote the order with a pen, stamped it with a cinnabar seal, and handed it to Ximen Hao.
Ximen Hao accepted the imperial edict, said "Thank you", and left in a hurry with Li Bing.
"Your Majesty, where do you plan to start investigating?" Li Bing asked following Ximen Hao.
"Wei Li, does Su Ranhua's disappearance have nothing to do with you?" Ximen Hao stopped, turned around and stared at Li Bing intently and asked.
"What does the prince mean by this?" Li Bing was confused.
Ximen Hao looked at his dull appearance like a wood carving, took a step closer, and asked in a low voice, "Have you ever seen Su Ran's paintings?"
Li Bing shook his head decisively, "Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. I just heard about the disappearance of the Princess from Your Majesty."
"Really?" Ximen Hao looked at Li Bing. Ever since he was involved in the Wu Shan matter in the North Palace, Ximen Hao felt that the inner body of this close guard was not as rigid as his appearance. He had also secretly investigated
He, although he had been Dong Wang's escort before, but ever since Dong Wang went to Jiangnan, he had been with the emperor and he had been playing the role of a close bodyguard without any signs of anything wrong.
"If there is news about the princess in my humble position, I will definitely not hide it from the prince." Li Bing vowed.
"It's best." Ximen Hao turned around and continued walking forward, "I'll go back and forth first, and you can find some people to look for together."
"Yes." Li Bing took the order and retreated, taking a deep look at Ximen Hao's back before leaving.
If the person who came to him before was really Ximen Hao, then he must have taken Ximen Hao to find Su Ranhua as before. But something unexpected happened, Ximen Hao came late, and Su Ranhua was killed by someone pretending to be the King of the North.
He was taken away in advance. The emperor asserted that that person was the mysterious man in black.
This made Li Bing give up the idea of telling Ximen Hao the truth, because based on the behavior of the man in black he had learned based on recent events, he guessed that the man in black was someone standing outside the palaces of the two princes and the prime minister in the north and south. This
It reminded him of King Dong who was far away in the south of the Yangtze River.
He thought that the emperor might have been thinking of King Dong before he said those words that would not endanger him.
Could he really be from Dongwang?
Thinking of King Dong, Li Bing became more cautious and planned to keep the whereabouts of Su Ranhua a secret for the time being.
The news that the whole palace was searching for Su Ran's paintings quickly spread to every corner of the palace.
Before dawn, Ximen Wan ran to Li Bing. Regardless of the biting cold wind, he panted and exhaled, "Guard Li, what happened? Did the emperor's wife have an accident?"
Ximen Hao on the side glanced at Ximen Wan. He remembered that Li Bing had said that Ximen Wan had asked him to save Su Ranhua, and he seemed to care about Ximen Wan's request. So, he paid attention to Li Bing's answer.
"Princess Wan, don't worry. Princess Bei is a lucky star and everything will be fine." Li Bing comforted her.
"Is everything going to be okay? You and the Second Emperor Brother led people to search the palace so thoroughly. The matter must be serious." Ximen Wan said anxiously with a grimace on his face.
"Princess Wan, don't worry. I am responsible for ensuring that Princess Bei will be fine. The weather is very cold. Princess Wan, please come back." Li Bing said.
"Wan'er, you go back first." Ximen Hao came over and said to Xiaoyun who was following Ximen Wan, "Take the princess back quickly!"
Xiaoyun was afraid of Ximen Hao, so he glanced at Ximen Wan timidly.
Ximen Wan was also afraid of Ximen Hao. Looking at his face, which was even colder than the weather at this time, he couldn't help but nodded, "Yes, Wan'er will go back right now."
"Li Weiwei, the tone you spoke to Princess Wan seemed to be very positive. Can you guarantee to me that Princess Bei is fine?" Ximen Hao asked after leading Ximen Wan away, staring at Li Bing with a twinkling light in his eyes.