Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 2741: Chapter 2742: Nowhere to Be Found

Bai Ruozhu smiled without revealing any emotion. The Fireflies wouldn’t fly incorrectly, so there were only two possibilities: one, Song Yi’s men caught Chushuang and hid her in Empress Shangzi’s palace, but Empress Shangzi was unaware. Two, there was something suspicious about Empress Shangzi.

For some reason, Bai Ruozhu thought the second possibility was more likely. There was no evidence, just intuition.

She had also considered whether Empress Shangzi might be under control, but judging by all signs, Empress Shangzi’s character hadn’t changed, and she hadn’t made any strange moves, so she probably wasn’t affected by the Poisonous Insect.

The only suspicious thing was her unexpected relationship with Prince Wen De.

”The Emperor is protected by the gods; otherwise, we wouldn’t have smoothly found the Dragon-seeking Grass,” Bai Ruozhu replied with a smile.

”You are so courteous, child. I heard that you will soon embark on your return journey, and I don’t know when we will meet again next time. I am quite reluctant,” Empress Shangzi said, holding Bai Ruozhu’s hand intimately.

”Fate will have us meet again. I will also miss you, Your Highness,” Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.

Jiang Yichun drank his tea, not in a hurry to push the matter. If there was an issue with Shangzi, then the Linzhi Palace was certainly not simple, and it might be full of experts hidden in ambush.

The two of them were not afraid, but Chushuang was in the hands of the other party, so they had to be careful.

Soon, footsteps were heard from outside, and a palace maid rushed in saying, ”Your Highness, several Zhongyuan people have trespassed inside.”

Empress Shangzi’s expression quickly changed, with fear and anger flickering in her eyes, but she collected herself completely within a second.

Bai Ruozhu saw everything in her eyes, further confirming her suspicion. If Empress Shangzi was innocent, her first reaction shouldn’t be to look at her, wondering what was happening, right?

”Are they here for Ruozhu? I wonder what’s so urgent; let them in,” Empress Shangzi said. Just as her words fell, Gao Zhou and others rushed in.

Bai Ruozhu secretly gave Gao Zhou a look, asking, ”Father, what’s happened?”

”Yichun’s mother has been kidnapped, and I’m here to ask for your help in finding her,” Gao Zhou understood and swallowed his questioning.

”What? When did this happen? We’ll leave the palace to look for her right away,” Bai Ruozhu hurriedly said.

She quietly signaled to Fo Lanying in the distance, who instantly understood her intention, and discreetly pulled Xiaoyuan as they slipped out.

”Ruozhu wants us to search first,” Fo Lanying whispered to Yuan Licheng.

”Why don’t I set up an array so no one can escape, and you can go check around?” Yuan Licheng suggested.

Fo Lanying nodded, ”That’s best, be careful.”

”You too,” Yuan Licheng responded.

In the Main Hall, Empress Shangzi took the initiative and said, ”I will speak to His Majesty and ask him to send people to help you find her.”

”Better not disturb His Majesty for now; he’s still...” Bai Ruozhu said... recovering.

Empress Shangzi understood the meaning in her words, nodded, and said, ”Indeed. Be careful, and if you need help, come to me.”

Bai Ruozhu bowed and withdrew, and although Gao Zhou was somewhat reluctant, he followed along.

”Are you sure it’s here?” Gao Zhou asked.

Jiang Yichun nodded, ”The Fireflies conjured by Ning Yu flew to this location and then disappeared, but we’re afraid tearing things open might put mother in danger, so we’ve delayed until you arrived to make arrangements.”

”Let’s split into two teams—one to watch over the Linzhi Palace and ensure no one escapes; the other to sneak in and search for people,” Bai Ruozhu instructed.

Soon, Gao Zhou and Jiang Yichun were assigned to the group searching for people, while Bai Ruozhu and others were assigned to ambush around.

Half an hour passed, and Fo Lanying came out first, shaking her head at Bai Ruozhu.

”Is there nowhere strange at all?” Bai Ruozhu asked.

”No, and I went around several places in the rear hall, but didn’t find a secret room,” Fo Lanying apologized, ”Sorry, I wasn’t much help.”

Bai Ruozhu shook her head, ”It’s not your fault; surely we overlooked something. I need to think more carefully.”

It felt like she grasped a clue but suddenly lost it.

A moment later, Jiang Yichun and Gao Zhou came out, their expressions grim, clearly finding nothing either.

”Could Ning Yu’s magic have run out, making the fireflies vanish midway?” Gao Zhou asked.

Bai Ruozhu shook her head, ”It shouldn’t be; my senior brothers consumed their essence completely. If they didn’t finish, they would have warned me.”

”Xiaoyuan and Lan Ying didn’t find a secret passage—they’re experts in this field,” Jiang Yichun said with a cold voice, carrying a repressed anger.

Everyone was clueless about what was happening; leaving, fearing Chushuang was in danger; staying, too conspicuous in the palace.

Bai Ruozhu paced anxiously, ”There must be a problem somewhere; we’ve definitely missed something.”

Suddenly, her eyes lit up, ”The Fireflies vanished in the Main Hall; maybe we thought only of Linzhi Palace, not of the Main Hall. The disappearance location must be the precise place.”

”The Main Hall is bare; how could anything be hidden?” Gao Zhou said impatiently.

Jiang Yichun revealed a murderous aura, ”Doesn’t matter; we’ll go in and control everyone in Linzhi Palace, and search the Main Hall!”

”The Main Hall wasn’t checked thoroughly earlier,” Fo Lanying said.

”Alright, it’s the only choice,” Bai Ruozhu said, her expression becoming more serious. Even if it would embarrass Empress Shangzi, she couldn’t consider that now; she must rescue Chushuang first.

Gao Zhou led people into the Main Hall; guards shouted as they were quickly manipulated at the acupoints by Gao Zhou’s men.

”What is this?” Empress Shangzi came out with palace maids, her face full of surprise.

”Forgive us, Your Highness.” Bai Ruozhu suddenly moved quickly towards her, reaching for her acupoint.

Unexpectedly, in that moment of abrupt change, Empress Shangzi rapidly dodged.

”You know martial arts?” Bai Ruozhu asked.

Empress Shangzi’s eyes flashed with panic as she hurriedly replied, ”I’ve learned a bit; why are you attacking me suddenly? What have I done to wrong you, Ruozhu?”

”Just ensuring you don’t move,” Bai Ruozhu said, charging at her again. Unexpectedly, Empress Shangzi turned to flee but was quickly blocked by a Water Wall, causing her to bounce back.

In panic, she instinctively covered her lower abdomen; Bai Ruozhu caught this movement in her eyes and understood something instantly.

She dared not delay and reached to manipulate Empress Shangzi’s acupoint.

”Are you pregnant?” She asked Empress Shangzi.

Sure enough, Empress Shangzi’s face changed drastically, ”You’re talking nonsense; what do you want?”

Bai Ruozhu ignored her and told the others, ”Everyone, search around; it must be in this Main Hall.”

”What are you looking for?” Empress Shangzi looked bewildered.

Bai Ruozhu chuckled, ”Stop pretending, Your Highness. We’ve met several times already; I know your personality well. Someone must be using the child in your belly to threaten you, right?”