IHOEAYSTTTIW Chapter 77

Chapter 77 Finding Someone.

Chapter 77 Finding Someone.

Yun Qi didn’t know what kind of bizarre conclusion the steward had drawn from his words, and wouldn’t have stopped it even if he did. His relationship with Lin Yan was only that of a couple on the surface; other people’s wild imaginations were just comforting candy.

Yun Qi only wanted to find Lin Yan now, and then… he would cry, make a fuss, and threaten to hang himself, kneeling on the keyboard and then on a durian.

As long as he could bring the person back, anything else was negotiable.

Yun Qi took off his princely robes, changed into commoner’s clothes, and slipped out of the Prince’s mansion through the back door.

At this hour, most of the carriages on the street had stopped running, and the few remaining ones were unwilling to take on more passengers.

Having shed his princely attire, Yun Qi used a bank-note to pressure the carters. The hawkers who had just been politely yielding to each other instantly changed their tune, almost fighting each other to get his business.

Yun Qi was too lazy to participate in the battle and randomly picked a lucky one, telling him to go to Xiang Wei.

Speeding all the way, Yun Qi felt a little carsick. But now was not the time to dwell on that. He jumped out of the car, and before he could even stand properly, the waiter from Xiang Wei greeted him: “Young master, you’re here? What would you like to order?”

Yun Qi bypassed the waiter and rushed directly into the restaurant.

The waiter was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed, constantly calling out: “How about that seat by the window? Or maybe a more secluded spot inside…”

Yun Qi searched around but couldn’t find the person he was looking for. He suddenly turned around and asked sternly, “Where’s your manager?”

The waiter shrank back in fright and pointed upstairs with a trembling hand.

Yun Qi turned and headed upstairs. The waiter hurriedly tried to stop him, forcing a smile: “You can tell me what you need, sir. If there’s anything we haven’t done well enough…”

Luo Mu, holding two pieces of paper with a worried expression, came down from upstairs, and immediately saw this scene.

“Why have you come?” Yun Qi went to meet him, and by the way, added the second item of debt of the day to the poor waiter’s account.

Yun Qi bypassed the waiter, rushed to Luo Mu, and asked eagerly, “Where’s my brother? Is my brother here?”

Luo Mu suppressed the surprise in his eyes and led Yun Qi upstairs: “Lin Gongzi has gone traveling. I thought you also…”

“When did he leave?” Yun Qi grabbed Luo Mu, snatched the papers from his hand, his hands trembling.

“About two hours ago, I think.” Luo Mu hurriedly caught the paper Yun Qi threw at him and handed it back: “Could you take a look for me? Lin Gongzi’s handwriting is a bit…”

“He’s already left?” Yun Qi didn’t hear anything Luo Mu was saying; he just walked out in a daze.

What to do now?

Brother has left, he should go after him.

But he didn’t know what carriage brother had taken, nor which direction he had gone.

Perhaps he should go back to the Prince’s mansion and send people to search? But the city gates were already closed at this hour, and such a large-scale search…

He was just a prince without real power. The Prince’s mansion only had so many people. It was alright in the Capital City, but outside, no one would listen to his orders.

Real power? That’s right, real power.

Yun Qi instructed the driver to head to the Imperial Palace.

If you talked about power, who in the Great Zhou could compare to the Emperor? Finding someone would be just a matter of a word from him.

The driver felt increasingly uneasy as he drove.

He had thought that this lord just wanted to head in the direction of the Imperial Palace, but now… they were almost at the Imperial City. Did the lord in the carriage intend to enter the palace?

Which was more important, money or life?

The driver hesitated again and again, and finally stopped the carriage at an intersection: “My lord, the Imperial Palace is just ahead. You…”

“Fifty taels.” Yun Qi threw a bank-note out through the curtain and ordered coldly, “Just stop at the alley nearest to the palace gate.”

Not entering the palace, just stopping at the alley?

Compared to fifty taels, this little bit of risk was practically nothing.

The driver took the bank-note and urged his horse towards the Imperial Palace.

“This is it.”

Yun Qi jumped out of the carriage and hurried towards the palace gate, his waist pendant, which he hadn’t had time to remove, clashing against his belt, the clear sound especially loud in the night.

The patrolling guards heard the sound and shone their lanterns over, sternly shouting, “Who’s there?”

Yun Qi expressionlessly held up his waist pendant in front of the guards, his eyes cold.

In the light of the lanterns, the guards clearly saw the words on the pendant. They quickly threw their swords on the ground and bowed, “Your Highness, Prince An.”

Yun Qi put away his waist pendant, kicked the sword aside, and walked straight towards the palace.

“It’s late at night, Your Highness, please return.” The guard took a step back and blocked the gate, still maintaining the formality, but the smile on his face had cooled considerably.

Yun Qi stopped and ordered coldly, “Move aside.”

The smile on the guard’s face disappeared completely. He made a gesture to the gatekeeper with his hand behind his back, and the gatekeeper immediately drew his swords, guarding the gate tightly.

The guard took another step back, his words no longer polite: “Your Highness, please don’t make things difficult for us. You are a prince; we naturally wouldn’t dare to do anything to you. But if you insist on forcing your way into the palace…”

“What’s going on?” A sharp voice came from inside the gate. The gatekeeper saw the person coming and consciously made way.

“Eunuch Tingchao, it’s…”

Tingchao stepped past the guard and bowed to Yun Qi, his words and tone ingratiating: “Oh, Prince An? This servant was just about to send someone to invite you; you’ve come yourself. Please, come in, please.”

Hearing this, the guard’s face turned pale. He quickly moved aside, following Tingchao as he led the person inside: “Your Highness, this… this is all a misunderstanding. We were just following the rules. We were just acting according to regulations. Please don’t take it to heart…”

Tingchao’s appearance was strange, but Yun Qi didn’t have time to think about it. He followed the man into the palace.

The guard followed behind them, looking troubled.

Tingchao stopped and bowed slightly to the guard: “Ignorance is no excuse, but Prince An is not one to be petty. Sir, please return.”

The guard was greatly relieved and bowed again in Yun Qi’s direction before retreating.

Yun Qi was very annoyed, and his pace quickened unconsciously.

It took Tingchao a lot of effort not to be left too far behind. When he saw the plaque for the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Tingchao breathed a sigh of relief, but Yun Qi didn’t even pause and rushed straight in.

People in desperate situations really could unleash their potential. At this point, who cared about proper behavior?

Tingchao practically rolled to Yun Qi’s side, grabbed his sleeve, and pleaded breathlessly: “Prince An, please wait… This servant… this servant will inform His Majesty…”

Yun Qi shook off Tingchao’s hand and rushed straight in.

Tingchao followed and threw himself to the ground in front of Yun Qi: “Please wait, you can’t go in…”

Even with Tingchao’s best efforts to stop him, it was already too late. They were already inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The new Emperor, who was reviewing memorials behind his desk, didn’t even look up. He waved his hand dismissively at Tingchao, his voice full of coldness: “Alright, get out.”

“Yes.” Tingchao kowtowed, got up, and retreated, closing the door with great discretion.

Only the new Emperor and Yun Qi were left in the room.

Yun Qi walked directly to the desk, lifted his robe, and knelt straight down: “An Wangfei is missing. This subject wishes to borrow some men from His Majesty to search for her.”

The new Emperor put down his brush and looked with interest at Yun Qi, who had lost his usual composure, teasing him with a smile: “Royal Brother is breaking into the palace in the middle of the night just for this little matter?”

Yun Qi didn’t reply, but just repeated what he had just said: “This subject begs His Majesty to lend this subject some men to search for her.”

“Royal Brother wants to borrow men from Me, you must give some reward, right? Besides… with Royal Brother’s behavior tonight, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an assassination attempt.” Yun Song stood up and paced seemingly casually, stopping in front of a shelf.

He took down a box from the shelf, handed it to Yun Qi, the smile in his voice becoming more obvious: “However, I am not an unreasonable tyrant. As long as the price is right, I can not only send Royal Brother to see Imperial Sister-in-law, but also guarantee you a lifetime of carefree living.”

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