"Oh no, Daguchi is in trouble!" Bai Ruozhu said, frustrated.

"Daguchi is not a reckless person. The Signal Flare would never be handed to someone else. Even if someone in the Palace discovered the Emperor, reported to Daguchi, he would not issue the Signal Flare until it’s necessary. If there’s no accident, then it’s just this guard’s information isn’t accurate enough."

"I’ll find someone to ask." The young servant was a bit unsure and said nervously.

Bai Ruozhu had just suspected him a little, so she didn’t mention the third possibility, which was that the servant was fake and was trying to fool them with false information.

But looking at the servant’s eyes at this time, she knew that the problem wasn’t with the servant.

The group dared not delay, hurriedly searching the Palace but couldn’t find Daguchi and the others after a long time. Instead, they found the astrologer first, who was also looking for Daguchi.

"I saw the signal, have you found His Majesty? Why can’t I find His Majesty and Daguchi?" the astrologer asked.

"We can’t find them either." Jiang Yichun’s face was heavy; perhaps they were really being played by the enemy.

"Let’s find them first. The Signal Flare cannot be used. Jianqi, don’t look for people now, go and make some new ones." Bai Ruozhu said.

"Yes, Master." Jianqi took the order and left, the others continued to search.

They soon ran into some other servants, all of whom were looking for Daguchi. Obviously, they were supposed to be looking for His Majesty, but now it turned into searching for Daguchi—what a situation.

The mood in the team was particularly low; everyone was very unhappy, or rather angry, but they all suppressed it.

Bai Ruozhu regretted it; she shouldn’t have given the Signal Flare to Daguchi. If not for that, they wouldn’t have been played by others. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Thus, the group searched the Palace for more than half an hour and finally confirmed that His Majesty did not return, and Daguchi, along with his team, was missing!

The Second Prince, who received the news, came over, coughing as he asked, "Could Daguchi also have been affected by the Poisonous Insect, so he has defected?"

"I think it’s more likely that he’s been plotted against, and may have met with misfortune." Bai Ruozhu sighed; in this case, don’t mention Daguchi, even His Majesty could not be found.

After searching for a day, the news of His Majesty’s disappearance spread uncontrollably.

Many people came into the Palace to ask about the news, and finally, the Second Prince could only come out temporarily to preside over the overall situation. Nevertheless, a major trouble broke out at this time.

"Men, seize these treasonous rebels! To rescue His Majesty, I will sacrifice my family for justice today!" Empress Yazi arrived at the Assembly Hall where the Second Prince and ministers were discussing, pointing at the Second Prince and shouting loudly.

The Second Prince showed a look of pain, "Mother, you are being controlled by the Poisonous Insect, I won’t blame you, but at this time, you must not continue to stir trouble."

"It is you who colluded with the Zhongyuan people to imprison His Majesty and Daguchi, talking about everyone being affected by the Poisonous Insect, simply using it as an excuse!" Yazi said loudly, and then assigned her servants, "You go and capture the Second Prince, otherwise, who knows how he might harm His Majesty."

Another minister hurriedly came out to persuade, but Empress Yazi, with tears in her eyes, said, "The Second Prince is my own son, I invested all my hopes in him, do you think I feel good inside now? What kind of mother would slander her own son? But I am also His Majesty’s concubine, His Majesty is the true owner of this Palace, I cannot watch my son make mistakes again."

Her words were full of genuine emotion, and she shed a single tear, appearing both resolute and extremely pained by reporting her son, causing many ministers to believe her, instead doubting the Second Prince’s words.

After all, what the Second Prince said about the Poisonous Insect, about someone controlling the Imperial Palace, sounded incredibly unbelievable, and the Second Prince had no evidence whatsoever, making it impossible to refute Empress Yazi.

He was so anxious that his face turned red, suddenly coughing up blood, and his servant beside him hurriedly advised, "Your Highness, please don’t harm yourself from anxiety. We can all vouch for the matter of the Poisonous Insect, Empress Yazi is certainly being controlled by it when she targets you."

"Nonsense!" Empress Yazi shouted, "You’ve concocted all sorts of absurd lies in your rebellion, not feeling ashamed in the slightest! Everyone must not believe them anymore. Now, we must detain the Second Prince and those Zhongyuan people quickly, so that we can rescue His Majesty as soon as possible!"

By now, many had believed Empress Yazi, and outside came the sound of numerous footsteps. General Chisong rushed into the Assembly Hall with his men, "I received urgent word from Empress Yazi that the Second Prince harmed His Majesty, is there such a thing?"

Before the Second Prince could defend himself, Empress Yazi was already crying, "His Majesty disappeared last night, I wanted to go to His Majesty’s Bedchamber to see him, but the Second Prince and the Zhongyuan people blocked me outside."

"Mother, how could you slander me this way?" the Second Prince said, coughing severely again. He had been affected by the Poisonous Insect, though it was removed promptly, it still left some damage. Later, he also sustained internal injuries from His Majesty’s strike, making him unfit for anxiety now.

"There’s no need for the Second Prince to explain further, you and the Zhongyuan people will be temporarily confined until His Majesty is found, my apologies!" With a wave of General Chisong’s hand, the soldiers stepped forward and directly restrained the Second Prince and his servants.

The Second Prince also had guards beside him, but their number couldn’t compare to General Chisong’s soldiers; when they were about to resist, they were stopped by the Second Prince.

"Do not sacrifice yourselves because of me; innocence will prove itself, and it will be clear when Father is found," the Second Prince said.

On the other side of the Imperial Palace, a figure limped forward; though not slow in movement, they limped heavily and appeared extremely strained.

Finally, recognizing the figure ahead, excitedly shouted, "Lord Bai!"

Bai Ruozhu heard the shout, turned to look, it was Xinye calling her.

Xinye limped over, Bai Ruozhu frowned, "Your leg hasn’t healed properly, what are you running around for? Do you want to become a cripple in the future?"

She was a doctor, disliked disobedient patients the most, and her tone was naturally harsher.

Xinye looked anxious, "Let’s not talk about that now; just now Empress Yazi sent word to the general that the Second Prince colluded with you all to rebel, saying you imprisoned His Majesty, requesting General Chisong to enter the Palace to restore order. Now the general has gone to capture the Second Prince and is soon coming to find you, you’d better hide quickly!"

Bai Ruozhu realized that Xinye didn’t care about his bone injury, running desperately into the Palace just to warn them, afraid they would be surrounded by General Chisong’s army.

"Are you not afraid of being found out by Chisong, thinking you betrayed him?" Bai Ruozhu looked at him steadily and asked.

"I believe you would not rebel, and do not want you to be wronged. I insist on following my conscience; it’s not betrayal of anyone." Xinye said decisively, "Alright, you’d better hide quickly, the General has brought many people, you’d better not confront him."

"Thank you." Bai Ruozhu said sincerely.

Beside her, Jiang Yichun this time did not snort coldly; though he didn’t like Xinye, he couldn’t deny that Xinye’s actions were indeed very righteous.