A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace-Chapter 738 Missing

Zhao Junyao’s mood was like the sky after dozens of days of incessant rain. At last, a glimmer of light had pierced through.

He suddenly stood up from his seat, shouting praises loudly!

"Worthy indeed are the soldiers of my Great Chu Dynasty!"

Zhao Junyao could no longer contain himself; he rose, mounted his horse, and departed!

Xia Tingfeng, without a second word, followed suit.

At this moment, the original campsite had long since turned into a blood-drenched battlefield. When Zhao Junyao arrived on his horse, he saw mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. Even the tents were half-destroyed, leaving a scene of utter devastation.

Zhao Junyao cursed under his breath, then dismounted and walked towards the camp.

Zhao Junqi and Xiao Liang hurried over to greet Zhao Junyao upon his return.

"Emperor!"

Zhao Junyao just nodded and praised, "Good! You did well!"

General Xiao immediately knelt down. "Emperor, I am unworthy of such praise!"

Zhao Junqi also feigned modesty. "Imperial Brother, those pirates are truly formidable, so hard to deal with! I almost didn’t make it back!"

His expression as he spoke was exactly that of someone seeking approval!

Zhao Junyao’s gaze flickered, then he smiled and said, "Good! When we return, there will be grand rewards for you! Let Mother choose a wife for you, and I will grant you a marriage, how about that?"

Zhao Junqi, initially very excited, lost interest upon hearing this. "Imperial Brother, didn’t we agree not to rush this?!"

His attitude was somewhat impatient, already slightly overstepping his bounds.

However, Zhao Junyao did not pursue the matter but laughed with a wave of his hand. "HA-HA... You are of age now, and marriage is not child’s play! Take a wife first, and if later you take a fancy to another girl from a certain family, submit a request to me, and I will appoint her as Consort, how does that sound?"

Zhao Junqi seemed tempted by the conditions. However, after hesitating for a moment, he still shook his head. "That won’t do either!"

Seeing him as though he had some ’unspeakable difficulties,’ Zhao Junyao did not inquire any further. After admonishing them briefly, he went with General Xiao and General Liang into a tent.

「Outside.」

The soldiers were busily cleaning up the battlefield. Victorious in battle, everyone was overjoyed, running around to spread the good news. Meanwhile, those who had sacrificed themselves for the country also had mourners weeping for them.

「After the battle,」

Sorrow and joy are always two extremes! This is fundamentally unchangeable. The only way to truly change it is to prevent wars from occurring again.

「Inside the tent.」

General Xiao knelt on one knee, reporting the situation to the Emperor. "Emperor, after their defeat, the Southern Ocean Kingdom’s warships retreated thirty miles! But from what I understand, they are unwilling to concede, merely lying in wait over there, hoping for an opportunity to present itself. The moment our Great Chu Dynasty shows the slightest vulnerability, those people will immediately seize the chance to continue preying on our defenseless citizens!"

Zhao Junyao narrowed his eyes and curled his lips into a cold smile. "I will never allow such a thing to happen! This time we must press the attack; I want to hit them so hard they’ll never dare to come back!"

"Yes!" General Xiao and General Liang both showed a bit of excitement. "Emperor, we shall spare no effort!"

Zhao Junyao smiled faintly, motioning them up with a wave of his hand.

At this moment, Zhao Junqi also came over. "Imperial Brother! Are we going to press the attack? I too wish to join!"

Zhao Junyao, looking at Zhao Junqi’s duplicitous face, felt an indescribable mix of emotions. But he understood that now was not the time for everything to come to light. So, Zhao Junyao responded to him as usual. His attitude was natural, his tone hearty, without a hint of concealment.

Therefore, after Zhao Junqi tested the waters repeatedly, he concluded: The Imperial Brother still didn’t know his secret. This should be easy then! Zhao Junqi thought to himself.

Ultimately, Zhao Junyao, along with General Xiao, General Liang, Minister Yang, and others, devised a plan and discussed all the details of the pursuit. It wasn’t until dusk that they dispersed.

The sky darkened, and after everyone was settled, Zhao Junyao took off his outer garment and prepared to rest.

At that moment, Xia Tingfeng suddenly entered, his face pale. "Emperor... Ye Tang is missing!"

"PFFT!" Zhao Junyao spat out a mouthful of water, his face etched with surprise.

"Missing?!" he exclaimed in astonishment.

Xia Tingfeng nodded, a look of guilt on his face. "It was all my carelessness that I only just discovered this! I just assumed she was tired, or perhaps with the Seventh Prince and the others, so I didn’t ask further! Who would have known, when I went to look for her this evening, she was nowhere to be found!"

Xia Tingfeng was deeply remorseful. He had truly been careless, not even knowing when Ye Tang had disappeared!

Just then, Yang Chenyi and Little Seventh also came in. Little Seventh was still dressed in his undergarments, clearly about to rest.

"Imperial Brother," Little Seventh said, "Yang Chenyi and I simply thought Miss Ye had gone to find Commander Xia, so we didn’t worry! Who could have known she didn’t go there!"

Xia Tingfeng was also shocked. "I thought she was with you!"

As both parties exchanged information, they finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

Yang Chenyi, who had been standing quietly to the side with his head bowed, finally spoke. After much thought, he said, "Emperor, Commander Xia, I have considered it, and there is only one possibility! Miss Ye Tang has been taken away by Min Tu! He retreated very hastily and left early. He disappeared not long after the Emperor departed. Unfortunately, I was engaged in combat with others at the time and didn’t pay much attention..."

Little Seventh also expressed his guilt. "By the time we realized it, Min Tu had already fled! Since then, none of us has seen Ye Tang!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was dumbstruck.

A living person had vanished into thin air. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible, but on a battlefield, it was tragically common. They had just endured a great battle. Many didn’t even leave a complete body behind. Not being able to find someone usually meant they had perished; this was a grimly normal occurrence. Nobody dwelled too much on it. After all, upon returning to the Imperial Court, the court would, according to protocol, generously reward their families based on the enlistment roster. They had come prepared for such an outcome when they joined the army. While difficult to accept, it was a fact of war.

But now...

"Could it be that Ye Tang also..." Zhao Junyan speculated, his complexion uneasy.

Yang Chenyi’s face also turned quite grim at the prospect. "No way!"

Xia Tingfeng frowned, his voice becoming slightly agitated. "Impossible, Ye Tang wouldn’t die! She must have been taken away!"

Zhao Junyao looked at him and patted his shoulder. "I don’t believe it either, but... you personally investigate. If she really has been abducted, I authorize you to lead troops to rescue her!"

Xia Tingfeng looked at Zhao Junyao, his eyes slightly bloodshot. He suddenly dropped to one knee. "Thank you, Emperor! Ye Tang and I have a bond forged through life and death. Moreover, she even calls me ’big brother.’ It is both an emotional and a rational duty for me to intervene."

Zhao Junyao nodded. "Go then!"

"Yes! Your subordinate thanks you, Emperor!"

Xia Tingfeng, eager to begin, got up and left, his figure vanishing into the vast night.