Phoniex Requiem
Chapter 81: The Truth of the Problem

Chapter 81: The Truth of the Problem

Li Xiu faced Pei Ziao who was kneeling, but his sharp gaze was fixed on Li Qianxiao.

In each of the four kingdoms on the Chenyuan continent, there was a historical precedent for the crown prince seizing the throne. As a result, while the crown prince of each kingdom was granted power and authority, they also had to be closely watched. This was how it happened to Li Xiu, and that was how it happened to Li Qianxiao.

As Li Xiu's gaze swept over him, Li Qianxiao forced his attitude to remain calm. Turning to Li Xiu and bowing, he explained, "Dad, I drank too much."

Li Xiu cleared his throat before returning to Pei Ziao. “What case do you want to report?”

Pei Ziao took a deep breath to calm his nerves before telling him what happened to him tonight, how he got knocked out and how Yi Qianying disappeared. Naturally, she dispelled the fact that Yi Qianying had been drugged with an aphrodisiac.

Yun Ruoyan, who was still stuck in Li Mo's lap, also cheered up her ears. Yi Qianying had drugged him, and he returned the favor. When Yun Ruoyan returned to the party and did not see Yi Qianying and Pei Ziao, she was sure that they had found a place to deal with the aphrodisiac.

He planned to threaten the couple knowing this fact, but who would have thought things would develop like this? Yi Qianying had actually disappeared!

“Sister Qianying was kidnapped? Jesus, what should we do?” Yun Ruoyan exclaimed from Li Mo's lap, deep worry seemed to radiate from his voice.

“Yan'er, don't worry too much. We were inside the palace, and it was very safe. I'm sure your brother will be found soon.” Li Mo once sent Li Qianhan to check on Yun Ruoyan's life situation at home, and naturally knew that she was at odds with her sister. What was Yun Ruoyan trying to achieve with her sudden act of attention?

But, no matter what Yun Ruoyan wanted to do, Li Mo would happily follow her.

He turned to Li Xiu and said, “Brother, who would dare to kidnap someone inside the palace? The culprit must be severely punished!”

"Of course." Li Xiu's usually smiling face turned solemn, and he immediately sent guards to comb the palace in search of the missing Yi Qianying and the perpetrator who had committed such a heinous crime.

In his urgency, Pei Ziao did not pay attention to Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo. Only when Yun Ruoyan made her dramatic exclamation did she realize that she was by her side. When he saw that Yun Ruoyan was sitting on the lap of the Slaying King, he was also extremely shocked, and his gaze could not help but linger on the couple.

Yun Ruoyan suddenly raised her head to look at Pei Ziao. Although he was a little surprised, he did not panic, he coldly met and looked into his eyes before turning around.

Pei Ziao did not seem to be lying.

Was Yi Qianying really kidnapped? Who could do that?

Li Palace was well guarded at all times, and it was highly unlikely that intruders could break through layer after layer of security, unless the culprit came from the palace itself.

Yun Ruoyan's gaze watched the crowd. Some descendants had noticed the commotion and looked towards Pei Ziao. Others are unperturbed and continue to do things on their own. No one seems guilty.

The last person Yun Ruoyan's gaze touched was the crown prince, Li Qianxiao.

His head bowed, his waist bowed. It seemed like he had maintained an uncomfortable posture for quite some time. Li Qianxiao's anxiety was almost palpable. Although he made a commendable effort to hide it, his antics could not escape Yun Ruoyan's sight.

When he attributed his current guilt to his perverted personality and the fact that he had only appeared at the banquet long after it had started.

He could not help but smile in satisfaction for having discovered the mystery.

"Yan'er, what do you think makes you so happy?" Li Mo whispered into his ear again. "Will you tell me?"

Yun Ruoyan shuddered as her scalp went numb once more. With a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, he turned around. "Slaying King do you want to see the show?"

"Oh?I'll watch whatever you wear, dear Miss Yun."

The two shared a sly smile.

“Young Master Pei,” Yun Ruoyan started, “Can you show us where my cousin is and where you were attacked? I'm quite worried, and I want to take part in the effort of finding my cousin as well.”

“Ruoyan is right, sitting here and waiting will not solve our problem.” Unlike usual, Yun Ruoyao actually agreed with him.

Li Mo added, “Given how big his palace is, trying to comb through every nook and cranny will take a lot of time. Since the banquet is coming to an end, why don't we ask everyone for help? We'll start with where this Young Master Pei was attacked.”

Li Xiu naturally would not agree with Li Mo's suggestion. The emperor, empress, and about thirty descendants followed Pei Ziao into the outer garden.

Pei Ziao stopped when he reached the small courtyard in the northwest corner of the imperial garden. "I'm fainting around here."

This crowd of teenagers naturally understood why couples wanted to hide in an isolated corner.

“Ruoyan, everyone, please do not misunderstand,” Pei Ziao immediately defend himself. “It wasn't Qianying who followed me here, it was she who called me here. I have a witness.”

“I can guarantee Young Master Pei.” The blue-clothed young master who had started a conversation with Yun Ruoyao stood up. “Before the banquet began, I had a serious discussion with Young Master Pei about the attitude of fighting. Miss Yi suddenly walked up to him and said that she had an important matter to tell him. Since he looked very confused, Young Master Pei went with him.”

"Oh, so?" Yun Ruoyan nodded before continuing, "Then, I wonder what urgent matter should my cousin say to Young Master Pei?"

In a hurry to distance himself from the matter, Pei Ziao almost told the truth, that Yi Qianying had been fed an aphrodisiac. But just as he was about to speak, he swallowed his words once more. The truth will likely trigger more accusations, and it would be wise to pretend to know nothing.

“I'm not sure either. Before he could tell me, I had passed out."

“Finding Qianying is the highest priority at the moment, let's not worry about other things for now, ”call Yun Ruoyao urgently.

"All right, everybody, spread out and start looking." As soon as Li Xiu spoke, the crowd dispersed to look for Yi Qianying.

A eunuch brought Li Xiu, the empress, and Li Mo some chairs. Li Xiu gestured to Li Mo, "Fourth brother, let's sit down while they search."

Li Mo dragged Yun Ruoyan to his side. As he sat down, he suddenly recalled something. "Brother, do you remember that greenhouse around here?"

“Of course,” replied Li Xiu, hiding a grin. The greenhouse is made for rare and special types of plants and grasses. When Li Mo entered the palace, he took over the greenhouse, uprooted all his plants, and replaced them with medicinal herbs. Li Mo grieved over the loss of his plants long enough after that.

Although Li Xiu was old enough to be Li Mo's father, the aura of the latter always seemed to defeat him.

"Fourth brother, what made you bring it up?"

“It has been quite a while since I visited this part of the park. Brother, can you accompany me to that greenhouse?” Li Mo smiled.

Rarely did this brother of his show such interest, and Li Xiu was naturally willing to accommodate him. "Of course, brother." Li Xiu stood up. "We'll be gone soon."

As soon as Li Qianxiao heard Li Mo's words, his legs became soft and he almost fell down.

“Xiao'er, are you feeling unwell? Now that the banquet is over, why don't you go get some rest?" the empress advised, after finding something wrong with her son.

As if freed from the heavy burden, Li Qianxiao was just about to do so when Li Xiu suddenly shouted from the front, “How can humans be so weak? Rarely would your uncle be interested in touring the palace, so we would all accompany him.”

Li Qianxiao's heart sank as he trudged behind the party. Surely no one would find his involvement in the showdown? After all, he was the crown prince. Who would dare to accuse him carelessly? Even if they did, without any real evidence, what could they do?

His heart gradually calmed down, and even his legs stopped trembling.

The moon was very bright that night, and moon rocks encrusted throughout the park made visibility almost as clear as daylight.

Yun Ruoyan was right by Li Mo's side. When she slightly tilted her head, she could trace how Li Qianxiao's expression changed during the walk.

His gaze landed on his purple-gold crown, which seemed to tremble with his head. His smile could not help but deepen.

Eunuch Chang was assigned to take care of this part of the park, and he guided their way. When they reached the greenhouse, Eunuch Chang turned around and bowed to Li Xiu and Li Mo. “Too dark inside the greenhouse, so allow me to turn on some lights first.”

He brought some eunuchs in training into the greenhouse with him.

Although he was sure he would not be caught, Li Qianxiao still could not help but clench his fists.

Li Xiu looked at the greenhouse and could not hold his breath. “It's been too long since I've been here. I remember the rare plants I planted, I could easily spend the whole day just pruning and paying attention to them. Am I going to have those carefree days again?"

“Brother, your efforts bring happiness to all the people. That the Li kingdom is the foremost among the four kingdoms is not a small part of your business.”

Li Mo's rare praise caused Li Xiu to burst into laughter. "Fourth brother, you flatter me."

Suddenly, a cry sounded from the greenhouse. Eunuch Chang dashed out with the eunuch-in-training behind him as he loudly called out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, there is a girl in the greenhouse!"