The leader of the black-clothed men, having personally witnessed Yu Meng fall, scrambled to the edge of the cliff in a panic. He peered into the misty depths below, where not a single figure could be seen.
"Search!" he bellowed to his men.
Fan Zehao, after ensuring his wife was settled, led a contingent down the cliff face to search. Only a few guards remained to protect Ping Ting and Zhao Jia Qi.
Inside the carriage, Zhao Jia Qi slowly awoke. Recognizing her surroundings, she sat up abruptly, clutching Ping Ting's sleeve. "Where's the child? Have they found her?"
She looked around and seeing neither Fan Zehao nor Fan Lao Er, furrowed her brow deeply. "Where are they? And where are those assassins?"
Why were these assassins targeting them?
Who were these assassins?
A multitude of questions flooded her mind, leaving her utterly bewildered.
Ping Ting looked at her sister-in-law and whispered, "After Yu Meng fell off the cliff, the black-clothed assassins stopped their attack and went to search where she fell."
She lowered her gaze, catching Zhao Jia Qi's stunned expression, and continued, "He Lian Jin Li and Bai Li Feng Ge, in their attempt to protect Yu Meng, also accidentally fell while chasing after her after she fell off the cliff. Eldest Brother is leading Xu Dong and the guards to search for them. There's been no news yet."
After Ping Ting finished relaying the current situation, Zhao Jia Qi had only one thought: it was over.
Ding Bei Liao had only one Crown Prince, the Crown Prince of Xuan Yuan Kingdom. Their own county princess, suddenly missing, would be a bombshell if this news reached the other two kingdoms.
Zhao Jia Qi supported Ping Ting's arm as they disembarked from the carriage. Seeing the few guards diligently protecting them, she let out a silent sigh.
Ping Ting, seeing her sister-in-law not crying or making a scene, but walking towards the cliff edge, became extremely anxious. She quickly grabbed Zhao Jia Qi. "Sister-in-law, don't do anything foolish. Don't let it be that we don't find the child, and you have an accident too. How would Eldest Brother live then!"
Hearing Ping Ting's concerned words, as if she were contemplating suicide, Zhao Jia Qi found it both amusing and exasperating.
She said sternly, "I am not foolish, and I have no intention of ending my life. I just want to see the condition of the place where the child fell."
With their limited manpower, searching for people was already difficult. If she caused any further trouble, it would undoubtedly distract her husband.
She simply wanted to investigate, to analyze the possibility of survival after falling off a cliff, whether there were branches to break the fall.
Was there a river or something at the bottom of the cliff?
As long as she didn't look, there were still many fantasies, fantasies of Yu Meng's incredible luck. But upon clearly seeing the current state of the cliff, she felt the world spin and her legs turn to jelly.
She couldn't see anything clearly at the bottom of the cliff. She was also puzzled. This wasn't a high mountain, so why was the bottom of the cliff shrouded in mist?
She pointed to the people behind them, who were guarding them. "Find me a thick rope, the longer the better."
Ping Ting saw that her sister-in-law's mind seemed to have short-circuited. She quickly pointed to the other side, urging Zhao Jia Qi to look. "Eldest Brother tied himself to the rope, and the other end of the rope is tied to a tree. He went down to search where Yu Meng fell. It's been nearly half an hour already. I believe there will be news soon. Sister-in-law, please wait patiently!"
They say worry can make one reckless. Her sister-in-law, usually as shrewd as a monkey, seemed like a fool today, completely lost after losing her daughter.
Now, she didn't dare to expect any good ideas from her sister-in-law, only hoping she wouldn't cause any trouble. At the moment, Ping Ting was anxiously watching the rope hanging from the cliff.
As long as the rope moved, perhaps it would bring Yu Meng back from the other end.
As time dragged on, the light in Zhao Jia Qi's eyes faded.
More than an hour had passed. Even climbing would have reached the bottom of the cliff. If they had found her, they would have returned by now. The fact that they hadn't returned, and the rope hadn't moved, indicated that Yu Meng had not been found.
Even He Lian Jin Li and Bai Li Feng Ge hadn't found anyone. What were they to do!
Zhao Jia Qi sat by the cliff edge, watching the rope. Though her eyes were fixed on one spot, her mind raced with thoughts of subsequent events.
Ping Ting thought she had gone mad, lost her senses.
After a long while, Zhao Jia Qi called over a guard. "This place is not far from Zong Sheng Kingdom. You will go and deliver a message, tell Zong Han the situation here, and have him send troops to assist in searching for the county princess and the two crown princes. Remember, Jun Jun must not know about this."
The guard, who had followed Fan Zehao, naturally knew who the Princess Consort meant by Jun Jun. He looked back at the other guards protecting the Princess Consort, then cupped his hands and acknowledged the order before leaving.
After he left, Zhao Jia Qi called another guard. This one was to return to the inner city and have Xiao Ce lead troops to them. With both forces combined, the search would be much faster.
The golden hour for survival might have already passed, so they should try to expand the search area and buy her husband more time to search.
At the same time, she hoped that Yu Meng, Jin Li, and Feng Ge were still alive. But surviving and then facing those assassins was like adding insult to injury.
As dusk deepened, those searching below began to emerge. Zhao Jia Qi pulled at the rope, laboring to haul them up. However, upon seeing them, they had returned empty-handed.
They all looked dejected. Fan Xu Dong even dared not meet his sister-in-law's eyes, following behind Fan Zehao with his head bowed.
"They didn't find her?" Zhao Jia Qi asked him with remarkable calmness.
Fan Zehao nodded and took out a piece of blood-stained cloth from his怀. He handed it to her. "This is a piece of Yu Meng's clothing found at the bottom of the cliff, but we didn't see her. Instead, there were many footprints. I guess they are all alive, but they are hiding to avoid those assassins."
The fabric was pale pink. Zhao Jia Qi clutched the piece of her daughter's clothing to her chest. The worry she had suppressed all afternoon finally broke through, and she began to cry.
"Where could Yu Meng have gone?"
Fan Zehao put his arm around her shoulders. He was also worried about their daughter, but seeing his wife like this, he could only feel more anxious.
"Don't be like this. I'll take them down again later. This time, we'll follow the footprints. I hope we'll have some success. I came back to tell you this, so don't worry too much!"
Zhao Jia Qi shook her head, sobbing, "How can I not worry? Now the child's life or death is unknown, and two crown princes have been involved. You know how dangerous the current situation is."
The thought of the two crown princes made Fan Zehao feel a chill down his spine. He sighed silently. "We'll deal with it as it comes. If both their kingdoms believe we killed their princes, then let them think what they want. We'll face whatever comes."
"Besides, their guards, Crown Prince He Lian and Crown Prince Bai Li, both witnessed it themselves. Their princes jumped off the cliff on their own, we did not push them. If the emperors of the two countries insist on blaming us and seeking revenge, we will accept it."
Fan Zehao's mind was entirely focused on his daughter. He wasn't worried at all about what reactions the other two kingdoms might have.
They would fight as they should. If they fought well, they would gain two more territories. If they fought poorly, they would hand over their inner city.
These were the only two outcomes. If they hoped for the best, perhaps they could coexist peacefully and search for the children together.