Ji Fei stood outside Yu Chengxuan's door and gently knocked. "Your Highness?"
It was past noon, and His Highness had not yet left his room. The servants dared not disturb him. After calling out a few times without a response, they placed his lunch outside the door and hurried to find Ji Fei.
Ji Fei knocked on the door again. The room was silent, with no reply.
He looked up at the sky, gritted his teeth, and pushed the door. He found the bolt was not fastened. He opened the door and walked in. "Your H…"
He had only uttered a single syllable before Ji Fei turned and hastily closed the door.
His Highness was not here!
He quickly entered the room and opened the closet. The moment he saw the empty wardrobe, his legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
Had His Highness… escaped?
Ji Fei felt a wave of dizziness. He clutched the closet handle, forcing himself to stand, and tried to comfort himself: Perhaps his guess was wrong? Perhaps His Highness hadn't kept his clothes in this closet?
As he thought this, he examined the entire room, but the conclusion he reached plunged him into an abyss.
Looking at the scene before him, he could no longer find any words of comfort for himself.
But why?
Even with the great victory at Huaicheng and Dali's defeat, it wouldn't have worsened their situation. When Dali and Linyuan had first declared war, His Highness had not fled Linyuan and had even analyzed the pros and cons with him. Why would His Highness abandon the Dali envoy and leave at this crucial juncture?
It made no sense!
After a brief moment of panic and fear, Ji Fei slowly became rational. Even though everything before him seemed to speak of a certain truth, Ji Fei still felt that this truth was more like something deliberately fabricated by others, like a rockery carved by a craftsman. No matter how skilled the craftsman's hand, one could still discern the carved, unnatural marks.
Ji Fei opened the door, bent down to pick up the tray of lunch placed on the floor, and turned to the empty room, saying, "Your Highness, the food has grown cold. I will instruct the kitchen to prepare a fresh meal for you."
As he spoke, he closed the door, took the tray, and walked towards the kitchen.
Half an hour later, he returned to Yu Chengxuan's door with the steaming meal. Before he could even knock, a voice called out from behind him, "Lord Ji!"
Ji Fei's body stiffened. He turned and looked towards the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard approaching him. Beside the deputy commander was a eunuch in imperial court attire.
A palace eunuch?
Ji Fei's heart tightened instantly, and a cold sweat broke out on his palms clutching the tray.
His original plan was to create the illusion that His Highness was still present. He intended to discreetly take a few sets of clothes and put them in His Highness's closet before the people of Linyuan discovered anything. That way, even if His Highness was found missing, no one would suspect he had fled.
However, Ji Fei never expected that his plan would be thwarted before it could even begin by the arrival of someone from the palace.
"General Liu!"
Ji Fei forced himself to remain calm and nodded slightly at the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard.
Liu Zizheng introduced him to Ji Fei. "This is Eunuch Huang from the Inner Court."
"Greetings, Eunuch Huang!"
Eunuch Huang nodded at Ji Fei, gave him a slight smile, and said in a high-pitched voice, "Lord Ji, I am here on the Emperor's command to summon the Seventh Prince to the palace to meet His Majesty."
"Where is the Seventh Prince? Is he in the room?"
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Ji Fei's temple, and his back was already soaked with sweat. He tried his best to control his panic, making his voice sound relaxed and calm. "His Highness is here!"
As he spoke, he gestured with the tray and explained slightly, "A heavy rain fell last night, and His Highness slept poorly. That's why the mealtime is a bit later."
"Oh, what an unfortunate coincidence. We can only trouble the Seventh Prince to dine a little later then."