The京郊军营 (Jingjiao Junying - suburban military camp).
Inside the main tent.
Dantai Ye kicked over the low table in front of him, enraged. "With so many troops, and you still can't find Yelü Qi?"
"Useless, all of you are good-for-nothings!"
Two rows of generals stood below, heads bowed in fear as he raged, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
Qi Tian, shouldering the pressure, stepped forward respectfully.
"General, the Prince's men have tracked him to Qizhou Commandery, but our people are still urgently investigating his exact whereabouts."
Dantai Ye's gaze swept over Qi Tian, veins throbbing on his forehead, his face contorted with malice.
"Why is Yelü Qi still alive? Who was responsible for the incident in Hongzhou?"
Everyone was shocked, sweat beading on their backs.
During the battle of Hongzhou, Yelü Hong, along with his sons, had outflanked them from Liangzhou and ostentatiously entered Hongzhou to discuss border affairs with the Prince of Dingbei.
However, at that time, the Prince had acted as if he were mad, disregarding the battle. He not only imprisoned them but later ordered their assassination.
But Yelü Hong's troops were waiting outside, rescuing him and escaping across the border river.
Upon hearing this, the General flew into a rage and ordered Chu Yijun to pursue them, forbidding them from leaving Daliang alive.
They were ordered to send troops in pursuit to Liangzhou, disguised as mountain bandits. They took Yelü Hong's head. With Yelü Hong dead, Northern Qi was forced out of Liangzhou.
However, it had been too chaotic at the time, and they hadn't expected his son to escape.
Now that the past was brought up again, the generals were filled with trepidation.
Chu Yijun, who was specifically named, was even more terrified. He quickly stepped forward and knelt.
"This subordinate failed in his duty. I beg the General for punishment."
Dantai Ye's dark eyes were sinister and fierce. He snatched up an inkstone and hurled it directly at him.
"Useless! Incompetent!"
Chu Yijun dared not dodge. He felt the pain on his shoulder and remained prostrate on the ground, kneeling respectfully.
"Get out and receive your punishment!"
Trembling.
"Yes."
After the man left, the tent fell silent for a moment.
Dantai Ye's anger could not be suppressed. He paced back and forth in the tent, his entire body radiating a terrifying aura.
The other generals dared not speak, all respectfully lowering their heads.
What a disaster.
This Great General already had a bad temper, and having served on the battlefield for years, he was fierce and brutal. Now, with this incident, his temper had only worsened.
They didn't know how the Northern Qi Yelü Qi had offended him to warrant such a large-scale search, and to the point where they were scolded every day. Truly a misfortune.
"General, although the people from Northern Qi appeared suddenly within Daliang's borders, according to our investigation, Yelü Qi did not bring many men with him. His whereabouts are very elusive, and there are definitely no large troop movements."
"Moreover, with the new Emperor of Northern Qi about to ascend the throne, they would absolutely not dare to cause trouble at this time."
As the generals spoke, Dantai Ye's mood grew even more agitated.
Of course, he knew it wasn't about interstate warfare. What he couldn't understand was why Yelü Qi had taken her away.
What was their relationship?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, his mind spiraling into wild speculation.
He glared at the men below in fury and said,
"If the person is not found within three days, all of you will be thrown into Zhaoyu Prison."
Every time he thought of her being with another man, his rage threatened to consume him.
Murder!
He wished he could draw his saber and kill that beast for daring to take his person away!
Yelü Qi, you're courting death!
Three days?!
Qizhou Commandery was vast, with mountains and forests everywhere. If they intentionally hid, perhaps in some deep mountains and old forests, three days would not be enough to find them.
Qi Tian and the other generals exchanged glances, but none dared to say more.
"Did you hear me?"
Everyone quickly replied, "Yes."
"Get out."
As soon as they left, Dantai Ye, furious, sat on the couch and picked up the wine on the table. After a few sips, he angrily threw the wine away, shattering it into pieces.
The commotion from inside was so great that the guards outside the tent shivered.
"Is the Second Master inside?"
Qingfeng stood outside the tent. Seeing the person approaching, he said coldly, "The General is not seeing anyone."
The steward of the Dantai Mansion saw that he was directly refused and smiled.
"Please convey a message. The Old Madam is ill from worry. I hope the Second Master will return."
Ever since the entire Dantai Mansion was placed under house arrest that day, there had been chaos within the estate.
If it weren't for the fact that many people in the imperial court were from the Dantai family and had to attend morning sessions, who knew how much more trouble there would have been.
The Old Madam had been so angered that she had fallen ill.
Now, with the wedding day fast approaching, and the Second Master delaying his return to the mansion, the absence of the groom would bring disgrace to the Duan Qin Royal Household.
It would simply become a laughingstock in the capital.
"Get lost!"
Qingfeng hadn't even entered when he heard a furious roar from inside, accompanied by the sound of wine jars shattering.
The steward was startled, his face paling slightly.
This temper was truly terrifying. He used to restrain himself somewhat, but lately, he had become increasingly violent.
Qingfeng spread his hands in helplessness. "You see, it's not that I'm not relaying the message, but the General truly isn't seeing anyone."
The steward sighed and could only brace himself and speak to the inside.
"Second Master, the Old Madam is ill and says she wants to see you."
"Go back and tell them that I haven't settled accounts with them for what happened that day. It's best if they behave themselves now and don't provoke me."
The voice from inside was filled with killing intent, chilling the steward to the bone.
Qingfeng immediately pushed the steward out. "Let's go."
"----"
When Dantai Ye heard that the people outside had left, he leaned back wearily on the couch. His narrow phoenix eyes were bloodshot.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw that soft figure, her presence tormenting him to the point of agonizing pain, making sleep impossible.
"Well, well, how much wine have you smashed?"
At this moment, the main tent was lifted, and Li Qiongyu, clad in red, entered, bathed in moonlight. A rebellious smile played on his face, as radiant as a peach blossom.
Upon seeing him finally arrive, Dantai Ye immediately sat up and asked.
"Did you find anything?"
Li Qiongyu picked up a wine jar from the low table and took a sip, then leaned back beside him.
"Of course. When the shadows nurtured by Xiao Chizhan in the Blood Realm take action, how can anything remain undiscovered?"
"Speak quickly!"
Dantai Ye impatiently kicked him.
"The Blood Corpse's people discovered that Yelü Qi had once gone to Gusu under an alias and was saved by your little lamb."
"What?!"
Dantai Ye's face instantly turned ashen.
Li Qiongyu clicked his tongue. "Why are you giving me such a ferocious look?"
"They have this history?!"
"Yes, and it was before you even met her. The Blood Corpse took a lot of effort to find this out."
"Back then, the Yelü clan wanted to seize the iron ore in the Gusu region. They colluded with local officials but were ambushed. Coincidentally, they stumbled into her residence and were saved by her. She nursed him back to health for quite some time—"
Before he could finish speaking, Dantai Ye kicked over a nearby flower stand and roared.
"Is she stupid? Bringing a man home for no reason. Has her brain gone addled."
Pain. The anger made his heart ache.