"Quick, run."
The others thought the soldiers were coming to arrest them, and scattered in fear.
Chi You, with a cold face, grabbed Xia Yun with one hand and the old man leading the way with the other, and they ran swiftly behind the dense forest.
When the searching soldiers caught up, they saw several figures darting into the dense forest.
"Chase them."
Su Zhe heard the commotion and quickly rode over. He dismounted, pushed aside the weeds, and saw the small boat beneath the narrow cave entrance, his heart filled with joy.
"This is it, it must be them. Quickly, quickly go and mobilize troops to search the mountain, and block all the roads leading down the mountain."
"Yes."
After giving his orders, Su Zhe immediately went to report.
Bai Ze rushed over upon hearing the news.
"This dense forest is so deep, and there are paths everywhere. They could have gone anywhere."
Hearing Bai Ze's words, Su Zhe respectfully replied, "This subordinate has already ordered people to search everywhere, and the roads leading down the mountain have been blocked. I just don't know if there are any other small paths here."
"Dispatch more men."
"Yes."
Bai Ze returned to the capital and went straight to the Prime Minister's mansion.
In the study.
Liu Rongruo sat at his desk, a pile of dossiers and maps spread before him.
He quietly looked at the marked locations on the map, his clean, long fingers holding a bracelet, tapping it against the table with a clanging sound.
Bai Ze walked in respectfully.
"My lord, there are traces. After they came out of the underground river, they entered the deep mountains and forests. This subordinate has already dispatched more men to pursue them."
The person in front remained silent.
Bai Ze lowered his head, not daring to speak.
In the air, a dead silence flowed.
After a long while.
Liu Rongruo raised his eyes to look at him and said faintly, "Three days."
Bai Ze's heart trembled, and he immediately knelt down.
"This subordinate has failed."
Liu Rongruo remained silent, his knuckles bone-white as he gripped the bracelet.
Bai Ze, hearing no sound, became even more fearful and dared not speak.
"Tell me, what did a man and a woman do for these three days?"
Bai Ze: "---"
"They were fleeing for their lives, they should have been too busy to care about anything else."
Liu Rongruo lowered his eyes, glancing at the bracelet in his hand, and curled his lips coldly.
"Tell Su Zhe that if the people are not caught within two days, he shall atone with his death."
"Yes."
Su Zhe felt as if he had encountered the worst luck in eight lifetimes. He gnashed his teeth in anger whenever he thought of Chi You. Not being content to be a palace consort, she sneaked out of the palace to cause him trouble, and now his head was on the line.
Upon receiving the order, he stayed in the mountains for two days, but the mountains were too vast. After failing to catch them that day, he never saw any trace of them again.
No matter how many people were dispatched for a large-scale search, they couldn't find them. They did manage to capture a few escaped prisoners, but they couldn't extract any useful information.
As the deadline approached, he was terrified and, unable to wait at the foot of the mountain, rushed to confess his guilt and personally led people to pursue them westward.
Bai Ze's days had not been easy either. Although his lord did not get angry or say anything, he inexplicably made people feel intimidated.
He went to the Dark Pavilion and busied himself with the intelligence gathered by his subordinates.
Liu Rongruo's expression grew colder with each useless piece of information that was reported daily. Even Qilin dared not approach him.
Such a large-scale operation caused widespread discussion throughout the court. The news of the palace consort escaping also spread like wildfire, and many memorials were submitted, demanding accountability from the Southern Border. The princess married for peace had disregarded the alliance between the two countries and secretly fled the capital. This was the best excuse for them to annex the Southern Border.
Ministers from the Northern Palace entered and exited one after another. However, no matter how many memorials were submitted, the King of Dingbei ignored them, not wishing to initiate war.
In the court, opinions were divided, and people gossiped.
However, not long after, the King of Dingbei suddenly ordered an increase in troops at the border. The border between the two countries began to become volatile, and the situation quickly became tense.
The continued failure to capture the people made Liu Rongruo's complexion worse with each passing day. He killed several people in anger and ordered a pursuit in the direction of the Southern Border.
Large numbers of troops moved westward.
In the military camp.
Liu Rongruo stood in the main tent, looking at the people kneeling on the ground. He picked up a wine jar from the table and threw it, his furious expression no longer concealable.
"For such a small matter, so many troops have been dispatched, yet you still can't find them. Is the court raising you as a bunch of incompetents?"
"Prime Minister, please forgive us."
Liu Rongruo rarely visited the military camp. His arrival for this occasion meant he stayed for several days, and the entire camp was filled with anxiety.
Especially seeing his sudden outburst of rage, they were all terrified.
The person kneeling at the front was hit by the wine jar, and the smell of alcohol mixed with blood flowed across the ground. The entire tent was oppressively terrifying.
Someone quickly said, "Reporting to the Prime Minister, we have dispatched more troops towards the Southern Border. Crossing the pass is the only way back to the Southern Border. All roads out of the pass have been blocked. As soon as Consort Qing appears at the pass, she will be apprehended. The fact that we haven't caught them yet means they must still be within Da Liang's territory."
"Furthermore, our men have been pursuing them, but we haven't found any trace. This subordinate believes they might still be in Shangjing."
Liu Rongruo's expression was sinister, "Since they are still within Da Liang, and despite strict orders for searches in various prefectures and counties, they still cannot be found. Is it your incompetence or the court's incompetence?!"
The crowd heard this and became fearful and uneasy.
Ever since the news of Consort Qing's secret departure spread, various prefectures and counties had been in a frenzy of searches. Almost every person leaving the city was checked, and the entire city was under a general manhunt, yet there was not a trace.
It was as if they had seen a ghost.
"This subordinate is terrified, please, Prime Minister, calm your anger."
"Da Liang has many mountains and rivers, and it is densely covered with forests. We have sent troops along the official roads and searched house by house in the prefectures and counties, but we have found no trace. This subordinate suspects they might be hiding in the mountains."
Liu Rongruo was tired of hearing these excuses. He looked at the kneeling crowd with a cold gaze and spoke word by word.
"So, you can't find them, is that right?"
The crowd lamented their misfortune. They had been pursuing them day and night. Originally, they only needed to make a move against the Southern Border and pressure them.
But this Prime Minister, for some unknown reason, insisted on a massive search for Consort Qing, leaving them unable to even get a proper night's sleep.
"Prime Minister, please calm your anger. This subordinate will find the people as soon as possible."
Liu Rongruo suppressed the urge to kill within him with great effort and said calmly, "Go search. Even if you have to turn over the entire Da Liang, find them."
"Yes."
The crowd retreated in terror.
Bai Ze stepped aside, looking at his lord whose menacing aura could no longer be concealed, and marveled inwardly.
He had followed his lord since childhood. When he was five years old, his mother passed away, and his lord became taciturn for a period, his personality growing even more reclusive, rarely revealing his emotions.
Over the years, he hadn't seen him have any significant emotional fluctuations. This time, he was truly angered.
"Is there any news from the Blood Corps?"
Hearing the voice in front, he quickly put away his stray thoughts and replied respectfully.
"The Prince has ordered another batch of highly skilled trackers from the Blood Corps, the Shadows, to investigate. It will take some time."
Liu Rongruo's face was cold, and he said nothing more, his expression more terrifying than ever before.