It was a tug-of-war of public opinion.
Chu Qianli had never experienced such verbal jousting in the imperial court.
But for characters like Chu Jiangnan and Chu Lingyang, such confrontations were countless over the past decade.
In fact, everyone knew that Prince Yu had to be released today.
If he continued to be imprisoned in the celestial prison, the soldiers on the border would truly riot; this was not a threat, nor a joke.
Midway, Chu Jiangnan, citing the princess's discomfort, ordered her to return and rest.
However, after leaving the Emperor's sleeping quarters, Chu Qianli quickly summoned Xi Jiu.
"Tonight, Prince Yu will likely return to his manor. You must immediately find Chu Feiyan and tell her that if she has nowhere to go, she can come to me for refuge."
Chu Feiyan had publicly accused Prince Yu. While a tiger does not eat its cubs, this might not be the case for Prince Yu.
Otherwise, Prince Yu would not have sent Chu Feiyan away to win over Lan Fan in the first place.
"Does the Princess mean that Princess Feiyan is in danger tonight?" Xi Jiu's expression changed. "Alright, I will go find Princess Feiyan now."
... The Prince Yu's manor was indeed not peaceful that night.
Prince Yu returned in the latter half of the night.
As for Chu Feiyan, Xi Jiu could not find her.
By the time Xi Jiu arrived at Prince Yu's manor, Chu Feiyan had already left.
Afterward, Xi Jiu immediately began searching the imperial city.
But after searching for a day and a night, there was still no result.
The imperial city appeared quiet, but in reality, everyone knew that a storm was brewing.
Prince Yu was leaving the city.
Not daring to leave openly, on the night he was released from the celestial prison, three groups of people left the city from Prince Yu's manor.
Chu Wang and Chu Lingyang immediately led their men in pursuit.
Unexpectedly, the first two groups leaving the city were not Prince Yu.
"There is another team leaving from the East Gate. Fourth Brother, you stay here, I will go chase them."
Prince Ling led a group of men towards the East Gate.
But the one leaving from the East Gate was also not Prince Yu.
Chu Wang had ordered the city gates to be guarded, but unfortunately, there were also Prince Yu's men among the guards.
If they did not intercept them personally, these guards would not be able to stop them.
Chu Wang dared not be careless and continued to send men to guard Prince Yu's manor.
However, Chu Wang himself was carrying baggage, and before he could reach Prince Yu's manor this time, he was ambushed by a large number of martial artists.
It was fortunate that he could return to the palace safely.
By dawn, Chu Wang returned injured, and Chu Lingyang had not encountered Prince Yu.
Prince Yu's manor remained heavily guarded. Unless they stormed in by force, there was no way to know if Prince Yu was still in the manor.
But Prince Yu was released by imperial decree, and there was absolutely no reason to storm Prince Yu's manor now.
Prince Yu was in the dark, and they were in the light. They could not storm in, could not ascertain the truth, and had to constantly guard against his escape from the imperial city.
After repeated efforts, Chu Lingyang and Chu Wang began to feel exhausted.
"Prince Ling, Prince Jing, two more teams have emerged from Prince Yu's manor. The imperial guards dare not stop them. What do you two princes intend to do now?"
Yang Xun sent someone back to report, while he himself went to guard the city gate.
Prince Yu could move around within the imperial city, and no one dared to intercept or inspect his carriage.
But if he intended to leave the city, Yang Xun could still stop him.
However, he could only guard one city gate.
The imperial city had several gates, and no one knew which gate Prince Yu's men would head for after emerging.
If they continued to guard like this, everyone would be mentally and physically exhausted and would truly be unable to hold on!