"Your Highness, there is indeed none," the dark guard replied, feeling ashamed.
Even they, the dark guards forced into a state of detachment, sometimes needed release.
To think that Prince Ye had never indulged himself.
It was said that Prince Ye's manor was exceptionally clean, with not a single concubine. Any maid aspiring for higher status maintained strict propriety, never daring to overstep an inch.
Zhan Ming was furious. "Who was the woman who gave birth to Zhan Xiaoli? Have you found out?"
"Your Highness, we haven't found out yet. The people in Prince Ye's manor are tight-lipped, and we can't get any information. We only know that Prince Ye didn't return to his manor one night, presumably spending that time happily with a woman outside. As for why that woman disappeared after giving birth, no one knows the reason," the dark guard added.
Zhan Ming's face darkened like water upon hearing this. "You can't find her?"
"There's another matter. Prince Ye's young heir went to the Yun manor to see the eldest daughter of the Yun family, calling her mother," the dark guard reported.
Zhan Ming's expression changed drastically, becoming grim and filled with murderous intent. "Are you sure?"
"I learned of this two days ago. I didn't think much of it then, perhaps the young heir of Prince Ye's manor simply liked the eldest daughter of the Yun family. But now it seems, perhaps the mother of Prince Ye's young heir, Qin Zheng, bears some resemblance to the eldest daughter of the Yun family," the dark guard said.
Zhan Ming fell silent.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his arm, bringing him back to his senses.
It seemed Yun Yueyin was hiding something from him!
"Remove the bandages, I want to see the wound," Zhan Ming ordered the dark guard.
The dark guard obeyed and immediately stepped forward to help Zhan Ming remove the bandages.
The gauze strips were unwound.
The wound on his arm was revealed.
Pus was oozing from the wound.
There was no more blackish-purple blood, indicating the poison had been cleared.
However, it still hurt.
"Apply the medicine and bandage it," Zhan Ming commanded coldly.
The dark guard quickly and skillfully re-bandaged it.
A moment later, Zhan Ming dismissed the dark guard.
He sat in a chair, narrowing his slender eyes.
A gentle breeze swept through the night sky.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse tonight.
Two faint figures, visible only upon close inspection, entered the Regent's manor.
Within the heavily guarded Regent's manor, there seemed to be no loopholes.
The guards patrolling the Regent's manor were far more numerous than yesterday.
And the torches were lit everywhere, transparent.
Yun Shu sneered inwardly.
They were guarding against her.
They searched everywhere.
They even searched Zhan Ming's room, but Gu Xiaofeng's figure was nowhere to be found.
Yun Shu and Jing Heng exchanged glances, seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
Gu Xiaofeng wasn't in the Regent's manor?
Zhan Ming had hidden Gu Xiaofeng away!
Yun Shu narrowed her eyes, suddenly recalling that she had heard before that the Regent's manor had secret passages.
There were several hidden chambers within the secret passages.
Could it be that Zhan Ming had guessed they would come again tonight?
Why was Zhan Ming suddenly so nervous about Gu Xiaofeng?
"Let's check the map, we'll go to the secret passages," Yun Shu whispered to Jing Heng.
She had once saved someone who had helped her construct secret passages and hidden chambers for almost all the noble families in the capital.
Knowing she was from the capital, he gave her various maps as a token of his gratitude, saying that people in the capital were always scheming and devising ways to harm each other, and these maps might be useful to her.
Indeed, they had come in handy.
They quickly went to the secret passages.
There were no guards stationed in the secret passages.
After entering, they searched several hidden chambers but did not find Gu Xiaofeng.
Only one last hidden chamber remained.
As Yun Shu activated the mechanism,
A person sat with their back to them inside the mechanism.
Clad in white.
White as snow.
Judging by the back, it should be a man.
He heard the door of the hidden chamber open.
Without turning around,
He merely let out a cold laugh.
This was the last hidden chamber, and Gu Xiaofeng was not there.
The two exchanged a look.
Then they retreated, closing the hidden chamber without alerting the occupant, and left.
After leaving the hidden chamber, they quickly departed from the Regent's manor.
They stopped on a road not far from the Regent's manor.
Yun Shu leaned against the wall, pulled off her veil, her expression stern and cold. "Zhan Ming has hidden Gu Xiaofeng."
"I will keep watch over the Regent's manor's every move these next few days," Jing Heng said in a deep voice.
Yun Shu nodded.
Suddenly, she thought of the person in the hidden chamber again.
"If you have a chance, investigate the person Zhan Ming has confined in the hidden chamber," Yun Shu added.
"Alright."
Yun Shu gazed at the seemingly endless dark night before her, her expression gradually turning icy.
Since Zhan Ming had hidden Gu Xiaofeng, he wouldn't allow anyone to harm him in the short term.
Moreover, although they hadn't spoken much that day, Gu Xiaofeng was a clever and intelligent child. She smelled the scent of poisonous herbs on him; he seemed to understand poisons?
It would be even better if he understood poisons; it might save his life at a crucial moment.
Just as Jing Heng leaped up and hid within the Regent's manor,
A shadow appeared before her.
While she was lost in thought, he grabbed her arm.
By the time Yun Shu reacted, her arm had already been seized.
She turned her head to look.
It was a man also clad in night attire.
The man in the night attire had a tall and slender build. At such close proximity, he enveloped her entirely in his shadow.
Yun Shu's expression changed.
Wasn't this the dark guard from Prince Ye's manor?
Just as she was about to speak, her heart trembled fiercely. She had just removed the veil covering her face, revealing her true appearance!
Indeed, she saw a look of shock in the man's eyes.
Zhan Tianye looked at Yun Shu with immense shock.
How could it be her?!
It was Yun Shu!
Yun Shu narrowed her beautiful eyes dangerously. This was the Regent's manor, not Prince Ye's manor. She didn't have to worry about dark guards and escorts from Prince Ye's manor.
Therefore, silencing her was the only option!
She quickly pulled her hand free and kicked out.
At the same time, she took out a whip from her waist.
A whip made of fine snakeskin.
It flew towards Zhan Tianye.
Zhan Tianye felt Yun Shu's intense killing intent. He knew she recognized him and assumed he was a dark guard from Prince Ye's manor! He had been wondering if she was the one who had trespassed into Prince Ye's manor twice. This move confirmed it.
She was!
He never expected it to be the same person!
At this moment, his heart was filled with shock.
He had never imagined that a woman could be so multifaceted!
Her martial arts were so fierce, so unfathomable!
In that case, perhaps she had deliberately feigned foolishness back then, or even approached him intentionally, just to gain a reputation of being despised by everyone?
No, it shouldn't be that simple.
Was she the true Yun Shu?
"Die!" Yun Shu fiercely swung her strike.
This strike was fierce, vicious, and a deadly move.
Zhan Tianye narrowed his cold eyes. He had been deceived by her from beginning to end!
She had hidden herself so deeply!
If she hadn't come to the Regent's manor tonight to investigate and see Gu Xiaofeng, how could she have run into her! And discovered her secret?!