Pei Ji’s face changed drastically, and he grabbed the guard by the collar. “What did you say?”
The guard, choked and unable to speak, had his hood fall off, revealing a face of utter panic. Pei Lie stepped forward and rescued him.
“Third brother, calm down! How can he tell you anything if you’re holding him like that?”
Pei Ji forced himself to calm down and questioned, “Explain it clearly, what exactly happened?”
The guard coughed a few times. “At noon today, we went to collect the prisoner. When we arrived at the prison, we found him lying there, motionless. We went to check and discovered it was a dead man, and it wasn’t Pei Xi. There was also a message left on the wall…”
He seemed afraid to continue.
Pei Ji knew it wouldn’t be good news even without guessing. “What did it say?”
The guard stammered.
Pei Lie urged, “Speak quickly! What time is it? You’re still hesitating. Do you know how serious this is?”
The guard flinched and no longer dared to hide anything. He closed his eyes and roared as if prepared to face death.
“I said, I wouldn’t die.”
A short sentence, filled with defiance and arrogance, as if he had everything under control. Even as a prisoner, he remained unperturbed.
Pei Lie was so angry he laughed. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Fine, I’ll send people to catch him now. Unless he can fly to heaven or burrow into the earth, I’ll turn this entire city upside down to catch him!”
He turned and strode away to arrange his men.
Pei Ji helped the Queen back to her room. Before leaving, he turned to Shen Qingqing. “Miss Shen, would you also like to stay?”
Shen Qingqing hesitated.
She wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Pei Ji didn’t press. “It’s alright. If you’re in a hurry to leave, then go. I believe my elder brother can handle this matter.”
He escorted the Queen away, leaving only Shen Qingqing and the other three by the roadside.
King put his hands in his pockets. “What are you waiting for? Aren’t you eager to go back and see your son? Let’s go!”
The old man also said, “Let’s go, let’s go. We’ll handle things here.”
Shen Qingqing looked at Fu Jingshu.
She remained silent, but Fu Jingshu seemed to understand her thoughts. “Are you really worried?”
“It’s not exactly worry,” Shen Qingqing rubbed her chest. “It’s just a kind of ominous feeling…”
This feeling arose the moment she heard Pei Xi had escaped.
She couldn’t quite explain it herself.
Fu Jingshu glanced at the flight tickets. “Let’s change them.”
Shen Qingqing didn’t want to stay. “But…”
“If you’re uneasy, we’ll stay one more day. One day should be enough for Pei Lie to catch him.”
The old man and King certainly hoped they would stay. Staying another day was good.
After all, they didn’t know when they would be able to come back once they left.
Shen Qingqing thought of the child waiting for them back home. She gritted her teeth. “Forget it, we’ll go back. After the child’s illness is cured, we’ll come back.”
Fu Jingshu said without hesitation, “Okay.”
King glanced at him with disdain. This guy was truly indecisive, agreeing with whatever his wife said.
He was a little disappointed.
“Fine, fine, let’s go quickly. If you don’t go back, your soul might get lost here.”
He turned and walked back towards the palace, not wanting to watch them bid farewell. The old man glanced at the couple who had gone back on their word.
“Alright, then I won’t see you off. Pei Xi has escaped, and everyone in this palace is unsafe. I, an old man, still have to keep an eye on things.”
Shen Qingqing nodded. “Then I’ll trouble you.”
The old man snorted. “If it weren’t for you wholeheartedly protecting them, I wouldn’t bother with this mess.”
Shen Qingqing and Fu Jingshu eventually went to the airport, but encountered a problem: the flight was delayed and they had to wait for more than two hours.
However, no one expected that something would happen during this wait.
Shen Qingqing received a call from Pei Lie. His voice was hoarse. “Pei Ji is in trouble.”
“What happened to him?”
“He was in a car accident, and he’s gone missing. Did you get on the plane?”
“Not yet. We’ll come back now.”
Shen Qingqing’s heart sank to the bottom. She put down the phone and turned to Fu Jingshu. “Pei Ji did indeed get into trouble.”
Fu Jingshu took her hand without a word. “Then let’s go back.”
So, the two of them, with their luggage, returned to the palace. The atmosphere there was incredibly tense. The Queen saw her and was very emotional and worried.
“Miss Shen, you’re back. Pei Ji, Pei Ji is in trouble!”
Her voice was choked with emotion, and her eyes held undisguised worry.
Shen Qingqing patted her hand. “Don’t worry. Where is Pei Lie?”
“He’s already gone to the accident scene. Do you want to see? I’ll have a car prepared for you now. Miss Shen, you must help me find Pei Ji!” After the events of the past few days, the Queen’s trust in Shen Qingqing far surpassed her trust in her own son.
“Don’t worry, I will do my best.”
Shen Qingqing and Fu Jingshu got into a car. After driving for nearly half an hour, they finally stopped at a street corner.
The street had been cordoned off, with many onlookers around. Police officers were calming the crowd and maintaining order.
Shen Qingqing saw for herself and realized the situation was more complex and serious than described on the phone.
First, the car was severely damaged. The front of the car was completely caved in, the door was badly deformed, and smoke was still rising from the body.
Police were evacuating people, as the vehicle could explode at any moment.
Pei Lie, with red eyes, was searching everywhere at the accident scene. The injured occupants of other vehicles had already been rescued.
But Pei Ji was nowhere to be found.
Shen Qingqing patted Pei Lie’s shoulder. “Your Highness.”
Pei Lie turned around abruptly. Seeing her, he rubbed his forehead. “You’re here.”
“Have you found him?”
“No.”
Pei Lie had been here for a while. The police had urged him to leave, warning that the car could explode at any moment. The onlookers and other injured individuals had already been moved to a safe distance.
But he refused to leave until he found his brother.
Given his special status, the police couldn’t use force and could only persuade him earnestly.
But how could Pei Lie leave without finding Pei Ji? He gritted his teeth. “I must find Pei Ji, dead or alive.”
Shen Qingqing was silent for a moment, then said, “He’s definitely alive.”
Even though she knew it was meant to comfort him, Pei Lie still said, “Thank you.”
“I’ll help you look.”
Shen Qingqing knew that Pei Lie wasn’t unable to find him, but he was unwilling to give up. He wouldn’t believe Pei Ji was no longer there unless he tried his best.
She glanced at Fu Jingshu, and together they began to search the accident scene.
However, after searching for nearly ten minutes, they couldn’t find any trace of Pei Ji. Pei Lie grew more desperate as the smoke from the car intensified.
A police officer nearby was anxious. “Please, come back quickly. If you keep searching, it’s going to explode!”