Jopson sighed a long sigh after hearing the report, "Heaven is not helping me, I didn't expect the enemy to be so cunning and to have already escaped our encirclement!"
"Enough, enough, go and pass on my orders, tell Jona to come back soon. Don't suffer in the cold weather outside."
Upon receiving the order to return to the capital, Jona was overjoyed and quickly ordered people to build a pontoon bridge nearby, cross the Xiaoqing River, and rush to the capital.
As for the others, including Yelü Chuang, they also received the orders. For convenience, Yelü Chuang ordered people to restore the stone bridge to its original state. Then, Yelü Chuang left some men to continue searching upstream and downstream along the Xiaoqing River, while the rest retreated and reorganized.
At this time, they did not realize that the soldiers of the Da Cang Kingdom, whom they had been searching for, had dispersed and hidden within the territory of the Great Earth Kingdom.
The Lotus Cult Leader and Shen Ziyan, with Jasmine and Xiaohua, galloped on horseback and reached the banks of the Xiaoqing River in just two days. Fortunately, Yelü Chuang had already made adjustments, and there was no one by the river.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaobei had already returned to Wannian City with Liu Ziming and Liu Ziliang.
Upon arriving at Wannian City, the first thing Chen Xiaobei did was to pay a visit to Liu Xiangnan.
Liu Xiangnan was filled with mixed emotions when he saw Chen Xiaobei. This was his son-in-law, no doubt.
However, a son-in-law was not the same as a daughter. Seeing Chen Xiaobei, Liu Xiangnan was reminded of his daughter, Liu Rumei, and his expression was quite melancholic.
Chen Xiaobei saw that his father-in-law was silent and understood that parents would always worry about their children.
Thinking of this, Chen Xiaobei bowed and said loudly, "Father-in-law, Rumei is temporarily staying in the Great Earth Kingdom and will surely be safe. You don't need to worry too much."
Liu Xiangnan naturally knew that Chen Xiaobei was trying to comfort him, but what could he do even if he wasn't comforted? Now he and Liu Rumei had completely lost contact.
"Xiaobei, you go down and rest first. We'll talk about other matters later."
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei bowed and retreated.
After Chen Xiaobei had gone far, Liu Xiangnan sat there for a long time without speaking.
The head steward, Liu Kai, came over and said in a low voice, "Marquis, this old servant has an idea."
Liu Xiangnan looked at him and raised his hand slightly, "Just say what you have to say."
"Marquis, a few days ago, you were still thinking about how to disclose the method of detoxifying the Crown Prince. Now that your son-in-law is here, isn't this a good opportunity?"
Liu Xiangnan frowned upon hearing Liu Kai's words, thought for a moment, and nodded slightly.
"This is a good method. Go and tell him for me."
Liu Kai nodded and withdrew.
At this time, Chen Xiaobei was led into a room to rest. Soon, someone brought up dishes and wine, filling the room.
What moved Chen Xiaobei even more was that Liu Ce and Liu Tie personally served by his side.
Chen Xiaobei motioned for the two to sit down, but they refused to do so, saying, "As the son-in-law is here, we are merely servants. How dare we sit at the same table as you? Please eat, we will serve standing."
Just then, Liu Kai entered, followed by a family member holding two dishes. One was fish. There were moats around Wannian City, so eating fish was not a problem, it was just a matter of how well the chef cooked it.
There was also a dish to go with the wine. However, facing the table full of dishes and wine, Chen Xiaobei did not have much appetite. Seeing Liu Kai enter, he immediately stood up.
"Head Steward, do you have any news of Rumei?"
Seeing Chen Xiaobei's anxious look, Liu Kai felt very gratified. At least this showed that Chen Xiaobei was sincere towards Liu Rumei, and his anxiety came from the bottom of his heart.
Liu Kai shook his head and sighed, "The people around the princess said that the young lady has also lost her carrier pigeons. The princess has sent out two carrier pigeons, and both have flown back. No one has taken the letters from their legs. This indicates that they have left their original location, and the pigeons cannot find their whereabouts."
Chen Xiaobei was silent upon hearing this. This meant that Liu Rumei's whereabouts were unknown.
"Old Steward, can you think of any other way to find Rumei?"
Liu Kai shook his head again.
"Son-in-law, it's not that I don't want to find her, it's that I really can't find her. Now, there's something more important than finding the young lady."
Chen Xiaobei looked up at Liu Kai with a bewildered expression. "Head Steward, is there anything more important than finding Rumei?"
"Yes, son-in-law, to be honest, the Crown Prince has been poisoned and has been unconscious. He is now breathing more than he is taking in, and he is on the verge of death."
"I have a way to save the Crown Prince, but it's not appropriate for me to say it, because the Emperor said that whoever can save the Crown Prince will receive a reward of ten thousand taels of silver, so..."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ce's eyes lit up. "So if the son-in-law says it, the Emperor will honor the reward."
Liu Kai smiled and nodded. "Yes, only if the son-in-law says it will the Emperor honor it. If I say it, it might be counterproductive."
Chen Xiaobei also understood Liu Kai's thoughts. Ten thousand taels of silver from the Emperor was not a small sum for anyone. But frankly, did the Liu family care about such things? Not at all. Of course, he himself still cared, so...
However, that was just one aspect. In other words, if the Liu family suddenly offered a remedy, it would arouse suspicion.
"Head Steward, since you've said so, I'll listen to you and offer this remedy."
Liu Kai nodded and recounted the entire process of Liu Xiaojingyun's poisoning. He also mentioned the experience of Xue Tao sending two divine physicians to diagnose Xiaojingyun. Finally, he said with a smile, "I've told you everything about the Crown Prince's experience. Tomorrow, you will go and unseal the imperial proclamation. As long as you reveal the origin of this poison, the Emperor will believe you."
"It must be a maiden of extreme yin and extreme cold, and her blood must be given to the Crown Prince to drink to detoxify him. Be sure not to say it wrong."
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "Head Steward, please rest assured, I will not say it wrong."
Liu Kai smiled and nodded, signaling Liu Ce and Liu Tie to take good care of Chen Xiaobei. He then turned and left to report to Liu Xiangnan.
Upon hearing Liu Kai's report, Liu Xiangnan breathed a long sigh of relief. "That's great, this is a way to achieve both objectives."
The next day. It was bright and early.
Chen Xiaobei got up lazily, washed up, ate breakfast, and leisurely strolled onto the street in the company of Liu Tie and Liu Ce.
Yesterday, Liu Kai had said that the imperial proclamation was posted on the central street, and Chen Xiaobei was heading there.
There was a specific place on the street where official notices were posted.
Therefore, the imperial proclamation was posted here.
Outside, many commoners were gathered, pointing and discussing. For so many days, no one had come to unseal the proclamation, so the commoners were even more curious, whispering amongst themselves about what kind of poison the Crown Prince had contracted, and why it was so difficult to cure.
Liu Tie and Liu Ce stood with Chen Xiaobei outside the crowd and waited for a while.
Besides discussing the Crown Prince's condition, the commoners had no other significant comments. Liu Ce then said in a low voice, "Son-in-law, shall we go and unseal the proclamation?"