bullyxtreme Chapter 4 The Imperial Palace is in Chaos
Chapter 4 The Imperial Palace is in Chaos
Inside the imperial palace, time rewinds to an hour earlier. After Mingyue and Qiuxia discovered that the little princess was missing, they immediately sent someone to report the news to Li Shimin.
At this time, Li Shimin had been dealing with government affairs until very late and had just gone to bed when a palace attendant hurriedly came to the outside of the Lizheng Hall. Because of the darkness of the night, the guards immediately perked up upon hearing the hurried footsteps coming from afar.
Before the eunuch could even approach, the head guard shouted, "Who goes there? Halt immediately!"
The eunuch immediately stopped in his tracks: "Reporting to General Li, Princess Jinyang's maidservant sent me to inform Your Majesty that Princess Jinyang... has disappeared!"
"What did you say? Say it again!" Li Junxian was shocked. He knew how much His Majesty and the Empress loved Princess Jinyang. If it weren't for the Empress's recent illness, the little princess would have been personally taken care of by the Empress every day.
"His Highness Jinyang... no... he's gone!" the eunuch answered, his body trembling.
Upon hearing this, Li Junxian's face turned ashen, and he turned and ran towards the gate of the Lizheng Hall.
"Knock knock knock..."
"What is it? His Majesty has already retired for the night. If there is nothing important, report back tomorrow." A moment later, a shrill voice rang out from the palace gate.
"Please, Eunuch Wushe, report to His Majesty immediately! A eunuch just came to report that the young prince of Jinyang... has gone missing!"
"What!" Upon hearing this, Wu She almost fell to the ground with a thud, and this exclamation immediately woke up Li Shimin, who had just fallen asleep.
"Wu She, what happened outside?" Li Shimin, who had just fallen asleep, was woken up by the noise and couldn't help but feel a little angry.
Hearing Li Shimin's dissatisfied voice, the tongueless eunuch didn't have time to ask any questions and turned around to scramble to Li Shimin's bedside.
"Your Majesty... A palace attendant reports that the young prince of Jinyang..."
"What's wrong with my little princess?!" Upon hearing that it concerned Princess Jinyang, Li Shimin got up, pulled back the bed curtain, and walked barefoot to Wu She, completely disregarding his imperial dignity.
"Speak! What's wrong with Little Sizi?!" Li Shimin seemed to have transformed into a furious lion at this moment.
"Your Highness... has gone missing!" Wu She sensed the emperor's anger and hurriedly answered, trembling.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Li Shimin didn't believe it at first.
"Your Majesty, that's exactly what the eunuch who just arrived said!" Wu She raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead.
"Hmph! With such tight security in the palace and maids watching over us twelve hours a day, how could Little Sizi have disappeared!?"
"Li Junxian! Immediately send men to seal off the palace gates! Seize anyone who tries to leave the palace!" Li Shimin said as he walked out of the hall, not even having time to put on his outer clothes and shoes.
Wu She hurriedly followed, then realized what was happening and went back into the hall to grab her outer clothes and shoes before rushing away.
Before long, Li Shimin hurriedly arrived outside Hanfeng Palace. On the way, he had already instructed everyone not to disturb Empress Zhangsun.
Outside the hall, a group of guards and eunuchs were kneeling, and Mingyue and Qiuxia's eyes were already red from crying.
Li Shimin stormed into the main hall, looked around but couldn't find the familiar little figure. He went to the little princess's bedside, sat down, as if trying to find some clues, but found nothing. He couldn't help but feel extremely worried.
"Bring in Xiao Sizi's personal maid!" A moment later, Li Shimin's cold voice rang out.
Wu She hurriedly went outside to lead Mingyue and Qiuxia into the palace. As soon as the two saw Li Shimin, they immediately knelt down.
"This servant greets Your Majesty."
"When did you two discover that the prince was missing? Did any outsiders enter the palace during that time?"
"Your Majesty! This servant and Mingyue take turns guarding Your Highness every day. Half an hour ago, when this servant woke up, Your Highness was no longer on the bed."
Li Shimin turned to look at Mingyue, as if he had noticed her cold gaze. Mingyue quickly spoke.
"Your Majesty! This servant...this servant stayed by the bedside after the little princess fell asleep, checking on her every quarter of an hour. Around 1:30 AM, Qiuxia woke this servant, and by then the little princess was already gone!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's forehead veins bulged. No matter how enlightened and virtuous he was as an emperor, he completely lost his mind at this moment when he thought about the danger his little daughter might encounter.
"Hmph! So many of you! And you can't even keep an eye on a three-year-old child! What use are you to me! Guards! Take all the servants and guards of Hanfeng Palace to the Heavenly Prison!"
As soon as he finished speaking, several of Li Shimin's personal guards entered through the door and escorted Mingyue and Qiuxia out. The two women simply wept silently and did not cry out for justice.
"Father! Please calm down!" A woman's voice came from the doorway. She first stopped a group of guards, then lifted her skirt and jogged to Li Shimin's side.
"Lizhi is here. You also know about the disappearance of the Prince?" Li Shimin looked at the newcomer, his cold eyes and anger having subsided considerably.
"Reporting to Father, a guard just reported that Xiao Sizi has gone missing without explanation. I rushed over as soon as I heard the news."
"Oh, Lizhi, tell me, how could a perfectly healthy person just disappear for no reason?" Li Shimin sat on the bed, slapping his thigh hard. At this moment, he was no longer the high and mighty Emperor of Tang, but had completely become a father who was worried about his daughter.
"Father, don't worry! The palace is so big, maybe the little ox woke up and ran out on its own. Now it's probably sleeping in some corner!" Princess Chang Le could only comfort her father like this for the time being. She knew her father's temper too well. If he really hardened his heart, who knows how many people would lose their heads later.
Li Shimin waved his hand: "She's just a three-year-old child, and so timid, where could she possibly run off to? By the way! You didn't tell your mother about this, did you?"
Princess Chang Le shook her head and squatted down at Li Shimin's knees: "I didn't dare tell my mother, and I also had the news blocked. My mother's health has been poor recently, and if she hears this news..." As she said this, Princess Chang Le's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes, this matter cannot be told to your mother. You have done very well." Li Shimin raised his hand and stroked Princess Chang Le's head.
"Your Majesty, General Li requests an audience," Wu She, Li Shimin's personal attendant, announced as he entered the hall.
"Okay, let him in!"
Upon hearing this, Princess Chang Le immediately stood up and stood next to Li Shimin. In front of foreign officials, she still had to maintain the proper etiquette as a princess of the Tang Dynasty.
With a thud, Li Junxian entered the hall with his head down and stopped in the middle of the hall.
"Your Majesty, I have ordered the palace gates sealed off, but no suspicious persons have been found. I have just interrogated all the guards and eunuchs outside. The guards on duty today have not left the gate for a moment. I have not found anything suspicious so far. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
After hearing the interrogation results, Li Shimin frowned deeply, then slammed his hand on the bed: "Hmph! The lack of any suspicious points is itself the biggest suspicious point. Are you trying to tell me that my son vanished into thin air in front of everyone?!"
"Please calm your anger, Your Majesty! I have already dispatched all the guards except those in the Empress's palace to search for the young prince."
Li Junxian dared not offer any further explanation. Theoretically speaking, all the palace guards were under his jurisdiction, and now that such a serious matter had occurred, he himself could not escape blame.
"Your Majesty! You are the supreme emperor of our Great Tang Dynasty, and Prince Jinyang is your own flesh and blood. He will certainly not be in any danger. You must take care of your health first!" Wu She advised from the side.
"Yes, Father! I also believe that Little Sizi will be alright!"
Listening to Wu She and Princess Chang Le's words of comfort, Li Shimin sighed, rubbing his forehead: "I also hope that Si Zi is alright, but how can we explain his sudden disappearance? Could it be... that demons or evil spirits are at work!"
Recalling the bloodshed and turmoil he had experienced along the way, and the many atrocities he had committed, Li Shimin inevitably began to have wild thoughts.
"Your Majesty! This old servant suggests that we summon the Grand Astrologer Li Chunfeng to take a look."
Wu She's words were exactly what Li Shimin wanted to hear, and he immediately perked up: "That's right, you should quickly send someone to summon Li Chunfeng. If there really are demons and evil spirits causing trouble, I am not someone to be trifled with."