Chapter 233 - 231. Asking for Help I

Third-person POV

The next morning, Lu Ping entered the Special Prison to interrogate Murong Qing. The second his eyes landed on Murong Qing, a smile spread out on his lips. He covered his lips with his fan and leisurely approached Murong Qing.

"What an exquisite view to behold early in the morning," Lu Ping chuckled.

Lu Ping glanced at the guard that stood beside him. Without needing another word, the guard grabbed a bucket of cold water and splashed the cold water onto her face. Murong Qing slowly regained her consciousness but she instantly freaked out when she remembered her encounter with Xue Lang.

The burning pain on her head started to resurface together with the scars that the man in front of her left on her body.

"Do you sleep well?" Lu Ping asked as he settled down on the seat that the guard brought for him.

Murong Qing glared at him and could only growl at Lu Ping because of the barbed wire that Xue Lang tied around her head was still intact. The guard went behind Murong Qing and untied the wire under Lu Ping's command.

"Now, can you tell me the location?" Lu Ping asked as he leaned his back on his chair.

"…die…you witch…Qing Qing…saved cousin brother…" Murong Qing weakly whispered.

Lu Ping sighed tiredly and massaged his forehead with his slender fingers, 'Today will another hell day…'

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After several hours of being mentally tortured by Murong Qing, Lu Ping went to Weisheng' s study room to report to Weisheng.

Although Lu Ping's mood wasn't as bad as last night, nevertheless, Lu Ping's face showed how much distress he endured just from talking to Murong Qing. Weisheng passed Qi Zongguan a doc.u.ment that needs to be dispatched then Qi Zongguan was dismissed from the room. The door closed and leaving only the two of them in the room.

"Nothing?" Weisheng started.

"En, she still spouting that nonsense. She ridiculously so stubborn that I don't know what to do." Lu Ping sighed and sipped the tea that he poured for himself.

Weisheng exhaled as he became more anxious regarding Hong er's disappearance.

"Your Majesty Emperor, are you the one who plucked off all of her hair?" Lu Ping asked as his eyes glinted in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"No, Xue Lang did," Weisheng said indifferently.

"His Highness Prince Xue? Is that even possible? Do you let him in?" Lu Ping inquired with a visible confusion on his face.

"En," Weisheng nodded his head in affirmation.

Lu Ping parted his lips to ask Weisheng another question but a voice stopped him from doing so.

"Imperial Father, this son had come for a visit." Xue Lang gently knocked on the door.

"Come in," Weisheng replied.

A guard opened the door for Xue Lang and Xue Lang walked into the room with a tray of food. Weisheng's eyes slightly widened when he smelled a familiar fragrance wafted out from the ceramic pot on Xue Lang's food tray.

"Imperial Father, this son specially made this chicken soup when I heard that Imperial Father have no appetite and skipped your breakfast." Xue Lang smiled softly as he placed down the tray on the table beside Weisheng's desk.

Xue Lang opened the lid of the ceramic pot and the fragrance of the chicken soup intensified. Weisheng couldn't help but reminiscence the image where Hong er was standing in front of a stove, tasting her cooking and looked over him with a bright smile.

"Imperial Mother would be angry if she knows that Imperial Father skipped meals and buried yourself with works. I can imagine Imperial Mother saying 'Eat and take a rest! Or I won't talk to you for a week!' Hehehe~" Xue Lang chuckled as if he could hear Hong er scolding them.

Weisheng also smiled at Xue Lang's on-point impersonation of Hong er. He could imagine Hong er stood in front of him with her brows furrowed into a cute frown and both of her hands on her waist, threatening the emperor with such an adorable threat.

Then he stared at his reflection on the tea, he indeed looked extremely worn-out with the dark circles under his eyes.

"I asked the chef how to make Imperial Mother's favorite chicken soup and he taught me the steps. I hope that Imperial Mother will come back and have a taste of my own chicken soup." Xue Lang added while staring at the chicken soup with yearning eyes.

Weisheng looked away, trying to hide his tears that pooled on his eyes. He went to sit on the dining table and scanned the dishes on the tray. There was a pot of chicken soup, a bowl of white rice, and a few side dishes such as pickled radish and pickled bamboo shoots.

"All of these are your mother's favorite dishes," Weisheng mentioned as the gaze in his eyes soften.

"En, because Imperial Father's favorite dishes are the same as Imperial Mother's." Xue Lang handed Weisheng a pair of chopsticks.

Weisheng ruffled Xue Lang's hair into a mess, "Brat."

Xue Lang giggled because he knew that his father was embarrassed by being exposed. In fact, Weisheng is not a picky eater therefore he doesn't have anything that he particularly likes and dislikes. It just that he likes the food that the person he likes the most likes. Simple as that.

Seeing that the atmosphere between the father and son was very good, Lu Ping decided to not disturb them and quietly retreated from the room. But when the door behind him closing, he caught a glimpse of Xue Lang smiling at him. The corner of his lips arched into a sly smirk.

"What a fearsome child." Lu Ping muttered with his fan covering his lips.

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A young man was sitting leisurely on his soft cushion. His handsome face instantly paled after he read half of the letter in his hands. He crumpled the letter and threw it across the room.

"That wench! She ruined my plan!" the young man shouted as his face was red as boiled octopus.

The maid that stood at the side of the room flinched and fell on her knees.

"Your Highness Seventh Prince, please cease your anger. It is no good for your health." The maid spoke with her forehead pressed against the wooden floor.

"That wench came to me a month ago and dared to ask me to join hand on her vicious plan. Now, Hong er is nowhere to be found. How am I supposed to do? Will she be fine? Didn't she just give birth?" The seventh prince of Da Chu, Long Yang, anxiously paced back and forth.

(A/N: Long Yang is the prince that had feelings for Hong er at the Bride Selection. Refer to chapter 99 to 102, I forgot which one.)

A slight pain flashed in the maid's eyes. She slowly approached Long Yang and bowed her head.

"Regarding Miss Xu, this servant is sure that she is fine. She is a very strong and independent woman, this servant respects that side of her very much. And if this servant may be blunt, how about we ask for Da Qi's emperor's help?" The maid timidly said.

Long Yang furrowed his brows in displease at the mention of Weisheng's name.

"Why do I have to ask for his help? He is the one at fault for leaving Hong er alone. If it is me, I will never do that. Besides, he snatched Hong er from me in such a despicable way. Imperial edict? Hah! Did he even get Hong er's consent?!" Long Yang slammed his hand onto his desk.

The maid braved herself and parted her lips, "Your Highness Seventh Prince, Miss Xu is a fearless woman. If she really discontent from the marriage with Da Qi's emperor, then she would definitely avoid the emperor and wouldn't have his children this fast."

"But…" Long Yang was at a loss of words.

He deeply understood Hong er's character from all of the investigations he had done. Hong er would not easily yield to Weisheng if she truly disagrees with the marriage.

The maid smiled softly and kneeled to Long Yang, "The best option we have now is by helping Da Qi's emperor in finding Miss Xu. If Your Highness Seventh Prince is suspicious of the Da Qi's emperor's feelings towards Miss Xu, how about you visit Chang An and see it yourself?"

Long Yang glanced at the kneeling maid and exhaled a deep sigh.

"What you said is right. I am too childish to think that I am always right, maybe I shouldn't judge people too quickly. Ruru, I don't know what I can do without you. You are the most loyal servant I ever had." Long Yang placed his palm on the maid's head and gently caressed it.

The maid weakly smiled with a visible pain in her eyes, "This servant will do anything for Your Highness Seventh Prince."

(A/N: Ruru is the maid's name.)