CH 59.1

The fainted Anur might not wake up for a long time, and nothing could be gotten out of him, so Lin Bozhou left the capital’s yamen office.

The clues were disrupted again, so Lin Bozhou instructed Chen An, “Post notices all over the city, search again, and reward those who provide clues.”

The circumstances were limited, and they could only use the method of finding a needle in a haystack.

But the more people searched, the higher the possibility of finding clues. Time was short, and he could only settle down if he found Meng Huan as soon as possible.

Lin Bozhou sat on the carriage back to the residence, resting on the cushion to close his eyes tiredly. Chen An sounded distressed, “Your Highness, Imperial Physician Zhou has been waiting for a long time. For this recovery, regardless of the big things, the treatment of eye disease must be put first.”

Lin Bozhou pursed his lips. “This prince has a plan in mind.”

Because of Meng Huan’s sudden disappearance, he didn’t close his eyes all night, signaling Chen An to be quiet and take a short nap in the carriage.

A ripple rose from his fingertips as he rested his fingers on his forehead. Then, a tingling sensation exploded violently in the center of his brain. This was a pain in the head after extreme exertion and tension but also slightly leaning on a pathogenic influence. It made Lin Bozhou press his forehead and raise his eyebrows, and the pain was so bad that he actually frowned.

“Your Highness?” Chen An’s stunned voice came.

The white gauze covering Lin Bozhou’s eyes was stained a little red. Clearly, blood was coming out of his eyes!

Chen An choked with sobs, “Your Highness, consider it for the princess’s sake, don’t be so tired! Take care of your health! I’m afraid that when the princess returns safely, Your Highness’s body will collapse first, making the princess worry.”

Chen An, who had always been steady and calm, also felt for the first time that, according to the extent of Lin Bozhou’s current emotional outburst, if he worried and stressed like crazy again, his body would definitely collapse.

Lin Bozhou raised his hand and gently touched the white gauze before his eyes; his fingertips were stained with something slightly damp.

He pursed his lips briefly and said, “It’s okay.”

“Your Highness should go back to rest first. Your Highness will be notified the first time when there is news from the princess. Your Highness once told this servant he must be calm when things go wrong. If I mess myself up, won’t I play right into the other side’s hands?”

Lin Bozhou shook his head. “Still, the situation is different. Huan Huan’s life and death are not yet known. This prince can’t sleep peacefully.”

After saying a few words, he closed his eyes and propped up the side of his face again.

The carriage stopped at the residence entrance. Hearing the movement of the Jingyi guard’s report, Lin Bozhou raised his hand to lift the curtain. “Is there any news?”

“Your Highness, it’s not the news of the princess but the news of An Chui that Your Highness asked us to investigate a few days ago.”

Lin Bozhou’s white jade-like fingers stalled, seemingly somewhat disappointed.

Chen An said, “Let’s talk about it another day. His Highness needs to rest.”

But Lin Bozhou stopped him and closed his eyelids. “Go ahead.”

The Jingyi guard clasped his fist. “Cui residence’s eldest young master, Cui Lang, does have a companion named An Chui, who is indeed a Jurchen. However, he is not a scattered member of the grassland but the adopted son of Mao Chengchang, the chief soldier of Liaodong.”

“Mao Chengchang’s adopted son?” Lin Bozhou repeated.

Great Zong implemented the guard and military household hereditary system. Mao Chengchang’s family had been guarding Liaodong for generations, undertaking the difficult task of defending the frontier of the Great Zong. They only returned to the capital for duty occasionally. Still, because of the accumulation of generations, the sky high, and the emperor far away, Mao Chengchang’s family had vaguely become a vassal ruler, living a divine life.

“Shouldn’t his adopted son stay in Liaodong? Why did he appear in the Cui residence in the capital?” Chen An was confused and turned his head to ask Lin Bozhou, “Moreover, why did Mao Chengchang take him as his adopted son if this person was a foreigner?”

Lin Bozhou’s mind also started to think about these two questions.

The sky was clear. Lin Bozhou got off the carriage and stood in the daylight; his body and mind were tense and exhausted, and his head was dizzy.

An inexplicable premonition made him sway a few steps, his eyes sore, and a wild ripple surged within his chest.

“Cough–”

Lin Bozhou covered his lips, and a few wisps of blood spilled out of his lips.

Chen An’s face lost its color. “Your Highness!”

The people around were shocked and hurriedly knelt.

Lin Bozhou raised his hand and turned down Chen An’s support. He felt the cold blood on his fingertips, and his mind was still in a brief daze.

He half closed his eyes, and his lips were stained with blood stains; his lips looked even paler, and his voice was even more broken. “The Great Zong…… exactly has to……”

The last few words stopped abruptly, and he didn’t say it out.

Chen An was about to cry. “Your Highness, go inside and rest. Someone, hurry up and invite Imperial Physician Zhou! Come to treat His Highness.”

Lin Bozhou was assisted to the residence, and when he reached the door, he turned his head and instructed, “Keep an eye on An Chui’s whereabouts. If he is in contact with that group of criminal Jurchen, whether he is Mao Cheng Chang’s adopted son or not, don’t ask Elder Cui. Immediately escort him to the North Zhenfu Division and use heavy punishment.”

“Orders accepted!”

The voice answering was upright and unafraid.

–

A rainstorm suddenly started to fall in the capital for two or three days in a row, removing the hot temperature and heat and bringing a rare cool breeze.

A few of the tiles in the woodshed had rotten. It was fine when the sun was out, but the rain leaked into the woodshed and the tiles when it rained heavily. The water on the floor was so high that it wet the shoes, socks, and trousers, so Meng Huan had to climb on the dirty bed, hugging his knees and looking aimlessly at the water on the ground, occasionally looking at the small square window.

Meng Huan had been kidnapped for four days.

He had no idea where Anzui had hidden him. In the past four days, Meng Huan had not sensed any other living person except for the shouting of the few foreigners.

And An Chui came daily to check how well he copied his seal.