Returning after a three-year escape from death, the tyrant has turned evil.

Chapter 173 Jiang Lanye discovers Song Yi has disappeared

Will you be leaving tomorrow?

Wolf Owl finished dressing and said, "Of course."

"Then...when will you be back?"

Song Yi bit her lip, deliberately pretending to be embarrassed to speak.

"how?"

"I'm so bored after you left. I'm all locked up here by myself. Can I go see your cattle and sheep tomorrow?"

She tilted her head, feigning innocence and confusion as she looked at him.

Wolf Owl remained wary and asked in a deep voice, "Why are you looking at those things?"

Song Yi withdrew his gaze, looking somewhat dejected: "There's nothing much to see inside this tent. Never mind, forget I said anything."

Wolf Owl stared thoughtfully at her thin back.

"You people from the Central Plains don't usually see so many cattle and sheep, do you?"

"Ah."

He chuckled dismissively, "So that's how it is. Since you find it boring, go broaden your horizons. But with a body like yours, be careful not to get knocked down by cattle or sheep."

Song Yi fell silent, staring at his strong arms.

He felt uncomfortable under Song Yi's gaze and asked impatiently, "What are you looking at now?"

Song Yi said earnestly, "If you could protect me, I wouldn't have been knocked to the ground."

After saying that, ignoring the wolf owl's surprised expression, she got up on her own, took her clothes and went to the side, preparing to curl up in a corner to sleep.

Wolf Owl stared at her for a long time, then couldn't help but look down at the muscles on his arms and chuckled smugly.

Immediately afterwards, he roughly threw a blanket at Song Yi and told her to cover herself with it.

Watching the little bulge fall asleep peacefully, Wolf Owl opened his eyes wide, but couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

What is Song Yi really thinking?
Early on the third day.

It was completely light.

Song Yi had a rare good night's sleep and was rested and ready to recharge. She decided to carefully observe the place where the cattle and sheep were kept today. Trust was earned step by step. In the future, she wanted to be able to come and go freely. Ideally, she would get something easy to ignite and then burn all the prey when no one was looking.

In the blink of an eye, it's already the third day. I wonder if Jiang Lanye has woken up yet.
At this moment, Xie Lingzheng looked solemnly at the soldiers returning on horseback.

Their faces were ashen, and they said in a deep voice, "General, we searched all day yesterday, but we still couldn't find the Imperial Concubine. There's a high chance she was taken to their camp."

Xie Ling closed her eyes, feeling a sense of despair.

How exactly should he tell His Majesty?

When His Majesty wakes up, how will he face him?
His Majesty trusted him so much, yet he, as the Grand General, lost the Imperial Concubine whom His Majesty cared about most.

Thinking of this, Xie Ling suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard.

Upon seeing this, several soldiers exclaimed in surprise, "General!"

He gritted his teeth and said, "Now that the Imperial Concubine's fate is uncertain, I truly..."

Before he could finish speaking, Eunuch Cao suddenly stumbled out of the tent, looked at Xie Ling, and said urgently, "General Xie, His Majesty...he's awake."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone froze.

Xi Chun had been lying in bed for two days. When she woke up, she found that Song Yi was missing. She rushed over to ask Xie Ling, who told her about it. She had been hiding in her tent and crying all day yesterday. Now she had barely calmed down.

Her eyes were bloodshot as she looked at Eunuch Cao, her voice hoarse as she said:

"I won't go in. His Majesty will know something's wrong as soon as he sees me like this."

Seeing this, Eunuch Cao hesitated to speak, and then sighed helplessly.

In fact, even if Xichun didn't go in, Jiang Lanye would have noticed it very quickly.
After all, he usually clung to the Imperial Concubine so much that he couldn't bear to be separated from her for even a short while.

Everyone remained silent, fists clenched, none daring to be the first to enter. How were they supposed to face His Majesty?

Xie Ling took a deep breath, pinched her slightly numb arm, and strode inside.

This was his mistake, and he should face the consequences.

He feared that Jiang Lanye's health had not yet fully recovered, and thought that he should keep it a secret as long as possible.

Inside the account.

Jiang Lanye was helped up by Eunuch Cao. He leaned against the bed, his long hair unbound, his eyes half-closed, his eyelashes casting a shadow under his eyes.

Hearing footsteps, he lifted his eyelids, his eyes no longer hazy as they had been in the past few days, but instead unusually bright, and he stared straight at Xie Ling.

Xie Ling looked at him and found that he was in much better spirits than before, which made her quite happy.

"Your Majesty, you have been unconscious for three days. The military doctor took your pulse and said that your health has improved a lot. Once your wounds are completely healed, you will be able to get out of bed and walk around."

Jiang Lanye responded faintly, noticing that Xie Ling's face looked extremely tired.

He was unconscious for three days?

Jiang Lanye's well-defined fingers unconsciously gripped the blanket covering him as he asked:
Where is Song Yi?

Xie Ling froze, feeling his tongue go numb. Afraid Jiang Lanye would see through his act, he quickly responded:

"Your Majesty, she's outside brewing medicine with Miss Xichun. Would you like to sleep a little longer?"

If Jiang Lanye were to sleep for another two days, he might be able to find Song Yi within those two days.
Jiang Lanye frowned slightly; he was now eager to have Song Yi appear before him.

"Tell her to come here."

Jiang Lanye's tone left no room for argument.

Xie Ling gave a bitter smile.

He knew that this matter could not be kept from Jiang Lanye. The first thing he did after waking up was to find Song Yi. How could that be kept secret?
Seeing Xie Ling standing still, Jiang Lanye paused for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, a strong sense of unease, like a surging tide, swept over his entire body, soaking him completely.

Where is Song Yi?

Jiang Lanye's voice was already trembling.

He stared intently at Xie Ling, and in the blink of an eye, his eyes turned bloodshot. Seeing Xie Ling's speechless expression, he felt as if his heart had suddenly sank, and his whole body had been hollowed out, leaving him as an empty shell.

Jiang Lanye immediately threw off the covers and was about to stand up.

Seeing this, Xie Ling quickly said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, you cannot move now."

"Where is Song Yi?!"

He just yelled it out.

Xie Ling closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and when he spoke again, his voice was incredibly hoarse.

"The Imperial Concubine has been captured by the Northern Qiang people."

Jiang Lanye's vision went black, and his whole body swayed violently for a moment, almost falling off the bed.

Seeing this, Xie Ling quickly stepped forward to help him up.

Jiang Lanye was trembling all over.

"What? When did this happen?"

“Three days ago, on the day Your Majesty fell into a deep sleep, I was preparing to dig that cave on the hillside not far away. However, because I wasn't sure if the road on the other side was passable, I decided to return and take Xichun with me to check. Because women are petite, therefore…”

He spoke with difficulty, his throat dry.

"However, Miss Xichun happened to be ill, so the Imperial Concubine took the initiative to go there. I thought that it would be fine if Your Highness just went through the hole to take a look at the other side, but there were people lying in ambush on the other side. As soon as Your Highness went through, she was captured."

　I commissioned Jiang Lanye and Song Yi to paint for me, and they're absolutely gorgeous! I've put them in the book review section; you can see them when you read my review!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)