The abstinent and powerful minister is cold and aloof during the day, but he adores her in his dream

Chapter 301 Lu Zhan's Wrath

In the end, Tong Da still lost track of the person.

Lu Zhan received the news the next day.

At that time, he was still in the hunting grounds, accompanying the emperor on a hunt. When he learned that Tong Da had come to the hunting grounds to find him, he knew that something bad was about to happen.

He returned to his tent, citing feeling unwell.

As soon as he entered, Tong Da knelt down in front of him with a thud. "Your Highness, I failed to protect you properly, and Miss Biao was... kidnapped. Please punish me."

"What did you say?" Lu Zhan's body trembled, his handsome face turned frosty, and his voice was deep, cold, and intimidating.

"My cousin was kidnapped last night. I chased after her all night, but I still lost her." Tong Da lowered his head, feeling extremely ashamed and remorseful.

Chen Jiu was shocked. Seeing the prince's ugly expression, he deliberately kicked Tong Da and scolded him, "How could you do such a thing? The prince trusted you so much. You are such a disappointment."

Tong Da slapped himself hard. "It was indeed my negligence. I didn't even notice that someone had broken into Miss Biao's room."

Lu Zhan was furious, but he forced himself to calm down.

He clenched his fists and asked, "How did this happen? Do you know who kidnapped my cousin?"

Tong Da shook his head. "I don't know who that person is, but he was wearing a mask."

"Wearing a mask?" Lu Zhan asked thoughtfully.

"Yes." Tong Da nodded and hurriedly recounted the events of yesterday in detail. "Yesterday afternoon, my cousin and I arrived in the town and found an inn to settle in. After dinner, my cousin saw that it was still early and wanted to stroll around the town, so I accompanied her."

Back at the inn, on the way upstairs, they encountered a masked man. At the time, the subordinate didn't pay much attention to him. After the young lady went to her room to rest, the subordinate stayed by her side without leaving her side.

When they heard a loud noise coming from inside the house, they realized that a thief had broken in. The subordinates broke down the door and saw that the masked man had already grabbed the young lady and jumped out of the window to escape.

The subordinates immediately gave chase, but the man carried the young woman into the dense forest next to the town.

My subordinates chased after him for half the night, but ultimately lost him.

After saying that, Tong Da lowered his head again, feeling guilty and ashamed, wishing he could atone for his sins with his death.

He betrayed the prince's trust.

For a moment, the tent was extremely quiet.

Chen Jiu glanced at the prince's expression and felt a surge of panic.

The Crown Prince had gone to great lengths to subdue the Crown Prince, who was lusting after the young lady, but then another masked man appeared.

The wedding date for the prince and his cousin is fast approaching, but at this crucial moment, the cousin has been kidnapped.

The prince is probably ready to kill right now.

The atmosphere in the tent made Chen Jiu uneasy. He coughed lightly, breaking the silence, "So, it was when we met on the stairs that the man set his sights on Miss Biao. I wonder who that man is? Could he know Miss Biao?"

Hearing this, Tong Da mustered his courage and said, "When she went out, Miss Biao wore a veil, so outsiders should not have been able to see her face."

Chen Jiu nodded. "This rules out the possibility that the thief kidnapped Miss Biao because he coveted her. However, appearance can be concealed, but voice cannot, so the thief must know Miss Biao."

Tong Da suddenly understood, "She must know me, otherwise if an outsider had broken in, Miss Biao would have called me immediately."

Just as Chen Jiu was about to say something, he suddenly heard the Crown Prince speak in a deep voice: "Chen Jiu, have you heard any news about Jiang Shi recently?"

Speaking of Jiang Shi, Chen Jiu's expression became somewhat solemn. "Last time, we could still receive messages from Jiang Shi, but in the past few days, we haven't received any messages from him, and we can't get in touch with him."

At this point, he realized something and his heart skipped a beat. "Jiang Shi is in trouble? You suspect that the masked man is... Zhi Ye?"

He spoke the last two words in a very low voice.

"Hmm," Lu Zhan responded softly.

"But why did he kidnap Miss Biao?" Chen Jiu couldn't understand. "To take revenge on me, and even more so to coerce me." Lu Zhan's voice was filled with murderous intent.

Chen Jiu was taken aback. "What would he do?"

Lu Zhan didn't speak.

“If that person is Zhiye, then Miss Biao should be safe for the time being,” Chen Jiu said, feigning nonchalance.

But he knew in his heart that since the Crown Prince had tried to kill him several times, Zhiye would probably not let it go easily.

Now that the young lady has fallen into Zhiye's hands, Zhiye will surely use her to threaten the prince and force him to submit.

"Tong Da, go back to the inn in town and wait for news. That person should contact you later," Lu Zhan instructed.

"Yes!" Tong Da breathed a sigh of relief, but secretly vowed to capture the thief and make amends for his mistake.

"Chen Jiu, you take your men and secretly lie in ambush near the town. Arrest any suspicious individuals and interrogate them thoroughly," Lu Zhan said.

"Yes."

The two men accepted their orders and left.

Lu Zhan sat down wearily in the chair, took off the jade pendant from his waist, and gently stroked it, his brows furrowed with deep worry.

"Old Lu, are you feeling better? There's a hunting competition this afternoon, are you going?" At this moment, Duan Ling lifted the tent flap and walked in.

Lu Zhan put away the jade pendant and said calmly, "I'm fine. We'll have a match this afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Duan Ling looked at him suspiciously, "Are you really alright?"

If there's nothing seriously wrong, given Lao Lu's temperament, he won't say anything.

"Has something happened?" Duan Ling asked.

"No, don't overthink it," Lu Zhan denied.

Even though my cousin was abducted by her uncle, Zhiye, gossip is a powerful force, and if it gets out, it will definitely damage my cousin's reputation.

“You’ve had a really tough time these past few days. If you’re not feeling well, don’t force yourself. Ask the Emperor for leave, and he probably won’t say anything,” Duan Ling said.

To be honest, he really admired Lao Lu. So many things had happened one after another during this period, but Lao Lu was able to handle them calmly and make arrangements in an orderly manner.

Especially the matter concerning the Crown Prince.

Before the princelings could even react, the prince had already fallen from power.

"I'm really fine. This afternoon, let's have a good competition and see who can shoot more prey," Lu Zhan said, patting his shoulder.

Upon hearing this, Duan Ling felt relieved and readily agreed, "Okay."

In the afternoon at the hunting grounds.

The emperor was getting on in years; he hunted his first prey in the morning as a token gesture, but did not participate in the hunting activities in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, the princes and ministers competed in the hunting grounds.

Duan Ling was originally full of vigor and wanted to seize the championship today, but when he saw Lu Zhan hitting the bullseye every time and shooting a bunch of prey, he immediately deflated.

Looking at his somewhat fierce friend, Duan Ling couldn't help but tease, "So, you were actually faking it this morning, right? Just to lower everyone's guard so you could show off your skills and compete for the championship in the hunting grounds this afternoon?"

Lu Zhan turned and glanced at him, but didn't say anything.

Duan Ling was startled by his murderous gaze and stared at him blankly, "What's wrong with you?"

Lu Zhan ignored him and instead raised his bow and arrow, aiming it at him.

Duan Ling was startled. "What are you doing?"