Liu Yinfeng looked at Yun Shang and remained silent for a long time. Then he nodded and said, "Okay."
Lord Hua Guo suddenly realized what Yun Shang meant. "What? How dare the Liu clan! I'm going to crush their mansion!"
Yun Shang hurriedly took hold of Lord Hua Guo. "Grandpa, please calm down. It's just my guess. I don't have any evidence. That's why I asked Mr. Liu to check, instead of telling the Empress directly."
Hearing Yun Shang's words, Lord Hua Guo glared at her and said, "Are you out of your mind? As Liu Jin's adoptive son, Liu Yinfeng will definitely help him. How could you ask him to check?"
"Mr. Liu is also trusted by His Majesty. Grandpa, please believe me." Yun Shang pleaded in a low voice.
Liu Yingfeng remained silent for a while and said, "I'll go back to check now." Then he said to Yun Shang, "I know you are worried about Prince Rui, but I advise you to go back and wait for the news. The Empress is very suspicious. It's not good for you to stay too long in the Imperial Palace. I will inform you as soon as I get any news."
Yun Shang planned to go to the Yun Qi palace, but she hesitated when she heard Liu Yinfeng's words. After a long time of silence, she said, "Okay, I'll go back now and wait for your news."
Hearing that, Lord Hua Guo was unhappy. "Go back? How could you leave before getting the news about Prince Rui? I have to go out of the Imperial Palace and check if there is any clue in the place where Prince Rui was taken away. You said that there were two secret guards following him when he was kidnapped and later one of them returned to report. Call them and I'll question them carefully. And the people around the place of the incident should also be questioned."
Yun Shang knew Lord Hua Guo was worried about Luo Qingyan, so she didn't stop him. Then they came out of the Imperial Palace together. Liu Yinfeng went straight back to the Mansion of the Liu clan. Lord Hua Guo followed Yun Shang to the Prince Rui's mansion.
Yun Shang asked the butler to bring the secret guard who reported the news. She said to him, "Take Lord Hua Guo to the place where His Highness has been taken away and answer Lord Hua Guo's inquiries in details."
The secret guard nodded and left with Lord Hua Guo.
When Yun Shang went back to the yard, she saw Qian Yin waiting for her at the gate. "Your Highness, a secret guard who has been sent to inquiry Qian Fo Temple has come back. He said that they found traces of camping at two spots among places you circled on the map."
Yun Shang nodded and hurried back to her room. The secret guard was waiting for her in the room. On seeing her, he immediately handed her the map she gave them earlier. "Your Highness..."
Yun Shang nodded slightly, unfolded the map, and asked, "Which two places?"
The secret guard pointed two spots on the map and said, "There are traces showing that many people was living there not long before. Lots of trees and grasses in the forest nearby have been cut. There are also some new pits in which buried some broken pots and pans, as well as some old saddles."
Yun Shang fixed her eyes on the two spots and made a heavy mark on the map with her finger. After a while, Yun Shang asked, "How many people do you estimate was living there?"
The secret guard kept silent for a moment and said, "There are not too many people in each place. It should be less than 10, 000 people in total."
Yun Shang nodded. The places near the Qian Fo Temple was not as convenient as the places where the State of Xia used to reserve soldiers in the State of Ning, which were excellent in geographical condition with miasma in the mountains and covered a large area. The advantage of the mountain forests around the Qian Fo Temple was being very dangerous. Therefore, it was sparsely populated. However, the place was not very big. It was difficult to not attract attention if there were too many people camping there all of a sudden. So the Eldest Princess had to scattered the soldiers in different places. Although they looked messy, they were flexible. Even if one or two were found, it would not be a big deal.
That was to say, the soldiers in the two places we have found were just a small part. It's easy to get rid of them. But it won't have much impact on the Eldest Princess and would also alert the enemy.
Yun Shang frowned and studied the map for a long time. Then she let out a sigh and waved. "I see. Thank you. You can go back and have a rest."
As the secret guard took his leave, Yun Shang sank into contemplation in her chair again. Qian Ying looked at Yun Shang, but she didn't dare to disturb her, standing by and glancing her from time to time.
Not knowing how long it had passed, a servant came in and reported, "Your Highness, Mr. Liu has come to visit.
Yun Shang came to her senses and quickly asked, "Is he in the garden house now?" The servant replied, "Yes, and the butler is serving there."
Yun Shang nodded, stood up and said to Qian Zhuo, "Go with me."
Yun Shang took it and stared at it for a long time. She frowned and said, "How could? Why didn't His Highness take the imperial guards token with him? Why is it under my pillow?"
Yun Shang unfolded the parchment in a hurry. It was a map that she was quite familiar with. She had studied the same map for many times since yesterday.
"Isn't a map of areas around Qian Fo Temple? " Qian Yu looked at the map and then looked at Yun Shang in confusion.
Yun Shang stared at the map for a while and found that many places have also been circled on this map including the two spots the secret guard reported today. Yun Shang was taken aback, and then she realized that it might be the troop deployment plan of the Eldest Princess. The small character at the left corner also proved Yun Shang's idea. There were four words on it, 'the army is here'.
It turned out that she was not the only one to have such an idea. Luo Qingyan had already ordered people to find out all these places. But why didn't Luo Qingyan lead the imperial guards to take over these places? There was no doubt that the Eldest Princess must have no idea that Luo Qingyan had already known the places where she hidden soldiers and weapons. Luo Qingyan could take advantage by launching a surprise attack. In that case, the Eldest Palace would lost her chip and be like a rat in a hole.
Why did Luo Qingyan risk his life to abduct the princess in the fastest way even though he had known the truth.
Yun Shang thought Luo Qingyan planned to explore the Eldest Princess's secrets by this way and then send the news to Yun Shang or any other people to rescue. But if so, why did he leave both the imperial guards token and the map under her pillow...
Qian Liu and Qian Shui were also confused. "Your Highness, what does His Highness mean? Does he mean that you could summon the imperial guards to rescue them after he sends message to you? "
Yun Shang didn't answer, but silently took the two things in her hands. She stood there, frowning. No one knew what she was thinking about.
At this moment, a servant ran up to Yun Shang and reported, "Your Highness, Lady Hua Guo has come."
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