Chapter 22: Chapter 22: An Opportunity Arrives

But now, a problem arose.

They were certain the pastries were Ming Lingyi’s handiwork, but they didn’t have a shred of evidence.

Besides, it would be difficult to even coax the Crown Prince into telling them where he had bought the pastries.

If they were to ask the guards around the Crown Prince, they might be able to learn a thing or two.

But neither Yu Yi nor Yanxia ever considered such an idea.

The guards were all Cheng Yi’s men, and Cheng Yi had previously been the Guard Commander for Emperor Jing’an himself.

If they went to ask, they would only arouse that man’s suspicion.

"What do we do now?" Yu Yi asked.

Yanxia thought for a moment. "After spring begins, the Crown Prince will resume his studies at the Imperial College and should be returning to the Crown Prince Mansion. When that time comes, you’ll be outside the palace as well, and it will surely be much easier to act than it is in here..."

Even though Yu Yi was now the Lady-in-charge of the Eastern Palace, she didn’t have the authority to enter and leave the palace whenever she pleased.

Normally, her only chance to leave the Imperial Palace was when she accompanied the Crown Prince to the Crown Prince Mansion outside the palace walls.

However, what neither Yu Yi nor Yanxia expected was that this opportunity would arrive sooner than they had anticipated.

The day before New Year’s Eve was Crown Prince Li Yan’s birthday.

But even on his birthday, Li Yan never got to see Emperor Jing’an at this time of year.

The palace eunuchs, however, never forgot to deliver a birthday gift from Emperor Jing’an to the Crown Prince. It was always the same sort of thing—jade artifacts, antiques, or the precious Four Treasures of the Study.

After receiving the gift in the Eastern Palace early that morning, Li Yan didn’t spare it a second glance before having Jianzhen put it away.

He sat under the eaves, the surrounding palace attendants having been dismissed by Jianzhen. Even Jianzhen himself stood guard at a distance.

Li Yan rested his chin in his hands. He knew that at this very moment, his father, the Emperor, was surely in Kunning Palace. Every year, from this day until the first day of the new year, his father would lock himself away in his late mother’s former palace, refusing to see anyone—including his own young son.

Li Yan suddenly felt a wave of boredom, especially when his hand brushed against the pouch at his waist.

This morning, when Aunt Yanxia had come to help him get dressed, she had seen the pouch he’d left by his pillow.

However, after hearing him say that he had just bought it randomly on the street, Aunt Yanxia didn’t press the matter, which made Li Yan breathe a sigh of relief.

"Jianzhen!" Li Yan stood up from the steps and called out.

Jianzhen immediately came jogging over from his post at the entrance. "Your Highness?"

"I am leaving the palace."

Because Emperor Jing’an had specially built a Crown Prince Mansion for him outside the palace walls, it wasn’t particularly difficult for Li Yan to leave the palace.

However, even when he left the palace, he had to be accompanied by Cheng Yi and his men. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Yu Yi and Yanxia caught wind of the news and hurried over.

"Your Highness is leaving the palace?" Yu Yi asked.

Li Yan nodded. He already had his excuse ready. "I left some of my schoolwork at the mansion. I plan to retrieve it today."

The moment Li Yan spoke, Yu Yi and Yanxia exchanged a swift glance.

"Then allow this servant to accompany Your Highness," Yu Yi said.

Li Yan replied, "That won’t be necessary. Aunt Yu Yi should just stay here in the palace."

Yu Yi glanced around, and the other attendants withdrew.

Yu Yi took two steps forward and said in a low voice, "This servant wishes to ask Your Highness for a favor."

As she spoke, Yu Yi knelt on the floor.

Li Yan was startled. The small boy quickly reached out to help her up. "Auntie, what are you doing? Whatever you have to say, please stand up and say it. I am listening."

Yu Yi did not allow him to pull her up. "The favor this servant seeks is related to the late Empress." Before Li Yan could react, she continued, "This servant wishes to go to the Grand Tutor Mansion on the first day of the new year to offer a stick of incense for the late Empress."

Within the palace, Emperor Jing’an forbade anyone from even acknowledging that the Empress had passed away. Offering incense was, of course, a crime punishable by beheading.

After saying this, Yu Yi touched her forehead to the ground and did not look up for a long time.

Li Yan stood in the vast, empty hall, a serious expression on his small, round face. He remained silent for a long while.

Just as Yu Yi began to think she would not receive an answer, Li Yan’s voice finally came from above her.

"Granted."

Although his voice was still childish, the chill it carried sent a jolt through Yu Yi’s heart.

After arriving at the Crown Prince Mansion, Li Yan didn’t greet anyone and immediately scaled the back wall of his own courtyard to get out.

Of course, he didn’t actually climb over the top of the wall. Both he and Jianzhen were still too small. If they tried to scale it, they would likely be discovered by Cheng Yi and his men before they even succeeded.

He squeezed through a dog hole.

After emerging on the other side of the wall, Li Yan, his round face set in a very serious expression, looked at Jianzhen—who had insisted on following him, threatening to wail out loud otherwise—and commanded, "Forget everything that happened today!"

’Otherwise, if word got out that the Crown Prince had crawled through a dog hole, how damaging would that be to my reputation?’

Even without Li Yan’s warning, Jianzhen wouldn’t have dared to breathe a word of what happened today.

Seeing Jianzhen nod, Li Yan satisfactorily dusted off the hem of his clothes, then held his head high and marched proudly toward Huaided Fang.

The Crown Prince Mansion was situated at the foot of the palace, while Huaided Fang was in the West Market.

Although both were in the western part of the city, several market districts separated the two locations. On his short legs alone, it would take Li Yan quite a long time to walk there.

Ming Lingyi had no idea that Li Yan had been so audacious as to sneak out of the palace on his birthday, without a single guard, and was now heading toward her shop.

That morning, just as Ming Lingyi finished her breakfast, she heard a series of urgent knocks at the door.

Xiao Chun went to open the door and was surprised to see Zhang Qi and his wife standing there.

Before Xiao Chun could even ask what was the matter, Lady Zhang Qi’s eyes reddened.

"Miss Xiao Chun, have you seen our Little Hu Zi?"

Little Hu Zi’s formal name was Zhang Hu, and he was the Zhang Family’s child.

Zhang Qi had a son late in life and doted on him dearly.

However, the boy was usually a troublemaker in the district, raising hell with the other children his age. Even though Ming Lingyi and Xiao Chun hadn’t lived in Huaided Fang for long, they had become familiar with these little rascals.

"Little Tiger? No, I haven’t seen him. Did something happen?" Xiao Chun asked.

As she was asking, Ming Lingyi also came out from her room.

With one arm around his weeping wife, Zhang Qi said with a grim expression, "This morning when his mother woke up, she found that Hu Zi was gone. At first, we thought he was just being mischievous and would be back after a while. Who would have thought that breakfast would come and go, and he still hasn’t returned? His mother and I came out to look for him. We first went to the homes of a few boys he used to be close with, but none of them have seen him. That’s when we started to panic."

Ming Lingyi told Xiao Chun to get their cloaks from the room. Since things were like this, they should all help search. "He’s probably just hiding and playing somewhere. You two shouldn’t worry too much. We’ll help you look."

Zhang Qi was endlessly grateful.

They didn’t linger at Ming Lingyi’s for long. Just as they were about to turn and leave, Ming Lingyi suddenly added, "Brother Zhang, have you and your wife asked the governor and the Black Armor Guards?"