Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 881 - 857: Alive
Inside Mudan City.
Xie Jue bought a mansion left vacant after a wealthy merchant relocated. Once settled, he took the Shadow Guards to the shrine. The shrine was some distance from the Royal Palace. On that day, he destroyed the shrine within the palace, yet this pagoda remained standing tall. After Sannan’s annihilation, the number of people coming to pray kept increasing.
In the chaos of war and bloodshed, perhaps only the intangible gods could provide a shred of strength and courage. Therefore, those citizens who hadn’t relocated preferred to visit the Priest.
This shrine outside the palace was to offer blessings and sacrifices for the common people, different from the one inside the palace. It was the faith of the people.
When Xie Jue visited the nine-story pagoda once more, his mood differed from before. During his long talk with the High Priest at that time, he couldn’t detect his true feelings. He felt curious about this pagoda which was like a deity to the people of Sannan, wanting to climb it but was denied. He even told Fang Chuning after Sannan surrendered, he would definitely bring Fang Chuning to tour the pagoda. Fang Chuning had laughed at him, thinking he was upset with the High Priest and wondering what was so special about the pagoda.
Xie Jue walked from the bottom floor all the way up. The first floor of the pagoda was for worship, the second floor housed books about the origin and development of the Sannan Priest, while the third to the eighth floors were unexpectedly empty, only lit by eternal lamps. The walls were adorned with colorful paintings depicting Priests and gods, with the Royal Family and commoners as servants under the gods. Since Xie Jue had wiped out the Priest Court, all the eternal lamps in the pagoda were lit by the temple’s abbot. Even though Sannan had surrendered, they still believed in the Priest.
The top floor had even more vibrant and colorful paintings. Xie Jue was shocked to see the woman depicted on the wall was... his birth mother. Perhaps it wasn’t the mother in his memories, but her younger self, wearing the palace attire of the Sannan Royal Family, charming and lovely. Beside her was Du Fang dressed in the High Priest’s white robe. Just by looking at the painting, they seemed like childhood friends, a talented man and beautiful woman. A surge of anger rose in Xie Jue, and he turned to order Ying Yi, "Remove the painting!"
He wouldn’t allow his birth mother to have any connection with the High Priest, regardless of whether they had grown up together or whether he was once his mother’s lover. None of that mattered.
The High Priest had been trapped in the past for so many years, never moving on. That youthful past had long become a memory, yet he dragged thousands to their graves over it.
"Yes!"
Xie Jue stood with hands behind his back, overseeing Mudan City from a height. From here, he could see the entirety of Mudan City, highlighting its prosperity and warmth. It was the first time he used warmth to describe a city, a city full of flowers, with bridges and flowing water, spring willows, and autumn chrysanthemums. Even the citizens appeared gentle and kind.
This was the city that nurtured his birth mother, hence even trapped in the palace for days, he hadn’t ordered the city’s destruction nor opposed its citizens. But this city... If he couldn’t find Fang Chuning, it would become the nightmare of his life. Where had he been taken? From leaving Chaoyang Palace to returning took an hour. The palace gates were closely guarded. Even if he was taken away, it was impossible to leave the Royal Palace; he could only be trapped within the palace...
Wait!
In the palace!
Xie Jue seemed to realize something, and quickly ran down the stairs, mounted a horse, and returned to the palace. He had sent people to check if there were other escape routes from the palace. The Sannan Royal Palace hadn’t been built for long, less than a hundred years, and there’s only one passageway leading outside. This is quite common, to ensure the safety of the emperor, a palace would include an emergency escape route to flee in extreme situations such as a coup. Han Ziqi knew one escape route, but it didn’t mean there couldn’t be another.
On that day, the palace gates were extremely tight, surrounded by Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. No one entered or exited. If the High Priest took Fang Chuning, he could only hide within the palace, surely unable to leave the Royal Palace. During the three days he was unconscious, the palace gates were guarded entirely by Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. Without his order, they wouldn’t let anyone go.
If Fang Chuning is alive, he must be in the palace!
It was his oversight!
Xie Jue felt a slight ache in his heart. His concern led to chaos and unclear thinking. Perhaps the fire at Chaoyang Palace had overwhelmed him so much emotionally that he wasn’t willing to accept that Fang Chuning died there. Yet rationally, he understood Fang Chuning’s chances were slim. The conflict between emotions and reason caused him to lose judgment and not send people to carefully search. Had they searched thoroughly, if Anning were alive, they surely would’ve found him.
The palace still housed King of Sannan’s concubines and children. Xie Jue ordered the palace sealed and searched one by one, with the Shadow Guards focusing on the more remote, uninhabited parts of the Sannan Royal Palace.
The occupied palace areas would surely reveal themselves if hiding someone. Under such pressure, if they could hand over Fang Chuning, it might calm Xie Jue’s wrath, leaving a slim chance for negotiations. If not, then no one knew Fang Chuning’s whereabouts.
Besides searching, Ying Yi, familiar with the palace, questioned if any unusual occurrences happened in the palace that night. Palace maids and servants were fleeing everywhere, so seeing or hearing something was normal. Every clue mattered. Ying Yi wasn’t sure if this was in vain, but finding something could at least comfort his master.
But Ying Er and three held little hope. Considering the situation that night, if they were the High Priest, filled with hatred toward the Royal Family and the master, they would certainly kill Fang Chuning.
Yet unexpectedly, the Shadow Guards found an abandoned palace containing Fang Chuning’s wine pot. Fang Chuning usually carried a wine pot at his waist year-round. Even while on campaign, with others’ canteens filled with water, his might hold wine, obsessed with it. Such a black wine pot was quite common and seen everywhere, but Xie Jue was convinced it was Fang Chuning’s leftover wine pot, found under a table in the abandoned palace, in a hidden spot, seemingly intentionally placed there. The Shadow Guards, having followed Xie Jue for years, naturally understood Fang Chuning and immediately reported it to Xie Jue.
Holding the wine pot covered in dust, Xie Jue felt overwhelmed with conflicting emotions.
Clinging to a slim hope, he hurried back to Mudan City from the Capital City, searching for traces of Fang Chuning as if finding a needle in a haystack, constantly wishing for a sliver of hope or clue, just to affirm Fang Chuning’s safety. His perseverance finally paid off, and he found something.
Xie Jue couldn’t help but wonder if Fang Chuning was once detained here and left the pot intentionally to signal his survival. If he’s still alive, where would he be taken? Why didn’t the High Priest’s people kill him?
"Search, by any means necessary, find him at all costs!"
Since Fang Chuning was alive, Xie Jue felt at ease. Anning wasn’t a pushover; though severely injured and unable to walk, temporary confinement was normal. Once he regained strength, he would surely leave a clue for Xie Jue. What remained uncertain was where Fang Chuning would be taken.
What does the High Priest plan?
