Consort Zhou was punished by kneeling, while outside the palace, Gu Yifeng’s Hidden Guards were already on their way to the Zhou Mansion’s estate. Mr. Zhou had always been keeping an eye on the city gates, so before long, news was delivered to the Zhou Mansion.

Mr. Zhou Sr. was furious upon hearing this. He paced around the room twice, a cold smile appearing on his face, "I knew he wasn’t on the same boat as us. Have the people been relocated?"

The Hidden Guard, dressed in black, stepped forward to report, "They have been relocated, sir, don’t worry."

"The Dingyuan Marquis is no ordinary person," Mr. Zhou Sr. said as he paced around. "Make sure not to alert the other side, or they won’t fall for it."

The Hidden Guard withdrew in response, but Mr. Zhou Sr. did not stay happy for long. Gu Yifeng naturally anticipated that they would be watched, so he had already sent a group over before the operation. As a result, they coincidentally saw the Zhou Mansion transferring people. There was no need to search each estate one by one; sending more people was just a pretext.

In fact, after sending people out ostentatiously, he had another group bring Sister Ling back, only to return her to the Zhou Mansion’s estate. This way, when the people were found on the Zhou Mansion’s estate, no amount of explanation from them would be enough.

Gu Yifeng was never one to suffer losses. He stood with his hands behind his back, squinting at the Zhou Mansion’s estate when Li Si approached to whisper, "Master, the cousin has been found."

Gu Yifeng nodded, "Tell the Hidden Guards not to alarm those inside, then send her in. After that, you go in to find her."

Li Si responded and retreated to carry out the orders, understanding why his master acted as he did. They heard that the Madam hadn’t slept all night, and now that it was morning, his master, who always held the Madam dear, surely felt anger knowing she hadn’t slept a wink.

Now the situation had improved, and the Zhou family was provoking a tiger. Hopefully, they’ll fend for themselves.

Half an hour later, Sister Ling was found at the Zhou Mansion’s estate, and the people there were taken into custody. Gu Yifeng took Sister Ling onto a carriage and headed straight to the Capital.

When the carriage passed through the city gates, daylight had broken. Sister Ling arrived at the East Mansion, and Gu Yifeng led the group inside. In the back courtyard, Lin Youning heard the little maid’s delivered news, stood up in joy while Liang Hui also stood up excitedly and hurried over to support Sister Ning.

She admonished, "I told you to slow down, but you never listen. Now that she’s found and on her way, we should wait here instead of going over."

Lin Youning nodded, standing expectantly at the doorway. Upon seeing the two coming figures, a smile broke across her face. Gu Yifeng, spotting the figure at the doorway from afar, whispered a few words to Sister Ling, who nodded and ran over to them.

Liang Hui also smiled as her daughter approached, criticizing, "Such lack of manners, aren’t you afraid of becoming a laugh?"

Sister Ling stuck out her tongue. Even though she was slowly maturing, her demeanor remained as mischievous as ever. Liang Hui, though outwardly scolding her daughter, was carefully inspecting her from head to toe, noticing the weariness on her face but not finding her clothes in disarray. She let out a sigh of relief.

Lin Youning, however, grasped Sister Ling’s hand, saying, "You little girl, your parents only have you. We were so worried we couldn’t sleep a wink, yet here you are laughing. Were you scared then? You probably haven’t slept either. Let’s go inside. The kitchen has prepared meals."

"Aunt, I wasn’t scared, just hungry," Sister Ling replied charmingly.

Meanwhile, Gu Yifeng approached the door, watching as Sister Ning led Sister Ling inside with a smile in his eyes. Liang Hui knew it was the Marquis who found her, and she gave her respects, "We owe thanks to the Marquis, or who knows what might have happened to Sister Ling."

Having only Sister Ling, Liang Hui had always kept her close to her heart. But seeing the whole family worried and Sister Ning heavily pregnant, she kept her concern to herself to help the family hold together.

Now that her daughter had returned, Liang Hui truly felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

Gu Yifeng said, "Sister-in-law, there’s no need for thanks; we are family."

Liang Hui, feeling flattered, saw Gu Yifeng nod and head inside first. Liang Hui was called back to the present by Hailan’s gentle voice.

With a broad smile on her face, she thought, "The Marquis values Sister Ning enough to call me sister-in-law. Otherwise, how could a Marquis address her so casually?"

Hailan smiled and said, "Aunt, the Marquis regards our lady highly."

Liang Hui nodded in agreement, "Indeed, it’s Sister Ning’s fortune."

"Let’s head inside, too. You haven’t slept all night, so have breakfast then rest for a while," said Hailan, leading her inside.

Inside, Gu Yifeng and the others were seated. A seat beside Sister Ling awaited Liang Hui, who sat down while the servants entered in succession with food.

Lin Youning, truly at ease now, began eating eagerly, having eaten little and slept even less the night before. Gu Yifeng, serving her food, advised her to eat slowly.

He thought that their treatment of the Zhou family was still lenient—they should have sent Sister Ling to their Capital mansion.

Sister Ling watched sneakily, occasionally giggling, while Liang Hui, noticing her daughter’s behavior, could only smile helplessly and shake her head.

At East Mansion, breakfast was being enjoyed quietly, but the Zhou Mansion was in chaos. Mr. Zhou, who had been dreaming, was abruptly awakened by noise. Learning that Prince Shou and Lieutenant Zhao had arrived, he realized something was amiss and sent someone to check the estate. Upon dressing and coming out, he found Prince Shou seated with a stern face in the hall, Lieutenant Zhao by his side, and the courtyard surrounded by the Royal Family’s Imperial Army.

Mr. Zhou increasingly sensed that things were awry. Before he could approach and pay his respects, Prince Shou flung his teacup aside, causing Mr. Zhou to kneel hurriedly.

"What audacity, don’t think you can do as you please just because Consort Zhou backs you in the palace! Daring to even kidnap members of the Royal Family? Zhou Kang! I’d like to ask, just how many lives do you have?"

Mr. Zhou wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I don’t understand what your highness is referring to, truthfully speaking, it’s unsettling."

Hearing this, Prince Shou let out a cold laugh, "Impudence till the end. Fine, let’s make your end a little clearer."