He recklessly stopped the horse carriage and stumbled into the manor. "Lady, the Mountain Master sent me to call for people." Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu’s form wavered, and she nearly fell, but luckily Leng Yu Yan steadied her in time. Leng Yu Yan signaled to Miao Zhu and Qinxian to help Mrs. Hu sit down on the bamboo chair under the eaves before she asked Xiaodong, "What happened exactly?" Xiaodong, panting heavily with his hands braced on his knees, spoke intermittently, "I was waiting at the entrance of Xinya Academy, specifically for Miss to finish her studies." "The Mountain Master thought Miss had skipped school and came out angrily wanting to catch her. He hadn’t expected me to be waiting right outside the academy, and it was only then that he realized Miss hadn’t skipped school." "Later, after asking around at the academy, he found out that Miss had been kidnapped, so he sent me to look for her." Leng Yu Yan furrowed her eyebrows, "Didn’t he report it to the officials?" Seeing Xiaodong out of breath, Qinxian scooped up a ladle of water and held it to his lips. Xiaodong gulped down the water, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and replied, "According to what the Mountain Master found out, it seems that someone saw a familiar person kidnap Miss. The Mountain Master said that since it was a known person, it was probably a personal vendetta or family dispute; he suggested that the family should handle it internally." Mrs. Hu pounded on her own thigh forcefully, weeping bitterly, "It must be Leng Zongfa! Kicking us out of the Marquis Mansion wasn’t enough, he still wants to commit crimes?" Xiaodong knelt before Mrs. Hu, "Lady, it was my fault for not protecting Miss, please punish me!" "How can I blame you?" Mrs. Hu’s eyes brimmed with tears, "That scoundrel Leng Zongfa, he wants to prevent our family from living in peace!" Xiaodong then turned and kneeled before Ye Yiheng and Leng Yu Yan, pleading, "Crown Prince, Commandery Princess, I beg you, please save Miss!" "Don’t panic, get up first." Leng Yu Yan spoke calmly, "Does Uncle know about this?" Xiaodong stood up and respectfully said, "I’ve already informed the master, as well as the young master. Right now, the master, the young master, and the teacher have all gone to look for her." Ye Yiheng spoke tranquilly, "Auntie, don’t worry. Before nightfall, I will bring people back." Hearing the Crown Prince’s words, Mrs. Hu rose from the bamboo chair, "Really?" Ye Yiheng nodded and then said to Mo Chen, "You quickly return to the Dark Guard Bureau, assign some people to investigate who took Lai Jiajia from Xinya Academy and Marquis Ningyuan’s Mansion, and have the rest turn over the capital city for me." "Yes, Your Highness," Mo Chen bowed, "But I have a question, if it is indeed someone from Marquis Ningyuan’s Mansion who kidnapped Miss Jiajia, how should we proceed?" Ye Yiheng spoke unruffled, "Execute them on the spot, do not err!" As soon as the words were spoken, Mo Chen pushed off the ground with the tip of his toe and leapt towards the direction of the Eastern Palace. Mrs. Hu shuddered all over; she had heard before that the Crown Prince was ruthless, and now she had heard it herself. If indeed it was someone from Marquis Ningyuan’s Mansion who kidnapped her daughter, with her temperament, she too would fight them to the death. At this moment, she truly understood the methods of the Crown Prince. As one occupying an exceptional position, one must have the extraordinary courage to match. Thinking this, Mrs. Hu calmed down and turned to bow respectfully in the direction of Ye Yiheng, "This servant thanks Your Highness in advance!" Ye Yiheng raised his hand as if to help her up, "Auntie, there’s no need for this. Time is pressing; Yan Yan and I will head back to the city first." Grateful, Mrs. Hu stood up and looked at Leng Yu Yan, "Yu Yan, your auntie thanks you too!" Leng Yu Yan nodded slightly and turned her head to instruct Qinxian and Xiaodong, "You two take good care of the Lady and wait for our news." With that, Ye Yiheng and Leng Yu Yan boarded the horse carriage, which sped away. By the time they arrived at the Eastern Palace, the Hidden Guard who had gone to investigate Marquis Ningyuan’s Mansion had just returned. "Your Highness, Commandery Princess, Marquis Ningyuan Leng Zongfa and his son Lai Hao are idle within their mansion; Mrs. Hu and Li Lu are the same, only Man Ting has disappeared without a trace." No sooner had the Hidden Guard finished reporting than another who had gone to investigate at Xinya Academy returned. "Your Highness, Commandery Princess, according to witnesses at the academy, the one who kidnapped Lady Jiajia was Third Miss Lai from Marquis Ningyuan’s Mansion, Man Ting. She was wearing a cape; although no one saw her face, she gave off a foul smell that the academy’s students recognized as hers upon a whiff. It was her who took several old maids and kidnapped Lady Jiajia." Hearing this, Leng Yu Yan’s eyebrows furrowed tightly, "This is bad!" "What’s wrong?" Ye Yiheng asked. "Dong Yan found out that Man Ting had sought out a traveling doctor, who could cure her face through a harmful method. However, Man Ting had a miscarriage when Xu Yaxiang knocked her down, likely resulting in her losing the ability to conceive. Without the ability to conceive, the harmful method couldn’t cure her face unless she swapped faces. And the best source for a face would be that of a blood-related sister." Ye Yiheng couldn’t help frowning, "So malicious?" "Should Jiajia’s face be peeled off, the consequence would be death. Since Man Ting’s face was already rotting with maggots, even if her face were placed on Jiajia’s, Jiajia wouldn’t stand a chance at surviving." Ye Yiheng spoke gravely, "Our top priority is to find Lai Jiajia as soon as possible!" Leng Yu Yan was frantic, "I need to return to Prince Mansion immediately; Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter have been investigating Man Ting in recent days and probably know where she has been." "Don’t be in such a hurry," Ye Yiheng consoled, then instructed Ruofeng, "Go to Prince Mansion to find Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, have them report the places Man Ting has been recently, and order the Hidden Guards to investigate each one immediately; report back as soon as there’s news!" "Yes!" Ruofeng bowed and swiftly took his leave. Ye Yiheng reached out and embraced her by the shoulder, "Rest assured, the Dark Guard Bureau has a specialized communication method, getting news this way will be quicker than if you went back yourself." "Thank you, Your Highness," Leng Yu Yan nodded her thanks. "You’re being too formal again," he said with a light smile. Seeing him smile, Leng Yu Yan believed they had a good chance of finding Lai Jiajia. Although her heart was tightly tied with worry for Lai Jiajia, she felt somewhat relieved. Somehow, having him by her side seemed to offer her a sense of peace. Leng Yu Yan suddenly hugged his waist, resting her head on his chest, listening to the heartbeat in his ear. His heartbeat was as calm and strong as ever, possessing a kind of magic that gradually soothed her. Such a sudden movement made Ye Yiheng tense up, "What’s wrong?" The voice that emerged was unexpectedly a bit hoarse. Song Guo and Miao Zhu standing by didn’t dare to look any further. My God, what had they just seen? The Commandery Princess had taken the initiative to throw herself into his arms for the first time! Leng Yu Yan tightened her grip around his waist, her voice slightly muffled, "I just wanted to hug you." "Okay, hug me as much as you want." His hand, which had been stiff in midair, finally came to rest, gently caressing her hair. The Eastern Palace Dark Guards acted swiftly, and in less than half an hour, they had investigated all the addresses obtained from Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. After finding no trace at all the locations, they focused their search on a thatched cottage by the moat. Mo Chen Ruo Feng received the news and quickly returned to the Eastern Palace. Mo Chen said, "Your Highness, Commandery Princess, we have found the person, but we did not dare to make any rash moves." Ye Yiheng asked, "Why not?" Ruo Feng replied, "The person is under the influence of a sedative, and if we make a move, I’m afraid the traveling doctor inside the cottage will peel off her face."