If we bring Xiao Bao to the hunt and Shen Tuo sees him, will something go wrong?

Forget it, forget it, nothing should happen.

Shen Tuo hasn’t done anything to her yet.  First, he truly hasn’t recognized her, he’s forgotten what happened before.

Second, he doesn’t want to bring up the past and intends to draw a clear line, pretending nothing happened, a clean break.

Yu Ning leans towards the latter explanation. Shen Tuo isn’t a fool; if he saw her, how could he forget everything? So it’s very likely that he doesn’t want to hold the past against her anymore.

The Emperor was forced to marry a female bandit. That must have been a humiliation. He certainly doesn’t want to revisit the past, nor will he like Xiao Bao.

Let’s just pretend we don’t know each other.

Five days later, the grand imperial procession departed from the capital and slowly proceeded towards Qi Mountain Palace at the foot of Qi Mountain.

At noon, the procession stopped to rest.

Inside the Yongning Hou Mansion’s carriage, there was a lot of laughter and chatter. Yu Ning, with her daughter, shared a carriage with Xie Yu Hua and Xie Ying Chun. The few of them chatted along the way, nibbling on melon seeds and eating snacks, quite comfortably.

The carriage suddenly stopped. Xie Yu Hua lifted the curtain to inquire and, learning they were resting halfway, immediately perked up and wanted to get out and walk around.

“The scenery here is beautiful, really beautiful! I want to go for a walk. Do you want to come?”

Yu Ning lifted the small window curtain to look outside.  There were green mountains and clear waters, wildflowers everywhere, and the occasional butterfly fluttering by.

It was truly a beautiful scene, but she didn’t want to go out. Xie Ying Chun had lent her a storybook, and she was engrossed in it.

“You go. I won’t go,” Yu Ning refused.

Xie Ying Chun shook her head; she didn’t want to go either.

“I, I, I, I want to go out and play!” Yu Xiao Bao peeked out, looking at the outside and saying loudly.

“Then Xiao Bao will go with Auntie,” Xie Yu Hua, ignoring Yu Ning and Xie Ying Chun, took Xiao Bao’s hand and left.

Yu Ning stayed in the carriage to read her storybook, and Xie Ying Chun also read hers.

Half an hour later, the procession finished resting and was about to continue its journey. The driver returned and shouted to the young ladies inside, “Ladies, please take your seats. We’re going to continue.”

Continue? But Xie Yu Hua and Xiao Bao hadn’t returned yet!

“Wait!” Yu Ning and Xie Ying Chun both got out of the carriage and asked the nearby maids where Xie Yu Hua and Yu Xiao Bao were.

Several maids stammered and couldn’t speak.

When the carriage had stopped earlier, several maids had been lazy and found a quiet place to nap, so none of them had seen where the fourth young lady and the little miss had gone.

Two members of the Yongning Hou Mansion’s female contingent were missing. How could they continue their journey? A group of maids and guards went out to look for them.

Xie Zhi An hurried to the front of the procession and explained the situation to Wu Ying, who was beside the Emperor.

“The female members of my family went out to play and may have gotten lost. They haven’t returned yet, so we can’t continue.

Once we find them, I’ll immediately have the Hou Mansion’s carriage catch up with Your Majesty’s procession. I beg for General Wu’s understanding.”

Just as Xie Zhi An and Wu Ying were talking, the small window curtain of the imperial carriage was lifted, and the person inside looked over.

Shen Tuo’s voice was low, his sword brows slightly furrowed, as he asked word by word, “Yongning Hou, you just said, who is missing?”

Xie Zhi An bowed, his expression anxious. “Your Majesty, it’s the fourth young lady of the mansion, Xie Yu Hua, and my granddaughter, Xie You Ming.”

“All the guards accompanying the Hou Mansion have gone to search. Ning’er, don’t go. Just stay by Mother’s side and wait, okay?”

“Mother, I really can’t wait. Don’t worry, I grew up in the deep mountains and often ran in the woods. This sparse forest is nothing to me. I definitely won’t get hurt.” After saying this, Yu Ning followed the guards into the mountains.

Mrs. Huo’s gaze followed Yu Ning, watching her daughter’s figure gradually obscured by the shadows of the trees, disappearing from sight, before sighing helplessly.

That’s right, how could a mother abandon her child? Just as she couldn’t abandon Ning’er, Ning’er couldn’t abandon Xiao Bao.  Whose child it is, that’s whose heart aches.

“It was Yu Hua who left with Xiao Bao. Xiao Bao is not sensible, but she’s a twenty-year-old girl, how can she not be sensible? Why hasn’t she returned yet? It really gives me a headache.”

Mrs. Lin was uneasy and apologized to Mrs. Huo. “Sister-in-law, it’s all my fault. I knew Yu Hua was playful, but I didn’t discipline her early enough.”

“The children are just being playful. Which family’s children don’t cause their parents worry? We’re all family, so don’t say such things.”

Mrs. Huo and Mrs. Lin stood by the roadside looking up the mountain, both mothers worried.

Groups of guards went into the mountains. Half an hour had passed, but no news had come back.

Soon, Xie Zhi An returned, along with Wu Ying, who was guarding the Emperor, followed by a team of Imperial Guards and the Imperial Guard.

Without any pleasantries, Xie Zhi An and Wu Ying went straight into the mountains.

The commotion here even alarmed the Empress Dowager’s carriage, and the Empress Dowager’s female officials also came to inquire about the situation.

Xie Wan Yu was originally in the carriage at the front of the procession, traveling with several female officials. Hearing that the female members of the Yongning Hou Mansion were missing, she hurried over.

On the way, she saw the Emperor getting out of his imperial carriage. He mounted his horse, followed by many Imperial Guards and eunuchs, a large group of people heading up the mountain.

Xie Wan Yu came to Mrs. Huo, puzzled, and asked, “Mother, who from our family is missing?”

“Your fourth sister and Xiao Bao. They went out to play together, but they haven’t returned yet. They didn’t bring any maids or guards, so they probably got lost in the woods.”

“Just now, I saw the Emperor also taking many people into the mountains.” Xie Wan Yu frowned slightly, unable to understand why the Emperor was doing this.

Mrs. Huo didn’t have the mood to chat and simply nodded in response. “The Emperor is merciful and has sent General Wu with the Imperial Guards to search.  The delay has been long, perhaps the Emperor is bored and went out for some air.”

Xie Wan Yu didn’t speak, not agreeing with her mother’s explanation in her heart.