Ever since the King made the promise to Xuan Lin that Xunyang would be marrying him, the King visited Xunyang's palace personally. He had thought that Xunyang would not do anything other than being displeased. She would understand him taking the general situation into consideration, but Xunyang was not willing to accept what he had asked her to do, nor did the Queen.
The King had also been aware that he wasn't doing that well to Xunyang, and he had not asked why Xunyang was absent these days and away from the imperial banquet, because he was feeling too guilty to face Xunyang. Therefore, he was expecting that Xunyang should be left alone so that she could understand the whole thing completely so as to accept it.
Xuan Lin was the Prince of one of the lands, it was just that the North Qi Land was not very close. So he ignored Xunyang's side completely, as he had his own ideas in mind. However, when he went to tell Xunyang about what happened to the Queen, he found that Xunyang was not in the palace at all. And those maids and servants in the palace were panicking as well.
She was missing, there was no other explanation for that.
The King was furious, but he did not dare to spread the news around. After all, Xunyang had been ordered to be given to Xuan Lin, and if Xuan Lin knew about this, he would make a big fuss about it. Anyway, the only suspects he could think of were Zhou Huaijin and Gu Chaoyan.
Xunyang was Zhou Huaijin's sister. And Zhou Huaijin did not like it when Xunyang was granted an imperial marriage.
So under such circumstances, the King suspected that it was the two of them who had done something. There could not have been anyone else who did it.
The King looked serious and glanced at Zhou Huaijin and Gu Chaoyan as he bellowed furiously, "Bas**rds, have you two got anything to do with Xunyang going missing!"
"…"
"Don't you understand that the country is more important than anything else! He is not the Young Master of the Gu Family, who you can hit if you want to so that he doesn't dare to marry Xunyang! He is the Prince Xuan Lin! You can't hit him, but you took away the bride!"
"…"
"Don't you know that it is a very serious matter? I have already made the imperial announcement, and Xunyang's marriage to that Prince can strengthen the relationship between the two countries! Who will marry the Prince of the North Qi Land when Xunyang is missing! If there is trouble arising between the two countries, hundreds of thousands of lives will be disrupted in the war!"
"…"
"You are bastards, bastards! Where is Xunyang?! Say it now!" the King said worriedly. If not for the sake of the Queen, he would not have tried to talk sense into them, he would have used punishments to force the words out.
"I have no idea." Zhou Huaijin answered.
The King's face changed. He was about to snap at him when The Empress Dowager next to him added. "Lord Huai, if Xunyang is ordered to marry anyone in the Saint Divine Land, you can do whatever you want, but this time is different. It is about the North Qi Land! You can't just act this childishly as before.
"You are not young any more, you became an adult ages ago, and you are engaged already too! It is not time for you to play around. It is okay since it was discovered now, but honestly speaking, you have to tell us the truth in order to save the whole situation. Then the King will not blame anyone for this mistake." The Empress Dowager was speaking in a way as if she were speaking with a naughty child.
In this way, she was able to deepen the King's impression upon Zhou Huaijin's childish behaviors, and make him believe that he was a man like this.