Long Chi frowned and said, “Why wasn’t I informed about something as serious as Beauty Chen going missing?”
Lu Yunshuang could tell that his tone was laced with anger. She frowned and suppressed the unhappiness in her heart, and said obediently, “I’ve only just found out about it myself.”
She said with remorse, “This was all my fault. I had not been…feeling well these few days, so I permitted them to not have to pay me respect. That is why I’ve realized quite late that Beauty Chen has gone missing. If it wasn’t for the servants informing me about Beauty Chen’s mother sending a note to us to request meeting her, I probably wouldn’t have discovered this.”
Long Chi’s anger subsided quite a bit when he heard the remorse in her words. At the mention of her not feeling too well, he was reminded that he had been holing up in her room recently, which had probably tired her out quite a bit. He coughed lightly and hugged her around the shoulders. “Shuang’er, please don’t talk that way. How does this have anything to do with you? I’ve no intention of blaming you. I was just feeling anxious. A person has gone missing from the Eastern Palace for no apparent reason. If this news reaches those few stubborn old men, they would take the opportunity to reprimand me.”
Lu Yunshuang’s mood improved slightly. “I was the one who did not handle this well. Your Highness has handed over the power to manage the Eastern Palace to me, yet I haven’t taken care of it properly, and instead caused such a mistake. It’s all my fault.”
Long Chi, who was originally about to vent his anger at her, suddenly felt all his rage evaporate when he heard her words.
Even though Shuang’er was in charge of the Eastern Palace, it was impossible for her to manage every single aspect well. In addition to that, there were more people in the Eastern Palace now, and it would be unavoidable for occasional blunders. Beauty Chen’s disappearance was indeed not to be blamed on her.
“Alright, this has nothing to do with you. Stop reproaching yourself.”
Lu Yunshuang was a little hesitant. “I’ve checked everywhere in Beauty Chen’s courtyard, but I couldn’t find any clues. Even Beauty Chen’s maidservant has disappeared. I’ve sent people to investigate places that Beauty Chen would usually go, but did not find anything. When the time comes, how are we going to explain this to Beauty Chen’s mother?”
Long Chi went deep in thought. Chen Qiyu was actually just the daughter of a concubine from the Duke Chen Family, and she was only a Beauty within the Eastern Palace. If it was not for someone causing this issue to blow up, who would even notice an unimportant Beauty like her? If she had gone missing, then so be it. No one would take particular notice. However, the troubling issue right now was that Beauty Chen’s mother wanted to see her daughter. Would she create a scene if she was not able to see her?
An unimportant Beauty would not have caused anything even if she had died in the Eastern Palace. If they were able to negotiate with Beauty Chen’s mother, there should not be any problem.
As he was thinking about this, he suddenly remembered something and said, “Beauty Chen requested a warrant from me the other day to leave the Eastern Palace. After that, she did not return. You can take the first strike and ask the Duke Chen Family for her.”
A look flashed in her eyes when Lu Yunshuang heard this. She said in astonishment, “Beauty Chen left the Palace?”
“Yes,” Long Chi felt slightly embarrassed by the memory of how Beauty Chen had requested the warrant from him.
He avoided her eyes and quickly said, “I still have unfinished work given to me by Royal Uncle. I’ll head back to the study to work. As for Beauty Chen, just do as you deem fit. If you aren’t able to handle it, just send someone to inform me and I’ll take care of it.”
“Alright.” Lu Yunshuang looked at him gently.
“I’ll be waiting for you tonight.”
Long Chi hesitated and said, “There’s no need to wait for me. You’re not feeling well, you should rest for a few days.”
Lu Yunshuang nodded. “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”
Long Chi gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll take my leave.”
“Seeing you off with respect, Your Highness!”
Once he was gone, Lu Yunshuang’s expression immediately darkened. She turned toward Hong Xiu to say, “I need you to investigate this. I want to know which slut has been using underhanded tactics to seduce the Crown Prince.”