FID – Chapter 945

Chapter 945 – This Is a Slap in the Face

Feng Mohan’s gaze grew colder and colder.

A person whom, even after meeting, one couldn’t recall at all afterward.

Either she was truly so unremarkable that people forgot her instantly, or she had deliberately suppressed her own presence so that, even if someone tried to remember her later, they wouldn’t be able to recall any useful clues.

Clearly, Ling Xiang belonged to the latter category!

“Someone, bring Shan Lai here!” Feng Mohan sneered coldly. 

He was increasingly curious. Just how many schemes had Shan Lai laid down? Even after being thrown into prison, there were still people outside willing to spill blood and sacrifice their lives for her!

Soon, the imperial guards who had been sent to fetch her returned to report. As they entered, their faces were pale. “Reporting to Your Majesty, Plum Concubine is gone!”

Feng Mohan paused, then looked at the guard and asked calmly, “What do you mean by ‘gone’?”

“She-She just suddenly vanished. When this humble one arrived at the Imperial Clan Court Prison, the cell was already empty. The jailer had been guarding the door the entire time and didn’t hear any movement. No one knows when or how she escaped!”

“Send out an immediate order—seal off the six city gates! Dispatch men to pursue her. She must be caught and brought back!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The imperial guards quickly withdrew.

Feng Mohan sat in silence, turning his head to look out the window. His pitch-black eyes reflected the bright, blazing sun outside, but even the sunlight seemed to lose its warmth under his gaze.

Behind him, Xiao Banzi lowered his head and held his breath, terrified that the slightest sound might provoke the emperor’s fury and cost him his life.

Though the emperor’s back appeared calm and composed, it was obvious that a storm of rage was brewing beneath the surface.

No wonder he was so furious.

Anyone would be enraged after being toyed with by such an insignificant figure, let alone the emperor himself.

News quickly reached Feng Qingbai as well. At that time, he had just coaxed his lady to sleep.

The shadow guards arrived with the report, ruining what little break he had managed to steal. 

When he stepped out of the room, his expression was far from pleasant.

“Take men to that residence in Yanhua Lane—search every inch of it. Dig if you must and find anything suspicious!”

“Yes, Master!” Wei Zi personally led the men.

At the same time, Feng Qingbai immediately rushed to the palace. When he arrived at the imperial study, Xiao Banzi was cleaning up the shattered remains of ornaments that had been smashed to the ground.

Feng Mohan sat behind the imperial desk, his entire aura dark and oppressive, his chest rising and falling sharply. It was only upon seeing Feng Qingbai enter that he barely managed to rein in the emotion showing on his face.

“Imperial Uncle, they escaped.” He gave a bitter laugh. “What’s more ridiculous is that all six city gates were locked down so tightly not even a fly could get through—yet two living, breathing women managed to slip out of the capital without a trace.”

The city had been thoroughly searched, and not even a scrap of clothing belonging to the two women had been found.

Feng Qingbai walked in, casually found a chair and sat down. Looking at the still-unsettled youth, he said calmly, “They escaped, and you think smashing a bunch of things in here is going to help bring them back?”

“I’m just so full of anger with nowhere to let it out. I can’t very well drag someone over and beat them, can I?” Feng Mohan closed his eyes, exhaustion visible on his face. “First Zuo Rong, now Shan Lai. The imperial capital of my Nanling has been treated like an open house, with enemies coming and going as they please. Am I really that useless of an emperor?”

To this moment, he still couldn’t identify where the security breach had occurred.

It was a slap in the face.

Was it going to reach a point where someday, while he was sound asleep in his dragon bed, an enemy could simply walk up to him, slice off his head, and leave safely?

The sense of defeat in his heart was indescribable.

He actually wanted to complain to his imperial uncle like he used to—act a little spoiled, and lean on him like a sturdy tree to rely on.

But he couldn’t because of Shan Lai’s status. She had once been his consort, and matters like this could only be resolved by him personally.

He had no face to ask his imperial uncle for help.

“They chose this exact moment to escape, which means they were already fully exposed to us,” Feng Qingbai replied. “Staying any longer would no longer benefit them. Shan Lai has exhausted all her tricks. Coincidentally, we had just interrogated her earlier today. Right after an interrogation, our vigilance is at its weakest. This was her best and only chance to escape.”

“Yes, we just questioned her. Naturally, we wouldn’t expect to conduct two interrogations in a single day,” Feng Muhan sneered. “She also guessed that once she left the prison, our first move would be to investigate everyone close to her. While we were making a big show of searching the palace, it gave her the perfect chance to slip away.”

After a pause, Feng Mohan wiped his face and asked, “Imperial Uncle, how do you think she managed to escape? The Clan Court Prison is tightly guarded, so she couldn’t have gotten out without help. But even if someone helped her, how could they do it without alerting a single soul?”

It was just too strange—so strange it was eerie.

And the only exit from the prison is the main gate—yet the guards never saw her come out. If she didn’t leave through the gate, then where did she go?

How exactly did she manage it? Feng Mohan couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

“I don’t get it either.” His usually all-knowing Imperial Uncle spread his hands and very bluntly admitted he had no idea, leaving Feng Mohan completely speechless.

Was he gloating?

No—he was even more frustrated.

If even his uncle couldn’t figure it out, that could only mean Shan Lai’s methods were extremely sophisticated.

And as an opponent, that was not good news for Nanling.

“I’ve sent people to investigate the residence where Xue Zhong once hid,” Feng Qingbai said. “If we can find any clues there, maybe we’ll get some answers. Back then, Zuo Rong escaped the capital despite all the heavy defenses. And now, we have Shan Lai as well…”

“That private residence? Imperial Uncle, are you suspecting there’s an exit to the outside of the city from there?!” Feng Mohan’s expression froze.

It was highly possible! How else could one explain how these people seemed to sprout wings and fly out of the imperial city?

If that house really had an underground passage leading out of the city, then it wouldn’t matter how heavily guarded the six main gates were.

“Since Xue Zhong and Shan Lai’s forces have been coveting the Nanling royal family for over a decade, how could they not have left themselves a back door? Like a tunnel for escape?” Feng Qingbai said calmly.

At this point, he was actually more composed than he had been when he first heard the news.

They had already escaped. There was no catching them now. If they could at least uncover the tunnel, it would be a consolation prize. It was better than losing completely without any gains.

“Uncle, how are you not upset at all?”

“Victory and defeat are common in warfare. If you’re going to fight battles, you can’t expect to win every one. Even the most successful generals lose sometimes. You’ve still got work to do on your mindset.”

“……”

In Feng Mohan’s memory, his uncle had never lost a single match—whether facing the Triangle Alliance or any other opponent, he had always maintained at least a draw if not an outright win.

So to hear his uncle say he could lose—it hit him harder than anything that had happened today.

To him, his uncle was invincible.

Seeing the young man’s dumbfounded expression, Feng Qingbai casually picked up a memorial scroll and tossed it at him. “Pull yourself together. Right now, you’re the ‘defeated bandit’ in ‘to the victor go the spoils’. You should act like one.”

“And what’s a defeated bandit supposed to act like?”

“Like you just did—smashing everything around you, looking like you can’t handle the blow. Suits you perfectly.”

“…Imperial Uncle, can you not joke around?”

“I can laugh at you, that’s fine. But when the enemy laughs at you, that’s when it really hurts.”

Feng Mohan’s heart trembled. His uncle was using this incident to teach him a lesson. He still had a long way to go in his growth.

If he couldn’t keep his cool over such a minor setback, what would he do when faced with even greater storms in the future? Tear down the entire palace?

Thinking back on his earlier tantrum, he realized—it had truly been laughable.