Chapter 335: Utterly Shameless!
Xingnong also knew that most beautiful women, kidnapped women, would be sold to places like brothels and pleasure boats, but after truly confirming it, she still couldn’t help but be filled with rage!
If Xingqing suffered even the slightest harm, she would absolutely not let those people off easy!
Noticing Xingnong’s emotional instability, Chu Yuehou comforted, “Don’t worry, Xingqing is fine.”
His people were keeping watch. If Xingqing were in trouble, they would take her away immediately, regardless of whether it would alert the enemy.
The three of them quickly headed towards the pleasure boat under the cover of night.
Most of the capital’s brothels were built along the Shangming River, and there were also countless pleasure boats on the river.
At night, when the entire city was under curfew, the pleasure boats and brothels were the only places brightly lit.
This street along the Shangming River, due to its unique nature, was exempt from the curfew, but there were more soldiers patrolling the streets.
The three arrived at a five-story pleasure boat.
This pleasure boat wasn’t where Xingqing was, but rather a pleasure boat under the name of the Admiral’s Military Headquarters, specifically used to monitor the pleasure boats in the area and gather information.
Inside the pleasure boat, it was bustling with activity, but the group entered the cabin from the back and went directly to the private room on the fifth floor, thus not disturbing any guests.
Chu Yuehou came to the window and pointed to a pleasure boat not far away: “Xingqing is on that boat. That boat caught fire a few days ago, and it’s been under renovation these days, with no guests, so it’s relatively quiet. My people have already infiltrated it and are hiding in the shadows.”
Chu Tiankuo asked, “Whose pleasure boat is that?”
Many powerful figures in the capital would privately purchase a pleasure boat for leisure.
Not all pleasure boats were for business; there were also private pleasure boats specifically used for outings with friends and family.
Chu Yuehou explained, “It belongs to Tang Feng, the son of a wealthy merchant in the capital named Tang Yong. However, the merchant’s son accidentally fell into the river and died a few years ago. The merchant is unaware of this pleasure boat. Every now and then, women are sent to this boat. The people on the boat are all skilled and very alert. To avoid alerting the enemy and harming Xingqing, I haven’t apprehended them for questioning yet. I estimate that the people behind this will appear within the next two nights.”
This was his estimation based on years of experience. If they didn’t appear within this timeframe, it was most likely because they were preoccupied with other matters. In that case, he would create chaos to force them to surface.
Based on his usual style, he would have immediately captured the people on the pleasure boat and interrogated them, but Xingqing was his granddaughter, and he didn’t want her to be harmed in the slightest, so he was cautious.
Chu Tiankuo nodded, “Have you been able to identify the women who were sent here?”
Chu Yuehou shook his head, “I couldn’t identify the ones before, but the woman who was recently sent here should be the daughter of the owner of a noodle stall near the Imperial Academy.”
This was his guess based on the missing person portraits from the yamen. That girl’s eyes resembled Xingqing’s.
Xingnong was startled upon hearing this, “A noodle stall near the Imperial Academy? Is it just a street vendor, without a proper storefront?”
Both Chu Tiankuo and Chu Yuehou looked at her.
Chu Yuehou nodded, “That’s right. The noodle stall makes delicious noodles, similar in taste to the ones your grandmother makes. I often go there to have a bowl.”
Xingnong thought of the time she saw Yong’an Heir Apparent go there to eat noodles. Could it be a coincidence?
She then recalled the time when Xingqing was living at the Eldest Princess’s Residence, and when she went to visit her, she encountered Yong’an Heir Apparent eavesdropping!
No, it couldn’t be a coincidence!
She might understand why so many girls who looked like Xingnong had disappeared!
How perverse!
Chu Tiankuo asked, “Xingnong, how do you know that noodle stall?”
Xingnong came back to her senses and looked at Chu Tiankuo, “I know who took Xingqing!”
Chu Yuehou raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
Indeed, she was his granddaughter. This sharp intuition was just like him!
He just didn’t know who she had discovered.
✿✿✿
“It’s Yong’an Heir Apparent, Wen Tianhao!”
Chu Tiankuo frowned. Was it him? Then he felt it was only natural that it was him!
Chu Yuehou’s expression changed. Why would Yong’an Heir Apparent capture Xingqing? If it was just for revenge against Xingqing, why did he capture so many girls who looked like Xingqing before capturing her!
One must know that Xingqing’s eyes resembled Ruoxi’s!
Thinking of a certain possibility, Chu Yuehou’s entire being felt unwell, emanating an aura of murderous intent.
Utterly shameless!
He couldn’t help but grit his teeth for the first time, “If it’s him, no wonder he hasn’t shown up these past two days. Tomorrow is the day of rest at the Imperial Academy. He should appear tonight or tomorrow!”
“Then let’s wait a little longer. If he doesn’t appear by tomorrow night at the latest, then we won’t wait any longer.”
She couldn’t wait any longer. If he didn’t appear, she would rescue Xingqing and then capture him directly in secret! Beat him up, beat him until he confessed!
Chu Yuehou nodded, “I’ll go make the arrangements.”
He needed to arrange people to keep watch on Yong’an Heir Apparent. Also, even if they were rescuing someone, they would need to control the entire pleasure boat beforehand. All of this required careful planning to ensure nothing went wrong, as everyone on the pleasure boat was skilled, their abilities no less than those of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The person currently lurking by Xingqing’s side was Chang Ding. Even he almost got discovered when he infiltrated the boat.
However, the Embroidered Uniform Guard excelled at concealment, and he ultimately managed to infiltrate successfully.
It seemed the Eldest Princess had left all the secret guards given to her by the late emperor to Yong’an Heir Apparent! This made it even more important for him to carefully arrange everything.
Chu Tiankuo nodded.
Chu Yuehou then withdrew, leaving the space to the two of them. Before leaving, he added, “Everything in the room is new; no one has used it.”
Only Chu Tiankuo and Xingnong remained in the room. Chu Tiankuo said to Xingnong, “Go get some sleep on the bed. I’ll keep watch.”
They had been traveling non-stop these past few days, sleeping in the carriage, but how could one sleep soundly in a carriage? The dark circles under her eyes had become prominent. Chu Tiankuo couldn’t help but reach out and touch the shadows under her eyes.
Xingnong didn’t refuse, “I’ll sleep for an hour, and then you can go to sleep.”
Chu Tiankuo knew that if he refused, she would insist, so he didn’t argue and nodded, signaling her to go to sleep quickly.
Xingnong then went to sleep.
As dawn approached, some pleasure boats would head to Xiping Mountain not far away to watch the sunrise, so one by one, the pleasure boats started moving.
As one of the pleasure boats passed by the one where Xingqing was, a figure swiftly jumped from the window to the other boat, unnoticed.
Inside the pleasure boat, the madam saw Wen Tianhao and immediately bowed respectfully, “Master.”
Wen Tianhao nodded, “Has there been anything unusual these past two days? Has she cried or made a fuss?”
“In response to Master, no abnormalities have been found. The young lady hasn’t cried or made a fuss since she was captured.” She had been immobilized with pressure points, how could she cry or make a fuss?
Wen Tianhao lifted his foot and walked towards the private room, thinking as he walked, this wasn’t like her. She was always timid, and would panic and cry when encountering problems.
He remembered that when he had a fever as a child, she held him while wiping away her tears, taking care of him for the entire night.
