By this time, everyone who had been excavating had labored in the rain for an entire afternoon, and all were utterly exhausted, cold, and hungry.

Yet Pang Xiao refused to stop. He pressed his lips together and earnestly cleared away the silt and muddy water, carefully searching for any traces by the dim candlelight, unwilling to overlook even a single thread.

Seeing him suddenly searching so meticulously, the Elite Tiger Guards all crouched beside him.

“My lord, shall we not search for people anymore?”

Pang Xiao’s voice was hoarse as he replied: “I’m confirming whether there are any of Yining’s accessories here. You must also look carefully. We must not only search for people but cannot let go of any clue, no matter how small.”

“Yes.” The four Elite Tiger Guards accepted the order and began earnestly rummaging through the mud, truly refusing to overlook any detail.

The Dragon Guard soldiers, who had originally been extremely weary, after hearing the conversation between Pang Xiao and Li Qitian and seeing Pang Xiao’s appearance of deep affection and unwavering devotion, no longer felt fatigue or cold and all spontaneously began helping.

Li Qitian was currently watching people count the several large chests that had just been brought up, only to discover that the chests were mostly empty, with only a layer of silver ingots placed on top. His spirits immediately deflated.

There was actually no treasure in this underground cave!

He had been willing to sacrifice so many Elite Tiger Guards’ lives to search for treasure, yet now it had all come to nothing. Not only had he exposed his intentions, but he might also incur Pang Xiao’s resentment!

Li Qitian looked at Pang Xiao, who was earnestly searching through the underground cave, and seeing his almost frenzied appearance, he couldn’t help but clench his teeth, feeling waves of anxiety in his heart.

They had conquered the realm together. Others might not understand Pang Xiao’s character, but he understood it well. This time, having lost his princess consort, Pang Xiao might not necessarily love Qin Yining deeply, but with his dignity wounded and his reputation involved, this matter would certainly not be settled easily.

If Qin Yining could be found, that would be good – he could still capture her and interrogate her thoroughly, and then he would at least have justification on his side.

But if Qin Yining truly died like this, not only would there be no testimony from the dead, but now with these several large chests before him, he would also be suspected of causing the death of a subject’s wife for the sake of treasure.

Qin Yining’s father was Qin Huaiyuan, whom he had always wanted to promote heavily, and her husband was a military general who commanded respect in his region. If these two men both developed grievances against him, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Thinking of this, Li Qitian felt nothing but regret. Had he known this would happen, he should have investigated thoroughly before taking action. Now with the cave collapsed and no testimony from the dead, even if he had justification, he had nowhere to explain himself, instead inviting criticism.

However, upon picking up the silver ingots and examining them carefully, Li Qitian discovered that this silver was indeed made during the former Great Yan period, which somewhat comforted his heart.

This way, it could further prove that this silver came from that batch of treasure.

It seemed the real treasure might be nearby.

Li Qitian hesitated no longer. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the Dragon Guard Army not to all gather in this place but to begin investigating the surrounding area.

An hour later, the entire underground cave was revealed before everyone through their busy but orderly efforts.

There was no treasure, only corpses dressed in Dragon Guard Army uniforms and civilian clothing.

After counting, Li Qitian discovered that the Dragon Guard soldiers he had dispatched had been completely annihilated!

With no trace of the silver and having lost so many men, Li Qitian became both dejected and furious.

He slammed his hand against these few fake chests beside him. This small amount of silver was not even a drop in the bucket compared to the current deficit in the national treasury and internal funds.

He had heard that Pang Xiao took out fifty thousand taels for disaster relief? A prince could produce this sum of silver, yet he, the emperor, had delayed sending relief grain and relief funds – how would outsiders view him!

Here, Pang Xiao had cleared the entire underground cave but had not found Qin Yining’s corpse, so his heart relaxed slightly.

At least this could prove that Qin Yining might not be dead.

Pang Xiao immediately instructed the Elite Tiger Guards and Huzi beside him: “Deploy personnel to surround this area. Don’t overlook any traces. We must find the princess consort’s whereabouts!”

“Yes!” Huzi and the Elite Tiger Guards responded in deep voices and went off to handle matters.

Seeing Pang Xiao’s appearance – bare-chested and covered in muddy water – Li Qitian ultimately couldn’t restrain himself and said: “Come up and rest for a moment first, and drink a cup of hot tea to warm yourself. Didn’t we not find the Qin family? Perhaps she’s still alive and got held up by some urgent matter. If you want to find her, you must first ensure your health.”

Having said this, before Pang Xiao could answer, Li Qitian already had suspicions in his heart.

Perhaps Qin Yining had gone to search for treasure!

It seemed Pang Xiao here still needed to be closely monitored!

Pang Xiao currently had no mind for rest and politely declined Li Qitian’s arrangement, continuing to lead people in searching near the underground cave. He even entered the cave where Bingtang and Ji Yun had previously hidden to investigate, but found no trace of Qin Yining whatsoever.

Pang Xiao then expanded the scope, using the borrowed Dragon Guard Army in cooperation with the Elite Tiger Guards to widen the search circle in the area, conducting a carpet-style search that overlooked no blade of grass or tree, seeking only to find some traces.

After a day had passed, Pang Xiao found Jingzhe, Xiaoxue, Xiaoman, and Dahan – all four severely injured.

They were all unconscious, placed in a mountain cave, their wounds having received simple treatment. Obviously, someone had placed them there.

Pang Xiao’s heart pounded rapidly, desperately wanting to know the situation at that time, but Bingtang and Ji Yun had not yet awakened, and these four secret agents were all unconscious.

At this time, relief for the disaster areas finally arrived.

Though not much, since many disaster victims had already died and Li Qitian could still afford to support the remainder, Pang Xiao completely let go of disaster area matters and focused wholeheartedly on searching for Qin Yining’s whereabouts.

However, after hearing the awakened Bingtang and Ji Yun describe in detail the situation in the cave at that time, Pang Xiao still felt his heart grow half cold, with fear overwhelming his entire body.

“She was struck by a blade?”

“Yes, the princess consort, in order to protect this servant, hid this servant behind the chests and said she couldn’t escape, telling me I must survive, find my lord, and remind my lord to be on guard.”

Pang Xiao closed his eyes, the pain in his heart like a knife twisting.

Ji Yun weakly described the situation at that time in detail, finally saying: “I don’t know what people were even more fierce than the death warriors brought by Second Master Lu. At that time we were all injured, and the cave collapse was too severe – it was pitch black and we couldn’t see anything. We wanted to rush over, but the ceiling collapsed and blocked the path. Bingtang called to me at this time and pulled me to hide behind the chests. Later, after the ground collapse, we had no choice but to crawl into that opening beside us. Though there was ventilation and water there, we really couldn’t get out. Fortunately, my lord came and rescued us servants.”

At this point, Ji Yun was already crying like rain: “This servant is useless, failing to protect the princess consort. This servant truly feels ashamed before my lord.”

Ji Yun knelt on the ground in shame, kowtowing repeatedly.