Xue Lingjun said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Though I was fortunate enough to escape, Dongqing is still languishing behind bars. You must rescue her as soon as possible."
Yan Dongsheng said, "Rest assured, Your Highness. I will spare no effort to rescue my sister." What concerned him most was what Xue Lingjun had experienced. What exactly had happened during her disappearance? Why had the kidnappers released her alone? By any reasonable reckoning, Xue Lingjun should have been more valuable than his sister. Could this really have been a premeditated conspiracy, with Xue Lingjun herself among its architects?
Xue Lingjun sighed. "Rest assured? How could I possibly rest assured?"
Yan Dongsheng said, "Could Your Highness tell me who was responsible for the kidnapping?"
Xue Lingjun said, "How would I know? But it was Zou Yong who invited Dongqing and me on that outing. I told no one about it. Even Hu Dafu did not know exactly where I was going." Her implication was that Zou Yong was highly suspect.
Yan Dongsheng nodded. "I will certainly question Zou Yong thoroughly about this."
Xue Lingjun said, "Zou Yong is an important minister of Bohai and enjoys Your Majesty's great favor. I believe he ought not to wish me harm." Her words carried a double meaning: what ought to be true was not necessarily the truth.
Yan Dongsheng could only respond with a smile. He knew how tangled this affair was. Zou Yong was no good man, but Xue Lingjun was not necessarily innocent either.
Xue Lingjun said, "I met Li Chenzhou outside just now. What did he come to see Your Majesty about?"
Yan Dongsheng smiled. "You mean General Li? He did not know that Your Highness had already been rescued. He came to urge me to send men to