Across Time and Space 98 She's Gone

Time froze at that moment. Nobody moved or said anything as they continued to stare at where the physician once stood. A few minutes later, the sky brightened up. The moon has passed. The eclipse has ended.

Princess Lingchen was the first to speak up, "Mingyue!" she scrambled to stand up. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the tree. Not long ago, Mingyue stood there. Lingchen heard how excited her voice was as she talked to Yang Yun. But now, her cousin, her best friend was no longer there.

"Yang Yun!" the Princess crouched down next to him with both hands on his shoulders. The Princess did not even address him as Captain as she usually does. Princess Lingchen shook his body back and forth and spoke, "Snap out of it! Where's Mingyue? What happened to her?"

Yang Yun only stared at the Shadow Grass, and the thumb ring in his hand, and his heart began to hurt as if a thousand knives cutting his heart. Just a while ago, he had her in his hands, but now, Mingyue was gone. Only the shadow grass and her thumb ring remained.

When Yang Yun did not give any feedback, Princess Lingchen stood up with frustration and started to encircle the tree to look for clues. She stomped her feet on the ground and knocked on the tree trunk to look for a hidden door.

Yang Yun could only watch as the Crown Princess circled the tree in her attempt to look for his wife. He knew that no matter how he searched for Mingyue right now, he would not find her. "You should stop. She's gone. Mingyue is gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?" the Princess turned around. "She was here just now!"

Yang Yun lifted his head and met the Princess' gaze. Although his eyes were looking at her, his gaze was hollow. "It was just like what the old man said," he spoke in a hushed voice. "The person who harvested the Shadow Grass will disappear."

Princess Lingchen stared at the young captain and frowned. She couldn't clearly hear what the young captain had said. "What old man? Yang Yun! Say something that I can understand! What old man? What is it with the grass?"

Hearing the Princess' question, Yang Yun finally snapped out of his trance. His gaze began to clear. He watched the Princess for a while and lowered his head to avoid the Princess' gaze. Yang Yun realized that he could not tell the Princess about it. The Crown Princess will only feel guilty, and that is something that Mingyue would not want.

"He's right," Prince Lu Wei spoke after a long time of observing the situation. "Physician Jiang is gone. You cannot find her here."

Princess Lingchen turned around and watched as a soldier assisted the Prince to stand up and walked towards her. "Prince Lu Wei, you need to explain it to me so that I can understand,"

Prince Lu Wei hesitated. "I have heard of people gone missing during an eclipse. The people of Qian Rong believe that the sun or the moon would snatch away a good person during an eclipse."

"That's superstition." the Princess pointed out.

"It is what the people believe. Besides, there is no other explanation behind the disappearance. Having something that they can believe in is what keep the people sane. No matter if it's a superstition."

Princess Lingchen gritted her teeth. She does not believe in such superstition. She refused to believe that Mingyue has gone missing. The Princess turned around and commanded a few soldiers to keep searching for Mingyue.

"Your Highness," Vice General Fei Liu bowed as he spoke. He had been watching and assisting the Princess to look for Physician Jiang for almost two hours. "Pardon me, Your Highness. I know that you wanted to look for Physician Jiang. We are all worried about her, but you need to return to the capital city soon."

"I am not leaving until we find Mingyue!" the Princess was resolute.

Fei Liu knelt on the ground and soon, the other soldiers and servants followed suit.

"If we don't leave now, we will not be able to arrive in the city before the main gate closed down. Prince Lu Wei is still with us. If both of you did not return to the palace in time, the palace would be in chaos." the Vice General kowtowed, and the others followed. "You must not forget your position. Your Highness, you need to think this through!"

"Your Highness, you need to think this through!" the soldiers and servants echoed.

Princess Lingchen took a step back as she watched the people bowed down to her with their head touching the ground. The Vice General was right. She needed to consider her position as the Crown Princess before she makes any decision.

Clenching her hand into a tight fist, Princess Lingchen spoke with reluctance. "Alright. Pack up. We will depart for the palace immediately. But I want half of the soldiers to stay behind to look for Physician Jiang."

Chapter end

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