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Lin Yuan raised her head and looked at the tightly closed gates and said to Lian Qiao, "When you went out, you told Madam you were passing a message for Xiao Linshuang, but now that you’ve been gone for so long, Madam must be suspicious.

Here’s what we’ll do, I have some osmanthus cakes on the carriage that I bought when I just returned.

Take them with you when you go in, and if Madam asks, tell her Xiao Linshuang was craving them, and you went to buy some snacks.

Also, you must remember, never let Madam know that Xiao Linshuang is missing, and don’t let her go to Xiao Linshuang’s courtyard. Did you get that?"

Lian Qiao nodded repeatedly, "I got it."

As Lin Yuan mentioned the osmanthus cakes, Lin Yi had already taken them from the carriage and handed them to Lian Qiao.

Lian Qiao stood up, wiped her tears, and without needing Lin Yuan’s guidance, promptly put on an unconcerned expression.

Xia Zheng secretly nodded; this Lian Qiao was indeed more composed than the average servant girl, but he still reminded her one last time, "If Xiao Linshuang returns, come out and notify me immediately."

"Yes," Lian Qiao nodded, turned around, and went back to the mansion.

After she left, Lin Yuan bit her lip and looked towards Xia Zheng; besides being able to stabilize Lady Liu, she now knew nothing else; her mind was a complete mess.

Xia Zheng grabbed her hand, there was no time to comfort her, so he quickly arranged for Lin Yi to urgently send people to guard all the city gates.

Although it was uncertain whether Xiao Linshuang was abducted by traffickers, the first thing to do was to guard the city gates well, to prevent them from leaving the city.

Unfortunately, it had been almost two hours since Xiao Linshuang went missing.

Xia Zheng added, "Two hours—it takes time for them to change clothes and elude everyone’s watch; the likelihood of them leaving the city is slim.

But we shouldn’t rule out the possibility that they might have already left.

The East and North gates are the most strictly guarded.

Anyone passing through must undergo thorough inspection, and the traffickers, whether they are taking someone out of the city bound or unconscious, would be known.

You start there and ask around, and if there’s no such situation, it means they didn’t leave through these two gates. "

The guards at the East and North gates were men of the Third Prince and close confidants of the Xia family, naturally ensuring tight security.

The other two gates, up until now, were manned by the Second Prince’s men and another party whose allegiance was unclear, not yet sworn to any side.

But that was only on the surface—who knows which side they were really on?

Xia Zheng didn’t need to continue, Lin Yi already understood—If nothing unusual was found at the East and North gates, there was no need to dispatch men outside the city, but for the South and West gates, even if nothing unusual was found, a search would still be necessary.

Fortunately, it had only been two hours; even if they had left the city, they could not have gone far.

Upon receiving the orders, Lin Yi immediately used his qinggong and disappeared without a trace. Xiao Linshuang’s disappearance also greatly distressed him, not only because she was his master’s sister but also because in these past days, he had come to regard the Lin family as his own family.

As he rushed to the Xia Family’s military camp, Lin Yi’s eyes appeared cold and fierce. If he caught the persons who abducted Xiao Linshuang, he was determined to deliver them to the Xia Family’s military camp and ensure they endured every sort of torture!

After arranging things with Lin Yi and the city gates, Xia Zheng turned back, helped Lin Yuan onto the carriage, and feeling her cold hands, he gripped them tightly, looked into her eyes, and said earnestly, "Yuanyuan, you did very well just now. Mom has already lost one child; we can’t let her be worried sick again.

Besides, there’s still your sister and younger brother at home needing parent’s care.

As the eldest sister, you should indeed share the burden.

Yuanyuan, don’t worry, you also have me; I will always be by your side.

Believe in me, we will definitely find your younger sister; trust me! "

Lin Yuan focused on Xia Zheng’s eyes, listening to his deep voice, and slowly nodded, "Yes, I believe you; we will definitely find little sister; she must be alright."

"Right, she is alright, she is smart, and will take good care of herself."

Despite these words, both were extremely worried. With Capital city being so vast, finding a young girl was indeed not an easy task.

After Lin Yuan got into the carriage, Xia Zheng grasped the reins tightly and headed towards Hall of Salvation. Once he reached a bustling area, he stopped the carriage by the roadside, and Lin Yuan also jumped down from the carriage.

The two had agreed on the road that they would go along the shops on the street side and ask one by one. Xiao Linshuang, young as she was, was still a person, and it was impossible for her to disappear without anyone noticing.

"I’ll take this street, you go over to that street," Xia Zheng pointed out and repeatedly urged Lin Yuan not to wander off recklessly and to rely on the signal for any situation.

Placing the Xia family’s special signal firecrackers in Lin Yuan’s hand, Xia Zheng set about questioning.

However, Lin Yuan grabbed him, looking at the busier street ahead, she said, "I’ll take this one."

Xia Zheng’s gaze intensified. He had wanted to search this street because it had more shops and people, making the search naturally more tiring. But correspondingly, the probability of finding clues here would be greater, given its frequent traversal by Xiao Linshuang, Lian Qiao, and Du Ruo.

Lin Yuan also wanted to search this street, indicating she knew its high potential, so she didn’t want to miss out on any chance.

"Alright, you take this route, I’ll go to the side, and if I finish there quickly, I will come back and help you search here."

Having said that, Xia Zheng quickly walked away to the neighboring street. Although the chances there were much smaller, no one could say for certain which route Xiao Linshuang had taken.

Steadying her mind, Lin Yuan placed the signal firecracker given by Xia Zheng into her sleeve and started asking energetically one shop after another.

"Aunt, did you see a seven-year-old girl this morning, dressed in a light gray coarse garment, somewhat dirty, oh, and with two braids shaped like ram’s horns?"

"A little girl?" The sweet potato seller squinted her cloudy eyes, thought for a while, and shook her head, "No, I haven’t seen her."

Lin Yuan bit her lip and continued to the next stall.

"Uncle, have you seen a..."

The middle-aged fabric seller didn’t let her finish, waving his hands to shoo her away, "No, no, stop bothering my business."

Lin Yuan furrowed her brows, feeling an unprecedented sense of helplessness.

The Capital was indeed bustling, but the hearts of the people were also very aloof.

She finally understood what Lian Qiao meant by not finding any trace; it seemed she had encountered the same indifferent attitude as Lin Yuan.

Continuing to ask this way wouldn’t yield any clues; after all, men like the middle-aged one were not few.

She thought about using Silver to bribe for information, but that had many drawbacks too — who could discern whether the provided clues were true or false?

There were plenty who would spout nonsense for Silver.

Lin Yuan stood helplessly in the street, looking at the vendors in front of her, unable to find a single clue.