Three people walked out of Fengluan Palace, looking up at the sky. The sun was bright, and she let out a sigh of relief, feeling inexplicably relaxed.
Finally out of the palace, she turned to look at the guards beside her. Did so many people think they could trap her? She just wanted to leave the palace smoothly without implicating anyone else.
Inside Fengluan Palace, Shangguan Hao coldly swept his gaze over the palace maids inside and outside the main hall, and said in a deep voice, "Where is the princess?"
Yi Yun immediately said cautiously, "Replying to Your Majesty, I haven't seen the little princess since early this morning. It seems she has disappeared."
"Disappeared," Shangguan Hao said upon hearing this, and knew it was Mu Qingyao who had sent her away. Angrily and resentfully, he kicked Yi Yun away and roared in exasperation, "Guards, take all these people down and give them thirty strokes of the cane!"
It was unknown how many would survive after thirty strokes of the cane. Everyone in Fengluan Palace, big and small, began to cry. As they cried, they still glared resentfully at Yi Yun, thinking she deserved it.
At Shangguan Hao's command, many eunuchs rushed in and carried away everyone from Fengluan Palace.
The empty grand hall suddenly became extremely desolate, exuding a stifling, oppressive atmosphere.
Ximen Xinyue looked coldly at everything before her. Her heart was now as dead as ashes, but the pain was still there, numbing her.
And Shangguan Hao, who had pretended to love her deeply in front of others, glanced at her coldly and, without any expression, instructed the two palace maids behind her.
"Take Noble Consort Shu back to Jianyang Palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The two palace maids responded. Shangguan Hao no longer bothered to say anything more to Ximen Xinyue and strode out of Fengluan Palace.
Now, he needed to find a way to make that woman hand over that person. If she refused, he would not hesitate to make an example of everyone in the Mu family.
The Ministry of Justice's prison was heavily guarded and overseen by General An Dingfeng, the Protector of the State. This was another vicious plan of Shangguan Hao. If the Empress were to be abducted, the entire An family would be under Shangguan Hao's control. Shangguan Hao was certain that An Dingfeng would not dare to bend the law for personal gain.
In the dark and damp prison cell, Qingyao sat on the ground, her demeanor extremely natural, not at all worried about her current predicament. However, her personal maid, Mochou, was filled with anxiety.
"Your Highness, what should we do now?"
"It's alright. That man won't do anything to me for a while. His real target is the Emperor, so he's not in a hurry to kill me or the Mu family.
We need to stall for time and rescue everyone we can before we leave. Of course, this must be planned meticulously, otherwise, many people will be implicated."
As the three were talking, the sound of heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from the prison corridor. It was clear from the sound that the person's mood was extremely heavy.
Qingyao looked up and saw a tall and sturdy man standing outside the cell door. It was none other than An Dingfeng.
"General An, it's been a long time."
Qingyao smiled leisurely, without any hint of despair.
An Dingfeng's heart was heavy. In his eyes, Qingyao was still the wise and brilliant marshal who had unified the seven kingdoms. But why had the marshal fallen to such a fate?
Could it really be that the emperor's heart is unfathomable? Even if the Empress truly did not want the imperial bloodline, the Emperor should not have imprisoned the princess.
An Dingfeng was speechless for a long time. He was a loyal person and did not understand the ways of pretending to obey while disobeying. Therefore, he could only remain silent.
After a long while, he spoke, "Your subject greets Your Highness."
"That's enough. There's no need for formalities here. I am a prisoner now, General An. You don't need to be so polite."
Qingyao waved her hand dismissively. Although her tone was light, her heart ached.
She had never expected that dog Shangguan Hao would transfer An Dingfeng here. Then the other members of the An family must be under his control. This was unexpected. Qingyao was momentarily stunned.
"Your Highness, whatever you need me to do, just command me."
As long as it was within his ability, he would help Your Highness accomplish it.
Qingyao raised an eyebrow and said unhurriedly, "If someone wants to see me, bring them in. I don't want any more innocent people to be implicated."
"Alright, Your Highness."
An Dingfeng bowed his head and accepted the order. He had been with the marshal for more than three years and knew that she was not a cruel person. Although she was cold, she would not cause unnecessary casualties.
Then how could such a person poison the imperial bloodline? Was it because her achievements overshadowed the emperor?
As An Dingfeng was pondering, a person ran quickly down the corridor. It was his subordinate, who whispered a few words into his ear. An Dingfeng's expression changed, and he quickly said, "Your Highness, I must take my leave. The Emperor is coming."
With that, he retreated nimbly. He naturally couldn't let the Emperor see him entering the prison, otherwise, not only Your Highness but also the An family would fall into misfortune.
The prison became quiet again. Qingyao sat motionless, contemplating how to deal with An Dingfeng.
If she were to be abducted, the entire An family would be annihilated. She couldn't just ignore it.
She couldn't escape for her own sake and cause harm to others, which would weigh on her conscience, especially since An Dingfeng was an important minister of Xian Yue.
"Your Highness, what should we do?"
Bing Xiao asked worriedly. They could have left smoothly because someone would have come to rescue them from the prison, people from the Prince of Nan'an's mansion and people from Fengchen Palace.
The news that the reigning Empress had been imprisoned had probably spread far and wide, and everyone in Xian Yue must know about it. Therefore, those people would remain indifferent. However, the appearance of General An now made things difficult.
The prison fell silent. At this moment, footsteps sounded again in the corridor. This time, it wasn't just one person, but a group of people. Qingyao's lips curled upwards. Without thinking, she knew who was coming.
As for what he was here for, she knew it clearly. Her pupils were as cold and deep as a secluded pool. This man was truly dreaming if he thought she would really hand over the Emperor.
Leading them was indeed Shangguan Hao, dressed in white. His elegant white robe was embroidered with plum blossoms at the cuffs, exuding extreme elegance. But knowing what kind of person he was, Qingyao only felt that he tainted this color and blasphemed the plum blossoms.
The elegance of plum blossoms was something this lowly person could possess.
This man was not only despicable and shameless but also bore Liu Zun's appearance. She didn't know how he had the face to meet the ancestors of the Shangguan family.
At this moment, Qingyao felt that Changsun Zhu was more of a gentleman. At least he had great integrity, did not want the common people to suffer, and willingly surrendered. He saw through the world and became a monk.
This pure heart matched the elegance of bamboo, but this man did not deserve any color in this world.
Qingyao coldly scrutinized Shangguan Hao, and Shangguan Hao was also observing her.
He thought this woman would at least appear a bit downcast, a bit sad, a bit miserable.
Who would have thought that when he walked in, he would see her so fearless, with a calm expression and an unrestrained aura, as if being imprisoned in the great prison was the most ordinary thing in the world.