"Yes, this old slave understands."
"Furthermore, quietly deal with those palace maids, young eunuchs, and the Imperial Guards who were serving in the hall just now."
How could the illness in a woman's private parts be known to others?
She was the Empress of Xia, of noble status, and naturally could not leave any gossip among her subordinates.
The royal face must not be lost! Her face must not be abandoned either!
Dongsheng Kingdom, inside the Imperial Palace,
In Renshou Palace, where the current Empress Dowager resided, the hall was resplendent with red walls, yellow tiles, and golden splendor.
"I never expected Nangong Mo to abandon everything here and go to Xia Kingdom alone. Even more so, I didn't expect him to discard the title of Ninth Prince and willingly become an unknown person. Emperor, it seems the fish hook you chose is quite good. It not only captivated your brother, Nangong Mo, but also your National Master Ouyang Qinglin."
The Empress Dowager, dressed gorgeously and elegantly, glanced sideways at the Emperor, Nangong Di, who was wearing the dragon robe, beside her.
With subtle wrinkles, she was still peerlessly beautiful, her sharp eyes filled with schemes.
At this moment,
In the vast Renshou Palace, only a few trusted eunuchs remained in the hall, with heavy troops guarding the outside. This showed how important the conversation between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor was.
"I also did not expect Nangong Mo, who keeps everyone at a distance of a thousand miles, to be thrown into disarray by a woman, even risking exposing his disguise of so many years, and discarding the meticulous plans of so many years. To lose to a woman, I overestimated him. As for the National Master Ouyang Qinglin, although he has gained my trust over the years, once a person harbors other intentions, he will no longer be loyal. What use is such a dog to keep?"
The imperial yellow robe swayed in front of the kneeling eunuch. All the eunuchs knelt, not daring to look up, holding their breath and not daring to make a sound.
On the Eight Immortals table,
Palace maids carefully served dishes, while the personal head eunuch tested for poison and served the food.
"Since there is such a good opportunity now, I should also meet my sister whom I haven't seen in many years."
Putting down the golden chopsticks,
The personal palace maid quickly handed over a gold-thread handkerchief.
The Empress Dowager took the handkerchief to wipe her mouth, then turned to Nangong Di: "Be sure to do this secretly. I don't want the world to know that I have a sister in this world."
Nangong Di also put down his golden chopsticks, narrowing his cold eyes: "Mother, please rest assured. I have also waited for so many years, and finally, I can remove this annoying thorn."
As the words fell,
With a snap of his fingers,
The elusive commander of the internal guards, Zhuo Yi, appeared swiftly, knelt on one knee, and awaited orders.
"It's time to act. Leave his personal guard, Bai Qi, and find a way to pry some useful information from his mouth. Besides him, everyone in and out of the Ninth Prince's mansion must die!"
"Yes, this subordinate obeys!"
Zhuo Yi rose to leave, but Nangong Di called him back. "Has Yang Ze not returned yet?"
Zhuo Yi quickly turned around and knelt again, reporting, "Not yet."
Nangong Di frowned, his eyes sinister and merciless: "If he returns without bringing anything useful, kill him!"
Zhuo Yi's body trembled: "Yes, this subordinate understands."
Zhuo Yi left, followed by ten hidden masters within the palace, along with a hundred guards.
These people moved like shadows, traversing the darkness.
Thunder flashed in the sky, and rain poured down. Various forces surged, and this night was destined to be restless.
At midnight,
In the Ninth Prince's mansion, swords clashed, shouts and killings erupted, and screams were continuous.
Bai Qi and others were severely injured and captured. The dying Shi Momo, who was seriously ill, was abducted by black-clad men.
The mansion was littered with corpses, and blood flowed like a river.
The next day, someone reported in the imperial court that the Ninth Prince Nangong Mo's mansion was massacred by unknown individuals last night, and the Ninth Prince Nangong Mo was missing.
In the capital, how could such audacious villains dare to defy imperial authority and assassinate the Ninth Prince Nangong Mo? The Emperor was furious upon hearing this and ordered Crown Prince Nan Rongqi to personally investigate the matter.
Two days later, Nan Rongqi, who was investigating the case, discovered a brand-new dragon robe in the Ninth Prince's mansion study.
A royal prince privately hoarding a dragon robe in his own mansion is a crime punishable by death!
The case took a major turn, evolving from a massacre to a grave crime of usurping the throne, and the Ninth Prince Nangong Mo became the mysteriously disappeared fugitive in this major case.
As for those hidden in the dark, unaware of the situation or the whereabouts of their master, they were like a scattered pile of sand, scurrying around like headless flies, in a panic, not knowing where to go.
Meanwhile,
A few young lords and gentlemen who were leisurely traveling on the road, unsure when they would reach Beiling, each went their separate ways after receiving news of the changes in both Dongsheng Kingdom and Xia Kingdom.
Du Chun and Nangong Li galloped on horseback, heading towards Dongsheng Kingdom.
The Ninth Prince's mansion was massacred, and Nangong Mo was missing. Even though they knew very well who was behind this matter, and even though returning meant walking into a trap, they still chose to return without hesitation, wanting to avenge their brother even if it meant death.
As for Duan Xifeng and Yan Kuan, they returned the way they came, heading towards Xia Kingdom.
How could they stand by and do nothing when Gu Qianying was imprisoned by the Empress of Xia Kingdom!
On the way back, Duan Xifeng received a letter from within their Poisonous Doctor Saint Hall, detailing the identity of Shi Momo, Nangong Mo's wet nurse.
Duan Xifeng did not have time to read it carefully and simply carried the letter with him.
Two days later,
Xia Kingdom Imperial Palace,
Gu Qianying and the other two had been imprisoned for two days, and two of them had also suffered inhuman torture for two days.
Gu Yi was originally frail, and his body had been recuperated by Gu Qianying using her own medicinal formula. He could not eat just any food. Looking at the large table of delicacies before him,
Gu Yi was troubled. Every dish on the table was a delicacy, but every dish contained a lot of chili. Spicy food was precisely what Gu Yi could not eat.
For this reason, for two full days, he could only drink water to fill his stomach.
Gu Qianying and Lu Zhu were fine, but every half an hour, the Empress of Xia Kingdom would send people to deliver fruits with strong odors, durian being the most prominent.
Yet, the Empress of Xia Kingdom explicitly stated that this was a special reception for them, hence the enthusiasm.
The room was filled with a foul smell, extremely unpleasant. Lu Zhu covered her mouth with a handkerchief, her stomach churning, almost vomiting.
Gu Yi sat beside her, his complexion not good either.
Among the three, only Gu Qianying's expression was calm and composed, as if nothing around her could affect her.
"Qianying, when will the medicinal formula you handed over take effect? When will the Empress of Xia Kingdom release us?"
Yesterday, Gu Qianying had written a prescription for the difficult illness that the Empress of Xia Kingdom was currently suffering from.
"Even if I can cure the Empress of Xia Kingdom's intractable disease, we still cannot get out."
Gu Qianying saw this matter very clearly.
From the moment the Empress of Xia Kingdom harbored murderous intent towards her two days ago, she knew that regardless of whether she could cure it or not, the outcome would be death. However, in the events that transpired that day, if she had not spoken up to create a way to be spared, they would probably all be dead by now.
"What? We can't get out?" Gu Yi was startled by these words. "Then shall we fight our way out? Don't worry about me, you guys rush out first, okay?"
He did not know martial arts and was a burden.
Gu Yi knew very well that they had infiltrated the Xia Kingdom's Imperial Palace with a purpose, but their plan had failed. At this moment, the most important thing was to survive. No, Gu Qianying must survive!
Looking at the figures guarding the door, Gu Qianying lifted her cold eyes and blurted out without preamble, "Why bother? Soon, someone will come to invite us out. No rush, no rush."