Xue Zining found herself in a carriage. She sat up and lifted the curtain to see Xue Feng driving the horses.
Seeing her awake, Xue Feng pulled the reins, and the carriage stopped.
"You're awake?" Xue Feng said.
Xue Zining nodded. "How did I get here?"
She and Prince Xue Fu had been traveling to the capital in the carriage. After drinking a bowl of sweet soup given by Xue Yan, she seemed to have lost consciousness.
Xue Zining was stunned and immediately thought of a possibility: the soup might have contained medicine.
Seeing that Xue Feng seemed to be hiding something, she pressed him, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Looking at the girl so close, Xue Feng instinctively retreated. His back went over the edge, and he fell out of the carriage, rolling over and landing steadily on the ground.
Xue Zining got out of the carriage as well and walked towards Xue Feng step by step, asking coldly, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
The girl's gaze was too clear and bright. Xue Feng found himself unable to lie.
"Xue Feng..." the girl called again.
Xue Feng sighed, looked up, and asked, "Even if you know, can you change anything?"
"Even if I can't change anything, I still have the right to know."
"Xue Feng, I don't know what happened, but it must be serious. Is it related to me?"
Xue Feng's gaze paused. Xue Zining knew she had guessed correctly. Thinking of Xue Yan's absence, she knew the situation must have reached an uncontrollable state.
"Xue Feng, the longer you delay, the more danger they might be in. Is Xue Song with Xue Yan?"
Xue Feng's last defense seemed to have crumbled. He turned his face away and said, "Even if you know, you can't change anything."
"Xue Feng, I can't change anything, but we can find a way. Are you just going to watch them die?"
Xue Feng trembled.
Xue Zining narrowed her eyes and asked, word by word, "Has my identity been exposed?"
Xue Feng took out a letter from his sleeve. She stepped forward and snatched it. The handwriting was intimately familiar; it was Feng Wu's.
"See this letter and see me. Your Majesty, Feng Wu has made the most correct decision of her life, and perhaps a wrong one, but no matter what, you must not return to Huang Ze..."
Do not return to Huang Ze. Feng Wu wanted her not to return to Huang Ze.
Xue Zining raised her head, her clear eyes as cold as frost. She asked coldly, "Xue Feng, tell me what you know."
"Speak, where is Xue Zining?" a cold voice followed, and a whip lashed down onto a suspended body.
"No comment..." the beaten person squeezed out four words through gritted teeth.
"Xue Yan, you are such a good girl, is it worth it for you to suffer these whip lashes for a female emperor who abandoned you?"
With disheveled hair, a girl whose face was obscured by blood and grime giggled, "Your Majesty is worth my suffering, but you are different. What about the people around you? Have they all run away?"
Xue Yunlan's gaze turned cold, a sinister smile appearing on her face. "You can still mock me here. It's obvious you haven't been beaten enough. Beat her, continue beating her! I don't believe I can't break her stubborn bones."
The whip lashed down fiercely, and Xue Yan let out muffled groans, never crying out.
The thug looked at the girl and couldn't help but admire her. This girl looked about the same age as his daughter, but his daughter was still enjoying his pampering. Thinking of this, he lightened his blows, though his voice did not soften, the force of the impact was considerably less.
Xue Yunlan walked out of the prison. Outside, Hua Yuanjin, or rather, the Crown Prince of Xue, Xue Jingyuan, stood there, his face ashen as he asked, "Did she confess?"
Xue Yunlan shook her head. "Her lips are sealed."
"Although Xue Yan is not Feng Yin, she grew up by the side of the hidden chief, and was influenced by him. These tortures won't pry her mouth open," Xue Jingyuan seemed unsurprised.
Xue Yunlan said, "Then what should we do? Are we just going to let Xue Zining leave?"
Xue Jingyuan glanced at Xue Yunlan and said calmly, "Huang Ze currently has a fake female emperor. She cannot return..."
"Hua... Xue Jingyuan, don't be merciful. Have you forgotten that when Xue Zining tried to kill you, she showed no mercy? Moreover, although there is a female emperor in Huang Ze now, Li Chenxuan and Yu Ji are both on the female emperor's side. If the female emperor delays her appearance, they will eventually become suspicious, and the consequences will be beyond our control. Therefore, don't be sentimental now."
Xue Jingyuan's gaze darkened. He knew Xue Yunlan was right. There would be no reconciliation between him and Xue Zining, unless...
His gaze suddenly burst into a fiery passion.
"Stop torturing them. Tomorrow, hang them above Xuanwu City to announce to the world, and behead them the day after tomorrow."
Xue Yunlan's eyes lit up. "This way, Xue Zining will also know. She will definitely come to rescue them."
"Yes, and then we'll capture her," Xue Jingyuan said.
"Alright, I'll go prepare now." Xue Yunlan turned and left.
Three people were hanging on the gates of Xuanwu City. It was a pity that their faces were obscured by bloodstains, making them unrecognizable.
However, Xue Zining, hidden in the crowd, recognized them as Xue Yan, Xue Song, and Feng Wu.
Seeing Xue Song, Xue Feng trembled but was held back by a pair of hands, suppressing his urge to rush forward and rescue them.
Xue Zining forcibly pulled Xue Feng into a corner before letting go and saying coldly, "What were you trying to do just now?"
Xue Feng gritted his teeth. "This is too insulting."
"The victor becomes king, the vanquished becomes a bandit," Xue Zining said faintly, though her eyes were filled with hidden killing intent.
Xue Feng gritted his teeth and turned his face away. "They are going too far."
"We will definitely rescue them, but not now," Xue Zining said.
Xue Feng asked, "Then when?"
"I haven't thought about it yet," Xue Zining replied blandly.
"Xue Zining..." Xue Feng called her by her full name in anger.
Xue Zining glanced at him, her gaze icy. "Going now would be walking into a trap."
"Are you afraid of dying?" Xue Feng's tone carried a hint of sarcasm.
Xue Zining shook her head. "I'm only afraid that I won't be able to save them, and instead, I'll endanger ourselves, leaving no hope at all."
"How could that be?" Xue Feng didn't believe her.
"We are only looking at the likenesses of the people hanging there, but we don't know if it's really them. Since we're not sure, we can't act rashly. When we act, we must rescue them, because we only have one chance."
Xue Feng's gaze dimmed. He knew the Empress was right.
"So, do we have to wait now?" Xue Feng asked.
"I remember that the Capital Prefect Mo Ran has a good relationship with your Highness?" Xue Zining asked.
Xue Feng nodded. "Yes, Lord Mo grew up with His Highness. Their relationship is extraordinary."
"It's likely he's also been controlled. Let's go find him first. The more people, the more hope."