Hearing Concubine Rong say that, Yan Liqiang understood that it was just words of self-consolation. With so many people in the palace, how could it be possible for all of them to leave through the secret passage? If that were the case, would the secret passage still be a secret passage? Wouldn't it just be a square open on all sides
So the most realistic situation is that the people that His Majesty the Emperor arranged to leave through the secret passage should not be limited to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Concubine Rong. There should be other people who also left through the secret passage, but the number of people should not be too large. At that time, His Majesty the Emperor did not know the situation outside the city and thought it was safer outside the city. Under the circumstances at the time, it was better than staying in the palace and waiting to die.
Among those who came out of the secret passage, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had already died, while those on Concubine Rong's side who were on the road to Deer Garden are barely safe now. As for the other people on the other side, whether they survived after walking out of the secret passage, whether they are still safe, or whether they encountered other dangers and accidents, it all depends on fate. Reality is so cruel.
A day ago, these people were living a life of luxury, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, they became refugees. They might have to face countless zombies and dangerous environments, and their lives might be in danger at any time. Such a change is enough to make people collapse, and not everyone can bear it.
After gradually understanding the current situation, the atmosphere in the room slowly became a little depressing. Everyone's face looked unhappy. Only Concubine Rong was still trying to cheer herself up and comforted herself, "Maybe the situation is not that serious. After all, it's night time and it's dark. No one can necessarily see everything clearly. The people outside the city, seeing the chaos in the Imperial Capital, may also become chaotic themselves!"
"My sister is right. At a time like this, we should not panic. Perhaps His Majesty will bring people here soon..." Concubine Rui responded and said with a forced smile. This Concubine Rui was different from Concubine Duan. She had a standard oval face and willow-shaped eyebrows. She was a standard beauty, and was two years younger. She spoke softly and tenderly, like a spring breeze. There was also a scholarly air about her, which was unique.
Concubine Yi was dignified and beautiful, with lively eyes and a graceful demeanor. Just now, seeing Princess Anping in pain, she had already moved lightly and sat next to Princess Anping, gently patting Princess Anping's hand and comforting the sobbing Princess Anping in a low voice. Hearing Concubine Rui's words, Concubine Yi turned her head, her almond eyes were also tearful, and she sighed, "We are actually very lucky. When the disaster comes, we can still have a secret passage to hide. If it is really as Concubine Rui said, it would be the best. But the many sisters in the palace, last night... I am afraid they have already met with an accident..."
Yan Liqiang did not explain anything further, because he knew that soon, Elder Liu would come and shatter the last bit of hope in these women's hearts.
Concubine Duan bit her lip lightly, frowned slightly, and looked at Concubine Rong and the other women, and finally at Yan Liqiang. She said, "No matter what, at this time, the more difficult it is, the more we need to be united to overcome this difficulty. Lord Yan, do you think I am right?"
"Well, what Concubine Duan said makes sense. At times like this, we should really work together to overcome the difficulties!" Yan Liqiang glanced at Concubine Duan and responded.
"Then I wonder if Lord Yan has met His Majesty and other ministers in the court since last night?" Concubine Rong asked.
After all kinds of thoughts turned over in Yan Liqiang's mind, Yan Liqiang shook his head and said, "I have never met His Majesty. As for other ministers in the court, besides Lord Sun, I have met a few..."
"Ah, I wonder which ministers they are and where they are?" Concubine Rong suddenly perked up a little.
"The ministers I saw were all dead. Their homes were covered in blood. Servants and guards were lying on the ground gnawing at them. There were two who could move. They were still wearing official uniforms, but they had become zombies. Their eyes were bloodshot and blood was hanging from the corners of their mouths. They could no longer speak and could only scream like wild beasts. They mixed in with the mob and attacked the palace together. Judging from the current situation of the Imperial Capital, it is estimated that only one in ten officials in the court could escape from the Imperial Capital alive..."
Concubine Rong's face turned pale again. "Last night, some people in the palace suddenly went crazy and bit people. A eunuch in Xiuning Palace did the same thing, and he even bit a palace maid to death. They said these people were possessed by evil spirits, but possessed by evil spirits... How could they become like this..."
"I do not know either… "
As the royal attendant, Elder Liu was indeed very quick in his actions. He had only been away for a few minutes when a figure flashed outside the yard and Elder Liu had already returned, striding into the room.
Seeing Elder Liu coming back, the eyes of Concubine Rong and everyone else in the room immediately focused on Elder Liu.
"Elder Liu, what's the situation outside?" Concubine Rong asked anxiously.
Elder Liu's face was even gloomier than when he left before, and it was even a little blue. He glanced at Yan Liqiang and said in a hoarse voice, "What Lord Yan said is absolutely right. There are no living people in the several villages near the Deer Park now. There are those possessed zombies everywhere. Not only the living people in the village, but also the living pigs, chickens, cats and dogs have been bitten to death. The corpses are everywhere, like a ghost den. I have lived all my life and have never seen such a bloody and disgusting scene. This Deer Park is not a safe place. Who knows when it will be discovered by the mob. What should I do? Please decide, Your Majesty..."
The news brought by Elder Liu completely crushed the last glimmer of hope in the hearts of Concubine Rong and the others. Concubine Rong and the other women suddenly became pale, and even the palace maids in the room lost all color on their faces. After half a minute, Concubine Rong said in a trembling voice, "Something happened in the Imperial Capital, but there are still soldiers and horses in the four suburbs that can be mobilized..."
"Yes, there are still troops from the four regions that can be mobilized..." Concubine Rui also continued, "We can wait here for reinforcements to arrive..."
"Yes, the imperial court still has a large army, and troops from all over the country can be mobilized..." Concubine Duan also spoke.
Several women started talking at once, encouraging themselves, but Yan Liqiang remained silent. After talking for a while, the women realized that Yan Liqiang remained silent, so they stopped talking.
"Why doesn't Lord Yan say anything?" Concubine Rong's eyes fell on Yan Liqiang's face and she asked.
"It has been quite some time since the red pillars of smoke appeared in the Imperial Capital last night. The red pillars of smoke can be seen from a thousand miles away, which means an emergency order. If everything is normal in the four suburbs, the cavalry from the four suburbs would have set out to rescue last night. Now the cavalry has already arrived in the Imperial Capital. The official road outside the Deer Garden leads to the western suburbs of the capital. I have people on the wall keeping an eye on the situation on the official road, but until now, there has been no sign of any reinforcements on the official road. So, obviously, there is only one reason. It is not that the soldiers from the four suburbs did not come because they saw the red pillars of smoke, but that the current situation in the four suburbs is probably the same as that of the Imperial Capital. They can't protect themselves and have been in chaos for a long time. They can't spare any soldiers to rescue..."
"Then...then...what about the troops from other states and counties? They...they will come eventually, right?"
"The capital is now in chaos. If those people outside are considered possessed by evil spirits, the number of people in the capital who are possessed by evil spirits is probably at least four to five million. That is to say, the number of mobs in the capital is now four to five million. The rest of the people, those who are not possessed by evil spirits, have either been bitten to death or have fled and become refugees. So at this time, the states and counties adjacent to the capital are suddenly flooded with millions of refugees and refugees, and they must be in chaos. Even if those states and counties can resettle the fleeing refugees as quickly as possible, how many troops do you think the entire Han Empire will have to mobilize to face the millions of mobs possessed by evil spirits in the capital, and how long will it take to prepare for the arrival of reinforcements?"
Everyone present was not a fool, and they all had a certain understanding of national affairs. After listening to Yan Liqiang's analysis, everyone suddenly understood their current situation...
The court is finished!
There may be chaos in various parts of the Han Empire!
Reinforcements from the states will never arrive!
Whether they can leave the Imperial City alive is still unknown...
In the silence, Elder Liu's face was particularly gloomy. "This is just Lord Yan's one-sided statement and inference. The reason why the reinforcements from the four regions have not arrived yet may be that they have been temporarily delayed by other things..."
Yan Liqiang was about to speak when he felt a movement in the sky outside. Yan Liqiang stood up and walked to the yard outside the hall. Amid the fluttering of its wings, a gray carrier pigeon fell from the sky and landed on Yan Liqiang's arm. Yan Liqiang untied the letter box on the pigeon's feet, opened it, took a look, and then walked into the room and handed the piece of letter paper in the letter box to Concubine Rong who had stood up. "Your Majesty, please look, this is the urgent report I just received. Last night, there was chaos in all the cities in the four capitals. Several large camps of the court were all captured. Huizhou City was on fire. The situation was exactly the same as in the Imperial Capital. Countless people turned into zombies and countless civilians fled their homes. The entire capital area has now become a purgatory, and several states and counties close to the capital area have also become chaotic all of a sudden. The situation is just as I expected..."
With Fei Xin in front of them, everyone in the room couldn't help but believe it.
"Master Yan, who sent this... this Feixin... is it... reliable?"
"The one who sent the message was Fang Beidou. Your Majesty should have heard of this person. These days, the court has given me a lot of travel permits, so I have been arranging for craftsmen who are willing to leave the capital to live in the northwest. I have a lot of manpower under my command, and Fang Beidou has been coordinating these days. They have been running around the capital and neighboring states and counties to arrange various evacuation matters for those craftsmen who are willing to leave the capital. This news is absolutely reliable!"
Hearing Yan Liqiang say this, Concubine Rong's face became paler and paler. Suddenly, Concubine Rong's body softened, her eyes closed, and she fell directly towards Yan Liqiang...
Yan Liqiang instinctively hugged Concubine Rong's body, and Concubine Rong suddenly fell limp in Yan Liqiang's arms, her face pressed on Yan Liqiang's shoulders, her lips almost touching Yan Liqiang's neck. Yan Liqiang suddenly felt soft and fragrant, hugging Concubine Rong's soft body, smelling the scent of rose essence on Concubine Rong's hair, and feeling the huge pressure of the two greasy lumps on Concubine Rong's chest. Yan Liqiang was slightly stunned, and then he shouted in his heart, Damn it! Damn it! How could this happen!
"Ah, sister, what happened?" Concubine Duan, Concubine Rui, and Concubine Yi in the room all stood up at once, and the other palace maids were also in a panic, "Hurry up, someone, the queen has fainted..."
In this chaotic monologue, Liu Xitong's voice was heard outside, "Sir, it's bad, a group of rioters have rushed outside the Deer Park..."
Hearing Liu Xitong's voice, Yan Liqiang quickly handed the fainted Concubine Rong to the hand of the palace maid next to him, took two steps back, and said to Elder Liu, "I'll leave this to Elder Liu. The situation outside is critical. I'll go take a look first..."
After saying that, Yan Liqiang strode out of the room...
…
ps: I have been working hard on writing these days, thank you all for your support!
(End of this chapter)