At the foot of the mountain, there was a green carriage waiting. It was Su Qing who had received the order to pick them up.
However, he waited until 11pm but Zi'an still hadn't come down the mountain. He began to feel something was wrong and sent people up the mountain to look for him.
Halfway up the mountain, he saw Lingli lying in a pool of blood, already unconscious.
"Lingli, Lingli!" He patted her face gently and then quickly checked her injuries.
Lingli was seriously injured, with wounds on her lower abdomen, chest and arms. He immediately carried Lingli up to Hanshan.
Seeing that the situation was serious, Old Prince An Ran didn't ask any questions and asked Su Qing to carry Lingli into the room and then provide rescue.
It took almost half an hour before old Prince An Ran came out.
Su Qing asked anxiously: "How?"
Old Prince An Ran asked the toothless fat man to get some medicine, and then said in a deep voice: "She is seriously injured. The sword in her chest was almost fatal. Fortunately, she sealed her acupuncture points to stop the bleeding before she passed out. Otherwise, she would not have survived for you to save her. She will not wake up for a while, so let's wait and see tomorrow."
Su Qing was relieved when he heard that there was no danger to his life.
"Where's my sister?" Xia Lin asked worriedly.
Everyone's heart sank. Yes, Lingli went down the mountain with Zi'an. If something happened to Lingli, then what about Zi'an
"Please, Your Majesty, take care of Lingli. I will go down the mountain right away." Su Qing bowed and turned away.
After he came down the mountain, he went straight to Chen Mansion and asked Lady Chen's twelve generals to help. He then ordered people to notify Xiao Xiao and Xiao Tuo and mobilize the palace soldiers to conduct a carpet search.
One night without any results.
It was not until noon the next day that the Xiao Xiao brothers and Su Qing met and exchanged information, but they still had no clue.
"Who could it be?" Xiao Tuo asked angrily.
Xiao Xiao analyzed calmly, "It can't be the emperor. Now that the Empress Dowager has returned to the palace, he can't possibly attack the princess again."
"Who else could it be? King Nan Huai?" Xiao Tuo got angry when he thought of King Nan Huai's treacherous face. He always felt that it was that grandson who did it.
"I can't think of anyone else except him." Su Qing said.
"Go find him!" Xiao Tuo couldn't hold back his anger. "The princess is pregnant now. If she falls into his hands, will she still be alive?"
Xiao Xiao felt that this was the only way.
Prince Nan Huai also disappeared.
Xiao Xiao immediately ran to the city gate and asked the guard at the gate, who said that King Nan Huai had indeed left the city last night.
"It must be him. He took the princess away." Xiao Tuo said angrily.
Xiao Xiao thought for a moment and said, "Su Qing, go to Prince An's mansion right away and ask Prince An to send people to look for him in the capital. Also, guard his den of thieves. Xiao Tuo and I will leave the city and chase him."
"Okay!" Su Qing jumped on the horse and quickly went to Prince An's Mansion.
The Empress Dowager also knew about Zi'an's disappearance.
She smiled bitterly, "Look, no one takes me seriously anymore."
"It was Lao Ba who did it, right?" Aunt Ah She frowned and said, "What is he trying to do? At this point, can't he see the situation clearly? Is he still harboring delusions?"
"Understand? Do you believe it?" The Empress Dowager slowly leaned back on the chaise longue. She was so tired, so tired. In fact, she was the one who deserved to die the most. If she died, it would be all over. Why bother
"Tell the Emperor that Zi'an is missing and he is dead," said the Empress Dowager.
Aunt Ah She was about to go, but she suddenly raised her head and said, "No, I will go myself."
She stood up, took two steps, turned back, and waved her hand, "Forget it."
Aunt Ah She smiled, "Forget it, are you still angry with him? If you have the time, tell the fortune and see if that girl Zi An is dead or alive."
Aunt Ashe turned and went out.
After returning, the Empress Dowager said, "Go and tell Su Qing to chase eastward."
"Alive?"
"Hmm!" The Empress Dowager raised her eyes calmly, "Did he say anything?"
"What can I say? He was so scared that his face changed. He just said that Lao Ba should have been killed long ago."
The Empress Dowager sneered, "It seems that people only know fear when it is closely related to them."
"Is there any news about the seventh brother? Did the hexagram show anything?" asked Aunt Ashe.
"It's okay. There is a temporary danger now, but it will be overcome. Don't worry." She also breathed a sigh of relief.
Aunt Ah She sat down and looked at her, "What should we do next?"
"do nothing!"
"Just waiting here?"
"I no longer care about state affairs, so I will not ask about state affairs. As for the harem, there is one thing we can do. Let's make some preparations and hold the ceremony to confer the title of Concubine Mei." said the Empress Dowager.
Aunt Ah She said: "Actually, we are all back, there are many things we can do."
What Aunt Ah She meant was, why leave all the trouble for Old Seven, when she could clearly do it.
The Empress Dowager thought for a moment and slowly shook her head, "No, Ah She, how long can I manage? I have to keep the relationship going. At the beginning, I saw that the overall situation was settled and the brothers were very harmonious, so I could die peacefully and escape from the world. I didn't expect that I would always lack a sense of crisis and really think that family ties could last a lifetime."
"Don't think too much, everything will be fine." Aunt Ashe knew that she was really sad. What the emperor did was very different from what she had taught him back then, so she took the responsibility on herself.
"Oh, right," Aunt Ah She suddenly asked, "According to your divination, where is Old Seven now?"
"It's right here in the palace. No wonder you can't find it outside!" The Empress Dowager gave a bitter laugh. "The Murong family is full of good people!"
"Hmm?" Aunt Ah She's eyes turned cold, "Which descendant of the Murong family is this again?"
"you guess!"
Aunt Ah She thought for a moment. Who else in the palace had the surname Murong, besides the emperor? Those little brats
"Could it be..." Aunt Ashe thought of someone.
"It's him!"
"Do you want to go and bring Old Seven back?"
The Empress Dowager shook her head slowly, "No, it's time to let that child suffer a little, otherwise, he will think that there is nothing he can't handle at such a young age."
Cold palace!
The cold palace is the most lifeless place in the entire imperial city, with dilapidated buildings, faded gates, and a deserted courtyard.
"Does it hurt?"
A young boy with an innocent smile on his face looked at the man lying on the cold ground.
This person was Murong Jie who disappeared that night.
He was seriously injured and was shot by arrows from the pursuers when he tried to escape. He hid in the cold palace and passed out. When he woke up, he was tied up tightly.
Sitting in front of him was a little boy, his good nephew.
"I admire my uncle the most. In my nephew's heart, he is a hero." He half-knelt, his smile becoming more and more innocent. However, he held a sharp dagger in his hand, which was stained with blood. There were already several bloody marks on Murong Jie's arm.
"It hurts?" Murong Jie's face and hair were all covered with dried blood, making his face look particularly ferocious. "Boy, you really are worthy of being a descendant of the Murong family, you are so cruel!"
The Seventh Prince simply sat on the ground, looking somewhat arrogant, "Uncle, don't you know that you lost because you weren't ruthless enough? If you were a little more ruthless and killed my father, you would be the emperor and you wouldn't end up like this."
(End of this chapter)