He ordered his men to begin deploying defenses and mobilize heavy troops.
Murong Zhuangzhuang came out, wiped his tears and asked, "Mobilizing heavy troops here, isn't this a sign of conspiracy?"
"They are well aware of Ajie's injuries. I would rather he know it than let them confirm it and announce it to the world." Prince An looked straight ahead. Ever since he stopped taking charge of state affairs, everyone thought he was useless. However, no one could lay a hand on the Murong family's kingdom. He still had the blood of an emperor flowing in his body.
Murong Zhuangzhuang asked, "Should we go and ask the Imperial Grandmother for help?"
Prince An thought for a moment and shook his head slowly, "No, don't disturb her for now. Besides, I don't know where she is now. I feel..."
Prince An wanted to say that he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, and that hope was Zi'an's acupuncture work in the General's Mansion against all odds.
He always felt that Zi'an had a back-up plan for doing this.
But this was just his guess. If Zi'an didn't take any follow-up action, his aunt would be disappointed.
Murong Zhuangzhuang was heartbroken and very confused, "Why did the Concubine Dowager become like this? Although I also felt her dissatisfaction with the Empress Dowager before, she never showed this dissatisfaction. Moreover, she is considered a far-sighted person in the harem. How could she do such a thing? Besides, she also publicized this matter, which would endanger the government. She couldn't have known it, right?"
This was something that Prince An did not understand at all. Although Todd might have been placed next to her and had performed magic to ward off evil for her, based on her previous cautious approach, it was impossible for her to trust a person so deeply.
Moreover, she even asked Tao De to set up some formation at the last moment of Ajie's life, which was extremely absurd.
Looking at all her actions, they can be summed up in two words: stupid.
However, Concubine Linggui was not a stupid person. On the contrary, she was very smart.
With so many doubts in his mind, Prince An felt that he should carefully investigate the moral concept. Also, he should start with the people around the noble concubine and ask about her recent abnormal behavior.
Thinking of this, he said to Zhuang Zhuang: "Little aunt, if you want a concubine, get in touch with the people who serve the concubine closely and ask if there is anything unusual about your concubine these days?"
Zhuangzhuang raised his eyes suspiciously, "What do you doubt?"
"Go ask first, and we'll discuss it later!" said Prince An.
"Okay then!" Zhuangzhuang nodded, and thought of Murong Jie's death. A wave of sadness surged in his heart, and he couldn't help crying.
The carriage carrying Zi'an quickly left the city and headed towards Feitian Mountain outside the city.
Feitian Mountain has a nice name. If you don’t know, you might think that some immortal has practiced here. However, those who know the inside story know that there is a mass grave halfway up Feitian Mountain.
People nearby will not go to Feitian Mountain because there is no sunlight there all year round and the yin energy is very heavy. Even if there is sunshine all the way, once you reach the mass grave, all the sunlight will disappear.
The carriage stopped at the foot of the mountain and the two guards dragged Zi'an down.
There was plenty of sunshine at the foot of the mountain, and the sun was scorching fiercely. Although Zi'an was tied up, he could still turn the charging button of the Soul-Snatching Ring by rubbing two fingers.
The mountain road was rugged and Zi'an pretended to be dizzy and refused to exert any effort, so she was almost half-dragged up.
She paid close attention to the terrain nearby. There were many dense forests on the mountain, which meant that once she was on the mountain, she would not be able to see sunlight. Even if there was sporadic sunlight, the radiation was not enough and the Soul-Snatching Ring could not absorb too much energy. So although it was very tiring to be dragged like this, she hoped to delay it a little longer.
She could only rely on the Soul-Snatching Ring, because her physical strength was severely depleted. She had not eaten for two days. In addition, her previous disorder, taking safflower, and being injured and poisoned had almost exhausted her physical strength.
She also looked at the rope that tied her up. It was a hemp rope. This kind of hemp rope was very tough and she couldn't open it for the time being.
In her eight years in the special agent team, this was not the most dangerous time for her, but it was the most powerless time.
She hoped that Xiao Tuo could see the embroidered shoes she left behind, but whether he could track him here depended on Xiao Tuo's ability.
The two men dragged Zi'an to the mass grave and left him behind.
In broad daylight, there was no sunlight at all, cold winds were blowing, crows were cawing everywhere, and it was extremely eerie and scary.
Hearing the sound of the sword being drawn, Zi'an knew she couldn't pretend to be unconscious any longer. She struggled to stand up, took a step back, and pretended to be terrified and asked, "What do you want to do?"
The two guards, one fat and one thin, did not look ferocious, but they were not good people either.
"Miss, I'm sorry. The Concubine wants to kill you, but you must not blame anyone else. Just blame your bad luck." The thin guard walked towards her with a sword in his hand. He was the one who knocked her out just now.
Zi'an stepped back step by step, hoping that the energy of the Soul-Snatching Ring would be enough for her to open the ropes that bound her hands behind her back.
"Two big guards, is there any misunderstanding here? How could the Concubine Dowager want to kill me? I am the prince's fiancée." Zi'an delayed time and kept adjusting the Soul-Snatching Ring to the appropriate position.
The rope is on the wrist and the Soul-Snatching Ring is on the finger. It is not easy to align the Soul-Snatching Ring with the rope on the wrist.
The fat guard sneered, "Fiancée? If you really had this blessing, you wouldn't have ended up like this. Just accept your fate and close your eyes. We brothers promise you that we will let you go without suffering too much."
Zi'an retreated step by step until he reached the edge of the cliff. She looked back and saw a cliff below. However, there were a few slightly protruding flat spots on the cliff. If she could control herself well and land on the flat ground, she would have a chance of survival.
If she can't untie the rope, she has no choice but to jump. If she doesn't jump, she will surely die. If she jumps, she can still have hope.
Seeing that she was backing away, the thin guard reminded her, "If you back off any further, you will fall. If you die in our hands, at least you will suffer less."
These two men have followed the Concubine Dowager for many years, and they are not vicious people. They also know that Xia Zian is not someone who deserves to die. They are just under orders and have to obey them. The only way they can do is to let her die quickly.
Zi'an pulled the Soul-Snatching Ring, but it did not have enough power to penetrate the rope, so it could only penetrate most of it. She turned around resolutely and jumped down.
The two guards didn't expect her to be so strong-willed that she would rather commit suicide than die in their hands.
"It's a pity for such a young lady!" the thin guard said softly.
The fat guard put away his sword, walked to the edge of the cliff and took a look. "There is flat land below."
"Do you think she can jump to the ground? She is a weak woman with her hands tied. If she really jumps to the ground, we can see it."
The fat guard thought about it and said, "That's right, let's go back."
There was chaos at the palace.
The Crown Prince learned that Murong Jie was injured and came to visit him, but Prince An refused to let him in on the grounds that Murong Jie was too seriously injured to see anyone.
(End of this chapter)