The next morning, the Queen Mother called Shen Qingwan to her house, and after a simple breakfast, she asked everyone to set off. Shen Qingwan secretly observed the Queen Mother's expression, telling her to look normal, and did not ask anyone about the fire last night, as if she didn't know.
Shen Qingwan didn't know whether to say that the empress dowager was mature and steady or that she didn't care about other people's lives at all, but no matter which one it was, it was not her turn to care.
Until the group set off on their journey, Shen Qingwan never saw the highly respected abbot from yesterday again, and no one took the initiative to mention the abbot, as if they had not noticed anything.
Of course, Shen Qingwan would not be such an ignorant person. She just followed the Queen Mother silently, trying to reduce her presence. The incense had burned out. When she returned, she would not have to face the Queen Mother so closely. Thinking about it, she was really relieved.
She could still feel that the Queen Mother didn't like her very much, so she was upset when the Queen Mother asked her to come and accompany her to burn incense. The thought of it made her feel uneasy. Fortunately, it seemed that the Queen Mother didn't want to make things difficult for her along the way, so she just treated it as an outing.
Just as she was thinking this, she heard the Queen Mother calling her from the front: "Xianfei?"
"Yes, I'm here." Shen Qingwan responded quickly.
"What are you thinking about? I called you several times but you didn't respond." The Queen Mother looked at her with a slightly frown.
Shen Qingwan secretly groaned in her heart. What she feared was what came true. She could only respond, "I was panicked for a moment. I hope the Queen Mother will not blame me."
"Okay, I'm not going to blame anyone without any reason. You came here, and you've had trouble accompanying me along the way. I saw that your carriage was shaking violently, and there was no soft cushion inside. I was afraid that you must have suffered. You can ride in the same carriage with me on the way back." The queen mother said expressionlessly, and then without caring about Shen Qingwan's reaction, she asked someone to help her get into her own carriage.
Shen Qingwan had no choice but to follow the Queen Mother into the carriage and said, "Thank you, Queen Mother, for your grace."
The things equipped in the Queen Mother's carriage were naturally much better than those in Shen Qingwan's carriage, but it was certainly not as comfortable as riding in one's own carriage.
Fortunately, the Queen Mother had no intention of talking to her, and she squinted her eyes and dozed off on the side after getting on the carriage. Shen Qingwan breathed a sigh of relief again, and also closed her eyes, but was secretly sorting out the mess that had happened recently.
On the other hand, Fu Yuheng always felt that something was not right in the palace, as if something big was going to happen. After thinking about it, he realized that the only thing that worried him was the Concubine Xian and the Queen Mother who were away. He called the chief steward to ask where the two were now.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager and Consort Xian have not returned to the palace yet. According to past practice, they should arrive at the palace at noon."
It was not far from noon now, so they were probably not far from the palace. He ordered, "Let the second team take some people to meet the Queen Mother and Consort Xian."
"yes."
And now on the road.
"Empress Dowager, Empress Consort Xian, we are going to pass through that uneven forest ahead again. Please be careful not to kowtow." The man driving the coach outside reminded them.
The Queen Mother did not respond and did not even open her eyes, so Shen Qingwan had no choice but to respond herself, secretly paying attention to the bumps in the carriage.
Suddenly, the driver pulled the rope of the carriage hard, causing the horses to stop quickly. The two people in the carriage swayed a bit. The empress dowager opened her eyes unhappily, looked at Shen Qingwan, and motioned her to ask.
"What happened outside?" Shen Qingwan asked loudly.
"Replying to Her Majesty the Concubine! There is a villain blocking the road ahead. Please don't come out with Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. Leave it to us to handle it!" Someone outside replied.
The villain outside seemed to be well prepared and did not talk much with the guards. After a while, the sound of swords clashing was heard.
Shen Qingwan was anxious, and quietly pulled open the curtain on one side of the carriage, only to see a group of black-clothed men with turbans fighting with the guards outside. There were no fewer people than here, and their martial arts seemed to be quite strong.
Shen Qingwan thought to herself that no one could escape, and was just thinking about how to escape when she heard a sound of breaking through the air coming from above.
"My queen, be careful!"
Shen Qingwan reacted the moment she heard the sound. She pounced on the empress dowager and dragged her to the other side of the carriage. A sword light followed and the carriage was instantly split in half.
The two attendants arrived shortly afterwards and started fighting with the man.
Shen Qingwan pulled up the Queen Mother, observed the movements around them, and slowly retreated to a safe place. The crowd gradually formed a protective circle around the two of them.
"Empress Dowager, the other party's military strength is probably superior to ours. Do you have any way to inform the Emperor?" Shen Qingwan asked.
The Queen Mother's usually calm face showed a hint of panic because of the assassination. After hearing Shen Qingwan's words, she just shook her head.
Just when the two were getting anxious, they heard another wave of troops rushing in and joining the battle.
"It's the Second Team of the Imperial Guard!" Shen Qingwan exclaimed. She had seen the commander of the Second Team before.
Seeing that the situation was gradually under the control of the Imperial Guards, the Queen Mother finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Soon the villain was subdued, and the guards tied up those who were not dead yet and took them back for interrogation. After some twists and turns, they finally returned to the palace.
Fu Yuheng naturally got the news of the assassination and was furious. He ordered a thorough investigation. The palace was shrouded in a tense atmosphere. The emperor was furious and everyone was in danger.
Fu Yuheng first went to the ancestral hall where the Queen Mother was. Although he was unhappy about the Queen Mother's incident this time, she was her mother in name after all. Only after he saw that the Queen Mother was fine did he tell the servants to take good care of her and leave.
"Your Majesty, do you want to go and see Concubine Xian?" Sun Ning asked from the side.
Fu Yuheng nodded and decided to go.
But not now. The assassination must be investigated thoroughly. After all, it concerns the virtuous concubine and the queen mother, and it must not be easily abandoned. Otherwise, I am afraid that something else will happen.
"Your Majesty, after a careful search, we discovered that the jade pendant found in the arms of the leader of the men in black was indeed owned by Concubine De." Wrongly convicting a concubine is a serious crime, and they dared not report it until they were sure of it.
Fu Yuheng took the jade pendant handed to him by his subordinate with an expressionless face and examined it carefully. He had seen Concubine De wearing this jade pendant, so he was sure of it.
"Okay, I'm afraid I have to sort out my harem. Come! Put Concubine De under house arrest in her palace. Without my permission, she is not allowed to step out of the yard!"
Concubine De? How could it be her? In fact, Fu Yuheng also had doubts in his heart. But now the evidence is conclusive, and anger has made him lose his usual calmness.