Emperor Cheng'an asked through gritted teeth, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Empress Zhou smiled: "Of course, it's to purge the court of corrupt officials and save the emperor. Isn't His Majesty hoping we'll do the same?"

“As long as Your Majesty behaves well, my elder brother and I will remember our past relationship and treat Your Majesty well.” She touched her pregnant belly: “After all, this child is still a few months away from being born.”

Upon hearing his words, Emperor Cheng'an understood the Zhou family's plan. The Zhou family's plan was indeed very close to his guess. They intended to use him first, and then, after the birth of the Zhou family's illegitimate child, they could eliminate him and support the illegitimate child to take the throne.

By then, the Zhou family would be second only to the emperor.

"The Empress and the Zhou family really have a clever plan." Emperor Cheng'an gritted his teeth in hatred, but he was powerless to change his current situation.

Since Empress Zhou had already broken off relations with him, she was too lazy to pretend anymore. She changed her expression and said coldly, "If Your Majesty obediently comes with me, I might let you live a few good days and die with dignity out of consideration for our past relationship. But if you disobey and fall into Xue Shen's hands, your fate will be ten or a hundred times worse than it is now."

Emperor Cheng'an knew she was right. After weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, he ultimately chose to endure for the time being and left with Empress Zhou.

Looking at his disheveled appearance, Empress Zhou covered her mouth and laughed uncontrollably: "I never thought that His Majesty would have to bow down to someone like this."

Emperor Cheng'an sensed the sarcasm in his tone and suppressed his anger, saying, "I have treated you quite well in the past."

"You have indeed treated me well." Empress Zhou revealed a resentful look: "You have only used my son's life to pave the way for the Crown Prince, and forced me to give birth to your bastard child to keep the Crown Prince in check."

"The Zhou family has done so much for you, and you just abandon it like that?"

Emperor Cheng'an was speechless after hearing her words and could only shut his mouth in frustration.

Empress Zhou scoffed at the sight, "This is probably what they call 'thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river.'"

The four walked along the secret passage, and after about half an hour, they could vaguely see light coming from ahead.

Empress Zhou smiled and said to the two guards, "We'll be there soon. Keep a close eye on him and don't let him escape."

The two guards obeyed the order and immediately pinned down Emperor Cheng'an's arms on either side.

Emperor Cheng'an, the supreme ruler, had never suffered such humiliation before. He struggled in anger, shouting, "Release me! How dare you disobey and defy your superior!"

The two guards ignored him and, seeing him struggle, tightened their grip even more.

Emperor Cheng'an struggled in vain for a moment, but seeing Empress Zhou's amused expression, he finally had to give up due to exhaustion.

Zhou Qing led his men to meet them at the exit of the secret passage. When he saw Emperor Cheng'an being escorted out by two guards, he smiled slightly and gave Emperor Cheng'an a perfunctory bow with a hint of sarcasm: "Your subject Zhou Qing greets Your Majesty. Has Your Majesty been well these days?"

Emperor Cheng'an naturally understood the sarcasm and malice in Zhou Qing's words, but now that his life was in Zhou Qing's hands, even he had to keep a low profile.

Emperor Cheng'an forced a smile: "Fortunately, with the Empress taking care of me, I am perfectly fine."

To everyone's surprise, Zhou Qing's expression changed upon hearing this: "Your Majesty seems to be living a good life in the palace, but you have no idea how miserable I have been as a prisoner, constantly on the run. And what kind of life my family is living in prison?"

Emperor Cheng'an's face twitched, and he said with a fake smile, "I misunderstood you before. Once the rebellion of Prince Qin is quelled, I will definitely issue an edict to exonerate the Zhou family and restore your innocence."

Zhou Qing chuckled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his words.

With a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Get in the car, let's go!"

Emperor Cheng'an and Empress Zhou boarded the carriage together, and were about to leave when they suddenly heard the sounds of weapons clashing from all directions, followed by the clatter of horses' hooves. A sound that Chen Andi could never have imagined would come to this place rang out.

"Zhou Qing, where are you taking His Majesty hostage?"

The sound was like a thunderclap in the ears of Zhou Qing, Empress Zhou, and Emperor Cheng'an.

—That’s clearly Xue Shen’s voice.

Why is Xue Shen here?

Almost all three of them had the same question in their minds.

Empress Zhou, who had been smug, suddenly changed her expression, and Emperor Cheng'an also nervously gripped the cushion beneath him, his fingers unconsciously digging deep into it.

Zhou Qing looked as if he were facing a formidable enemy: "What are you doing here?"

Xue Shen rode forward, smiling as he swept his gaze over Zhou Qing's men: "That's the question I should be asking you. What are you trying to do by taking His Majesty hostage?"

Zhou Qing gritted his teeth: "You have placed His Majesty under house arrest in the palace. We were merely sent to rescue the emperor after receiving His Majesty's secret plea for help."

Xue Shen clapped his hands and said with a smile, "You can keep making things up, but I don't know if anyone will believe you."

Zhou Qing glanced at the men behind him, weighed the strength of both sides in his mind, gritted his teeth, and ordered: "Protect His Majesty, fight your way out!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already drawn his sword and charged at Xue Shen on horseback.

Xue Shen did not parry his move, but instead pulled back quickly, smiling as he said to Zhou Qing, "Today, your opponent is not me. Someone is waiting to settle old scores with you."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw Shen Xiuyi riding up from not far away, his spear gleaming coldly.

Shen Xiuyi used the tip of her spear to deflect Zhou Qing's long sword, and gave him a cold look: "Does Lord Zhou still remember me? It's time to settle the old scores between me and the Zhou family."

Unexpectedly, they were surrounded by enemies. Xue Shen and his group were clearly well-prepared. Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhou Qing wanted to retreat first.

But Xue Shen had already set up an ambush here, so how could he let him leave so easily?

The Imperial Guards, hidden in the dense forest, revealed themselves, completely blocking Zhou Qing's escape route.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight with his back against the wall.

But he was no match for Shen Xiuyi to begin with, not to mention Xue Shen was also watching him closely. Xue Shen hadn't brought many men this time, but they were all elites. They were more than enough to deal with Zhou Qing's men.

In less than half an hour, Zhou Qing's men were wiped out.

All that remained was a carriage that had been left standing there, and Zhou Qing, who was struggling to stay afloat.

Emperor Cheng'an watched the battle from inside the carriage. Seeing that Zhou Qing was about to give up, he gritted his teeth and turned back to look at Empress Zhou.

Empress Zhou's entire attention was focused on Zhou Qing, and she did not notice Emperor Cheng'an's unusual behavior.

Emperor Cheng'an made a decision in an instant. He suddenly picked up the teapot on the table and smashed it on Empress Zhou's head with all his might.

Empress Zhou was caught off guard and was hit on the head. Blood flowed from her head instantly, and she screamed.

Emperor Cheng'an showed no mercy, grabbing her by the neck and dragging her off the carriage.

"Your Majesty, Empress Zhou has colluded with Zhou Qing to hold me hostage! Why haven't you come to my rescue yet?!"