Chapter 349 Really Eloped

Ling Jingyu only realized what had happened after he saw the chaos in the palace. After finding out the reason, he gave orders directly without even personally confirming whether the emperor and empress were really dead.

"Commander Lu!"

"I'm here."

"I command you to restore order in the palace within half an hour. Anyone making loud noises, running around without order, or disobeying the rules will be killed without mercy!"

"I obey your orders!"

Commander Lu knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully to Ling Jingyu.

Ling Jingyu's face showed an arrogant smile, "No one in Yulan Palace will be left alive."

…

Everyone, not just the servants who failed to rescue the emperor and empress in time, but also the guards who rushed to put out the fire, saw what they shouldn't have seen, and they all deserve to die.

Ling Jingyu didn't even have the slightest curiosity about why the emperor killed the queen with her hairpin, and what exactly happened in between.

Because to him, none of this mattered. What mattered was that the old emperor had finally died, and from this moment on, the era belonging to him, Ling Jingyu, had truly arrived!

As for the guards who came to put out the fire, they saw how the emperor and empress died, so naturally they could not keep them alive.

Otherwise, if this were to get out, even if he didn't investigate further, others would speculate whether the Queen had committed some unforgivable crime, or even whether the Queen had killed the Emperor during their argument?!

No matter which situation it is, the queen is very likely to be found guilty, which will bring disgrace to her son.

After all, whatever the Queen had done in the past, even just one or two of them would be enough to infamy her for eternity. Therefore, Ling Jingyu would never allow anyone to doubt or even investigate the Queen!

Ling Jingyu has already called himself "I", he will definitely not hide the news of the emperor's death.

When he announced the bad news to the world, he also let everyone know that it was Concubine Shu who was holding a grudge against the Emperor for driving her out of the palace.

She was unreasonable and ungrateful. Not only did she not thank the emperor and the empress for forgiving her previous mistakes and allowing her to enter the palace again, but she also blamed the empress for the accidental death of Prince Ning without any basis.

Therefore, she actually set up a death trap in front of Prince Ning, and took advantage of the fact that the Emperor and Empress went to visit Prince Ning and were completely defenseless against her, and killed them both without any conscience.

Such a heinous crime is enough to punish her entire clan! Even if Concubine Shu has died to atone for her crime, the Qin family cannot escape the blame!

…

At noon, Zhao Jinghan suddenly rushed in front of Dugu Yu, sweating profusely. Before he could even salute, he reported directly, "Your Highness, there's news from the palace: the Emperor has passed away!"

Dugu Yu, “…”

Zhao Jinghan took a moment to breathe. "It is said that it is related to the Concubine Shu, but the specific circumstances need further investigation. The Crown Prince is in charge of the chaos in the palace and is sending the Imperial Guards to suppress it with all their might!"

"There's chaos in the palace?" The emperor has passed away, and instead of just observing the mourning period, why are they making such a fuss? Are they desperate? Or is there something fishy about the emperor's death?

Zhao Jinghan nodded, "I think it's very likely that the Crown Prince is planning to eliminate dissidents before the funeral!"

The death had not yet been announced in the palace. If Dugu Yuruo wanted to prevent the prince from ascending the throne, now would be the golden period to seize the initiative. However, before he could figure out what to do, the butler ran over with sweat all over his forehead.

"Your Highness, the Princess and Military Advisor Murong disguised themselves and left the palace guards behind!"

"Where did you leave from?"

"South Gate!"

"Prepare the horses!"

"yes!"

Looking at the prince who turned around and ran out the door, Zhao Jinghan stretched out his hand, but he didn't say the word "Emperor" in the end.

I just hope that the prince can really leave the city before the funeral in the palace and bring the princess back.

Otherwise, once the funeral is held, the city gates will definitely be closed. If the prince does not enter the palace to mourn but instead forces his way out of the city, it would be disrespectful and punishable by death!

"Today is the fifth day..."

The last day was the day when the Five Puppet Powder was the most toxic, and it was also the day when Qin Qingyao was the most irrational. Because of this, Dugu Yu did not even force her not to leave the house.

But even Dugu Yu didn't understand why the more toxic Qin Qingyao became, the more she could distinguish what was reality and who she loved.

Since yesterday, whenever she saw Dugu Yu, she would feel so miserable that Dugu Yu didn't dare to show his face in front of her.

So, when she was about to go out with Murong Ce today, Dugu Yu did not stop them, but only sent guards to guard them.

But who knew that the two men had already made preparations. They went to the cloth shop under the pretext of buying clothes, but took the opportunity to disguise themselves while changing clothes and ran away from the guards.

In fact, this really cannot be said to be because the people sent by Dugu Yu were incompetent. After all, the person they were watching was the great military strategist Murong Ce!

…

When Ling Jingyu learned of the emperor's death, the first thing he did was to take control of the overall situation in the palace and kill all those who knew about the situation inside and outside the Yu Lan Palace.

The second thing was to be busy fabricating charges and convicting Concubine Shu and the Qin family. After all this was prepared, he finally allowed the news of the death of the emperor and empress to be announced to the world.

At the same time, a large group of imperial guards were sent to surround the Qin Mansion. No one in the Qin Mansion, even the lowest-ranking servants who swept the floor, were spared. They were all arrested and imprisoned, waiting to be tried and punished by the new emperor!

Dugu Yu galloped on his horse, and the news of the emperor's death followed him to the city gate. When the city gate closed, he was the last person to leave the city.

On the mountain road south of Yulin City, a man and a woman were riding horses hurriedly. It seemed that they had something important to do and seemed very anxious.

They were all wearing ordinary farmers' coarse cloth clothes. The woman had her hair tied up like a woman. She had no jewelry on her head, only a headscarf covering her hair.

The men had gray hair on their temples and a scar on the left side of their faces. They looked haggard and had sallow skin, as if they were in their forties or fifties.

The woman was obviously not good at riding a horse, and the mountain road was rugged. Even on horseback, she could not bear the bumps.

"I'm so tired. We've run so far, no one should be chasing us!"

"Well, let's rest for a while. Are you hungry?"

The man said, taking out a cake from his bag and handing it over. "Just make do with it for now. Once we cross Ziyang Mountain, we'll reach Jiangzhou City. Then, find a place to rest."

"Okay! Can you get this stuff off my face? It's so uncomfortable."

"Okay, I'll help you."

They sat on the rocks and took off the disguises on their faces. They were Murong Ce and Qin Qingyao who had slipped away from under the noses of the guards of Prince Wuling's Mansion.

With this kind of makeup, let alone the guards, even if Dugu Yu came, it would be difficult to recognize him as long as they didn't speak.

Qin Qingyao ate the cake slowly, looking very happy. However, Murong Ce kept looking at her, which made her feel a little embarrassed and annoyed. "Why do you keep looking at me? Is there something on my face?"

Murong Ce laughed out loud, very happily, "No, I just think you are really pretty."

"Of course not!" Qin Qingyao said it very modestly, but her face still blushed.

Murong Ce looked at her with a firm and touching look in his eyes, "I never thought that you would really elope with me."

"Why haven't you thought about it?"

Murong Ce was stunned for a moment. Why? Of course, it was because I wasn't in your heart before...

"Because you never went out before!"

Speaking of this, Qin Qingyao frowned in displeasure, "That's because that scoundrel Dugu Yu didn't allow it, he..."

When Qin Qingyao said this, her expression suddenly changed, and the cake in her hand fell to the ground.

Her brows were furrowed, and she kept hitting her temples with her hands. She arched her body and rolled on the rocks in pain.

Murong Ce knew that she was thinking of Dugu Yu again. He quickly hugged Qin Qingyao in his arms and comforted her softly, "Yao'er, don't think about it. Don't think about others. Look at me!"

But Qin Qingyao was struggling constantly, even pushing him away, not letting him get close to her.

She left Murong Ce's arms and kept backing away, suddenly bumping into the mountain wall. A sharp pebble pierced her back, and her whole body shuddered in pain.

She looked across at the big rock where she had just been sitting. Her mind was in a mess and many images appeared in her mind. She couldn't even tell what those images were.

Murong Ce approached cautiously and patiently comforted her, "Yao'er, look at me. Don't think about anything, okay? We're leaving right away. From now on, it'll be just the two of us. From now on, you won't feel this bad anymore!"

Qin Qingyao slowly calmed down, her eyes dazed.

"Murong Ce?"

"I'm here, I'm here!"

Murong Ce took a step forward and held Qin Qingyao in his arms. In his heart, he felt a mixture of excitement and anxiety as if he had regained something he had lost.

But Qin Qingyao still reached out and pushed him away. She didn't know why she did that. She was very scared, as if she was extremely afraid of Murong Ce getting angry, but she still couldn't control her hands.

After leaving Murong Ce, she looked around on the mountain road and suddenly wondered if she had been to this place before.

"Murong Ce, where is this?"

Murong Ce was very afraid that she would think of Dugu Yu again, so he quickly diverted her attention, "This is Ziyang Mountain."

"Look over there. That mountain also belongs to Ziyang Mountain. It's actually connected to this side. However, that mountain is where the old concubine's palace is located. It is guarded by royal guards, so outsiders are not allowed to approach."

"Ziyang Mountain... the palace..."

Qin Qingyao recited silently, and suddenly a lot of words appeared in his mind. On the mountain opposite the Ziyang Mountain Palace, there were towering steep cliffs, huge rocks protruding into the mountain stream, and towering pines and cypresses...

"This road... is this road, and that stone is here!"

Qin Qingyao suddenly pointed at the big rock where she had just sat, as if she had seen something particularly terrifying.

"Yao'er, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with this stone?"