Xie Yunqi said, "Before coming here, my grandson specifically asked His Majesty for an order - the women of the Xie family will never be allowed to enter the palace for selection, and the children of the Xie family will not be allowed to enter the Imperial Academy for three generations."

As he spoke, he unfolded the imperial edict with a smile that became more cruel: "The reputation you value most is gone!"

The old lady suddenly convulsed all over, a "gurgling" sound came from her throat, and her cloudy old eyes dilated slightly due to shock.

However, Xie Yunqi gently wiped her tears: "Don't worry, grandma, there is something better - the "Xie Family Tree" that you hid in the Xie family's secret room. Your grandson has already burned it. From now on, I have the final say in the Xie family!"

His voice was clearly not loud, but every word sounded like tears of blood, piercing the old lady's chest with precision, causing her pupils to dilate and her breathing to become difficult.

Seeing this, Xie Rou and Madam Xie hurried forward to support him: "Brother, grandma can't bear it..."

Xie Yunqi interrupted with a sneer: "When she ordered those assassins to assassinate the princess, she should have thought that this day would come."

"She ruined it all with her own hands!"

…

In the end, the old lady was imprisoned forever by Xie Yunqi in a dark room behind the ancestral hall. Her limbs were paralyzed, she could not speak, and only her pair of cloudy eyes could move.

Every morning and evening, Xie Yunqi planned to pay his respects in person and tell her about the situation in the court, the changes in the Xie family's industries, etc., especially the details of those forces that the old lady had high hopes for and were now being eliminated by him.

"Master, the secret guards have assembled." Fu An appeared beside him and reported to him in a low voice.

Xie Yunqi took one last look at the old lady with a distorted face, then turned around and strode away.

In the garden, three hundred Xie family secret guards knelt silently.

Xie Yunqi took off the withering order from his waist, threw it to the leader, and ordered:

"Divide into three groups. One group will disguise as a merchant caravan and head to Youzhou to investigate. One group will take my warrant and search at the bottom of the cliff. The last group..."

He took out the piece of clothing that Chu Qingluan had cut off from his arms and said, "Follow this scent and find it."

The corner of the clothes was stained with Chu Qingluan's scent. If we use a hunting dog with a keen sense of smell to search, there might be a glimmer of hope.

——

At the same time, on an inconspicuous path, a low-key green-covered carriage was slowly moving away from the capital.

Inside the carriage, Pei Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and groaned at the severe pain in his chest.

He subconsciously reached for the sword beside him, but only felt thick bandages.

"Master, are you awake?" Ge Zhong came up quickly, holding a medicine bowl in his hand. "You've been unconscious for three days, and your wounds are almost healed..."

"Where's the princess?" Pei Yuan grabbed Ge Zhong's wrist and splashed the medicine on the quilt. "I heard you say...she's missing?"

Ge Zhong then realized that he was asking about the princess of Da Chu.

He turned around and exchanged glances with the other guards, and whispered: "The master is seriously injured and has not recovered yet. The most important thing right now is to return to Daqin as soon as possible..."

"Answer me!"

Pei Yuan suddenly jumped up, but because of the impact on his wound, he fell back heavily on the couch, and the blood instantly soaked the gauze.

Ge Zhong gritted his teeth and said truthfully: "Princess Zhaoyang's whereabouts are indeed unknown, but the Prime Minister of Da Chu has sent people to look for her..."

Before he could finish his words, Pei Yuan was already trying to sit up, reaching out to lift the car curtain: "Turn around and go back to the capital!"

"My Lord, you can't do that!"

Ge Zhong hurriedly held him down and said, "The Great Qin has urgent news. The Second Prince has joined forces with the Changning Army to mutini. His Majesty has sent several imperial edicts, ordering you to return to the court as soon as possible."

He took out a black iron token from his bosom and handed it to Pei Yuan: "My Lord, the secret guards received the news when they met you in the cave under the cliff."

Pei Yuan's pupils suddenly shrank.

The cave was their retreat route that they had surveyed in advance. A vine net was specially installed on the cliff for buffering. It should have been foolproof. If it weren't for that last sword...

"The swords of the Xie family's assassins were poisoned. Fortunately, our people responded in time, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous." Ge Zhong saw his doubts and took the initiative to explain.

After a long time, Pei Yuan gradually calmed down, closed his eyes with difficulty, and had to accept this fact temporarily.

"Send a team behind." Pei Yuan suddenly said, his voice terribly cold, "Keep a close eye on the movements of Xie Yunqi and the Third Prince, especially... the direction of Youzhou."

Ge Zhong hesitated to speak, and finally sighed and said, "My Lord, you don't know. I just received news that the crown prince of Great Chu has been deposed for framing his brothers, but the third prince Chu Hong has been conferred the title of King Rui and granted the fiefdom of Youzhou for his meritorious reporting."

"As for the Xie family, I heard that Prime Minister Xie has sent people to place Old Lady Xie under house arrest and has completely taken control of the entire Xie family. I don't think he will give up on looking for Princess Zhaoyang."

Pei Yuan clenched the sword in his hand tightly, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

Finally, he ordered: "Speed ​​up! We must reach Xianyang within five days."

——

Soon, five days passed in a flash.

Chu Qingluan, Qi Che and his party rode in a horse-drawn carriage, sleeping in the open air and getting farther and farther away from the capital.

After a few days of observation, Chu Qingluan discovered that Qi Che and his group did not dare to take the main road, but only chose the lesser-traveled paths. They hid in deserted villages and ruined temples during the day, and only traveled by moonlight after nightfall.

She also tried to leave marks along the way, such as broken branches placed in order, misplaced stones, etc., but they were always discovered inadvertently and then completely erased.

At that time, Chu Qingluan sat quietly in the carriage, tapping the window frame with her fingertips, her eyes scanning the changing scenery outside the window.

Qi Che approached the window and asked gently, "Princess, do you need to rest?"

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