She felt extremely guilty and hadn't slept a wink all night. She felt like an ant on a hot pan or a headless fly, but she didn't know where the giant eagle had taken Su Wan.

Wei Jingzhuo said, "General, please get up. If we really investigate, it's my own fault. I just wanted the Empress to go out and relax. As for that giant eagle taking the Empress away, General, you can't fly, so how could you stop it?"

Although it was a joke, it was quite reasonable. Meng Ruliu had no choice but to stand up and say, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your mercy."

Wei Jingzhuo said, "My dear ministers, if you have something to say, please do so now. Let's deal with state affairs first."

When everyone saw that Wei Jingzhuo took all the blame for the Empress's disappearance upon himself and did not blame the others, they were all deeply impressed and stepped forward.

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice submitted a memorial, which was an urgent report from the prefectural city of Anlin County, sent to the capital last night, stating that a fire and a massacre had occurred at Huishan Tongchan Temple, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries. Among them was Yan, the head constable in charge of local security, who had suffered multiple fractures in his chest but survived and has been taken to the capital for interrogation.

He said the person who attacked him was a young man from the Southern Chu state, and mentioned that anyone who posed a threat to the goddess should be eliminated.

Everyone in the court knew that the goddess was Empress Su Wan. Su Wan's disappearance was clearly related to Southern Chu, but what was unclear was why Southern Chu had specifically sent people to protect Su Wan, only to arrest her afterward—this was contradictory.

The only good news is that the giant eagle shouldn't harm Su Wan.

After processing all the memorials, it was noon after the court session ended. Wei Jingzhuo returned to the rear hall and summoned General Meng Ruliu for an audience.

She entered the imperial study and saw two people standing inside: Lin Qingfeng, the commander of the guards, and Granny Cui, both of whom had been close attendants to Wei Jingzhuo since his exile. Wei Jingzhuo was sitting behind his desk, listening to Granny Cui speak.

She stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Wei Jingzhuo said, "General, please rise and take a seat."

After Meng Ruliu sat down, Granny Cui also stepped forward to greet her, and then turned to Wei Jingzhuo and said, "Your Majesty, you haven't eaten anything since noon yesterday. You should eat something, or at least drink some water. If this continues, you will definitely get sick."

Wei Jingzhuo shook his head and said, "I can't eat."

Meng Ruliu was too far away in the Golden Palace to see clearly, but she noticed that Wei Jingzhuo's eyes were bloodshot, his eyelids were swollen, his lips were dry, and there were even blisters on the corners of his lips.

“General,” Wei Jingzhuo looked at her, “tell me more details about what happened, especially the exact direction the giant eagle flew away.”

Meng Ruliu only knew that the giant eagle was probably flying east, but at the time she was in an unfamiliar place and did not know the exact location.

Lin Qingfeng said, "Your Majesty, the giant eagle is enormous, and many people must have seen it. If we collect the locations it has passed through, we might be able to map its flight path."

Wei Jingzhuo nodded and said, "I already sent an oral order to the officials of all government offices yesterday, instructing them to search for the whereabouts of the giant eagle. We should have news within a day or two."

Seizing the opportunity, Granny Cui stepped forward again and said, "Your Majesty..."

Wei Jingzhu waved his hand, signaling her to leave, and said, "I will not eat anything until I find Awan."

Everyone present was stunned.

Granny Cui panicked even more, thinking to herself, "It's over, it's over, the master is getting stubborn."