The regent had already left the capital. Gan Qiongying had his hands and feet bound, his mouth gagged, and then he was placed in a cargo box. The top and bottom were filled with goods, and he was in the middle.

However, the man has not gone far yet. If the Empress Dowager finds out that the Regent is acting strangely, it will be troublesome if she sends people to search for him!

"Send men to intercept them!"

Yingyi replied, "We've already sent people, but by the time our people relayed the message, that little girl had already entered the palace. It remains to be seen whether Yingqi and Yingjiu can intercept her before she enters the Empress Dowager's bedchamber."

"Once you enter the palace, it will be too late..."

Gan Qiongying got off the chaise lounge, walked half a circle around the table, picked up the teapot, and took a sip of tea.

Try to calm yourself down.

Then he decisively ordered, "Shadow One, immediately send someone to the palace to inform the emperor and tell him to find a way to leave the palace!"

Even if the Regent's maid is intercepted, the Empress Dowager will know as soon as she enters the palace. The fact that the person the Empress Dowager placed with the Regent has been tampered with will definitely alert the Empress Dowager.

That old hag is no pushover, especially when it comes to controlling her son. Although Li Songjiang's abilities can fool many people, the reason Gan Qiongying had Li Songjiang pretend to be the sick regent was because no matter how convincing he was, a mother can't help but notice when her son has a problem.

Just like if someone replaced Gan Lin, Gan Qiongying could tell at a glance.

It seems they can't wait until the Lunar New Year; they have to leave tonight!

Shadow One quickly disappeared, and Gan Qiongying said to Manyue, "Have Chen Wa send someone to quickly bring the Prince Consort back to the mansion!"

Manyue realized that the situation was serious and immediately ran out to do as Gan Qiongying instructed.

Gan Qiongying took out the map she had drawn in advance and the personnel assigned to each route from the cabinet by her bedside, reviewed them again, and made some minor adjustments.

Then he wrote it down in his mind and burned it all.

The list of all the important items in the study was burned, leaving mostly ashes in the basin.

Gan Qiongying had already transferred the personnel who were selected for these routes out of the prefecture and were now waiting for orders in a village outside the city. There was no need for Gan Qiongying to assemble them temporarily.

Then she went out and instructed the guards at the gate to gather all the remaining people in the mansion underground. Gan Qiongying went over personally. There were less than a thousand people left in the mansion, but it was still packed with people standing in the underground training ground where the guards were usually trained.

Gan Qiongying didn't explain the cause and effect to them. There was no time to explain at this point, and for these people who were used to obeying orders, giving orders directly was the most efficient way.

So Gan Qiongying said to them, "What follows is a military drill, just like your usual military training. Everyone must leave the princess's residence one by one within an hour, breaking into smaller groups and not gathering together."

"There is only one thing you need to do, and that is not to be found by anyone, whether you hide with your relatives or hide anywhere, whether in the deep mountains or through a way out of the city, do it!"

Gan Qiongying said, "If anyone is found, they must not reveal the whereabouts of their companions. Anyone who disobeys orders will be killed without mercy!"

"This military exercise has no time limit. The assembly signal will be the sound of the bell in the princess's residence. As long as the bell does not ring, you only need to do everything you can to hide and ensure your safety and survival."

As Gan Qiongying spoke, she shook the bell in her hand. The sound was clear and melodious, and if you listened carefully, the last syllable was a vibrato.

The bells on the horses in the princess's residence were all specially made, even the nut was specially made; no other bell in the world could match their sound.

This was the gathering signal that Gan Qiongying had planned long ago. She had destroyed all the bells in the princess's mansion, leaving only this one in her hand.

She just didn't expect to need it so soon, especially under such a rushed circumstances.

"Next, line up to receive your silver coins. You can use them freely for survival purposes. They will not be counted in this military exercise assessment. Consider them a reward for all of you."

Gan Qiongying looked at the group of people one last time, her eyes welling up with tears. They had no objections to the hasty and even absurd military exercise order and their expressions were solemn. Gan Qiongying was also moved.

She had no doubt that if she gave the order, these people would be willing to go through fire and water for her without fear of death.

But Gan Qiongying doesn't need anyone to make futile sacrifices for her.

Finally, Gan Qiongying said to them, "The New Year is almost here. I wish you... a happy and healthy New Year."

When the princess heard this, everyone offered their blessings to Gan Qiongying.

Gan Qiongying smiled one last time and left first. Manyue, having finished her business, quickly ran over to support her. Seeing the tears in Gan Qiongying's eyes, she felt even more uneasy.

Full Moon had no idea what was going on, but her intuition told her that something bad was about to happen.

Having done all this, Gan Qiongying returned to her room to await Li Hua's news.

However, even Shadow One returned to report that he had intercepted the maid who had tipped off the girl, and even tied up the people around the Empress Dowager who had gone to escort the maid into the palace, thus temporarily bringing the situation under control.

But Gan Qiongying knew it was too late. The Empress Dowager might not make any moves tonight, but she would definitely notice something amiss first thing tomorrow morning.

In other words, they only have this one night.

At this time, the men Chen Wa sent out returned, but they had not found any trace of Li Hua.

“We’ve searched every shop on the main street of Yindu, and they all say the Prince Consort hasn’t inspected the shops.” Chen Wa hesitated for a moment, then continued, “Some people say the Prince Consort hasn’t inspected the shops for about a month.”

Gan Qiongying's eyebrows twitched slightly after hearing this. At this moment, Manyue brought over all the maids and servants from the prince consort's courtyard, including Tianjiao.

When Tianjiao saw Gan Qiongying, she bowed. Gan Qiongying waved for her to rise and asked her, "Do you know where the Prince Consort has gone?"

Sweet Corner replied without hesitation, "The Prince Consort said he was going to the Yuan Chen Chamber of Commerce when he left this morning."

“There’s no one at the Chamber of Commerce. It’s just that the people at the Chamber of Commerce said the Prince Consort hasn’t been there for over a month,” Chen Wa immediately replied.

Sweet Corner looked confused, then shook her head: "These days, the Prince Consort doesn't allow servants to accompany him when he goes out. If the Prince Consort doesn't go to the Chamber of Commerce... where else can he go?"

Yes, where can we go?

Gan Qiongying sat there, extremely anxious. She had to find Lihua as soon as possible. The people from the princess's residence had already begun to disperse through the various small gates, and she estimated that the emperor would also come out of the palace soon.

Gan Qiongying planned to run away tonight with Li Hua and Gan Lin, releasing all the planned routes and people at once like scattering flowers in the sky.

Even if the Empress Dowager realizes the problem tomorrow and finds out that there is a problem with the Regent, she cannot leave the palace immediately; at most, she can only send someone to investigate.

Meanwhile, Gan Qiongying had already arranged Li Songjiang's escape route for the Regent.

He removed the human skin mask and left the Regent's courtyard, where no one could recognize him.

They can hold out for as long as they can. When he can't hold out any longer and has to leave, the Empress Dowager will discover that the Regent is missing, and that they have all disappeared at the same time. By then, she won't even know how to chase after them.

In this ancient world without surveillance or tracking methods, they prepared their identities in advance, escaped along multiple routes, and on each route, they staged a scene where they were killed without a complete corpse.

Those who try to escape by boat will capsize, and those who try to escape by car will fall off a cliff.

Once someone runs out, it's like scattering beans in the sea. When the time comes, once they put on the human skin mask, even if the old witch goes blind, she might not be able to catch them.

However, this requires creating a time difference. The original plan was to leave quietly on the eve of the Lunar New Year, but now Gan Qiongying and the others must run away immediately.

But Li Hua has been missing all day and hasn't returned yet. He's not in the Chamber of Commerce or the shop. Where did he go?