Chapter 276
The soldiers led them to a courtyard. Leng Qiao frowned, looked at the people in front of her, and unconsciously called them "Miss".
Tao Tao noticed something unusual in her words, helped her out of the car, and turned to look at her.
They discovered that these people were actually the stewards and servants of the Tao family.
The elderly steward, Mr. Luo, glanced at the surrounding soldiers, his expression slightly apprehensive. He quickly led his servants forward and respectfully greeted, "Greetings, Miss."
"It's a long journey, you must be tired." She said with a hint of helplessness.
"It's no trouble at all, please come in, Miss." Butler Luo gestured for her to go inside.
It wasn't until she entered the mansion that she realized Duan Gan had not only brought over the Tao family's servants, but had also recreated the Tao family's layout here in a one-to-one fashion.
What does this mean?
However, her courtyard was exactly the same as the Prince's mansion, even the flowers on the ground were identical.
Standing there, she was momentarily dazed, still thinking she hadn't left the capital.
After staying here for two days, Tao Tao was a little bored. She was now completely trapped here and couldn't go anywhere.
The mansion was heavily guarded outside, and shadowy figures were also monitoring it from the shadows, layer upon layer, like an iron bucket, completely covering it.
"Butler Luo!"
"Butler Luo!!"
Tao Tao called out weakly, propping her chin up with her hand as she leaned against the windowsill.
Soon, Butler Luo appeared before her, bowing respectfully and saying, "Miss, what are your orders?"
"Has no one sent a letter from the capital yet?"
He frowned in confusion, thought for a moment, and shook his head. "I didn't see anyone come."
Upon hearing this, she looked somewhat annoyed. Just two days ago, she had written a letter and had it sent to Princess Qi Roufu in the capital. It would have been enough for a round trip by fast horse.
She should have received a reply today, so why hasn't she?
Tao Tao seemed to realize something, her face darkening, and she shouted, "Leng Qiao, bring the manager to see me!"
A short while later, a dark figure appeared in the yard.
He looked up and saw Leng Chuan, the man she had drugged that night.
His face looked even colder than before, and there was a faint bluish-purple ring around his neck, as if he had suffered a lot and had become somewhat numb.
Seeing this, she pursed her lips, her eyes flickered, and said, "Where's the letter?"
Leng Chuan remained silent, neither confirming nor denying the existence of the substance.
Judging from his expression, he's pregnant.
So she repeated herself, holding out her hand to him, "Give me the letter."
"Is this how Duan Gan orders you to disobey me? Can't you just tell him about it?"
Before he could finish speaking, he finally said, "Please forgive me, Miss."
This pointless remark made her a little impatient. "Leng Qiao, arrest him and find that letter."
A long whip, as fast as lightning, suddenly lashed out at him, and in a moment, the two were fighting in the courtyard.
Tao Tao stood on the steps, staring at the two of them. He quickly realized that Leng Qiao was no match for him. Although both of them were injured, it was still clear that they were of different levels of martial arts.
"Leng Chuan! How dare you hurt her!?"
A furious rebuke caused Leng Chuan to pause in his attack, allowing Leng Qiao to exploit the opening and press her advantage, directly binding him with her long whip.
She reached out and groped around his chest for a while, and soon found the letter and handed it to Tao Tao.
Tao Tao took it and quickly opened it. The more she looked at it, the more grim her expression became. She murmured, "Does he not even value his life?"
Qi Roufu told her that Qi Heng intended to rebel and also told her about the current situation in the capital.
Duan Gan held absolute power over the court. The emperor claimed to be ill and refused to attend court, nor would he see any ministers or even the concubines in the harem.
Only Duan Gan, a close advisor to the emperor, could see him. Not only that, but he was even given the power of regent and entrusted with handling the Qiu family's treason case.
The Empress was stripped of her imperial seal, which was tantamount to being deposed. The Qiu family was wiped out, and the Crown Prince was demoted to the title of Prince Yong.
Under all these circumstances, the crown prince had no chance of turning the tide unless he rebelled.
In this way, the two of them will inevitably become enemies to the death.
Thinking of this, Tao Tao's feelings became complicated. Her hand unconsciously clenched the letter, and the image of that refined and upright gentleman kept appearing in her mind.
“Qi Heng…”
She made a mistake and could have simply walked away, but what about Qi Heng?
How much pressure must he be under now? Does he feel lost and helpless?
It's undeniable that Duan Gan's influence played a part in Qiu Jia and Qi Heng's current predicament, but it's not entirely her fault.
That's only part of it; more importantly, he himself had this ambition.
Duan Gan wanted to sit on the supreme position in the world; he wanted to become the emperor.
He had been plotting for that position from beginning to end, and a terrible thought suddenly occurred to her.
Could it be that he knew from the beginning that she was actually using him, including using him to climb up to the Crown Prince and get the position of Crown Princess?
He knew she wanted to climb the social ladder, yet he indulged her, using her in turn to lower the crown prince's guard.
On their wedding day, he had the crown prince arrested and publicly humiliated her, causing her vanity to plummet to its lowest point, as punishment for her mockery of him.
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, a chill running down her spine.
So she always thought she was the one who had him completely fooled, but in reality he knew everything and just watched her jumping around like a clown.
Did he ever like her? Who was more sincere between them?
If Duan Gan really takes that position, how will he treat her?
Tao Tao couldn't help but wonder what the future would hold. Would she become just another dispensable plaything in his harem?
He won't let her leave, fine, she'll see if he truly cares about her.
She would make him regret not letting her go, and she didn't believe he could continue to tolerate it.
He would never be able to stand her bad temper, her jealousy, her domineering manner. He liked her obedient and docile nature, but she just wouldn't!
Tao Tao's face turned cold as she gazed into the distance, her voice icy as she said, "I want to go back to the capital."
Leng Qiao and Leng Chuan looked at her at the same time, their faces full of surprise.
Leng Chuan pursed his lips and said, "Fourth Master instructed that Miss is not allowed to go anywhere."
Her gaze was cold. "I said, I want to go back to the capital."
"If you dare to stop me, you can expect to be presented with a corpse as an explanation."
Upon hearing this, he lowered his head and remained silent.
After a long pause, he continued, "The capital is in danger now, and Fourth Master will not allow Miss to return. Please do not make things difficult for your subordinate."
"Then let me leave?"
After saying that, he fell silent again.
"You only have two choices: either let me leave, or let me go back to the capital."
Tao Tao looked down at the person kneeling on one knee, forcing him to make a choice.
In less than two seconds, her tone softened considerably, "It was my fault that day, that caused you to be punished. Don't worry, I won't implicate you this time."
"Fourth Master has given the order..."
"Shut up, I don't want to hear it, it's settled."
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