The old nanny was taken away and secretly interrogated. As the empress dowager had expected, the emperor did not kill her and did not even torture her.
They simply arrested all the palace servants who served her, sealed the palace gates, and imprisoned everyone in the palace. They announced to the outside world that the Queen Mother was old and in poor health, and that she would rest and not see any guests from that day on.
After arranging two female secret guards to detain the empress dowager in the bedroom, the emperor ordered the entire Cishou Palace to be turned upside down.
The entire palace, except for the walls of Cishou Palace, was under the emperor's surveillance, and no trace was found of Tian An and Yaoyao being taken out. Moreover, they arrived in time, and the empress dowager had no time to transfer them.
Either the person is still in this Cishou Palace, or...
Considering what Zhao Yiming reported today about the tunnel, the emperor and Zhao Yiming agreed that there must be a secret passage leading to the outside world in Cishou Palace.
They searched the entire Cishou Palace, even the toilets, but still couldn't find the entrance to the tunnel.
It had been a long time since Tian An disappeared, and Zhao Yiming was extremely anxious, but he knew that the more times like this, the more he had to stay calm.
Closing her eyes and letting herself completely empty her mind, she carefully recalled everything she had seen since she entered the Ci Shou Palace.
The table was filled with leftovers, Xiangtao, Xiyou, Dengxue, and Hongtong were lying on the ground, the empress dowager was meditating, the wooden fish was being struck, and the white jade Guanyin on the altar...
Wait, Guanyin...
They searched the entire palace, even lifting the bed boards and floors, but they left the altar alone.
Thinking about how the Queen Mother was still worshipping Buddha in this Buddhist temple at the last second, he didn't believe that such a person was a true Buddhist.
The only explanation was that she was stalling for time.
The most dangerous place is also the safest place. No one would have thought that the entrance to the secret passage is right under their noses.
"Quick, that altar."
Zhao Yiming ran to the altar first, followed by Jingyu and Chi Wei.
Soon, Zhao Yiming picked up a small piece of licorice slice in an inconspicuous place at the foot of the altar. This licorice slice was thicker and of better quality than those sold in ordinary pharmacies.
Zhao Yiming looked at the licorice piece in his hand and could tell at a glance that this was the clue left for him by Tian An.
Tian An once told him about the space she owned. The black soil inside was better than the soil outside no matter what was grown there. This piece of licorice must have been grown in her space.
"Chiwei, find the mechanism quickly, the secret passage is here." Zhao Yiming put away the licorice slices in his hand and said hurriedly.
It seemed that Tian Anding had voluntarily been captured by them. Zhao Yiming's anxious heart calmed down a little, but when he thought about how this guy dared to test the law, he became furious.
This was too bold. She wasn't afraid that he wouldn't notice the licorice tablets she left behind, that he wouldn't be able to find her, that just in case...
Zhao Yiming swore that when he found her, he would give her a good scolding to prevent her from being so bold as to do anything.
After locking the range, Chi Wei quickly cracked the mechanism.
Turning the bottle in the hand of Jade Guanyin on the altar, there was a sound of stones rubbing against each other behind the altar, and then a secret door appeared. After entering, there were steps extending straight underground along the dark hole.
Chi Wei and Jing Yu went down first to explore the way. Zhao Yiming looked at the emperor who came hurriedly to the door after receiving the news, and left a sentence, "I'm going to rescue An An and Yao Yao. Please ask my uncle to help with the aftermath." Then he resolutely went down the secret passage.
"Mingyu..." Before the emperor could finish his words, Zhao Yiming's figure disappeared into the dark secret passage.
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and catch up!" After hurriedly asking his secret guards to catch up, the emperor still looked at the dark entrance of the secret passage with concern.
Just today, Zhao Yiming told him that the secret passage was full of branches and complicated, and it would be easy to get lost in it if you were not careful. He also said that if you want to explore it, you must be fully prepared.
But what happened? He was so lucky that he dived in in the blink of an eye.
"Imperial sister! If you are still alive in heaven, please keep an eye on that brat and bless the three children to return safely!" The emperor sighed helplessly. Now he could only pray that everything went well for them.
After asking people to guard the place and keep an eye on the situation, the emperor returned to the empress dowager's bedroom again.
She took great pains to build such a secret passage in the palace, probably so that she could take the enemy by surprise when she rebelled in the future.
In that case, let's take advantage of the situation and make them think that the rat hole they dug is still well hidden and has not been leaked.
After having a huge rage in front of the empress dowager, the emperor walked out of the empress dowager's bedroom with a gloomy face. At the door, he ordered the female secret guards that from now on all the food, clothing and other expenses of the empress dowager should be regulated according to the standards of the palace maids.
The Queen Mother remained indifferent to this and continued to fiddle with the Buddhist beads in her hand with her eyes closed. Since she chose to stay, she had already expected all this. She was even mentally prepared for something a hundred times worse than this.
The emperor's performance successfully made her believe that they had not found the entrance to the secret passage. Even if they captured the people around her, she was absolutely sure that her personal nanny would not and dared not betray her.
Just let her good son continue to struggle here slowly!
He believed that in a short while, his niece-in-law and daughter would be able to leave the city smoothly, just like last time.
In the secret passage, Tian An closed her eyes and pretended to be a person who was knocked unconscious. Even though she was uncomfortable all over because she was being carried by someone, she did not reveal any flaws.
She was a doctor and knew best what condition an unconscious person should be in. In addition, there was no light in the secret passage, so the four men in black could only rely on a night-shining pearl the size of a glass marble to illuminate the way. The light was obviously insufficient, and no one noticed that she was pretending along the way.
The four were so busy on their way that they didn't notice that the person who was supposed to be unconscious had left marks along the way.
On the way to Cishou Palace, Tian An thought that the empress dowager would do something strange. She guessed that she would make things difficult for her, give her corporal punishment, or give her a sterilizing drug to make her regret for the rest of her life, and ruin her relationship with Zhao Yiming.
For fear of implicating Yaoyao, he specifically told her not to eat anything prepared by the Queen Mother.
But after arriving at Cishou Palace, she noticed that the fragrance in the room was not right as soon as she entered. In addition, the empress dowager's attitude was obviously wrong, and there was no poison in the food. She guessed that the empress dowager might not be as she thought, but had a bigger conspiracy.
After finding an opportunity to take the antidote, she focused on filling her stomach, preparing to wait and see what she was up to. Anyway, she had the space in her hands, so saving her life was not a problem.
What she didn't expect was that the Queen Mother was so cruel that she even kidnapped Yaoyao.
What shocked her even more was that there was a secret passage in the empress dowager's bedroom.
Knowing that Zhao Yiming would definitely come to find her soon, she left marks along the way.
She had a premonition that some big secret might be revealed this time.
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