Chapter 860: Once they leave the palace, they have no say
There was a great funeral in the palace, and white banners were hung all around the four gates. Even the candles in the stone covers on both sides of the palace road were replaced with white candles. Occasionally, a palace maid would pass by with a lantern, and they would not wear a single piece of colored paper.
With the imperial guards' seal given by the Queen, the carriage left the palace smoothly and was allowed to pass after only a minor inspection at the palace gate.
Madam Cui got into the carriage with great caution, listening to the carriage passing through the palace gate, over the Jinshui Bridge, and all the way to the main street in Beijing. She then glanced at Yuejian who was driving the carriage herself, and looked through the gap in the curtain at Liang Song and others who were following the carriage not far away, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty, your skills..." She lowered her voice very low, obviously having been holding it in her heart since she was in Yongzhao Palace. It was really because the person next to her had killed people too skillfully.
"I've been in danger several times before, and not every time someone came to rescue me. Your Majesty taught me some skills privately so I could protect myself, and I just took advantage of that."
There was no trace of disguise on Tang Ning's face when she was dressed as Danzhu, but her voice was her own when she spoke.
She pulled up her sleeves to reveal the crossbow on her wrist. The delicate crossbow was the size of a palm, and it was this thing that had just taken someone's life.
Tang Ning said, "This crossbow was given to me by His Majesty to carry with me as a precaution. Each crossbow arrow is coated with a deadly poison that kills instantly upon contact with blood. I just used the sharp weapon to scare them. Otherwise, if I had attacked them a few more times, I would have been exposed."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Cui noticed that Tang Ning's face was a little pale, and there was a hint of fear in his words. It was obvious that he seemed calm before but was actually nervous. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
"You just scared me. I was wondering when Your Majesty became so skilled."
Tang Ning said, "I was forced to do so, but it's a good thing that we can get out safely now. You don't need to use honorifics when addressing me. Liang Song is Liang Guangyi's close associate. Liang Guangyi dared to let him come because he was sure that he could protect us. Don't reveal any flaws and let others notice."
Madam Cui quickly said, "Yes."
The Empress Dowager passed away and martial law was imposed in the capital. There was almost no sound in the city. The wheels of the carriage kept clattering on the bluestone ground, and the sound of horse hooves from Liang Song's body, which was neither far away nor near, was also particularly clear.
Madam Cui's expression was a little tense: "Your Majesty...Danzhu."
She quickly changed her tone after Tang Ning's gaze met hers, and only lowered her voice when Tang Ning looked away: "Although we are leaving the palace now, it seems Liang Song and the others are planning to send us directly back to the Cui family. The Cui family is probably already guarded, so it will be difficult to leave once we enter."
It's just that she has moved from the cage in the palace to another cage, which is even worse than the palace. At least in the palace, she has the status of the queen, and she has the Princess of Hui and the Crown Prince's Consort at her disposal. Yu Yanfeng is in charge of the imperial guards, and the Prince of Hui and the others dare not do anything.
But the Cui family is different. Not to mention those Cui family members who are eyeing them covetously, just look at Liang Song and others. Once people find out that the queen has left the palace, all the deterrence will no longer be a deterrent. King Hui and his men will definitely use any means to capture the queen so that they can completely control the capital.
Tang Ning listened to his wife's whisper and replied calmly, "I know, so I won't go to the Cui family."
Madam Cui's expression changed slightly: "You mean..."
Tang Ning said indifferently: "Once you leave the palace, they no longer have the final say."
Mrs. Cui's eyes widened suddenly and she was about to ask something when she suddenly heard the originally steady sound of horse hooves outside become chaotic.
"Manager Liang, there are people over there... a lot of people..."
Tension grew in the room outside, and after a moment someone exclaimed, "Oh no! It's the Beijing Patrol Battalion! Why are they here?"
Liang Song's face changed drastically and he said hurriedly, "Turn around! Protect Madam Cui!"
The people who were originally scattered around instantly approached the carriage. Liang Song even rode his horse in front of the carriage, and pointed a cold light in his hand at Yue Jian, wanting to pull the reins of the carriage and change the route into the alley next to it. However, he didn't expect that before he could do anything, people in the distance had already noticed the movement here, and suddenly a loud shout came.
"Who dares to stay outside during curfew?"
As the sound of horse hooves approached rapidly, the sound of helmets colliding followed, and the originally dark street was gradually illuminated by the torches.
Mrs. Cui looked at Tang Ning beside her in astonishment, and couldn't help but reach out to pull the curtain of the carriage, and saw Liang Song in front of the carriage with an extremely ugly expression.
The "guards" who accompanied them out of the palace had already approached the carriage and looked at Liang Song, who was leading the group. Liang Song saw a large number of people approaching, with louder shouts and faint flashes of arrows aimed at him. He could only grit his teeth.
"Stop."
Yue Jian pulled the reins, and the carriage squeaked to a halt. In the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by the guards of the Beijing Patrol. The leader approached and shouted, "Who are you? Don't you know that there is a curfew in the capital?"
Liang Song breathed a sigh of relief after scanning the man's face. It wasn't Wu Kui. He quickly dismounted and said, "We are guards from the Cui family. My young mistress entered the palace to guard the empress dowager's body. She suddenly felt unwell during the night, and the empress graciously allowed her to return to the palace to rest."
The man glanced up and down at Liang Song, then looked at the dozen or so people surrounding the carriage. His brows furrowed tightly. "Cui family?"
Liang Song quickly took out something and asked someone to pass it to the people from the Beijing Patrol Camp.
The subordinate took it, took a look at it, and replied, "Boss, it is indeed the Cui family's token."
Seeing the leader's expression relax, Liang Song also relaxed. However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard the man say in a stern voice, "We are only escorting your young lady, why do we need so many guards? Besides, the palace has been keeping vigil since yesterday, and many of the officials' wives and children have returned home to rest during this period due to their old age. However, none of them made such a big fuss as you did."
"Since Madam Cui has received the Empress's permission to leave the palace, why did your Cui family send so many people to pick her up? Or have you been waiting outside the palace since Madam Cui entered?"
Liang Song's face changed and he was about to speak.
The man said in a deep voice, "Commander Wu has said that the capital has been quite restless lately, and there's no guarantee that someone might be impersonating a court official's family member to cause trouble. Go check on the people in the carriage."
"How dare you! That's my Cui family's young mistress..."
"What about the Cui family? The capital is under curfew. Even if the prince and grandson of the emperor come, we must investigate thoroughly!"
The man snorted coldly, "Don't think I'm unaware of the rift between you, the noble family, and the palace. So many of you are out in the middle of the night, acting so stealthily and trying to run away when you see someone from the Imperial Patrol. Who knows if you have ulterior motives? Investigate!"
The people in the Beijing Patrol Camp had long been replaced by the new emperor's confidants. Most of them knew about the recent discord between the aristocratic families and the Empress. Seeing the man in front of them stopping the carriage with a guilty look on his face and not allowing anyone to go forward to check, the leader's face became even gloomier. With a wave of his hand, the soldiers of the Beijing Patrol Camp surrounded the carriage.
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