Chapter 592 No matter how many come, they will all never return!
The empress, adorned with jewels and hairpins, lost all composure in her panic, the ornaments jingling as they swayed.
However, the officials of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs ignored her orders and arrested everyone anyway.
"I order you to stop!"
The Empress angrily stopped him: "Wang Quan, what are you doing? Are you planning a rebellion?"
"I am the mistress of this harem after all. You don't even respect me? Aren't you afraid that I will take you down too!"
Wang Quan then feigned respect and bowed to the Empress, saying, "Your Majesty, this servant is only acting under orders."
"Although you are the mistress of the harem, I am still obeying His Majesty's orders, because His Majesty is the master of this Great Chu, isn't that right?"
"Please don't make things difficult for this servant."
Empress: "Am I making things difficult for you?"
"Now you want to arrest most of the palace staff. Who is making things difficult for whom?"
"I ask you, what crime have these people committed? Why are you all suddenly being arrested by me!"
"Have the people in this palace violated the heavenly rules or something?"
"You're deliberately trying to make an enemy of me, aren't you!"
When faced with the Queen's anger, the King merely pretended to be afraid.
A faint smile always lingered at the corners of his mouth.
He looked up and stared intently at the Empress, replying word by word, "Your Majesty, you have wronged this servant."
"This servant is only following His Majesty's orders to eliminate those servants in your palace who spread rumors and mislead you, who cannot serve you properly, and who only know how to lead you astray."
"Please don't let His Majesty's good intentions go to waste."
The queen stepped back in shock.
"Is it Your Majesty?"
Since it was the Chu Emperor, there was no way for him to stop him.
But how could she accept that?
Moreover, the Chu Emperor had never treated her like this before, and today he was repeatedly trying to humiliate the Empress, which she couldn't accept for the time being.
"What exactly does Your Majesty mean? Is there some misunderstanding?"
"They've all served me for many years, it's impossible..."
Wang Quan: "These palace servants in your palace don't know the rules. They run around the palace all day long, and they've even gone near His Majesty's Qianyuan Hall."
"If it wasn't Your Highness who deliberately instigated them, then they must have disobeyed your master's usual instructions to do something that damages Your Highness's reputation, right?"
"After all, if they hadn't dared to go to His Majesty's palace to inquire about information, how would they have known that the Princess Consort of Yue had entered the palace?"
"His Majesty secretly summoned Princess Consort Yue to the palace to discuss the matter of His Highness Prince Yue being on the front lines. No one else in the palace, except for the Qian Yuan Hall, should have known about this."
"Yet Your Majesty, your palace staff were able to precisely intercept Princess Yue on her way out of the palace. In this matter, Eunuch Ji is not wronging you, is he?"
"Your Majesty, your information network is so powerful, it's all because of the people in your palace who don't follow the rules and act recklessly, thus ruining your reputation!"
"These lowly slaves all deserve to die!"
"Now they're even spreading rumors about the Princess Consort of Yue and His Majesty."
"His Majesty said that if any more rumors about the Princess Consort of Yue were to spread, it would discourage His Highness the Prince of Yue, who is currently suppressing the rebel army outside the city. Therefore, he wanted to resolve this matter cleanly to show His Majesty's current attitude of wanting a wise ruler."
"Your Majesty, His Majesty's actions have already saved your face, since he hasn't personally summoned you to question you."
What do you think?
"Take everyone away!"
With a wave of his hand, Wang Quan led most of the palace servants away in a grand procession.
The Empress shouted several times in vain, "Wang Quan! You eunuch dog, how dare you humiliate me like this!"
"If you come to the Japanese palace, I will definitely not let you live!!"
After Wang Quan left, the Empress collapsed to the ground.
"His Majesty--"
She clenched her fists, her heart filled with hatred.
"How cruel you are!"
It was the sudden appearance of Li Wu and his wife, those two lowly commoners, that changed everything!
"Someone come here."
"Send another letter back to my brother!"
The next day, Li Qingluo woke up early and heard from Granny Zheng, "Miss, we caught two big rats last night."
Li Qingluo: "What big rat?"
Granny Zheng winked mysteriously: "The big rat of the Yongning Marquis's mansion."
Li Qinglu paused in her dressing.
"The Empress?"
"It seems she can't hold back any longer."
"How stupid."
Her son is the crown prince.
She was the empress.
Although the crown prince was dethroned after only one day on the throne, Emperor Chu did not hold a grudge against him for this.
Doesn't this already show his attitude?
It's only a matter of time before the crown prince ascends the throne.
Could it be that the Chu emperor had other capable sons?
They only need to wait for the right opportunity to be the ultimate winners. Wouldn't it be better to take this opportunity to win over the court officials and gain the hearts of the people?
I wonder what happened in the inner palace yesterday. They must think that Duan Rongshi and I are in their way, and they even dare to come to the Nangong residence to spy on us.
Where are they?
"Last night, he was captured by Kill Fourteen and Kill Twenty and his throat was slit on the spot. It seems he was looking for the main courtyard, but he ran into them before he even got there."
Li Qingluo: "Quietly dump the body back into the Yongning Marquis's residence."
"If they dare to come again, kill them one by one. If two come, kill both."
"No matter how many come, make sure they don't leave alive. Understand?"
Granny Zheng nodded excitedly, "This old servant understands."
After having breakfast, Li Qinglu went to see Xuan Cang again.
"Senior brother, are you feeling better today?"
Xuan Cang does look much better today.
He nodded to Li Qing: "Junior Sister, is there anything else you want to ask me?"
Li Qingluo: "Those people who chased you all the way from the Western Regions, they must be Princess Anar's subordinates, right?"
Xuan Cang: "You're right."
“Princess Anar knew I had run away, so she sent people to try and stop me as well.”
"There were about thirty people at first, but when they chased me to Nan'an, there were only seven or eight left."
"But they should all have been taken care of by Junior Sister by now, right?"
Li Qingluo: "Yes. The only survivor also took the opportunity to bite off his tongue and commit suicide."
"Senior brother, Master sent you to bring the jade pendant to me, he must want me to save him."
“Saving my master is my inescapable duty, so I am determined…”
Before Li Qingluo could finish speaking, Xuan Cang stopped her.
"No! Junior Sister, wait a minute."
"I think you've misunderstood."
“Master knows that you cannot get away with this because of your status, and even if you are intelligent and resourceful, he will not easily disturb your life or make you run around for him.”
"So the reason I came to you was not so that you would go and save him."
"Master, I only want you to help him find one thing."
"Then, let me take it to the Western Regions."
"With this, Master will surely be able to escape."
Borrow something?
Li Qingluo didn't understand. At a time like this, what did her master want that was more important than letting her rescue him?
"I don't know what I have that I can lend to Master... that can help Master escape from that princess's clutches?"
She looked confused and puzzled.
Like her, Xuan Cang also had some doubts in his heart.
"Well, I'm not really sure about that either."
"My master only said that he wanted an old painting."
"The older the painting, the better."
"The person in the painting has an unparalleled beauty, with a red mole between her eyebrows."
"Junior sister, do you know who it is?"
Li Qingluo was utterly shocked.
Is this referring to Duan Rongshi or... his mother?
The older the better?
That's a portrait of my mother!
Moreover, the red mole between her eyebrows and her stunning beauty must be her mother!
But why does Master want a portrait of Mother Consort?
It's still a portrait from decades ago.
What does this have to do with his ability to escape from the princess?
Why did Xuan Cang go through all this trouble to bring the token to me, just for a painting?
Just as Li Qinglu was filled with doubt, Que'er ran over excitedly.
"Miss, His Highness has returned!"
"His Highness has won a great victory and has returned to the city. He is currently at the city gate, receiving the kneeling worship and respectful welcome of the people!"
You're finally back?
Li Qingluo happily got up, about to leave, when she remembered that Xuan Cang was still there.
She immediately turned to Xuan Cang and said, "Senior brother, I will definitely give you an answer about the portrait before tonight."
After saying that, she lifted her skirt and left happily.
Watching her leave, Xuan Cang's eyes held an indescribable sense of desolation.
"Master, if only I had met Junior Sister sooner."
Unfortunately, she already has a good man, and her heart has already been given to him.
Thinking about it, he shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh.
"We were originally from completely different backgrounds, so why dwell on these regrets?"
"It's best to leave as soon as possible..."
The sound faded away with the wind, and no one in the world would know these quiet thoughts.
Li Qingluo rode in a carriage onto the street.
Looking at the lively crowd, everyone's face was filled with joy and excitement.
She couldn't help but smile.
"Have you heard? This King of Yue could have suppressed those rebels on the very first day, but not only did he not do so, he also dealt with them for several days. Do you know why?"
"Why, why? Tell me quickly."
"I heard that he forced these rebels into a mountain valley, and then locked them up inside without firing a single shot."
"Without food or water, these rebels gradually couldn't take it anymore. In the end, the King of Yue personally led his men in and captured the rebel leader!"
"Then, I fought with the leader, and he actually admitted defeat, saying he was willing to exchange his life for everyone's."
"And then? Were they killed?"
"Of course not!"
"Not only did he not kill him, but the King of Yue also won him over, saying that he was a man of great loyalty and righteousness."
"Wouldn't this be like inviting a wolf into the house?"
"What nonsense. These rebels are all outside the city now, and it seems the King of Yue wants to turn them into an army."
"It all depends on whether His Majesty is willing or not."
Everyone was worried for the King of Yue, recalling the tyrannical and cruel nature of the king.
"His Majesty ordered him to go out of the city to suppress the rebellion, but instead, he absorbed all these rebels into his own ranks. Does His Majesty think he's been fooled?"
"Isn't suppressing the enemy in this way still suppression? As long as there's no bloodshed or casualties, he's a good general! After all, what family's son really wants to die?"
"That's right. It's not easy to win people's hearts. It's not as good as taking heads and causing people to suffer."
"King Yue! King Yue!"
"King of Yue—"
The people of Nan'an City never imagined that the threat from fifty miles away would end without even a drop of blood being shed.
So everyone was very excited when they heard about it.
If they were to actually storm the city, the nobles and their families would close their gates, and their guards would fight to the death to protect them. They probably wouldn't suffer any losses or be afraid.
But aren't all these innocent ordinary people in the city the ones who suffer the most?
Among the crowd, there were naturally those who cursed King Yue, saying he was nothing special, lacking even a shred of courage, and merely an opportunistic fool.
Li Qingluo heard everything.
"Go, write down who these people are for me!"
She wanted to keep a little notebook to see if these people would still act the same way in the future.
As Sha San, suppressing a laugh, was about to leave, Sha Yi, clutching his chest and carrying a letter, struggled to find him.
"Miss, a letter from Jinling."
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