Chang'an, Qinzheng Hall.

There had just been a heavy rain, the entire palace was wet, and the sky was as gloomy as an upside-down black pot.

Queen Zhou brought a bowl of soup she had cooked herself to bring warmth to Emperor Zhaokang.

She never thought that as soon as she stepped into the Qinzheng Palace, an urgent letter from Luoyang was delivered to Emperor Zhaokang's desk.

Emperor Zhaokang casually pushed aside the soup brought by Empress Zhou and took the letter from Luoyang first.

The letter contained only a few short sentences, but it was like a bolt from the blue, shocking Emperor Zhaokang to the point of being completely devastated.

The Crown Prince was assassinated and the Crown Princess risked her life to save him. The two of them fell into the Luo River together, and their lives were in danger.

“Your Majesty, what’s wrong with you?” Queen Zhou hadn’t seen Emperor Zhaokang look so gloomy and solemn for many years. The last time she saw him was when Gu Yuan passed away…

Could it be that——

Queen Zhou's heart skipped a beat. Did something happen to the prince in Luoyang?

Emperor Zhaokang sat on the dragon throne with a straight face. Although he was no longer young, his face was still handsome, with deep features. His handsome eyebrows and eyes showed the charm of a mature man, and he exuded the unattainable majesty of an emperor.

He didn't know what he was thinking. After he came to his senses, he narrowed his long black eyes and turned to look at Queen Zhou beside him, with a sinister and fierce light in his eyes.

Queen Zhou felt a chill on her back, but she still managed to keep a straight face, "Your Majesty?"

Emperor Zhaokang opened his lips and said, "The Crown Prince was assassinated in Luoyang and his whereabouts are unknown..."

Although she had guessed some of it, when she heard Emperor Zhaokang say it herself, Empress Zhou was inevitably shocked. Her face turned pale and she frowned in a worried look, "How could this be? How could there be an assassin out of nowhere? What are the soldiers of Luoyang Prefecture doing? Your Majesty, don't worry too much. The prince is a lucky man and will be fine."

Emperor Zhaokang glanced at her sideways and said, "I am very relieved to see that the queen is so worried about the prince's safety."

The meaning of these words was unclear. Empress Zhou felt a pang in her heart and said softly, "I am the empress, and the prince is the crown prince. After this incident, I am definitely worried about him."

If it were an ordinary stepmother, she would definitely say something like "Although he is not my biological child, I treat him as my own" -

But Queen Zhou did not dare.

Many years ago, she had said this, and in return, Emperor Zhaokang sneered, "The crown prince was born to Yuanyuan, what does it have to do with you?"

These words were like a poisonous sting that pierced deeply into her heart. Every time she thought of them, she felt a sharp pain.

In his eyes, Gu Yuan is good in every way. How can Zhou Mingmiao compare with her?

Queen Zhou thought bitterly, yes, Gu Yuan is good in every way, but she still doesn't love you. You hold your heart in front of her, but she doesn't even bother to look at you. You are a powerful emperor, but in front of her, aren't you just a pitiful insect craving for love?

Thinking of this, she felt happy, yet...uncomfortable.

After such a thing happened, Emperor Zhaokang was naturally in no mood to drink any tonic soup. He sat down at the desk and began to write the imperial edict.

Queen Zhou also noticed the situation and took the initiative to withdraw.

As soon as he left the Qinzheng Hall, the rain, which had just stopped for a short time, began to fall again. The thunder of the thunder god rumbled, and a terrifyingly bright lightning flashed in the sky.

Queen Zhou narrowed her eyes and sighed, "It's almost summer, and the rain will increase."

The head maid held an umbrella for her and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince..."

Queen Zhou's face suddenly darkened, her delicate eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and her breathing became slow.

The prince was assassinated. Who was responsible?

Could it be my brother? No, my brother is always careful and would never do such a risky thing.

Could it be... Cheung Chau?

As soon as this thought came to her mind, Queen Zhou felt more and more uneasy. Under her gorgeous phoenix robe, her jade fingers stained with bright red nail polish gradually clenched.

She gritted her teeth and said, "Go, go and call the Third Prince to my palace."

Before the maid of honor could agree, she suddenly changed her mind, "No, no, if I yell now, it will make me look guilty..."

At this time, we must not act rashly.

That night, the sky was dark, with no stars or moon.

In the mansion of Marquis Yongwei, Zhang, who had always been dignified and steady, ran to the study in panic and pushed the door open without paying attention to the servants' attempts to stop her.

Yongwei Hou was burning something when he suddenly saw Zhang come in. His expression changed, "Madam, why are you here?"

Zhang's eyes were filled with worry. "I heard that something happened to the prince, and also to our Ah Ti. Is this true?"

Yong Weihou was stunned and pursed his lips.

Zhang was anxious, and went forward to pull him, "Speak!"

Yongwei Hou Tieqing's face turned green and he said in a deep voice, "That's what happened."

Zhang's body swayed, and if she hadn't held onto the desk in time, she would have fallen down.

"How could this happen, how could this happen... Who is so bold as to attack the prince?" Zhang slumped in the chair, muttering in a daze.

"Alas, I kept it a secret from you because I was afraid that you would worry if you knew... but I didn't expect that you still knew it." Yongweihou shook his head and sighed.

Zhang was stunned for a long time, and countless thoughts flashed through her mind. Finally, she stood up and said, "I have to go find her!"

Yongwei Hou thought he had misheard, but he saw Zhang's serious face, "I have to go find Ati... I have a close friend named A Lu, her husband is the governor of Bianzhou, which is close to Luoyang. I will go find her and see if her husband can send some soldiers to find her..."

"Nonsense!" said the Marquis of Yongwei. "The whole city of Luoyang is looking for them, and the several hundred guards accompanying him are also looking for them. If the troops in Bianzhou are needed, His Majesty will certainly issue an order. Why would he ask you to run away?"

Zhang's eyes were filled with tears as she blamed herself, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault... If I hadn't married her off, this wouldn't have happened... I didn't even meet her before she left Chang'an, I'm afraid she's still blaming me in her heart..."

When Zhang thought about her daughter's life or death, and she was angry with her before, her heart ached.

Yongwei was silent for a while, but finally couldn't bear it, so he walked up to her, patted her shoulder and said a few words of comfort.

Zhang sobbed for a while, and with tears in her eyes, she looked at Yongwei Hou and whispered, "Tell me the truth, was this assassination done by the Zhou family?"

Yong Weihou's expression froze, "How should I know?"

"Don't think I don't know what you and the Second House are thinking. Your daughter is married to the Crown Prince, but you secretly rely on the Zhou family to support the Third Prince!"

"You... don't talk nonsense!"

"I'm talking nonsense. Aren't you planning to marry Si Niang to San Lang from the Zhou Mansion so as to establish a family relationship with the Zhou family?" Zhang snorted coldly, "Tao Bosong, you are so cruel that you have thought of a way out so quickly... Well, A Ti is a daughter and you have always disliked her. You have so many children, why would you consider her?"

Yong Weihou took a step back and said coldly, "Why are you talking about this again? It's really unreasonable!"

Zhang laughed, "It's unreasonable. Now you know I'm unreasonable! I was blind to marry you."

The two of them had a tit-for-tat argument.

The night-shining pearl had been worn down into a fish eye by more than twenty years, and its sentimentality had faded.

In the end, no one got anything out of the argument and they parted on bad terms.

Zhang left the study angrily, wiping away tears along the way. She usually attached great importance to her dignity and bearing, but at this moment, she threw all of that out of her mind.

She knelt in front of the small Buddhist temple and prayed devoutly, "Please ask the Bodhisattva to bless these two children, Ati and Yan'er. I am willing to sacrifice my life in exchange for their safe return."

She didn't know how long she sat on the cushion, it seemed as long as a lifetime, and her tears were almost dried up.