Chapter 53
Upon hearing this, Cui Mingyou immediately understood why the Emperor insisted on going to the Kang Prince's residence.
He straightened the texture of his cuffs without saying a word.
But his taut jawline betrayed his inner state at that moment.
Her eyes held a thin layer of ice, and the air in the study seemed to freeze instantly.
Ye Xu, kneeling beneath him, didn't dare utter a sound.
A moment later, his voice, chillingly cold, was heard: "Martial law is in effect throughout the city. We must find the Emperor, and not a single word can be leaked."
"Just take his portrait and claim to the public that he is a criminal who escaped from prison."
"Yes, Your Excellency obeys."
After the guards left quickly, Cui Mingyou instructed another trusted confidant: "Imprison the Crown Prince immediately."
"Have Eunuch Min convey His Majesty's decree: His Majesty is unwell and has cancelled today's court ceremony."
"No one is allowed to speak of matters concerning the Emperor."
"Go and investigate again. You must find out who brought this message into the palace."
"Look at the palace, see how many of their people there are."
"yes."
However, when night fell, the Crown Prince was nowhere to be found, and even the Empress did not know where he had gone.
Sitting behind her desk, Cui Mingyou finally understood everything they had done.
This further confirms that the one who took the emperor away was Qin Wang's man.
The purpose was to force him to betray the party.
Bringing the Emperor back to the Northwest would allow the Prince of Qin to legitimately enter Chang'an.
His face was filled with murderous intent, and he looked like a demon who had crawled out of hell.
"Pass down the order to heavily guard the route back to the Northwest."
"If anyone sees the two people we are looking for, kill them without mercy, leaving no survivors."
"Summon the Minister of War and the Grand Commander to the Prime Minister's residence."
After a day and a night of extensive searching, they finally found someone in an inn who resembled Emperor Taihe in build.
When General Ye rushed over to confirm, the man trembled and said, "Sir, why are you chasing me? I'm just a beggar."
General Ye tore off his long robe, revealing a dirty and tattered undergarment underneath. He gritted his teeth and said, "This is a diversionary tactic. Go to the city gate and block them."
When they arrived at the city gate, the guards claimed that they had not seen the escaped convict.
Ye Xu guessed that they might not have escaped the city yet, so he tightened the search at the city gate.
Even at some busy intersections, checkpoints have been added to search for people.
Meanwhile, Ning Shiyu, along with Emperor Tianhe, had already left Chang'an City.
Cui Mingyou never dreamed that, in that instant of carelessness, Ning Shiyu's funeral procession would so blatantly leave the city despite their strict inspection.
Emperor Taihe escaped this calamity by lying in the coffin.
Ironically, the funeral procession arrived at the Cui family's mausoleum in Pingyang County, Chang'an, half a day later, and joined the Crown Prince and his entourage who had left earlier.
The palace informant that Cui Mingyou had someone inquire about was none other than Physician Lu, disguised as Ning Shiyu.
He walked around the palace for seven or eight days, changing the Emperor Taihe's medicine and taking his pulse every day. His words and actions did not reveal any flaws to anyone.
No matter how Cui Mingyou tried to defend himself, Ning Shiyu could always find an opening to exploit.
If Cui Mingyou knew that Ning Shiyu and the Crown Prince had schemed against him in this way, she would probably want to grind them to dust.
Returning to the Northwest smoothly is harder than climbing to heaven.
Moreover, if this continues for too long, the guards will eventually notice the large number of people gathering in the cemetery.
After burying the empty coffin, Ning Shiyu revealed his second plan.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, we must now split into two groups. We shall meet again another day."
Emperor Taihe and his son, the Crown Prince, were both startled. "Yu'er, didn't we agree that we were going to the Northwest?"
Ning Shiyu had no choice but to change his previous plans and reveal his alternative: "We can't go anymore, the cost is too high."
“I have found a safe place for you.”
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. With the imperial edict you gave Yu'er last time, I can enter Chang'an legitimately."
The next morning, the Lu family discovered that their master had drowned in the lotus pond in the backyard.
Cui Mingyou has no time to care about anything else these days.
When the steward of the Prime Minister's residence came to report, he simply waved his hand.
There was simply no time to think about these anomalies.
Everyone assumed that Physician Lu had fallen into the lotus pond while drunk.
Cui Mingyou's men thoroughly investigated along the way but failed to capture the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
They will inevitably conduct a large-scale search in Chang'an.
Ning Shiyu didn't own many villas in Chang'an City; apart from the one under his mother's name, he didn't own any others.
The first thing Cui Mingyou would investigate, besides the princess's residence, would probably be his mother's two other villas in the city.
Just when Ning Shiyu was worried about where to arrange for the father and son, no one expected that Physician Lu would do Ning Shiyu a great favor before he died.
Ning Shiyu moved into the Lu residence several days ago. The real Imperial Physician Lu is guilty of heinous crimes and has harmed the Emperor's health.
Ning Shiyu wouldn't let him live, so he tied him up and took him somewhere else.
After they left, he ordered his men to sink Physician Lu into the lotus pond behind his house.
It was during her stay at the Lu residence that Ning Shiyu discovered Physician Lu's secret.
Physician Lu, who always portrayed himself as a loving husband, actually kept a mistress in Pingyang County.
And she even gave birth to his son.
Physician Lu has a shrewish wife, and he dares not let her know.
The land deeds were all registered under the names of his mistresses, and to prevent his wife from finding them, he hid them in the medicine chest he carried every day.
I didn't want Ning Shiyu to see this land deed.
This perfectly solved Ning Shiyu's problem of arranging for the two of them.
Without the flamboyant figures of Emperor Taihe and the Crown Prince, it was much easier for Ning Shiyu to disguise himself as a merchant and return to Lingyang.
More than ten days later, he returned to Lin'an County, changed back into his original appearance, and went back to Lingyang.
The King of Qin had already received his letter and had secretly mobilized his army.
With Emperor Taihe's edict of abdication, the Prince of Qin had no more scruples.
The next day, they raised the banner of "Fengtian Punishment of the Rebellion" and marched south towards Chang'an.
Overnight, Cui Mingyou went from being a high-ranking prime minister to a traitor despised by everyone.
Heading south from the northwest, troops were regularly stationed at the passes of Yuzhou, Lingrao, and Ganyang, and most of the soldiers and officers were eager to submit to the King of Qin.
However, since the commander above was Cui Mingyou's man, they had no choice but to take up arms and fight.
The soldiers were demoralized, and the King of Qin was well aware of the weaknesses in his defenses.
In less than half a month, they captured three counties.
Instead, it strengthened the Qin king's army, which was ordered by Heaven to punish the rebels.
Meanwhile, Cui Mingyou in Chang'an spent most of her energy hunting down Emperor Taihe and the Crown Prince.
A month has passed without any news.
On the contrary, the reputation that I was so eager to protect was gone just like that.
He certainly wouldn't sit idly by.
When the King of Qin attacked Yuzhou, he ordered Cao Yukun, the military governor of Hexi, to suppress the northwestern army.
Unexpectedly, Cao Yukun turned against them and shifted his focus to Cui Mingyou.
They joined forces with the Qin King's northwestern army, crossed the Wei River in Hexi, and entered Ruzhou, the first pass in the southwest.
Cui Mingyou dispatched his trusted general, Grand Commander Shi Mingchuan.
They dispatched another 100,000 troops, but they still could not defeat the two fierce generals, King Qin and Cao Yukun.
Two months later, Ruzhou City fell.
The tide had turned against them; even the most heavily fortified city of Ruzhou had fallen, making the King of Qin and his soldiers even more courageous and fearless.
When they reached the next six or seven cities, Cui Mingyou not only reinforced his troops but also personally took command.
He then ordered the princes of several counties who had long coveted power in the northwest to join forces.
They launched a surprise attack on the garrison left behind in the northwest from the rear.
The vassal kings only cared about their own interests; who sat on the dragon throne in Western Chu was none of their concern.
They were like wolves with starving eyes. Even though the garrison left behind by the Northwest Army was not weak, they could not withstand their insidious tactics.
Just as Cui Mingyou was feeling smug, seeing that the northwest rear was in imminent danger.
Unexpectedly, support came from the remote Lingnan region, led by a female general.
With only 30,000 troops, they routed those vassal kings, who fled in disarray.
With the northwest rear secured, there are no more worries about the rear.
To avoid any unforeseen events at home, the King of Qin decided to take his children and wives with him.
Ning Shiyu volunteered for this mission, which surprised the King of Qin.
Just as he was about to object, feeling that his talents were being wasted, Ning Shiyu insisted, "Uncle, since I returned from Chang'an, I haven't been back to my own residence yet. There are many things I haven't arranged."
"You can leave this mission to Yu'er."
"In six or seven days at most, Yu'er will be able to bring her aunt and cousins over."
The most difficult city, Ruzhou, has already fallen, and Ning Shiyu has his reasons for doing things.
His request was granted.
Ning Shiyu led a group of men without stopping for a moment, and arrived in Lingyang at dusk three days later.
He sent Mu Li and Zhuang Xing with troops to the Prince of Qin's residence to fetch the princess and the others, while he himself did not even return to the Ning residence.
I went straight to Fu'er's shop on Ruyi Street.
Lingyang City remained unchanged, undisturbed by the flames of war, its bustling streets still alive and its people living in peace and prosperity.
When Ning Shiyu returned from Chang'an last time, he was in a hurry and did not see Fu'er, but only sent her a message.
He is doing well, and she shouldn't worry about him.
At this moment, he appeared suddenly in front of Fu'er, who was having a meal, dressed in full armor.
Fu'er was so startled that she immediately dropped her chopsticks.
After days of worry, Fu'er didn't care about anyone else being there when she saw him safe and sound.
He jogged over and hugged Ning Shiyu tightly around the waist.
She choked back tears as she whispered, "You're finally back."
Seeing this, the other people in the shop tactfully withdrew.
Ning Shiyu also hugged the person he had been longing for day and night tightly, so tightly that they could hear each other's heartbeats.
It's as if this hug is a way of making up for the time we missed in the past six months.
Then he lowered his head and kissed Fu'er's red lips. After a tender and passionate kiss, Ning Shiyu released Fu'er, his eyes full of tenderness and longing.
He gently stroked Fu'er's cheek, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said softly, "Did you miss me?"
Fu'er's cheeks flushed, and she nodded slightly, leaning against Ning Shiyu's chest, feeling his strong chest and warm embrace, and felt extremely at ease at this moment.
Ning Shiyu took Fu'er's hand and moved to the table to sit down. He carefully examined Fu'er, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at her.
The two held hands.
Did the King of Qin win the battle?
Ning Shiyu looked overjoyed and pulled Fu'er from beside him onto his lap.
He pressed his cheek against her neck, greedily inhaling her familiar scent. "Although Uncle has not yet entered Chang'an, Cui Mingyou's defeat is a fact."
"The soldiers in the army are unwilling to fight anymore, and he alone cannot hold out for long."
"Haven't you always wanted to go back to Chang'an with me? I'll take you there now."
One sentence brought Fu'er to her senses completely. Her worries about him these past few days had almost made her forget the insurmountable gap between them.
Fu'er knew very well what it meant that the King of Qin had entered Chang'an.
These days, everyone is talking about the battle to punish the traitor Cui Mingyou.
Ning Shiyu's status and power will only continue to rise.
Fu'er stepped out of Ning Shiyu's embrace and smiled bitterly, "Young Master, thank you for doing so much for Fu'er."
"Fu'er is already content."
"I won't go to Chang'an with you."
Her heart ached as if it were about to explode, and she didn't dare look into Ning Shiyu's eyes.
Ning Shiyu's smile froze instantly, as if a huge hole had been torn in his heart.
His knuckles were clenched so tightly they turned white, and his gaze seemed to have been suddenly stripped of its warmth.
He paused for a moment, his voice trembling slightly, "Say it again."
Fu'er pushed away the hands that were gripping her arms and cried out in anguish, "What good will it do to go back to Chang'an? I will only ever be your concubine."
"Fu'er does not want to be anyone's concubine."
Ning Shiyu froze again, a dull ache in his heart. He murmured, "Didn't you say you didn't care?"
Fu'er wiped away her tears and forced a smile that looked even uglier than a grimace. "I was just kidding."
Ning Shiyu's face was pale, and he looked utterly dejected. "What are you after by following me like this without any explanation?"
Fu'er slowly turned around, a resolute look rising in her eyes, "I don't want you as a person, I want your Ning Mansion."
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