Zhou Jingzhi was stunned when he heard this; he hadn't expected Jian Yang to say such a thing.
A moment later, Jian Yang heard the man say, "A Yang, I promise you, I will face whatever happens with you from now on."
Jian Yang was satisfied with the answer, and then the two rode back to the palace together on a horse.
"We can't wait any longer. We must make Linglong relinquish the Empress's position immediately, lest things get complicated," Zhou Jingzhi thought.
Upon arriving at the palace, Jian Yang put down her luggage and immediately collapsed onto the bed.
"I'm exhausted," Jian Yang said, burying her face in the blanket.
Zhou Jingzhi chuckled a few times, walked over and ruffled Jian Yang's hair: "A Yang, rest here for a while, I'm going to see the Empress."
After saying that, Zhou Jingzhi got up and walked towards the Imperial Study, his smile vanishing instantly.
"Eunuch Zhang, go and invite the Empress over," Zhou Jingzhi instructed.
According to Pei'er, the Empress has been much more well-behaved these days. Regardless of whether the spy issue is resolved or not, he can no longer allow this woman to occupy Jian Yang's position.
About an incense stick's time later, Eunuch Zhang returned to the Imperial Study alone, his face somewhat grave.
"Your Majesty, the Empress has disappeared."
"Disappeared? When did it disappear?" Zhou Jingzhi asked coldly, his eyes narrowing slightly.
According to Eunuch Zhang, the Empress disappeared that afternoon. No one in the palace saw where she went, and even Pei'er was nowhere to be found.
Hearing this, Zhou Jingzhi was secretly angry. He hadn't expected that the woman's docility in the past few days was all an act, and that she dared to play tricks on him.
“Send the guards to search; she may not have left Weiyang Palace,” Zhou Jingzhi said sarcastically.
That night, the secret guards quietly sneaked into Weiyang Palace. Everything in Weiyang Palace was as usual. The palace servants had all gone to rest, leaving only a few people on night watch.
They searched the Weiyang Palace from top to bottom, but couldn't find any trace of the Empress.
Finally, a body was found behind the rockery in the garden. It was Pei'er, and she looked like she had been dead for a short time.
The guards carried the body out and then returned to report.
Inside the Imperial Study, Zhou Jingzhi sat there silently with a gloomy expression, and Eunuch Zhang dared not utter a sound.
"Did you find it?" Zhou Jingzhi asked as the guards returned.
"Your Majesty, we found no trace of the Empress in Weiyang Palace. She must have left the palace. In addition, we found Pei'er's body behind the artificial hill." As he spoke, guards carried the body up.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jingzhi frowned, got up, walked to the corpse, and began to examine it.
“He was poisoned to death,” Jian Yang’s voice came from behind.
She lay in her bedchamber unable to sleep for a while. After waiting and waiting, she saw that Zhou Jingzhi had not returned, so she went to the Imperial Study by herself. Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered, she saw the corpse on the ground.
Before Zhou Jingzhi could say anything, Jian Yang squatted down and began to examine him.
The corpse in front of her was bluish-gray and already stiff. Jian Yang took out a silver needle from the medicine box, inserted it into the corpse's abdomen, left it there for a moment, and then pulled it out. Sure enough, the silver needle had turned black.
She held it under her nose and smelled it, saying, "It's arsenic, a large dose. He's been dead for about a day."
Zhou Jingzhi hurriedly pulled Jian Yang up, knocked the silver needles out of her hand, and then asked, "A Yang, why did you come here?"
Jian Yang smiled and explained, then began to ask Zhou Jingzhi what had happened.
After hearing the whole story, Jian Yang was also a little confused.
"Continue searching for the Empress's whereabouts. Also, prepare her body for burial," Zhou Jingzhi instructed.
The next day, seeing that the emperor was in a bad mood, Jian Yang specially asked Eunuch Zhang to take her to the small kitchen, intending to cook a boiled fish dish for Zhou Jingzhi.
Slice the fresh blackfish into thin slices, marinate with strong liquor and salt, stir-fry fermented bean paste and chili sauce in a pot until fragrant, add scallions, ginger and garlic, and bring to a boil with water.
Jian Yang dipped the fish slices in her chopsticks and tasted them on her tongue. The flavor was just right. She skillfully slid the fish slices into the pot, then ladled them out along with the broth. She topped them with a thick layer of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, poured hot oil over them, and the dish was done.
The small kitchen was filled with an enticing aroma.
After lunch, Zhou Jingzhi received a message from his secret guards.
Seeing Zhou Jingzhi's grave expression, Jian Yang hurriedly asked, "What happened? Have you found the Empress's whereabouts?"
Zhou Jingzhi nodded and handed the letter to Jian Yang. The letter read:
"The Empress was ambushed on her way to the outskirts of the city to meet her spies, and was imprisoned and captured. She is currently being held in a mansion outside the city." The location of the mansion was also clearly marked at the bottom of the letter.
Jian Yang felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Zhou Jingzhi snorted coldly. This news came at too much of a coincidence. Yesterday, they hadn't found any trace of the Empress, but now they had investigated thoroughly. He wanted to see what this woman was up to.
“Ayang, there seems to be something fishy about this. I plan to go there myself,” Zhou Jingzhi said.
Jian Yang originally wanted to go with him, but then she thought that she wouldn't be of much help if she went, so she decided to stay in the palace and make plans later.
Thinking of this, she nodded: "Then you must be careful. I will wait for you to return in the palace."
Just as Zhou Jingzhi was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and turned back, reminding Jian Yang to be careful and leaving some of his guards in the palace.
Jian Yang initially thought it was unnecessary, but seeing the emperor's alarmed expression, she let him go.
No sooner had Zhou Jing'an left the palace than Jian Yang, who was in her bedroom thinking of finding a book to read, had her door suddenly kicked open.
No way, Zhou Jingzhi's jinx really came true? Jian Yang felt like crying.
The assassin, masked, brandished a short knife and lunged at Jian Yang with such speed that Jian Yang had no time to dodge.
Just when she thought she was about to die, she heard a clang, and a guard with a sword stood in front of her. Jian Yang immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The guards left behind by Zhou Jingzhi heard the commotion and rushed over, surrounding Jian Yang and watching the assassin in front of them warily.
Seeing this, the assassin was not deterred, but instead intensified his attack, engaging in a fierce battle with the guards.
Jian Yang hid to the side and observed the assassin. She noticed that the assassin was slender and did not look like a man at all.
Taking advantage of the assassin's distraction, Jian Yang quickly ran to the door and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Guards! There's an assassin! Protect the Emperor!"
The palace guards immediately became alert upon hearing the shouts. After careful observation, they discovered that the shouts were coming from the emperor's bedroom, and they rushed over.
With so many guards here, surely we can catch even one assassin, Jian Yang thought to herself.
The assassin simply raised his hand and waved it, and a group of guards fell to the ground.
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