Cuiwei and Jiu'er held onto Chenyu tightly, forcing her to stop. "Empress Dowager, the Emperor has decreed that you are strictly forbidden from leaving the palace."
Shen Yu was instantly enraged. Remembering Jing Wang's despicable actions, she immediately turned around and went back into her room.
------
It was nearing noon.
Shen Yu and Cui Wei disguised themselves as maids of Prince Jing's mansion and secretly sneaked in. The two walked towards Prince Jing's courtyard with their heads down, and when they secretly glanced at him, Yan Ran was walking towards them.
The two had no choice but to step aside, bow, and say, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Where do you two intend to go?
Chen Yu deliberately imitated Yi Shui's voice as she answered, "[To Prince Jing's courtyard...]"
Before Shenyu could finish speaking, Yanran swung her palm at her, but fortunately Shenyu dodged in time.
[You lowly servant! How dare you dodge? How did you know Prince Jing was returning today? Speak! Did you secretly read the letter Prince Jing wrote to me? Or did Prince Jing also write you a letter?]
Shen Yu raised her head, her face filled with anger.
Upon seeing this, Yanran was so frightened that she immediately knelt down, but Chenyu helped her up.
Shen Yu left the palace without permission. If the Emperor finds out, the misunderstanding between mother and son will only deepen.
She leaned close to Yanran's ear and whispered, "Let's talk in your room."
Yanran closed the door, knelt down with a thud, and said, "Your Majesty, I was unaware of your arrival. Besides, you were dressed as a maid, so I truly could not recognize you!"
Shen Yu sat down, glaring at Yan Ran, and said, "My visit to Prince Jing's residence must be kept secret."
Yanran was filled with fear and anxiety. She hurriedly crawled to Chenyu and asked, "Why? Does the Emperor intend to secretly investigate Prince Jing?"
Do not make unfounded speculations. I have come to Prince Jing's residence for another purpose, and I will not implicate anyone. If you do not keep this a secret, I will tell Prince Jing about your past peculiarities.
Seeing Yanran nod, Chenyu asked, "Where is Prince Jing?"
Yanran started talking and said, "In the past two months, Prince Jing has often gone to the punishment room in the backyard. I wonder who he has arrested."
Just a few days ago, King Jing actually went to Guli in person. He just returned today and before he could even speak to me, he went to the torture chamber.
At that moment, King Jing hurried towards the punishment chamber.
Two months ago, before Gu Luo exposed Hong Yu's poisoning of Liu Deng and Liu Chong, he had already become suspicious. Based on Chen Yu's reaction and Gu Luo's physique, he was already suspicious and thus secretly monitored Gu Luo.
Soon, someone went to visit Guro in prison and replaced him.
King Jing then waited patiently and secretly arrested Gu Luo, imprisoning him in the torture chamber of his palace.
Whips, clubs, steel needles, branding irons—all sorts of cruel tortures had been used, yet Gu Luo remained completely silent.
King Jing had no choice but to go to the Guli tribe to investigate Guluo's past.
Gu Luo is actually a master of disguise?
King Jing began to suspect that Gu Luo was very likely Liu Yu.
Seeing Gu Luo chained to the execution rack with iron chains as thick as a horse's leg, King Jing immediately roared, "Guards, untie him!"
Gu Luo was dragged off the rack by two guards and placed on a round-backed chair. He was too weak to support his body and slumped into the chair.
Looking up, King Jing approached, and his scrutinizing gaze showed that King Jing had already seen through his identity.
He was Liu Yu.
In reality, the person that Prime Minister Qiu beheaded was Gu Yiyi's fiancé, Yu Zhu.
After Gu Yiyi's death, Gu Luo was crippled by the old chief of the Dili tribe, but was saved by Yu Zhu.
During their escape, the two encountered Liu Yu, who was returning to the capital.
Knowing he was now a cripple, Gu Luo begged to switch identities with Liu Yu in order to avenge his blood feud.
At that time, Zhao Songhua was in power. As a direct descendant of the Liu family, Liu Yu might be suppressed by the imperial court.
However, even if he were to assume the identity of Yu Ansheng, he would still face certain death.
In order to save his life, he agreed to exchange his identity and appearance with Gu Luo and vowed to avenge Gu Yiyi.
To ensure Liu Yu's revenge would go smoothly, Gu Luo disguised Yu Zhu as himself so that Liu Yu could escape when he was cornered.
As expected, everything went exactly as Gu Luo had predicted.
Although Liu Yu survived, the task of avenging Gu Yiyi still needs to continue.
He also knew that, in all the world, only Gu Luo was capable of disguising himself. With Gu Luo gone, he would never be able to restore Liu Yu's original appearance in this lifetime.
That's good. If Liu Yu were to appear, the Liu family would likely face further turmoil. Therefore, he is willing to continue existing in the world with Gu Luo's appearance.
He looked at King Jing and asked in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, please consider the bigger picture... I am Gu Luo."
King Jing nodded.
Gu Luo then asked, "Is Yu Yu alright?"
King Jing smiled wryly. "Fish? In the whole world, perhaps only Liu Yu would call Chen Yu that."
He nodded repeatedly, then stopped. He hadn't seen Chen Yu for two months, and all the tonics he had sent had been returned.
He knew that Chen Yu blamed him for executing Gu Luo ahead of schedule, but in order to help Gu Luo escape smoothly, he had no choice but to carry out the execution ahead of schedule and hand over the head to the Dili tribe.
Because Yu Zhu was a little short, he was afraid that people would notice something amiss, so he cremated the body.
He glanced at the guard beside him and said in a deep voice, "Place Gu Luo in Jingyu Pavilion. Quickly summon a physician to examine him. Remember, no one must see his face."
At that moment, a guard rushed in and reported, "[Your Highness, the Queen Consort, accompanied by two maids, is heading this way.]"
[Excellent, we will welcome them.]
King Jing walked out of the execution chamber with a solemn expression and hurried steps.
Two guards behind him were supporting a prisoner who was dressed in rags and covered in blood.
As soon as the group arrived at the front yard, they were stopped by a maid in orange.
Upon closer inspection, that round, oval face and sharp, almond-shaped eyes were undoubtedly those of Chen Yu.
King Jing forced a smile, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and said, "Your humble servant greets you..."
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