At the same time, at the gate of the palace, a luxurious carriage inlaid with silver thread patterns slowly stopped in front of the palace gate, escorted by a team of armored imperial guards.
The maid carefully lifted the curtain, and soon, a hand wearing red gold armor was placed in the maid's hand.
Immediately afterwards, "Chu Qingluan", dressed in a pomegranate red palace dress with gold embroidery, stepped down from the carriage.
This is the disguised Gu Yanran.
At this moment, she was in a state of grace, wearing a pearl in her hair and embroidered shoes inlaid with plump, round pearls. Her originally beautiful and noble face now had a touch of deliberate delicacy.
She had just returned from the palace after some shopping and was in a good mood, enjoying the honor of being above everyone else.
She nonchalantly instructed the palace attendant beside her: "Send these directly back to the Princess's residence. I want to go in and see my father."
"Yes, Your Highness." The palace servant accepted the order and quickly directed the carriage to turn.
At this moment, the gate guard not far away saw the face of the "Crown Princess" and his eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
This was the guard who had just stopped Chu Qingluan and Qin Jiuge from entering. His name was Liu Da.
At that time, he was staring at the face of the 'Crown Princess' in front of him and completely forgot to salute, and he froze in place.
This unusual behavior immediately attracted the attention of Gu Yanran's trusted maid. The maid's eyebrows immediately arched, and she sternly scolded, "How dare you disrespect His Highness and disrespect His Highness? Don't you want to see me anymore?"
Liu Da was suddenly awakened and knelt on the ground with a plop, his voice changing tone: "Your Highness, please spare me! Your Highness, please spare me! I, I have no intention of offending you! It's just..."
Liu Da was so nervous that cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "Just half an hour ago, I saw you, Your Highness, and Miss Qin from the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion enter the palace with my own eyes. That's why... that's why I was so shocked!"
The faint smile on Gu Yanran's face froze instantly, her eyes sharp: "What did you see just now? Tell me clearly!"
What does it mean that she and Qin Jiuge entered the palace?
She had clearly been selecting silks in the West Market, so how could she have ever been to the palace?
"Yes...just now!" Liu Dacheng replied truthfully, terrified. "Just now, a carriage arrived, and in it sat a woman who looked exactly like you, Your Highness. She was also bringing Miss Qin from the Duke of Dingguo's mansion. She said...she wanted to go into the palace to get something. I couldn't tell who was who, so I...let her in!"
After he finished speaking, Liu Da bowed his head to the ground and buried it deeply.
Gu Yanran's face instantly darkened. If you looked closely, you could see a barely perceptible flash of panic in her eyes.
Damn it!
Could it be that Chu Qingluan is really back?
She is not dead?
She suppressed the turmoil in her heart and said, "You mean? Someone impersonated me and entered the palace?"
"Yes, not long after Your Highness left the palace." Liu Da continued, "They only said they were going back to the palace to get some samples, but they didn't say where they were going. Damn you! I shouldn't have trusted them so easily!"
Gu Yanran ignored the guards begging for mercy, turned around and walked quickly towards the palace, heading straight for the Yangxin Palace.
However, when she arrived at the Yangxin Palace, she found that Chu Qingluan and Qin Jiuge had already left, and the Emperor Chu, who was supposed to be bedridden, was also missing.
“Crash!”
Gu Yanran threw the imperial cups and bowls to the ground, venting her anger.
"Where is my father? Where did he go?"
The palace maids were so frightened that they knelt on the ground and replied tremblingly: "Your Highness, Your Majesty... Your Majesty said that he felt better and was supported by Eunuch Yao and went to the Qinzheng Palace..."
The Qinzheng Hall is where Chu Qingluan handles official business on weekdays.
Ever since Gu Yanran impersonated Chu Qingluan, she didn't understand the court affairs and rarely went there. Even if she did, she was just pretending. She had long since left the court affairs to Chu Lang.
Chu Lang was originally a mediocre and incompetent person with no opinion of his own. He kept a bunch of staff and retainers to give him advice, and also won over some court officials to help him "share his worries".
"Waste! You can't even keep an eye on one person!" Gu Yanran was extremely angry, her chest heaving violently, and her pretty face looked hideous with twisted hatred.
No! We can't just sit there and wait for death!
Chu Qingluan is not dead, and she even brought Qin Jiuge into the palace. If she doesn't resolve the issue quickly, her identity will be exposed sooner or later.
An extreme and vicious plan instantly formed in her mind.
There was a glint of determined madness in her eyes, and she suddenly pulled out the dagger hidden in her sleeve.
With a "puff", she stabbed the dagger into her left shoulder without hesitation. Blood gushed out instantly, staining her luxurious palace dress red.
The trusted palace maid serving beside her hadn't reacted yet and was frozen in place.
"Help! There's an assassin!" Gu Yanran threw away the dagger, covered her bleeding arm, and shouted for help outside the hall.
The guards and palace maids outside heard the shouting and rushed in. When they saw Gu Yanran's arm bleeding and the mess on the ground, they turned pale with fright.
The news spread quickly. In just half an incense stick of time, Chu Lang arrived at the Yangxin Palace with a team of imperial guards.
Seeing Gu Yanran injured, he pretended to be surprised: "Imperial sister! How did you get hurt? Who is so bold as to assassinate her in the palace?"
Gu Yanran covered her arm and said bitterly, "It was a female assassin who disguised herself as the Queen and attempted to assassinate me. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and only suffered minor injuries."
"Royal brother, quickly order people to seal the palace gates and capture the assassin!"
When Chu Lang heard this, he immediately understood.
It seems that his real imperial sister has returned and sneaked into the palace.
Chu Lang's thoughts raced as he quickly understood Gu Yanran's intention. He then waved his hand and ordered the imperial guards, "Pass on this prince's order to immediately seal the palace gates and conduct a strict inspection of all palaces. No one is allowed to enter or leave."
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