"Nonsense! What are you talking about? Shut up!"
Before the palace servant could finish speaking, she was grabbed by an enraged guard, her mouth gagged, tied up, and thrown onto a wooden stool, where a thick wooden stick, as thick as an arm, slammed down on her.
"His Majesty's own people... he took them all away—leaving us all behind, all of us sent by the Ninth Prince—spare me, spare me—"
The palace servants screamed and wailed, but they could not break free no matter how hard they tried. After only a few blows with the wooden stick, their flesh was mangled, their bones were broken, and they were on the verge of death!
Yun Zong's face was grim. He didn't even glance at those people and ordered his subordinates, "Life in the palace requires the utmost caution. Don't leave a single one of these people alive! To the outside world, declare that His Majesty is seriously ill and is recuperating in seclusion, not seeing any outsiders!"
It was not difficult for him to keep the news under wraps in the palace. It was also because he thought too highly of himself that he did not force anyone to be placed by the Empress's side, but she took this opportunity and left with her personal palace servants and jewels.
only……
Why would the guards help her conceal the news and take her away?
These imperial guards were all from the capital and were highly valued. If they ran away with the Empress, wouldn't their families left in the capital be arrested? How could they bear to abandon the positions they had worked so hard to achieve?
"Thoroughly inspect the guards and compile a complete list of all the missing persons!"
Yun Zong left without mercy, leaving behind a courtyard full of palace servants with expressions of despair and resentment. The stench of blood in the wind grew stronger, and blood splattered onto the old vermilion palace walls, leaving deep, dark stains.
A gust of wind blew by, brushing away the blood droplets on the ground, and the stench of blood in the air became even stronger.
"...The deer has been bled dry. It's been cut into pieces and marinated. We can roast it on the spot when we set up camp tonight."
The smiling guard responded loudly and quickly skinned the deer he had caught. He was exceptionally efficient and soon finished, taking the skin to the car behind.
Tongsu sat in the carriage in the middle of the procession, looking out curiously.
The car swayed and bumped as it moved forward. Even though it was covered with thick, soft pillows and cushions, the narrow road that wound through the forest and mountains made the ride quite bumpy.
However, she did not feel unhappy at all.
The curtain of the car window was lifted, letting in a refreshing breeze. Outside, the sky was blue with white clouds, the rolling mountains were lush and green, the sun was shining brightly, and the chirping of birds and insects filled the air, clear and melodious.
The man didn't ride a horse; he sat with her in the carriage, lazily leaning against the couch and flipping through a map.
Tong Su turned her head and said, "If we just leave like this, Yun Zong will definitely find us. How can we escape before he catches up?"
"It was certain that he would discover it. By this time, he must have realized something was wrong and rushed into His Majesty's bedchamber to search it thoroughly. He also saw the paper that I specifically asked you to write, tore off, and hid under the bed."
Xi Chenzhou raised his eyes and smiled slightly: "At most, he would think you were just throwing a tantrum and running away from the palace, and he would order people to search in the direction of Jiangnan. But by the time he realized that I was the one who took you away, we had already arrived in the Northwest, and he couldn't catch up with us at all."
Of the 300,000 Northwest Army soldiers he brought back, most of them had already been demobilized and returned to their hometowns, while a small portion had returned to the Northwest.
This is the source of Yun Zong's leniency and confidence in him. Yun Zong thought that by stripping him of his military power, he would be completely useless and unable to cause any trouble.
But--
However, don't forget that there were frequent battles in the Northwest, and the imperial court's military rations were always very tight.
In order to be self-sufficient, the Northwest Army had long since gone into battle in armor and returned to farming after being discharged from the army. This discharge from the army did not mean that they were removed from the battlefield, but rather that they were allowed to go underground among the people!
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