The guards ransacked the palace, leaving it in complete disarray. Xu Zang stood among them with his hands behind his back, his face growing increasingly tense as time went on.
Li Wenlan approached him and looked up at her husband.
He was really handsome, possessing both the refined elegance of a nobleman from the Central Plains and the dashing good looks of a man from the Western Liang.
Only a father who is an emperor and a mother who is a princess of a country could give birth to such an outstanding child.
Li Wenlan even hated her father and aunt for treating Xu Zang that way.
If he gains his father's favor, with his talent, he will surely be an excellent crown prince, and his future wife will definitely be from a prestigious family.
If it weren't for past grievances, she wouldn't have had to get entangled with the Third Prince. With her esteemed status, she would certainly be worthy of being the Crown Prince's concubine.
When Xu Zang ascends the throne one day, she will be the rightful empress.
It's all the fault of those who came before. It's good that they're dead; only when they're dead can she plan everything without any worries.
Li Wenlan couldn't bear to see Xu Zang so anxious. Her face was flushed red by the firelight, and her eyes showed a dazed look, making her appear somewhat abnormal.
"Your Majesty, I know what you're looking for. Let's make a deal."
Xu Zang was already wondering where Yi Mu would hide. Upon hearing her words, his eyes turned into sharp blades, slashing straight at Li Wenlan.
"What did you say?"
Li Wenlan was unaware of the impending disaster and was secretly pleased that Xu Zang was finally willing to look her in the eye.
“He has been imprisoned by me and hidden in a place where Your Majesty can never find him. If Your Majesty agrees to make me Empress, I can tolerate sharing a husband with another man.”
Li Wenlan's words about forbearance seem to indicate that she has already considered how wronged she will be in the future.
Xu Zang took the first sentence to heart. He was initially relieved, but then he was filled with boundless rage.
He resisted the urge to strangle the woman, his face twitching slightly, and asked Li Wenlan in the most normal voice, "Where did you put her?"
Li Wenlan, thinking she had Xu Zang's weakness, continued to recklessly negotiate: "I've said it before, unless Your Majesty grants me the position of Empress..."
Xu Zang interrupted him, a dark undercurrent surging in his black eyes, "Do you know how the granddaughter of Prince Guangrong died?"
Li Wenlan only wanted to be empress. Holding Yi Mu's life in her hands, she negotiated with Xu Zang, excitedly rambling on: "That little bitch is stupid and offended people she shouldn't have. She deserved it. I'm different, I..."
Xu Zang grabbed her by the neck, lifted her off the ground, his expression murderous like a demon in the dark.
"I'll give you one more chance. Where is he?"
Li Wenlan was certain that he hadn't found Yi Mu's whereabouts, so she didn't dare to act rashly. She tried to pry his fingers open, showing no intention of confessing.
Without hesitation, Xu Zangding tightened his grip.
Just before she was about to suffocate, Li Wenlan squeezed Xu Zang's hand tightly, her eyes revealing a desire to speak.
Xu Zang left her hanging for a while before throwing her to the ground.
After this ordeal, Li Wenlan was half-dead and dared not make any more reckless demands.
She told Xu Zang that the person was locked in the underground palace.
Just as Xu Zang was about to walk into the palace, a guard's urgent shout rang out from ahead.
"Fire! Someone, come quick, put out the fire!"
The sound came from the back of the palace, which is the location of the underground palace that Li Wenlan mentioned.
Xu Zang's heart skipped a beat, his legs felt weak, and his Adam's apple bobbed several times before he ran out with a fierce determination.
Fire burst forth from the small entrance to the underground palace, the flames blazing. In the dead of winter, the well in the courtyard was frozen solid, and it would take quite a while to break through the ice.
By the time the water arrived, the wood at the entrance of the underground palace was charred.
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