Tang Chen stood atop the city wall, watching the wedding procession, laden with countless treasures and draped in crimson silk, slowly exit the city gates. Shangguan Bing'er had left, and she finally had one less rival in love. Who could have imagined that the woman who once, willing to sacrifice her dignity and beg at the entrance of the Liuxiang Tavern, would now dedicate her life to the cause of peace between the two nations? Whether it was her will or her reluctance, she deserved respect and admiration. But she still said, the status of women in this era is truly lamentable.
Tang Chen watched the last carriage leave the city gate. He coughed and asked softly, "Lian Qiao, is there nothing for me to do now?"
Qinghe was worried that she might be impolite, and also worried that she might make a mistake without them around, so he asked Lianqiao to come with them early. Lianqiao saw that the team had already left the city and said, "Well, we're almost there now. Once the last followers are out of the city, we can go back."
Hearing this, Tang Chen, who had been so dignified and composed just now, suddenly lost all his composure and leaned against the city wall. "That's good. I'm so tired. This clothing is too thick. My wound feels a little itchy."
Lian Qiao saw her raise her hand and thought she wanted to grab it, so she quickly stopped her, saying, "But don't scratch the front!"
Tang Chen said with a smile: "I know, I know, I'm just stretching my muscles."
After saying this, Tang Chen glanced at the attendants around her. Seeing her relaxed appearance, they all lowered their heads, not daring to look. After a slight sigh of relief, she looked back at the long line. Before she could express her opinion, when she turned back, Lian Qiao rolled her eyes and collapsed to the ground without warning. The attendants who had been standing not far away also fell to the ground one by one.
Seeing this, Tang Chen quickly squatted down and shook Lian Qiao vigorously. Seeing that she didn't respond, he pinched her Ren Zhong and her arm a few times: "Lian Qiao, what's wrong with you? Are you suffering from heatstroke? Wake up quickly, I'm scared!"
"Princess, please take care of yourself first." Without waiting for Tang Chen to turn around to look at the person who spoke, she felt a pain in the back of her head and fell to the ground, unconscious.
The man who knocked Tang Chen unconscious was wearing the clothes of a eunuch, but judging by his words and actions, he didn't look like someone who served in the palace at all. After making sure that everyone on the tower had fainted, he put Tang Chen in a large sack, carried it on his shoulder, and quietly left.
Meanwhile, Wang Yanzhou, who was waiting for news in the Princess's residence, could no longer sit still after hearing Wang Nianqing say that Beimo's troops had already left the city gates: "It's already this late, why haven't they returned yet?"
Qinghe poured him a cup of tea and said, "Stop reading. I'll let Lianqiao accompany her. Don't worry."
Wang Yanzhou was neither sitting nor standing at this moment. He felt as if something had happened to Tang Chen, especially now. He was panicking: "According to the time, he should be coming back soon."
Ouyang Ming looked up at him and couldn't help laughing. He said, "You still have to return to the palace to report. It will take a while. Wait a little longer. If you don't come back, we will go with you to look for him."
...When Tang Chen was shaken awake, his first reaction was to hold his head in his hands. Just as he was about to start complaining, he found that his voice seemed to be a little hoarse: "Damn, that's too harsh. If he accidentally knocks me to death, who will compensate me? Where's my throat? Who did this!"
When she opened her eyes and tried to move around, Tang Chen realized she couldn't even stretch her legs. The square box suddenly frightened her: "Wait, what's going on?"
Tang Chen was quietly put into a large mahogany box and sneaked into the Beimo group. The driver heard some movement in the box and asked the driver on duty next to him, "Did you hear anything in the box?"
The carriage slowly moved along the bumpy road. The man looked at the box behind him and said, "This box seems to contain the pets that the princess brought to the Northern Desert. They are said to be two rabbits. They may be making a fuss right now."
The driver suddenly realized, "No wonder, they're not afraid of suffocating them to death."
The shift driver explained, "That shouldn't be the case. Boxes for living things always have a vent."
Tang Chen could hear their conversation clearly. Not only was her voice low due to a broken throat, but the box itself was actually wrapped in cotton. It was pitch black and didn't look like it had any ventilation holes. "I'm not a rabbit, let me out! The soundproofing is too good! Will I suffocate to death?"
Tang Chen lingered in this airtight box for who knows how long. She didn't dare speak, and could only close her eyes and regulate her breathing. She was afraid that if she didn't find out, she would suffocate to death in this box. This was Shangguan Bing'er's dowry, not her coffin.
The Beimo convoy had completely disappeared from view of the city walls. As night fell, Wang Nianqing rushed in, sweating profusely: "Master, something's wrong!"
Wang Yanzhou had been worried about Tang Chen, and seeing Wang Nianqing like this, he was about to explode: "But something happened to Achen!"
Wang Nianqing gasped as she spoke, "Lian Qiao was just found in the moat. She's been rescued, but she's still unconscious."
Upon hearing this, Qinghe and Ouyang Ming put down their teacups. Wang Yanzhou, with red eyes, grabbed Wang Nianqing by the collar and asked, "Where is Tang Chen? Where is Tang Chen?"
Wang Nianqing shook her head and said, "I sent someone to the palace to inquire, and they said that the princess never returned to report. Emperor Gan Zhao even wants to bring me to justice for this matter!"
"Charge him? I'd like to see what he wants to accuse me of!" Wang Yanzhou grabbed his sword and rushed out. Ouyang Ming, fearing he might do something extreme, quickly grabbed his sleeve and said, "Calm down. He probably didn't do this."
Wang Yanzhou said with a murderous expression: "Brother, he can even treat you like that, let alone Tang Chen. Regardless of whether it was him or not, if he hadn't asked Tang Chen to escort her, she wouldn't have disappeared!"
Ouyang Ming was right, but the current situation was truly delicate between Daliang and Beimo. If Wang Yanzhou acted rashly, the consequences could be dire. After convincing him to calm down, Qinghe and the Princess's Palace quickly dispatched elite troops to search for Tang Chen.
After receiving the news, Chen Xin also rushed over as fast as he could to treat Lian Qiao. Wang Nianqing followed Ouyang Ming's instructions and went to the palace on behalf of Wang Yanzhou to inform Emperor Gan Zhao of the matter.
When Emperor Gan Zhao saw Wang Nianqing coming, he initially intended to use Tang Chen's absence from the palace to cause some trouble for Wang Yanzhou. However, after Wang Nianqing informed him of Tang Chen's disappearance, Emperor Gan Zhao's first reaction was to suppress the news and request Tianshu Tower to join the search.
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