"It was you? You actually took them away?"
Hua Qingcheng glared angrily with her beautiful eyes. As she spoke, her figure flashed like a gust of wind and she quickly came in front of Xia Hou Jing. Her eyes were as sharp as a knife, piercing straight at the woman.
"Hahaha..." Xiahou Jing's sinister and shrill laughter instantly echoed in Baohua Hall again.
"Nalan Qingcheng, I've been through countless battles and hardships to reach my current position, so naturally, I'm impeccable in everything I do. You have something on your mind, which creates a fatal weakness. How could I let you go?"
Xiahou Jing's lips curled into a cold, cruel smile. "The Hua Rongsheng couple are so important to you. Before I launch any major campaign, I naturally have to take advantage of this fact. Furthermore, before I even sent anyone south to apprehend them, they couldn't wait to come to the capital and fall into my trap. This really saved me a lot of effort!"
"Let them go!" Hua Qingcheng's eyes were bloodshot and she squeezed out these words from between her teeth.
"Let them go?" Xiahou Jing seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world and laughed so hard that she fell over.
Then, she said with a half-smile, "Do you think I'm stupid? This is my last amulet. How could I let them go so easily? Unless..."
"Unless what?" Hua Qingcheng shouted angrily.
Xiahou Jing glanced at Hua Qingcheng with disdain, then turned her gaze to Gongyang Jiezhen, who was engaged in a fierce fight with the soldiers. She said slowly, "Release this king and... the Third Princess of Lengyue Nation! Once we are free, someone will return your precious foster parents to you!"
"King Pingxi, we are still here!" The envoys of the Lengyue Kingdom shouted at the top of their lungs.
However, Xiahou Jing, who was already struggling to save herself, simply wanted to rescue Gongyang Jiezhen, hoping to use her identity as the third princess of Lengyue Kingdom to find another way to make a living. As for the fate of the other Lengyue envoys, whether they would be executed by Nalan Yunzhi in a rage, it was not within her consideration at all.
Nalan Yunzhi's face darkened upon hearing this. However, although capturing Xiahou Jing and Gongyang Jiezhen was crucial, she also had to consider the safety of her daughter's adoptive mother and father.
Otherwise, if Hua Rongsheng and his wife met with misfortune because of her recklessness, Feng Lingyan would definitely resent her given her kindness and gratitude towards them for raising their daughter... Thinking of this, Nalan Yunzhi could only suppress the annoyance in his heart and deal with it patiently.
"I have accepted your terms on behalf of the princess. However, if Hua Rongsheng and Ye Maochun and his wife are harmed in the slightest, I will have the graves of your Xiahou family ancestors dug up three feet deep, crushing their bones and scattering their ashes, so that you will know what regret is!"
For a moment, Nalan Yunzhi's resounding words echoed in Baohua Hall, making everyone's hearts tremble.
Xiahou Jing's face darkened upon hearing this, but she quickly regained her composure. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, as if to appease them, yet also arrogantly, she said, "Don't worry, they're just two commoners. As long as they can help me and the Third Princess escape danger, why would I bother with them?"
"It's just..." Xiahou Jing turned his gaze to Hua Qingcheng, then changed the subject and said coldly, "I want Your Highness to be alone, without any weapons, and to follow closely behind our carriage to escort us to the border between Youzhou and Lengyue Country. Once we safely pass through the border, I will release Hua Rongsheng and her husband."
Hua Qingcheng clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she spoke, "I agree to your terms. Xiahou Jing, you'd better keep your word, or I will make sure you—die without a burial place!"
So, at Xiahou Jing's strong request, Nalan Yunzhi reluctantly ordered his men to prepare a spacious and luxurious carriage for her and Gongyang Jiezhen, and attached a formal pass and 100,000 taels of silver notes, and let them leave the palace.
Seeing Xiahou Jing and Gongyang Jiezhen walking away triumphantly and swaggeringly, many civil and military officials in Baohua Palace showed expressions of regret.
You know, just now they were only one step away from successfully capturing the traitors. If they could capture Xiahou Jing and Gongyang Jiezhen, they would not only be able to eliminate the scourge in the court, but also take this opportunity to demand generous compensation from the Lengyue Kingdom.
"Come here! Immediately arrest all those who have just defected to Xiahou Jing and temporarily detain them in the Heavenly Prison. After I've dealt with Xiahou Jing and Gongyang Jiezhen, I'll come back and slowly deal with these traitors!"
Following Nalan Yunzhi's stern shout, the group of ministers in Baohua Palace who had just expressed their loyalty to Xiahou Jing were suddenly terrified and cried out for help, but Nalan Yunzhi remained indifferent without mercy.
In Nalan Yunzhi's opinion, it would be a disaster if this kind of fence-sitter who changes his mind with the wind were to be kept. It would be better to eradicate him as soon as possible to prevent him from suddenly turning into a vicious snake or scorpion and biting him in the future.
At the same time, on the other side, Xiahou Jing and Gongyang Jiezhen had already boarded the spacious and comfortable carriage, while Hua Qingcheng, riding on the Xiangyun horse, followed slowly behind their carriage, keeping a certain distance.
In Lingkunli, Donggong, Mu Lige was struck by lightning when he received the news that Hua Qingcheng was going to Youzhou with Xiahou Jing and Gongyang Jiezhen, and immediately summoned Situ Ye.
"Brother, Qingcheng..." Situ Ye looked anxious.
Situ Ye and the others were naturally aware of the commotion surrounding Xiahou Jing's attempt to force the emperor to abdicate. Mu Lige had earlier urged everyone to remain calm, stating that everything was under the emperor's control, which had reassured them somewhat.
However, Hua Rongsheng's wife and husband fell into Xia Hou Jing's hands. This was beyond Mu Lige's expectations, and the situation became a little tricky.
Mu Lige's eyes wandered as he tilted his head to the north, his expression solemn as he said sternly, "Second brother, from this moment on, the affairs of the East Palace's backyard will be temporarily in your charge. Longlong and Fengfeng will also be in your care."
Although Situ Ye had a premonition in his heart, he was still worried and said, "Brother, let me go. You have just finished your confinement and your body has not yet fully recovered. How can you go to a place as cold as Youzhou? If you catch a cold, it will not be good..."
"Situ Xuanye, when did you become as timid as the little husband in the backyard? I have made up my mind on this matter, and there is no need to say more. I will set off now, and perhaps I can catch up with them." Mu Lige's voice was gentle and pleasant, but it carried an aura of majesty that brooked no room for questioning.
Mu Lige gently tucked the two children in, kissed them affectionately on the forehead, and then took Hua Qingcheng's badge, turned around and left Lingkun Courtyard, jumped on his horse, and galloped away. After leaving the palace, he headed north.
Accompanying Mu Lige was Xiaobai, who was running as fast as lightning and carrying Hongfu on his back.
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