Physician Xiao's name was Xiao Qiansong. Normally, Eunuch Li would never address him by his full name, let alone address him so intimately as Qiansong.
Li Quan, the chief eunuch, was treated with utmost respect by court officials. The emperor was a puppet, but Li Quan, the chief eunuch, was not.
Li Quan usually doesn't kneel to anyone except the emperor and empress dowager, so why is he suddenly kneeling to him?
Physician Xiao was terribly frightened, but Li Quan's eyes were bloodshot. He knelt on the ground, grabbed Physician Xiao's hand, and said, "You must promise me..."
"Please get up, Father-in-law..." Physician Xiao looked troubled, and was genuinely panicked.
But Eunuch Li refused to get up and continued to speak while kneeling. After realizing his purpose, Physician Xiao was shocked and bewildered. He didn't bother to help him up and staggered back two steps, bumping into the desk where Eunuch Li had just been writing.
"Bang!" The table was hit, and the ink-stained brush rolled to the ground.
At that very moment, Gan Qiongying, who was writing a letter in the princess's residence several streets away from the Imperial Hospital, was also shocked by Yingyi's words upon returning to report. The brush in her hand fell directly to the ground, the jade pen handle shattered with a crisp sound, and the ink from the pen tip rolled on the bluestone ground, leaving a long trail of filth.
"What did you say?" Gan Qiongying asked incredulously.
"The prince consort's carriage is inside the Jin Chuan hostage residence. I also saw San Jiu and others," Ying paused and then continued, "From the rooftop, I saw the Jin Chuan hostage sitting at a table, and the prince consort kneeling at his feet..."
Gan Qiongying's anger flared up instantly. Zhongli Zhengzhen had indeed captured Li Hua and dared to make him kneel. Gan Qiongying usually wouldn't even let him kneel for long on the bed!
"Assemble the troops and follow me to welcome the prince consort back to the manor!"
Gan Qiongying stepped on the tip of the pen, causing a large area of ink to spread and stain the bluestone ground dirty.
The horses galloped swiftly along the long street, which had quieted down as midnight approached. Gan Qiongying rode directly with Yingyi on one horse, heading towards Zhongli Zhengzhen's residence at top speed.
Along the way, Gan Qiongying thought of several excuses, using both soft and hard tactics, determined to make Zhong Li truly release the person and apologize!
She was, after all, a princess of Nanzhao. As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. In Nanzhao Yindu, a place above the imperial power, Zhongli Zheng really didn't dare to confront her head-on.
However, when they rode their horses to the Jin Chuan hostage residence, they were stopped by the tightly closed gate. No one answered when they knocked. Gan Qiongying couldn't wait any longer, so she pointed to the wall. Yingyi and his subordinates quickly received the order and flew up the wall.
The horses were all tied together and led away by a servant, catching Gan Qiongying off guard as she prepared to kill Zhongli Zhengzhen.
Led by Yingyi, Gan Qiongying first climbed onto the wall, and then flew to the rooftop. The chill of the night wind blowing on her face made Gan Qiongying feel a little cold for no reason. She then realized that she had been too angry earlier, which caused her to feel hot all over. Now that she had impulsively run out, she realized that it was late at night and the dew was heavy, and she had not put on a cloak.
These are things that Manyue usually thinks about first, but tonight Gan Qiongying went out like this, and Manyue didn't even ask her to put on more clothes.
Manyue had already realized that something was wrong. The princess's residence was almost empty. And when she thought about Gan Qiongying asking her to go to the residence of the Grand Princess Huian, Manyue guessed that her mistress was leaving and did not intend to take her with her.
He was as clever as a full moon, but his mind was in turmoil and he was distracted. He dared not cause trouble for Gan Qiongying at this time, so he could only remain distracted and naturally forgot to ask Gan Qiongying to put on more clothes.
As they landed on the roof ridge, Shadow half-embraced her and pressed her back down. As he did so, the guards and shadow guards who had come with them all lay in ambush on the roof ridge in the darkness. Tonight, there were no stars or moon, and if they weren't highly skilled in martial arts, no one would have been able to find them.
Gan Qiongying leaned against the roof ridge and looked down following Yingyi's gaze.
At this moment, in the courtyard and waterside pavilion below, a servant leaned close to Zhongli Zhengzhen's ear and said, "Master, someone knocked on the door just now."
"who?"
"I don't know. When our people went to open the door, there was no one there."
Zhongli Zhengzhen slightly raised his hand to indicate that he understood. His subordinates withdrew, and he stood up from the table, holding a long sword in his hand, and slowly walked to the row of people kneeling in front of him.
"You have someone else?" The longsword was pressed against the neck of the nearest person, and blood immediately began to flow from that person's neck.
However, his expression was wooden and cold. He merely turned his head slightly, sensing that there was indeed someone on the rooftop not far behind him, but he did not speak to the person in front of him.
All his men are dead. After the surprise attack last night, only he and the two trusted confidants kneeling beside him remain.
"Brother, please don't do this." From inside the waterside pavilion, a man dressed only in his nightgown, kneeling by the table, cried out in a pitiful voice.
He crawled out from the table and to the feet of the man with the sword: "Brother, he has been following me for many years. He just misunderstood you and wanted to save me. Please don't kill him."
When Gan Qiongying saw a person dressed in white with long hair crawling out, her first reaction was to rush down. Zhong Lizheng really didn't want to live anymore, daring to treat Li Hua like this!
But soon, just as Gan Qiongying straightened her back and was about to be pulled down by Yingyi, she froze.
Because she could see the face of the person crawling on the ground.
Because of the distance, Gan Qiongying did not see the person's appearance clearly at first.
Even though they were quite far apart, she could tell that he wasn't Li Hua once she saw his face clearly.
Instead... it was Zhongli Zhengzhen.
Who is that... the one wearing the Jin Chuan hostage robe with the beast pattern, bound with the Jin Chuan oath, holding a knife to the neck of that row of kneeling people...?
Gan Qiongying raised her hand and pressed down on Yingyi's shoulder and back as he tried to move. Her throat felt blocked, and she tried for a long time but couldn't swallow a mouthful of saliva.
Gan Qiongying's neck creaked and turned halfway around, following the kneeling Zhongli Zhengzhen, and looked at the person holding the knife.
The lanterns beside the waterside pavilion swayed, their red glow casting a hazy reflection on a handsome face that was slightly turned to the side.
Even from this distance, Gan Qiongying could recognize the silhouette of the man who had shared her bed day and night, their love as tender as ever.
That is—Li Hua.
Wearing the attire of a Jinchuan hostage and sporting the Jinchuan hairstyle, Li Hua made the Jinchuan hostage crawl on the ground in the Jinchuan hostage's residence.
Gan Qiongying felt as if daggers had been plunged into her eyes simultaneously. The pain in her eyes spread like a spider web, radiating all the way to her heart, almost causing her heart to stop.
Gan Qiongying stared intently, refusing to blink, as if afraid that she hadn't seen clearly or that she had misjudged the situation.
The chill of the night wind, like cold water, engulfed her entire body. Tiny shivers ran through her, as if constantly reminding her of the reality of what she was witnessing.
That's Li Hua.
She led her men, determined to rescue Li Hua tonight, even if it meant killing the hostage from Jinchuan.
Gan Qiongying inappropriately recalled that she had seen Li Hua riding towards her on horseback that time, and when his hood fell down, he was also wearing the hairstyle of Jin Chuan.
Later, she became trapped in a nightmare about Duanrong's past life, unable to escape it, and never wanted to think about it in detail.
Why did Li Hua return with her hair tied up like that that night? And why hadn't Li Hua visited the Chamber of Commerce for over a month? Gan Qiongying quickly pieced together a reality she refused to believe and dared not delve into.
Li Hua truly replaced Zhong Li Zhengzhen.
Just like in the story, he will become the male protagonist who manipulates everyone, bloodthirsty and brutal... He will become the mortal enemy of Princess Duanrong in his previous life, the one who burned Ganlin alive, forced Princess Duanrong to retreat step by step, and even sacrificed her body to summon evil spirits to possess her.
How could that be?
How could this happen?
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