Upon hearing the sound, Kou Ning'an reached out and lifted the bed curtains to peek out, then sent a maid to investigate.
The maid couldn't tell whether Li Quan was truly unconscious or feigning it, but he did look unwell, his face turning somewhat bluish, after all, he had been kneeling for quite some time.
Kou Ning'an was indeed not too harsh. Just as he was about to have Li Quan carried out and sent back to his own courtyard, a young palace maid on night duty suddenly knelt down in the hall, right next to Li Quan.
She said, trembling, "Your Majesty, Cui Cui is missing! It's past the shift change time, but she still hasn't returned!"
Kou Ning'an was recently embroiled in a major incident caused by Gan Qiongying. That night, everyone in the Yinian Palace was executed by Gan Qiongying, including Aunt Hu, who had been by her side for many years.
After a new group of people came to my side, all the old-timers I'd been comfortable with for years were gone. These new people, though clever, weren't exactly considerate.
Moreover, Kou Ning'an didn't have a deep impression of them and could only remember a few. She didn't know who Cui Cui was, the little maid mentioned.
The maid was clearly terrified. She stood there like a pillar, praying that Cui Cui would come back soon. But it was already this late and Cui Cui still hadn't come to relieve her. It was snowing heavily outside, and the maid was afraid that her companion had slipped and fallen into a well or drowned in the flower bed.
Although the pond is frozen at this time of year, it is only a thin layer of ice. Every year, there are young maids in the palace who fall to their deaths. Of course, some of them do not die by accident, and what is most frightening is that they do not die by accident.
"Who is Cui Cui?" Kou Ning'an sat up from the bedside and touched her forehead. She was not wearing any makeup, and her face was sallow, completely different from her usual exquisite makeup, which looked like she had a layer of white paint on her face.
She was just an older woman, haggard and withered.
The maid was clearly extremely flustered. She crawled two steps on the ground toward Kou Ning'an, kowtowed, and said, "Cui Cui is the little palace maid who has been running to the palace gate these days, relaying messages to the Empress Dowager. She and I came from the Empress Dowager's maternal family to serve her."
"What did you say?" Kou Ning'an, who was rubbing her head, immediately became serious when she heard the maid say that the messenger Cui Cui was actually a messenger.
"Has any news come from outside the palace tonight? Why haven't I received any messages?"
The maidservant quickly looked up at the Empress Dowager, then kowtowed and said, "This servant doesn't know either. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has a rule that no one in the palace can exchange information privately except for those who travel between the palace gates to deliver messages." Otherwise, their tongues would be cut out.
"I only noticed that Cui Cui looked flustered at the time, carrying a palace lantern and heading towards the palace gate. I didn't dare to ask anything, but I guessed that someone had come to the palace gate..."
"Logically speaking, Cui Cui should have returned long ago. Half an hour should have been enough for her to return to this palace from the palace gate, but now... almost two hours have passed since Cui Cui left, and she still hasn't returned."
The maid said, "I shouldn't have inquired about Cui Cui's whereabouts, but she was supposed to be on night duty for the Empress Dowager tonight, and she should have come to relieve me half an hour ago."
"This servant thinks that Cui Cui would never dare to disobey the Empress Dowager's orders, so she must be held back by something..."
The maid spoke very tactfully, not daring to say that she suspected something had happened to Cui Cui, nor daring to speculate too much, because the Empress Dowager did not allow palace servants to have overly intimate interactions in private, nor did she allow them to gossip.
The reason why she and Cuicui were allowed to serve the Empress Dowager closely was because the two of them had been brought to the palace from the Empress Dowager's maternal clan a few days ago.
After listening to the maid's words, Kou Ning'an slammed her fist on the bed and glared at her, saying, "You worthless thing!"
"Such an important matter, and you only reported it now? I think you're tired of living! You're all tired of living!"
Kou Ning'an hurriedly stood up from the bed, but because of her poor health, she had been bedridden for the past few days, and when she suddenly stood up, everything went black.
The maidservant who served her was so scolded by her that she didn't even dare to lift her head, so she naturally didn't see her swaying precariously.
Fortunately, Kou Ning'an did not fall down. She quickly grabbed the edge of the bed, steadied herself, and took a deep breath. She knew that arbitrarily accusing someone now would be useless.
Kou Ning'an suppressed the panic rising in her heart and calmly directed her maid to go out and deliver a message, telling her people to quickly check the palace gates and search for Cui Cui's whereabouts in the palace.
The maidservant scrambled out, while Eunuch Li, who had been feigning unconsciousness, was still lying on the ground.
Kou Ning'an was distracted and completely ignored the person lying quietly on the ground, sitting there anxiously waiting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
A servant came to report that no trace of Cui Cui had been found, but someone at the side gate of the palace said that the Regent's Palace had indeed sent a palace maid into the palace that night.
But at this time, the palace maid, including Cuicui who went to the Empress Dowager's palace to fetch her, all disappeared.
Kou Ning'an's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and she immediately said in a panic, "Take my palace token and leave the palace. Quickly send someone to the Regent's Palace to find out what happened!"
After receiving the order, the man turned and went out the door. Outside, the snow was still falling heavily, and the snow on the ground was already above ankle height. Kou Ning'an pressed her forehead, her head throbbing with pain.
Her heart was in her throat. The Regent had sent someone in the middle of the night; there must be something important. But what could it be?
Kou Ning'an didn't have a particularly vivid imagination. She couldn't imagine that the Regent would suddenly disappear. She could only think that the Regent's injuries might have worsened, or... or that something might have happened to the Emperor.
Kou Ning'an thought of the emperor and shuddered. She immediately thought of her guards who had patrolled the palace of lowly slaves that night. They had discovered Li Quan's whereabouts, and then she had brought Li Quan here...
"Li Quan!" The moment Kou Ning'an thought of Eunuch Li, she looked down at the ground, but Eunuch Li, who had been pretending to be unconscious, was no longer there.
He slightly tilted his head, blocking out the light in front of him. The middle-aged and overweight Eunuch Li stood tall and imposing in front of the Empress Dowager, exuding a surprisingly oppressive aura.
The bedchamber was dimly lit. Li Quan stood against the light, quietly watching Kou Ning'an. His expression was unclear, but his deep eyes made Kou Ning'an inexplicably tremble with fear.
"Get out of the way!" Kou Ning'an's reprimand came out.
At this moment, there were only two maids standing in the outer room of his bedchamber. Because she had been having trouble sleeping and couldn't hear any noise lately, she only left one person to keep watch by her side.
Now that the person on night duty had been sent away, Kou Ning'an's heart was pounding, and a very ominous premonition burst forth from her heart.
After she rebuked Eunuch Li, he didn't leave immediately; he remained standing there, staring at her. It was too late to call for help, so Kou Ning'an immediately reached for her pillow.
There was a dagger under her pillow that she always used, but it was too late. Just as she reached for the dagger, Eunuch Li suddenly lunged forward, grabbed the Empress Dowager's wrist, and snatched the dagger from her hand.
With a "whoosh," the dagger was drawn and pressed against the Empress Dowager's neck. "Don't shout!"
When Eunuch Li got closer, Kou Ning'an realized that his eyes were filled with madness, and his expression was like that of a desperate fugitive.
"You...you're trying to rebel!" Kou Ning'an stammered, her neck pressed against a cold, sharp dagger.
But she quickly calmed down, glared at Eunuch Li with a fierce look, and said, "Eunuch Li, do you know what you're doing right now? What shameful things did you go to the lowly slave's palace tonight to do?"
"Is Gan Lin planning a rebellion? Does he want you to be his vanguard?"
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