Qi Guze's words made everyone present raise their heads.
They were still worried about how to solve the problem when an opportunity unexpectedly came knocking on their door.
"In that case, Your Highness, please come to the palace with me. Once Consort Min's crime is established, A-Yue will be able to leave the palace." The Duke of Zhenguo's face showed a hint of excitement.
Qi Guze nodded, exchanged a few words with Tie Xiong, and then went into the palace.
...
"You're coming with me dressed like this?" Duke Zhenguo asked suspiciously, looking at Qi Guze's clothes.
"What's wrong with this outfit? I feel very comfortable in it," Qi Guze replied after adjusting his clothes.
"It's comfortable, but there are naturally no woodcutters in the palace. Aren't you just trying to arouse suspicion by doing this?"
It was only after the Duke of Zhenguo reminded Qi Guze that he realized that he had been hiding in seclusion to avoid the government officials, and had almost forgotten what it was like inside the palace. If he really went in disguise as a woodcutter, he would probably be spotted very quickly.
"Steward Wang, take him to the backyard and find him some servant's clothes to change into, preferably the kind that hasn't been washed for days." Seeing that Qi Guze didn't speak, the Duke of Zhenguo took it upon himself to give the order.
Steward Wang then led Qi Guze away. He dared not actually find Qi Guze the kind of clothes that the Duke of Zhenguo had mentioned, so he simply found one that the servants had just changed out of the day before and handed it to him.
Qi Guze didn't mind at all. He casually shook the clothes off and put them on. Then he smiled and said, "After wearing so many silk and satin clothes, it's really nice to wear linen clothes once in a while."
After saying that, he hurried towards the main hall. Watching his departing figure, Steward Wang thought to himself: "Those who achieve great things are not bound by trivialities. The Regent is a man capable of great things."
Qi Guze dressed up as a servant and walked into the main hall. The Duke of Zhenguo's eyes lit up when he saw him. He stroked his beard and laughed, "That's more like it. Let's go into the palace."
With a wave of his hand, the Duke of Zhenguo followed behind Qi Guze. After boarding the carriage, the two headed straight for the palace.
...
After disembarking from the carriage.
"Your Highness, slow down. You are my servant now. It's not proper for you to walk so fast," the Duke of Zhenguo whispered a reminder. He then looked around. Fortunately, the sun was setting and there were fewer people in the palace, but there were still some.
Upon hearing this, Qi Guze didn't hold it against him, saying that he had been too hasty, and hurriedly retreated behind the Duke of Zhenguo.
After the two arrived at the Emperor's palace, the Emperor was very curious. In the past, when the Duke of Zhenguo came to see him when he was not attending court, it must have been for important matters. But today, he came with a servant. The Emperor wondered what he meant.
Could it be...? The Emperor already had a guess in his heart, but he had to wait for the other party to reveal their identity. With that in mind, the Emperor dismissed the maids and eunuchs beside him, leaving only the three of them in the room.
After everyone left, Qi Guze removed his disguise and shaved off his beard, revealing his familiar face once again.
After Qi Guze revealed his true colors, the Emperor became extremely nervous. After all, if Qi Guze had risked entering the palace, something extraordinary must have happened or been discovered. So the Emperor hurriedly came out from behind his desk and asked, "Has something happened?"
Qi Guze and the Duke of Zhenguo exchanged a glance, then took out the letters from their pockets and handed them to the Emperor. After glancing at them, the Emperor looked up at the two men, then sat down on the ground without any semblance of a monarch, sighing as he looked at the letters in his hands.
The Duke of Zhenguo opened his mouth to ask, but Qi Guze blocked his way and shook his head slightly.
Seeing this, the Duke of Zhenguo had no choice but to give up and wait for the Emperor to recover on his own.
After about half a cup of tea's time, His Majesty stopped sighing and spoke in a hoarse voice: "So much time has passed."
"Your Majesty, do you mean this letter isn't a forgery?" Upon hearing this, Qi Guze knew the letter wasn't fake, but just to be on the safe side, he still had to ask.
"It's not a fabrication. I did indeed spend some time in the mountains with a woman," the Emperor paused, then continued, "but she suddenly disappeared. I searched for her for days without success, only to find out later that she was actually the princess of the Underworld Moon Kingdom..."
As the emperor spoke, his face was filled with reminiscence and melancholy, as if he had fallen back into the past.
"Chuchu..." The Emperor murmured a name, as if he could see her features between the lines of the letter.
"Your Majesty, I suspect that this Princess Chu Chu went back later and even gave birth to a child." Qi Guze shook his head as he looked at His Majesty, but still voiced his speculation.
"What did you say?" Upon hearing this, the Emperor stood up, looking at Qi Guze with a shocked expression.
The Duke of Zhenguo had the same expression. Only after hearing this did he understand why Qi Guze would risk his life to enter the palace. He hadn't expected there to be such a connection.
While he was pondering this, the Emperor was pacing back and forth in his bedchamber, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
"Your Majesty, it's just speculation, you don't need to..." Qi Guze said when he saw the emperor's restlessness.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor stopped in his tracks and hurriedly said, "Take it as if it's true, and go find it quickly. My heart is suddenly filled with unease."
"Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured, I will send people to search immediately. However, too much time has passed, and it may not be easy to find clues." Qi Guze accepted the order.
Afterwards, His Majesty returned to his previous state, sitting on the ground staring blankly at the letter in his hand.
"Chuchu, if this is true, how can I repay it?"
Seeing that the two had stopped talking, the Duke of Zhenguo stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, would you mind sending someone to summon Xu Yuehuai for a talk?"
The Emperor was preoccupied with the child and Princess Chuchu, so when he heard the Duke of Zhenguo mention Xu Yuehuai, he was naturally somewhat impatient.
"What do you want with her? I won't see her," the Emperor said firmly, then remembered that the person in question was the Duke of Zhenguo, and added, "If the Duke of Zhenguo has something to discuss, he can go see her himself."
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Zhenguo frowned and said, "This matter is of great importance. It would be safer to discuss it here with His Majesty. After all, walls have ears, and if someone overhears us, it could cause a lot of trouble."
After hearing this, the Emperor recalled the earth-shattering news that Qi Guze had just given him. Could it be that there was also a Duke of Zhenguo?
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