She tugged at Xu Yuehuai's sleeve, "Mother, why don't you not go? Just let Pei Xuan and the others go and gather information."
Xu Yuehua sighed and gently brushed away Zhou Wan's hand that was gripping his sleeve.
"If they had been able to find out the news, they probably would already know how the prince is doing."
"But we've been waiting here for so long and haven't heard anything, which means they're helpless too."
"I thought I'd continue to infiltrate the palace as a maid; maybe I could find some information that way."
Hearing her say that, Zhou Wan felt she couldn't stop her any longer and watched her leave with concern.
Xu Yuehuai, disguised as Zhou Wan, walked towards the door. The guards watched her for a while, and finding nothing unusual, let her go.
She then secretly climbed over the courtyard wall and went to the palace of Wuling Kingdom.
Upon arriving at the palace, she discovered that there were many more guards around it than before.
It's unclear whether the Emperor of Wuling Kingdom did this because he was worried that the Shadow Alliance would target him.
Xu Yuehuai circled around for a long time before finding an opportunity to sneak into the palace.
She then found a palace maid to impersonate her and search for Qi Guze throughout the palace.
Everything was done with extreme caution, but after searching for a long time, Qi Guze was nowhere to be found.
Xu Yuehuai felt a little panicked. Had something happened to him?
After searching the surroundings for a while, Xu Yuehua overheard someone talking about Qi Guze.
"The Grand Preceptor has returned to his residence. I heard strange noises coming from there when I passed by today."
"I wonder what the Imperial Preceptor is doing in his residence. These days, no birds or beasts dare to approach the area."
"I heard from those guarding the Imperial Preceptor's residence that the Imperial Preceptor hasn't come out for a long time."
"Perhaps the Imperial Preceptor really can cultivate himself into an immortal without eating or drinking?"
"Yes, that might really be the case, after all, the Imperial Advisor is someone who can pray for favorable weather and abundant harvests."
...
Xu Yuehuai hid in a corner and watched those people walk further and further away before finally revealing herself.
However, just as she was about to walk towards the Imperial Preceptor's residence, a man in white robes suddenly appeared behind her.
"Stop right there, where do you think you're going?"
That person spoke with an extremely cold tone.
When Xu Yuehuai looked back, she seemed to see a pair of very deep eyes, and she soon felt a little dizzy.
Who are you?
She had only just uttered one word when suddenly her eyes closed and she fainted.
The man in white robes helped Xu Yuehuai up and then put her in a room.
Xu Yuehuai had completely lost consciousness and had no idea what had happened.
When she woke up after a long time, she found herself in a dark room.
"Is anyone there? Where am I?"
"Someone come here!"
However, no matter how Xu Yuehuai called out, no one came over.
It wasn't until the next day that someone finally opened the door to the room.
Xu Yuehuai saw a guard-like person walking towards her.
Why are you locking me up here?
"You killed His Majesty's favorite cat. We're being lenient by locking you up here; otherwise, you'd probably be dead."
The guard brought Xu Yuehuai a basin of water infused with rotten leaves.
Xu Yuehuai had never eaten anything so awful. Seeing this bowl of nauseating stuff, she simply couldn't swallow it.
"I didn't kill that cat at all. Don't frame me."
“That cat is indeed dead, and you're the one who killed it. How dare you deny it?”
The guard grabbed the whip and lashed it fiercely at Xu Yuehuai.
Xu Yuehuai couldn't dodge in time and was lashed hard by the whip, making her wince in pain.
When she tried to resist, she discovered that all her martial arts skills seemed to be blocked.
She couldn't help but instantly recall the strange man she had seen before she lost consciousness.
Was all of this done by that man?
Who exactly is that man?
Why treat yourself like this?
She only sneaked in to find Qi Guze, but now she hasn't found him and has even gotten herself involved.
Who exactly has been watching her from behind and trying to harm her like this?
She couldn't help but wonder if it was someone from the Shadow Alliance, but Pei Xuan and the others had already taken people to deal with those people, so the Shadow Alliance shouldn't still be focusing on her!
"Listen to my explanation carefully. I never did such a thing. Why are you treating me like this?"
Xu Yuehuai shook her head frantically, completely baffled as to why these people were treating her this way.
The guard continued walking towards Xu Yuehuai and lashed her hard with his whip.
"How dare you be so arrogant, woman? His Majesty's favorite cat is already dead, what are you still trying to argue about?"
Hearing the guard say that, Xu Yuehuai felt a little helpless.
She clearly didn't do anything like that, yet these people treated her like this.
"I didn't kill that cat, and I didn't do such a thing."
Xu Yuehuai shook her head desperately as she tried to explain, but the guard wouldn't listen at all.
He continued to whip her mercilessly, leaving her covered in welts.
Xu Yuehuai was in so much pain that her face turned pale, and sweat kept pouring down her forehead.
But the guard showed no sign of stopping; instead, he pushed her to the ground.
He straddled Xu Yuehuai, his hands gripping her neck tightly.
Xu Yuehuai was having difficulty breathing and was waving her hands frantically, but it was to no avail.
Is she going to die here today?
The guard gripped Xu Yuehuai's neck tightly, his face gradually turning red.
After a long time, he finally released Xu Yuehuai.
Xu Yuehuai lay on the ground coughing incessantly, feeling as if her internal organs were about to be coughed up.
"You dare to be so arrogant, woman? Today I'll show you what I'm capable of."
The guard grabbed Xu Yuehuai by the hair and dragged her into the courtyard.
Then they tied her hands and feet to a tree.
There were many people watching around, as if they wanted to devour her alive.
Why are you doing this to me? I really didn't kill that cat.
Xu Yuehuai kept shaking her head and explaining, but no one was willing to listen.
All they knew was that His Majesty's favorite cat had died, and that this woman was the murderer.
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