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Who was the owner of Heavenly Music House?
Was it Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing?
Gu Jiao didn't mention anything about Mo Qianxue to Eunuch He, and Eunuch He didn't inquire about it either. In his opinion, the "Sister Qianxue" mentioned twice by someone was just a courtesan. Even if she went to run errands for the brothel's owner, there was nothing strange about it.
What puzzled him was the whereabouts of the Dragon Shadow Guards.
"When did the Dragon Shadow Guards appear at Heavenly Music House? Why did they go to the border? How long have they been gone?"
After leaving Heavenly Music House, he asked these three questions in succession.
Gu Jiao shared the information she had obtained from Hua Xiyao's interrogation, "It happened over two months ago. They only appeared once and haven't come back since. As for the reason they went to the border, Hua Xiyao is not aware of it."
Hua Xiyao, the second sister of Heavenly Music House, had limited access to information.
"What did they do at Heavenly Music House?" Eunuch He asked again.
Gu Jiao shook her head, "I don't know. Hua Xiyao only saw them coming and going here. She discovered that they had a roadmap to the border, but she didn't have a chance to speak to them."
Eunuch He nodded.
Being able to gather this much information was already beyond his expectations. He didn't have any complaints about it, but this girl...
He looked at Gu Jiao with a complicated expression, "Is it really fine for a young lady like you to frequent such a place of revelry?"
Gu Jiao gave him a playful glance, "If it’s not for me frequenting such a place, could you have gotten in tonight?"
Eunuch He was successfully choked into silence!
After settling the bill, Gu Jiao happily boarded the carriage with her silver banknotes and IOU.
Eunuch He returned to the imperial palace to report to the Emperor.
The Emperor was reading official documents in his study. Upon hearing Eunuch He's words, he closed the document with a slam and furrowed his brows as he looked at Eunuch He. "What did you say? The Dragon Shadow Guards went to the border?"
Eunuch He replied, "In response to Your Majesty, yes, they had a roadmap to the border with them, so they should be headed there."
The Emperor asked, "How long have they been gone?"
Eunuch He: "It has been over two months."
The Emperor pondered for a moment. "So... that means it was before Zhen brought her back to the palace..."
The "her" referred to here was naturally Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
Since the Dragon Shadow Guards were handed over to her and thus under her command, only her orders could make them go to the border.
The Emperor's gaze turned cold, and his large palm was slowly clenched into fist, "Why would she send the Dragon Shadow Guards to the border... Does she intend to kill Ning'an?"
Eunuch He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.
The Emperor sarcastically remarked, "Heh, even a tiger doesn't eat its own cubs. Zhen wonders what does Zhen mean to her in the end?"
Eunuch He dared not respond.
"The Dragon Shadow Guards have been gone for so long, if they are really going to kill Ning'an..." The Emperor thought of this possibility, and a cold sweat broke out on his entire back. He slumped back against the chair, his heart filled with panic.
"Your Majesty..." Eunuch Wei beside him advised, "There hasn't been any bad news from the border yet. Please do not worry for now."
The Emperor's face turned pale, "How can Zhen not worry? That's Ning'an..."
His most beloved sister!
The Emperor tightened his grip on the armrest, his expression grave, "No, Zhen can’t just sit idly by!"
Eunuch Wei called out, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, where are you going?"
However, the Emperor ignored Eunuch Wei and hurriedly left Huaqing Palace.
"It's all your fault!" Eunuch Wei glared at Eunuch He.
Eunuch He had a bewildered expression, "What did I do?"
The Emperor prayed that nothing had happened to Ning'an. He now only had one Dragon Shadow Guard in his hands. Of course, he still had skilled imperial experts and dark guards, but in a one-on-one situation, they were no match for the Dragon Shadow Guards.
Therefore, he needed enough manpower!
The first person he thought of was Empress Dowager Zhuang, who also had a group of skilled individuals under her command.
"Your Majesty!"
Outside Renshou Palace, two skilled imperial experts saluted the Emperor.
Lately, the Emperor had been shamelessly thick-skinned. The skilled imperial experts couldn't stop him anymore, and simply turned a blind eye to his reckless behavior altogether. They had no intention of intervening at all.
The Emperor entered Renshou Palace.
The palace servants all greeted him.
"Your Majesty!" Fei Cui also saluted.
"Where is the Empress Dowager?" The Emperor asked.
"She is in the bedchamber." Fei Cui replied.
The Emperor felt a bit inappropriate barging into the bedchamber, so he said to Fei Cui, "Go and inform her, tell her that Zhen has come."
"Yes." Fei Cui acknowledged. She curtsied and turned to walk towards Empress Dowager Zhuang's bedchamber.
When she arrived at the door, she softly announced, "Empress Dowager, His Majesty has arrived."
There was no response from the bedchamber.
Fei Cui slightly raised her voice and called out again, "Empress Dowager, His Majesty has arrived."
Still, there was no sound from the bedchamber.
Fei Cui furrowed her brows in confusion and said, "Empress Dowager, this servant is coming in."
She gently pushed open the partially closed door and stepped across the threshold.
In an instant, a scream came from the bedchamber——
The Emperor's face changed drastically, and he rushed into the bedchamber, "What happened?"
Fei Cui turned pale and fell to the ground. In front of her was an overturned brocade box, and next to the box lay Eunuch Qin, unconscious.
"Your Majesty?"
Eunuch Wei also arrived and was stunned by the scene before him. He quickly approached, crouched down, and checked Eunuch Qin's breath. His expression slightly eased, and he said, "He's still breathing. This servant will go and call the imperial physician."
The Emperor nodded, and Eunuch Wei stood up and left, not forgetting to pull the terrified Fei Cui out with him.
The bedchamber was empty, and the silence was eerie.
"Imperial mother."
The Emperor called cautiously, but there was no response.
The imperial experts from Renshou Palace also heard the commotion and hurried over. Their faces were filled with shock, indicating that they hadn't anticipated Empress Dowager Zhuang's sudden disappearance from the bedchamber.
There were no signs of a struggle in the bedchamber, only an overturned box and the unconscious Eunuch Qin.
The Emperor picked up the box.
He recognized this box. His imperial mother treasured it dearly. When he was a child, he would visit her Kunning Palace, and he could touch anything there except for this box.
Although he was obedient, his curiosity got the better of him. One time, when his imperial mother was asleep, he secretly looked inside the box.
It contained a pair of brand-new tiger-head shoes.
To say they were new wouldn't be entirely accurate as the color had faded a bit; it was just that they had never been worn. They looked distinctly different from old shoes.
He had once believed that the tiger-head shoes belonged to Ning'an. But after a long time had passed, he realized that the shoes were meant for her own flesh and blood.
However, that child had died. She was born only to die.
How cruel was that?
So, the other party used these shoes to coerce his imperial mother into following them obediently?
This was only the Emperor's speculation at the moment. However, when the imperial experts searched every corner of Renshou Palace and found no trace of Empress Dowager Zhuang, the Emperor couldn't ignore this possibility anymore.
Under the treatment of the imperial physician, Eunuch Qin regained consciousness, but unfortunately, he hadn't seen anything. He only felt a pain in the back of his neck and then fainted.
The Emperor contemplated, "To infiltrate Renshou Palace under the watchful eyes of so many imperial experts, the other party is no ordinary person. They came prepared."
Only a handful of people in the entire imperial harem would know about these shoes. An immediate guess came to the Emperor's mind, and with a cold expression, he walked towards the imperial nunnery.
The situation had escalated, so Eunuch Wei sent someone to summon Eunuch He as well.
When the Emperor arrived at the nunnery, he immediately sensed that something was amiss.
The nunnery was too quiet, just like Empress Dowager Zhuang's bedchamber.
The Emperor took a step forward.
Eunuch He came forward and said, "Your Majesty, allow this servant to go and take a look first!"
The Emperor silently consented.
Eunuch He entered the nunnery, walked around, and then came out, saying, "Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and Grannie Cai are missing. The rest of them have either been knocked unconscious or drugged."
A hint of danger flashed within the Emperor's eyes as he clenched his fists tightly, making cracking sounds, "Good, very good!"
Eunuch He wasn't as merciful as Eunuch Wei when it came to dealing with the servants. Why bother calling for imperial physicians? A bucket of cold water would be sufficient.
The first person to regain consciousness in the nunnery was the young nun named Hui'an. As soon as she woke up, she started wailing, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! Imperial Concubine Dowager, please don't kill me! I didn't see anything... I swear..."
"What did you see?" Eunuch He asked, throwing away the bucket in his hand.
Hui'an's cries abruptly stopped. She looked at the unfamiliar Eunuch He, then glanced at the majestic Emperor. Her eyes turned red, and she threw herself on her knees, crawling forward.
But Eunuch Wei didn't allow her to approach the Emperor. He stepped in front of her and scolded, "Outrageous!"
Hui'an recoiled in fear, tears streaming down her face.
The Emperor walked out from behind Eunuch Wei and looked at her calmly, "What did you see? Confess honestly, and Zhen won't harm you."
Hui'an trembled as she cried, "I... I saw... Imperial Concubine Dowager... holding a sword... and she... she injured several... people... along with a group of men in black... They left... through here..."
The Emperor understood. Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing had a group of skilled individuals with her. She led that group to attack the imperial guards near the nunnery and break through the encirclement.
It seemed that Empress Dowager had indeed been taken away by her.
The question now was whether they had managed to leave the imperial palace.
The Emperor said coldly, "Seal off the imperial palace. From this moment on, not even a fly should be allowed to escape! Furthermore, notify the imperial guards to close the city gates and thoroughly search every corner of the capital..."
Eunuch Wei hesitated and asked, "Should we conduct an open investigation or..."
Frowning, the Emperor said, "Investigate secretly."
Eunuch Wei complied, "Yes! Then, Your Majesty, what about..."
After thinking for a moment, the Emperor decided to personally leave the imperial palace and investigate.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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