Yuchi Mo felt if there was a frosty gaze killing him by the death of a thousand cuts. He didn’t dare to raise his head, and simply bowed. “Prince Hao, the Empress Dowager has suddenly vanished from the Compassionate Peace Palace.”
Suddenly going missing in broad daylight… Su Xi-er was pensive for a moment before she looked at Pei Qianhao, only to see his indifferent expression. It was as if he had long seen this coming.
“Keep this matter under wraps. This Prince will make a trip to the Compassionate Peace Palace later.” He waved his hand for Yuchi Mo to leave.
Yuchi Mo was taken aback. Does Prince Hao plan to proceed with the wedding with the Empress Dowager missing? We can conceal this matter for the time being, but there’s no way that we can keep it a secret for long. Out priority should be to seek out the Empress Dowager.
“Why are you still not leaving? Do you need this Prince to personally see you off?” Pei Qianhao’s cold voice sounded.
Looking at Pei Qianhao’s dark expression, Yuchi Mo felt his heart tremble for a moment. It’s best not to accept this ‘polite gesture’. He immediately bowed and saw himself out.
Pei Qianhao turned towards Su Xi-er, taking her hand in his own as they departed. “Come to the Compassionate Peace Palace with this Prince.”
The sight of the two of them walking away hand-in-hand left Wu Ling stunned. Since Prince Hao is by Su Xi-er’s side, he won’t need me to continue following her. Do I stay here and look after Tan Ge instead?
Upon realising that he would once again be taking care of a frail woman, Wu Ling felt a headache coming on. He pondered for a moment. We still don’t know whether Tan Ge is good or bad. I can monitor her under the pretence of looking after her.
~~~
The row of palace maids and eunuchs bowed with their heads lowered, not even daring to breathe. Wu Ling came with Su Xi-er this morning, and now she is walking side-by-side with Prince Hao while holding his hand.
Beimin and Nanzhao were similar in terms of their misogynistic society. Although Beimin was a step down, a man’s status was still much greater than a woman’s. To say nothing of Prince Hao, even the women of commoner families couldn’t walk shoulder to shoulder with their husbands.
Soon, some palace maids began to envy Su Xi-er, while others remembered He Xiangyu. He Xiangyu was favoured back then, even going as far as to strut around and flaunt how impressive she was. She is now dead, but the one she left behind scrubbing chamber pots is about to ascend to the heavens like a phoenix!
Su Xi-er briefly swept her gaze across the palace maids before walking off together with Pei Qianhao.
As the pair rounded the corner, Situ Li happened to catch sight of their retreating figures.
A palace maid was planning to get up when she suddenly caught sight of Situ Li, thus prompting her to bow again. “This servant pays her respects to the Third Imperial Prince.”
Situ Li raised his hand. “You may rise.” He then continued walking forward while deep in thought.
He had come from Consort Dowager Guo’s palace, where he had heard that the Empress Dowager was missing, and was currently heading towards the Compassionate Peace Palace himself.
~~~
Situ Lin was currently standing in the main hall of the Compassionate Peace Palace, facing a trembling palace maid who was kneeling on the ground with a solemn expression. The imposing demeanour of an emperor was displayed in full as he reprimanded her. “You can’t even guard over the Empress Dowager well! What use does this Emperor have for you? Where did you last see the Empress Dowager?”
The palace maid had never witnessed the Emperor’s fury, and her voice quivered. “The Empress Dowager instructed this servant to brew some chrysanthemum tea to alleviate her internal heat, but when this servant came back, the Empress Dowager was already gone. I couldn’t find her no matter how I searched.”
Situ Lin furrowed his brows. Where could the Empress Dowager have gone? Could she have been abducted by someone? Why is Imperial Uncle not here yet?
