Chapter 366: Life and Death in the Same Grave (1)

Gu Yun shook her head, "This doesn't make sense. If you want to frame you, there is no need to poison Yan Hongtian." A thought flashed through her mind. Gu Yun looked at Zhuo Qing and urged, "Did Lou Xiyan go to Bian Cheng yesterday?"

"Yes." And he went in a hurry, saying that a large number of famine refugees had suddenly flooded into Bian Cheng and the government couldn't suppress them.

"Su Ling was transferred to the Northwest frontier to quell the rebellion half a month ago, Lou Xiyan was sent away yesterday, and today Yan Hongtian was poisoned and vomited blood. It's too coincidental." Gu Yun's face became solemn; there were not so many coincidences in this world.

Yes, too many coincidences. Qingfeng listened to Gu Yun's words, her face gradually turning pale, and she said in a low voice, "Yan Jing is not Yan Hongtian's son. The deeper you investigate, the sooner this secret will be broken. Will the Xin family be driven to desperation and take action against Yan Hongtian?" In this way, the most dangerous person now should be Yan Hongtian. Her heart, which had been angry because of Yan Hongtian's distrust, was now full of worry, fearing that her words would become a prophecy.

Gu Yun patted Qingfeng's trembling back and comforted her, "Things may not be as bad as you imagine. You both just gave birth to children, don't think too much. Lie down and rest for a while. Now all we can do is wait and see."

The three of them were trapped in this small prison cell, discussing for a whole day, and many unclear places were straightened out. After all, Zhuo Qing and Qingfeng were still in their confinement month, and gradually their physical strength could not keep up. As soon as it got dark, the two fell asleep leaning against each other. Gu Yun sat by the door and closed her eyes to rest.

Near the fourth watch, Gu Yun heard very light footsteps in the quiet prison. It didn't sound like a yamen runner. Gu Yun vigilantly opened her eyes and whispered, "Who?"

"Who?"

Gu Yun's low shout also woke up Zhuo Qing and Qingfeng, who were not sleeping soundly. The three stared vigilantly at the passage in the darkness.

"Madam, it's us." A low voice sounded, and the tall figures of Jing Sa and Mo Bai appeared in front of the prison door.

The three breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Zhuo Qing asked, "Mo Bai, Jing Sa? Why is it you?"

"The Master ordered us to come and pick you up." With one sword strike from Jing Sa, the sturdy lock on the wooden door fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Xiyan is back?"

"Yes."

Hearing that Lou Xiyan was back, Zhuo Qing was happy at first, and then thought about it. Xiyan must have rushed back as soon as he received the news. Logically speaking, the three of them were only framed as spies, and Yan Hongtian handed them over to the Ministry of Justice instead of locking them in the Heavenly Prison, so they shouldn't be in any danger for the time being. Xiyan was in such a hurry to rush back at this moment; could this matter not be as simple as they imagined? Zhuo Qing couldn't sort out the clues for the time being and asked, "We have only been in prison for one day, and haven't been interrogated, so we can go out?"

Gu Yun glanced at the broken lock on the ground and frowned, "Is this asking us to break out of prison?" At that time, the reason why she obediently followed the officials to the prison was firstly to find out what happened, and secondly, she didn't want to make a big deal out of it and make things difficult for the Su family. If they ran away now, wouldn't they be unable to explain themselves even if they jumped into the Yellow River?

Jing Sa opened the prison door, his voice suppressed very low, but one could still hear the urgency in his words. "The situation is critical, there is no time to explain now, let's talk after we get out."

Lou Xiyan had always had his own ideas in handling things. In this day and night, she didn't know what changes had taken place in the situation outside. The three finally decided to leave the prison first. Under the cover of Mo Bai and Jing Sa, the three successfully left the prison and got into a small carriage. The carriage was not big, but it was fast. The carriage galloped all the way, and after about an hour, the carriage finally stopped.

The three lifted the curtain and found that they had reached the outskirts of the city. It was not yet dawn, and it was pitch black all around. Lou Xiyan was standing next to a large carriage waiting for them.

Lou Xiyan stepped forward to help Zhuo Qing off the carriage. Just as she stood firm, Zhuo Qing immediately pursued, "Xiyan, what exactly is going on?"

Lou Xiyan shook his head, his face more solemn than ever, "The situation is very tense now, the Xin family is likely to force the palace."

"Force the palace?!" The three were all startled. It had only been a day, how did it become like this!

"After I rushed back yesterday evening, I immediately entered the palace and requested to see the Emperor. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see him. The Empress refused all ministers' audiences on the grounds that the Emperor was unwell. Ming Jian was also charged with 'failing to protect the Emperor properly' and was imprisoned together."

Ming Jian was also imprisoned, then... Qingfeng urged, "Is the Imperial Guard now in the hands of Guo Yi?"

"Yes." Lou Xiyan rubbed his eyebrows, replying with some exhaustion, "If it weren't for Prince Han, I'm afraid it wouldn't be forcing the palace at this moment, but poisoning the Emperor and supporting Prince Jing as King."

At this moment, the Imperial Guard was under Guo Yi's control, so wasn't Han'er very dangerous? Qingfeng's heart immediately tightened, "How is Han'er?"

"Yesterday evening, Prince Han escaped from the palace under the protection of Ming Ze and Fuling. He is now hiding in the General's Mansion and is very safe."

If the Xin family really wanted to force the palace, Prince Han was the biggest obstacle. How could they let him escape from the palace under the protection of a guard and a maid? Also, the three of them being imprisoned at the same time was also very strange. Gu Yun faintly felt that these things seemed to have been arranged long ago. Gu Yun looked at Lou Xiyan and guessed, "Could it be that this prison disaster was also arranged by Yan Hongtian?"

Under Gu Yun's sharp gaze, Lou Xiyan's phoenix eyes flickered, then he nodded and replied frankly, "Yes. The Emperor was also playing along. The Emperor has always had the intention to eliminate the Xin family, and the Xin family likely sensed it, so they took a desperate move. The influence of the Xin Clan cannot be underestimated. At that time, General Su and I were both away, and the Emperor was afraid he couldn't protect you, so he had you all thrown into the prison and handed over to Magistrate Dan. In this way, he could temporarily stabilize the Xin family, and secondly, the three of you staying together would make it easier to rescue you. I was afraid that if it dragged on, you would be in danger, so I rescued you first."

So he threw her into prison not because of distrust, but for protection. This realization made the pain that had been pressing on Qingfeng's heart for a day seem to lighten. Lou Xiyan had been secretly observing Qingfeng's expression. Seeing her brows sometimes furrowed and sometimes relaxed, Lou Xiyan suddenly took a step forward and said as if to comfort her, "My Lady, don't worry too much. The situation today is unknown. You should leave the city to avoid it first, and then make plans after everything passes. The Emperor wants me to protect you and the Prince. I will definitely..."

"What?" Qingfeng's face, which had gradually eased, turned pale after hearing Lou Xiyan's words, "You mean... he... he knows... I swapped the child?"

Lou Xiyan pondered for a moment before sighing in a low voice, "Naturally he knows, otherwise, as a subject, how would I dare to recognize the royal bloodline as part of the Lou family. How could Qing Mo have brought the child out of the Imperial Palace so easily."

Gu Yun recalled the situation that day and looked enlightened, sighing, "No wonder I happened to meet Ming Jian to help me out the day I brought the child out of the palace. It turns out everything was not a coincidence."

He knew... he knew everything!

If our child could grow up in an ordinary family, not as a prince or princess, how good would that be?

Qingfeng remembered the angry and painful expression on Yan Hongtian's face when she said this to him that day. Her heart, which had been numb for two days, suddenly hurt, and her feet were so weak that she could hardly stand. Gu Yun beside her hurriedly supported her, and a slightly dissatisfied gaze shot towards Lou Xiyan. He must have done it on purpose. Gu Yun couldn't understand why Lou Xiyan still wanted to stimulate Qingfeng at this time?

After finally stabilizing her mind, she suddenly thought of the scene where he vomited blood that day. Qingfeng hurriedly grabbed Lou Xiyan's hand and asked, "Was he really poisoned? Or was that also planned by him?" Qingfeng hoped it was the latter, but unfortunately, Lou Xiyan shook his head, replying with worry that could not be hidden, "The Emperor was indeed poisoned, and I'm afraid he is also under house arrest at this moment, not knowing the situation."

The words "house arrest" were interpreted into three meanings in the ears of the three people. Qingfeng was concerned and chaotic, thinking that Yan Hongtian was both poisoned and under house arrest, and with his violent temper, she was afraid he would suffer. Gu Yun was thoughtful, and Zhuo Qing thought that being able to be under house arrest meant Yan Hongtian's life was currently safe.

Lou Xiyan didn't seem to want to give them too much time to think, looked up at the sky, and said, "Alright, it's almost dawn. You change to another carriage. Chen'er and Xi'er are both inside. We will leave immediately."

Gu Yun, who had been silent, suddenly said, "I won't go with you. I want to go to the Su Family Army camp."

Qingfeng came back to her senses, grabbed Gu Yun's hand, and urged, "If you go back now, I'm afraid there will be danger." Although this person was no longer the younger sister she cherished, she knew that this girl was a kind-hearted, upright, and resilient good woman. In her heart, she still regarded her as a relative, and she couldn't bear to see her take risks.

Zhuo Qing also looked very worried for her. Gu Yun felt a warmth in her heart, smiled slightly at them, and said, "Don't worry, if I am not willing, they won't be able to catch me so easily. Now Su Ling hasn't returned yet, and Yan Hongtian has been poisoned. I'm afraid Su Ren alone might not be able to command well. With me there, it will be better."

Saying this, Gu Yun looked at Lou Xiyan and asked a question that was neither light nor heavy: "Brother-in-law, don't you think so?"

Lou Xiyan raised his eyebrows slightly, but didn't stop her, replying, "That's fine, you go."

"Don't worry too much, everything will pass." Gu Yun had always been a person of action. Leaving a sentence in Qingfeng's ear, she neatly unhitched a horse from the original small carriage, mounted the horse, kicked the horse's belly lightly, and the black horse galloped away immediately. Before Zhuo Qing could tell her to be careful, the person and the horse had disappeared into the night.

Lou Xiyan hugged Zhuo Qing and walked towards the large carriage. Qingfeng stood alone in place, not knowing what she was thinking. Lou Xiyan called softly, "Consort Qing, let's go."

Qingfeng still didn't move. It was almost Chen hour, and the sun hadn't pierced the clouds yet. The sky above her head was gray-blue. Qingfeng looked up, not knowing what she was looking for. Finally, she seemed to have found the brightest star, stared at it for a long time, and a faint smile appeared on her pale face.

Lou Xiyan didn't call her again, and stood quietly by the carriage with Zhuo Qing. After a while, Qingfeng finally walked to their side, but said to Zhuo Qing, "I have something I want to tell you."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 367 =====