C122

Three days had passed since Qiao Qiao's departure from the Imperial Palace. During these three days, other than leaving a letter for Qingwu, there had been no other news of him. Moreover, when Qingwu had discovered this letter, she had also discovered the corpse of Imperial Concubine Yu lying in the palace.

At this moment, within the palace, Qingwu and Ji Mingyuan were anxiously pacing back and forth.

"Imperial Concubine Yuan, just where did the emperor go? She's been telling this servant to put on a human skin mask in order to disguise her appearance. If this goes on, we won't be able to hide it any longer." Although Qiao Qiao still had the same expression on her face, Qingwu had a worried expression as she turned to face Ji Mingyuan, who was frowning at the side.

"The Regent hasn't returned yet. If he returns and finds out that the Emperor isn't here, then the world would be thrown into chaos!" Qingwu frowned as she chattered on.

He hadn't expected that just as his body had recovered, he would find out that Ran'er had mysteriously disappeared from the Palace and that Zhang Muyu had been viciously murdered in the palace. But if something had happened to Ran'er, how could he have had the time to leave a letter behind before leaving? However, this letter didn't mention where she had gone to. It only explained the matters of the palace after she left. It seemed that not only was Ran Er fine, she had left the palace willingly.

"Esteemed Yuan Fei, you said that the only people in the palace who knew that the emperor was absent were Empress, Eunuch Zhang, and servants. The emperor doesn't allow this matter to be made known, and he also left a letter. Was she willing to leave the palace?" Although she was one of the eight people chosen by Emperor Meng to protect the princess, she had been alone in the harem for many years. If she wanted to survive, she naturally knew the logic of acting according to the circumstances, and it was because of this that Qiao Yifeng had been able to put her and Ji Mingyuan in charge of this massive palace.

Ji Mingyuan's face stiffened for a moment before he spoke. "We must suppress this matter and prevent anyone else from finding out. The matter of finding Ran'er will be handed over to me, so I'll leave the matters of the palace to you for now." He thought for a while and decided to leave the palace to find Ran Er instead of showing off.

"Empress, you want to leave the palace and search for the Emperor alone?" Qingwu's eyes were as wide as saucers. There were no clues as to where the emperor was. Even in such a big place like the capital, it would still take her more than half a year to search house to house. With only the concubine, how long would it take for her to find the emperor?!

"There's no other way." Ji Mingyuan sighed. What she said was true. If anyone else found out that she was not in the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Court would be thrown into chaos.

"Then …" Qingwu paused for a moment, she clearly couldn't think of any other way, so she could only reply, "Empress, don't worry. Just leave the palace to this servant."

"Alright." Ji Mingyuan nodded and left the palace.

In the hall, only Qingwu was left with sweat on her palms as she paced back and forth in the hall.

"The Regent has arrived ~ ~" Suddenly, a loud announcement sounded out from outside the door, startling Qingwu so much that her legs trembled. However, she remembered that she had the exact same face as the Emperor, so she couldn't lose her composure in front of the palace maids.

Sure enough, Yan Mo Chen entered the hall wearing a long moon-white robe. When he saw that 'Joe was still there for an instant,' his cold face was filled with a warm smile, but that smile was replaced by a sharp gaze for less than two seconds.

Qingwu dodged the light in her eyes and bravely shouted: "All of you step down, I have something to discuss with the prince."

"Yes." After the palace maid left behind Yan Mo Chen, she knelt on the ground.

"Who are you!" Yan Mo Chen's pupils contracted. He knew that the girl in front of him was not Qiao Qiao and shouted coldly.

"Your Royal Highness, Your Royal Highness has returned. Your servant is Qingwu." Qingwu raised her head as if she had seen her savior, and repeatedly kowtowed.

"You are Qingwu? Joe is still there! " Yan Mo Chen looked at the human skin mask that still had Qiao Qiao on Qingwu's face. Seeing Qingwu's panicked expression, he knew that something big must have happened in the palace.

"Your majesty, the night three days ago, the emperor went missing." Qingwu eagerly replied.

"What is missing? "Explain yourself!" Yan Mo Chen frowned and shouted.

Three days ago, on the morning of the imperial court, when all the officials wanted to capture the Demon Palace in one fell swoop, the emperor told them to discuss their plans with each other after the return of the prince. Afterwards, he ordered a servant to search for a person with both political and talent to send to Python County for the prince to use, so that the prince could return as soon as possible. When the servant returned in the evening, he saw the corpse of the palace's new male concubine, the imperial concubine, in the palace. As she spoke, Qingwu took out a letter from between her sleeves, and could only see the words' Qingwu personally opened 'on the cover. This was the only thing that Qiao Qiao had left behind before he disappeared, Qingwu had always been wearing it all over her body, and after seeing Yan Mo Chen today, she had finally taken it out.

Yan Mo Chen quickly took the letter and opened it quickly. He saw lines of beautiful words appearing in front of him.

Qingwu, wait for me to leave, then have Ji Mingyuan produce a human skin mask so that he can pass the morning court in my stead. When the prince returns, you can order the regent to take full control of the palace.

At the signature, Joe was still there.

Yan Mo Chen frowned. He clenched his fists and clenched the letter tightly. The green veins on his forehead were exposed.

Qingwu watched as the emperor personally left a letter that was tightly grasped by the regent, but didn't dare to let out a single sound. She could only kneel on the ground with her head lowered, not saying a word.

"Three days ago, where did all the guards in the palace go?" Yan Mo Chen shouted out loud. His usually emotionless face revealed a rare expression of anger, "Men, bring Meng Shi to the Palace!"

"Yes." At the door, Yan Mu bowed slightly as he responded.

Before long, Meng Shi and Yan Mu entered the palace.

Yan Mo Chen's face was cold and handsome. He sat at the table and clenched his hand into a fist.

Meng Shi and Yan Mu looked at each other. They didn't know why the prince was so angry, but they nodded and said in a soft voice, "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Where were you three days ago?" Yan Mo Chen's eyes were narrowed as he turned his head to look at Yan Mu. His phoenix eyes were filled with sternness.

Yan Mu trembled as he replied, "Three days ago, this subordinate was punished by the Emperor for one night. This subordinate has been at the Prince's Mansion the entire time and has yet to go out."

"What about you?" Yan Mo Chen tilted his head, staring at Meng Shi with eyes full of reproach.

"Three days ago …" Meng Shi lowered his head and pondered, "Your subordinate will always lead the Embroidered Uniform Guard to guard the Imperial Palace."

"Guard the palace?" Hearing Meng Shi's words, the scolding eyes of Yan Mo Chen became even angrier. He immediately leaned forward and shouted loudly, "Did the guards lose the emperor?!"

Meng Shi and Yan Mu looked at each other. They could see that the Emperor was right behind the Prince. Why did the Prince say that the Emperor had lost his son?

When Qingwu saw the two of them staring deeply at her, she slowly extended her hands and tore off their faces.

Meng Shi and Yan Mu both turned pale with fright. They finally understood where the Regent's wrath had come from.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. Your subordinate was useless." The two of them knelt on the ground and cupped their hands together as they spoke.

"Before this king left, he specially left the two of you by the side of the emperor. He arranged everything well before leaving in peace. Is this how you take this king's order as nothing more than a passing thought?!" In his rage, Yan Mo Chen's chest started to hurt. He staggered a few steps forward and covered his chest with his hands. It seemed that the sword wound had split open again.

"Prince, please calm your anger. Your body is still wounded. Do not get angry." Yan Mu looked worriedly at Yan Mo Chen. His tone was filled with self-blame. If it weren't for his self-respect, his heart would still be palpitating after being punished by the emperor. How could he have lost the emperor if he wasn't willing to enter the palace? It was all his fault.

There was a hint of worry in Yan Mo Chen's cold eyes. Even though Qiao still said in the letter that he would not miss anyone for three months, how could he not read it! How can I not look for him! Since she was able to leave a letter, at the very least, her life was safe.

Thinking of this, Yan Mo Chen felt a bit of comfort in his heart.

"Of course, all of you are aware of the punishment for such dereliction of duty. Go down and receive your punishment. Afterwards, you must secretly find traces of the Emperor!" Yan Mo Chen's handsome face darkened as he shouted in a low voice.

"Yes, this subordinate understands!" Meng Shi and Yan Mu replied in unison.

"Your Highness!" When Meng Shi stood up, he seemed to have suddenly thought of something and reported with a tense face, "Subordinate remembers that three days ago, the Demon Lord entered the palace."

Demon Lord? Yan Mo Chen was slightly startled, but he suddenly remembered what Yan Mu Xin had told him, that when the Demon Palace had attacked the palace, Qiao Qiao was still meeting the Demon Lord. Since they were old friends, and they had entered the palace that day, the fact that Qiao still disappeared was related to him.

"After the Demon Lord entered the palace, the emperor dismissed all the guards outside and outside of the palace." Seeing that Yan Mo Chen did not say anything, Meng Shi continued, "That's why your subordinate did not find out about the disappearance of the Emperor."

Yan Mo Chen held onto the letter that Qiao still left behind in his hand. Veins popped out from his forehead and his piercing gaze became increasingly profound.

As Qingwu stood behind Yan Mo Chen, she realized that the corpse of Yu Fei might have something to do with the Demon Lord.

"Go down and receive your punishment!" Yan Mo Chen knew what was going on, but he did not say anything. He could only shout at Meng Shi and Yan Mu.

"Yes, your subordinate will take his leave." The two bowed once more before walking out of the palace.

"Your Highness, the emperor, she …" Just as Qingwu was about to speak, Yan Mo Chen waved his hand and stopped her.

"There's no need for that. You can continue to act the emperor in the imperial palace." Yan Mo Chen did not speak anymore and stood up to leave.

Qingwu was stunned on the spot. Looking at Yan Mo Chen's expression just now, she was afraid that he would go to the Demon Palace alone to snatch her away. However, she had clearly seen that the prince was still injured …

Not giving Qingwu much time to think, Yan Mo Chen's figure had already disappeared. She could only stick the human skin mask on her face again and slowly sit down at the table.