I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 269 Come again
Chu Liuzheng had no desire to follow, but the two menacing eunuchs in front of her clearly had no intention of asking for her opinion; they seemed to intend to drag her away if she didn't go.

She didn't expect her status as a royal attendant to intimidate the two of them.

Given the choice between being helped along or walking on her own, she naturally chose the latter.

Chu Liuzheng sighed inwardly and followed at a distance of three steps, just in case the imposter suddenly lost her composure and gave her another princess carry.

This place is a bit far from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and Prince Rui has two more helpers, so she might not be able to outrun him.

Light snow was falling.

Prince Rui walked ahead, holding an umbrella.

Chu Liuzheng didn't have an umbrella, so he got soaked from head to toe.

A gust of cold wind blew, and she couldn't help but sneeze, thinking to herself that she was having a run of bad luck.

Curiosity really does kill the devil. If she hadn't wanted to find out what that white figure was as soon as possible, she wouldn't have been targeted by this imposter.

Seeing that they were almost at the Imperial Garden and there was no one around, Chu Liuzheng, whose nose was red from the cold, couldn't help but speak up: "Your Highness, please say what you want to say here. This servant still needs to go to the pharmacy to get medicine for my injuries. His Majesty is still waiting in the Hall of Mental Cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Prince Rui turned to look at her, his tone quite meaningful: "Your imperial brother truly values ​​you."

Of course, I'm now at least half a confidant of the tyrant. I don't know how I got there, but a good employee deserves to be valued.

Chu Liuzheng said, "Serving Your Majesty wholeheartedly is my duty."

Rui Wang took two steps towards her and held the umbrella over her head: "I have a question, and I hope you can answer it for me."

[I'm already soaked to the bone, so whether I use an umbrella or not doesn't really matter anymore.]

Chu Liuzheng's expression remained unchanged: "Please speak, Your Highness."

Prince Rui lowered his eyes and stared at her face, his tone serious: "Why are you so wary of me?"

He thought he treated the palace maid in front of him well; she was kind and unpretentious, and he put some thought into the gifts he sent her each time. If it were anyone else, they would have been overjoyed to hear him ask the emperor for a marriage decree, but this palace maid was the only one who was unmoved and avoided him like the plague.

This made him wonder if he had given himself away somewhere.

Chu Liuzheng was surprised that Prince Rui would ask her this. She looked up in astonishment, her face innocent: "Your Highness, this servant does not understand what you mean. Your Highness is of noble birth and dignity, this servant should naturally respect and fawn over you, how could I possibly be on guard?"

"To please?" Prince Rui pondered the word for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pinched her chin, a cold smile appearing on his lips. "Do you even know what it means to please?"

[Holy crap! Let go! You imposter, your persona is ruined!]

Chu Liuzheng, barely suppressing the urge to kick him, stepped back in surprise: "Your Majesty..."

She had only uttered one word when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. The last thing she saw was Prince Rui's eyes, which were filled with malevolence.

Two eunuchs grabbed Chu Liuzheng from behind, and one of them carried her up and ran into the darkness.

Another eunuch stepped forward to hold an umbrella for Prince Rui, and the master and servant headed towards Jingming Palace.

In the shadows, Xiao Er, who was in charge of keeping watch, stroked his chin, hesitated for a moment, and then darted off to chase after the first eunuch.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard of the pharmacy, Xia Qiaoru paced anxiously, her hands clasped together, constantly looking towards the entrance, "Why aren't they here yet?"

If it were just a matter of exchanging a few words, Liu Zheng should have arrived long ago.

Xiazi comforted her, "Don't worry, young lady. Perhaps we've been talking for too long. Let's wait a little longer."

Xiao Yunzi chimed in, "Miss Liu Zheng is now a favorite of His Majesty. Even if we don't care about her, we'll respect her. She won't be in any trouble."

After waiting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Xia Qiaoru couldn't wait any longer and stepped outside, saying, "I'll go take a look."

Seeing this, Xiaxiazi and Xiaoyunzi quickly followed.

Xia Qiaoru and Xia Xiazi, their heads covered in snow, made their way to the Imperial Garden, but still couldn't find Chu Liuzheng and Prince Rui.

Xiao Yunzi rushed over, still out of breath, and said, "I...I found out." He swallowed hard and said quickly, "A quarter of an hour ago, Prince Rui returned to Jingming Palace and didn't see Miss Liuzheng."

Upon hearing this, Xia Qiaoru's heart sank, and she turned and ran.

"Miss Qiaoru!" Xiazi was startled and hurriedly followed, "Where are you going?"

Xia Qiaoru had no intention of replying to him and just kept running forward.

Ignoring her weak legs, Xiao Yunzi quickly lifted her feet and chased after him.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Xiao Jingfan had just finished bathing and was about to go to bed when he suddenly heard Zhou Yuande's shrill voice outside, as if he was scolding someone.

It's so late, who else would come?
He frowned slightly and sent someone out to check.

As soon as the noise outside subsided, Zhou Yuande pushed open the door and came in, bringing with him three rather disheveled people, namely Xia Qiaoru and her two companions.

Xiao Jingfan recognized Xia Qiaoru at a glance. He sat down on the couch and asked Zhou Yuande, "What happened?"

Zhou Yuande bowed and said, "Your Majesty, these three people say that Miss Liu Zheng has gone missing and they insist on seeing Your Majesty."

Xiao Jingfan was taken aback. How could he have disappeared again?

"Your Majesty, please save Liu Zheng." Xia Qiaoru knelt down on the ground, and Xia Xiazi and Xiao Yunzi quickly followed suit.

After Xia Qiaoru finished explaining the whole story, Xiao Jingfan frowned even more. Just as he was about to send someone to summon Prince Rui, a dark figure climbed in through the window, startling Xia Qiaoru and the other two.

Xiao Er leaned close to Xiao Jingfan's ear and whispered his report.

Xiao Jingfan's expression gradually turned cold, and a murderous intent appeared in his eyes.

He coldly ordered, "Change clothes and prepare the carriage for Chengbi Hall."

On the other side, at Chengbi Hall.

Cai Luoyu carefully applied jasmine powder to her face in front of the mirror, hoping that the red and black bruises on her face would fade away as soon as possible.

Granny Qi pushed open the door and came in, softly reporting, "Master, the person has been settled in the storeroom."

"Are you awake?" Cai Luoyu tilted her chin slightly and then applied face powder to her neck.

Granny Qi said, "The blow was too heavy; he hasn't woken up yet."

Cai Luoyu looked around to make sure the perfume powder had covered most of the traces, then put down the perfume powder box, stood up gracefully, slowly straightened her folded skirt, and straightened her back. "Come with me to take a look."

Granny Qi was not pleased and advised, "Master, this person is from the West..."

"I'm just going to take a look." Cai Luoyu glanced at her sideways, a half-smile on her face. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

Granny Qi had no choice but to swallow her words.

Cai Luoyu walked out, and Granny Qi followed quietly.

The storage room was pitch black; there wasn't even a candle in it.

Granny Qi asked someone to bring two oil lamps and lit them, then reached out to help Cai Luoyu step over the threshold.

The storage room hadn't been cleaned in a long time, and Cai Luoyu coughed from the dust flying in the air. She quickly covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and peered over to look at the person lying on the straw mat.

The woman was still unconscious, her eyelashes trembling restlessly, casting a fan-shaped shadow under her eyes.

Having been carried all the way, her neatly tied hair had long since fallen loose, and the black strands of hair made the skin on the side of her neck appear even whiter.

Her neckline was slightly open, revealing a small patch of delicate collarbone. Her chest rose and fell gently with her breath, and her slender fingertips peeked out from her sleeves, appearing especially delicate and white in the dim light.