The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

Qi Yitang took another bite of the steamed bun and swallowed it with difficulty.

I remembered.

It's because Xie Jingyu doesn't like it...

Xie Jingyu was unaware that he had a younger brother who had been sent to the Cold Palace. He thought Xie Ling was just some kind of servant and said that everyone who served in the Cold Palace had been sent there for making mistakes. He deliberately put on a pitiful act to gain her sympathy, but he actually had ulterior motives.

She's not very bright; those people will take advantage of her.

If she continues to associate with those lowly servants, she should not come to play with him anymore.

Qi Yitang was furious. She hated it most when people called her stupid. Her brain was perfectly normal; she just didn't understand their scheming and manipulative ways.

Of course, she doesn't need to know how to do it—she just needs to have a mouth and be able to tattle.

That afternoon, Qi Yitang went to the late emperor and embellished his story.

Even though Xie Jingyu prided himself on his intelligence, he was speechless when questioned by the late emperor and was punished by being confined to his quarters.

That time, Xie Jingyu humbled himself and coaxed her for more than ten days, giving her countless novelties before Qi Yitang reluctantly forgave him and reconciled with him.

After she calmed down, she remembered how good Xie Jingyu was to her.

He was, after all, a prince of noble birth, and the fact that he was willing to lower himself to coax her like this was already quite indulgent.

Her parents also said that people in the palace are complicated, and you can't know what's good or bad just by looking into their hearts. She's young, so she shouldn't easily trust people of unknown origin.

Everyone says that, and Qi Yitang agrees.

Back then, she had many playmates, and was so engrossed in colorful toys that she forgot about the boy who was huddled in the corner of the cold palace, eagerly waiting for her to come.

Thinking of this, Qi Yitang sobbed with tears welling up in her eyes.

If she could do it all over again, back to the beginning... she would never listen to anyone's lies again!

The late emperor loved her so much; if she pleaded for him and learned that there was a forgotten son imprisoned in the Cold Palace, he would surely have brought him out as soon as possible.

That way, Xie Ling could eat fewer tree bark, suffer less from the cold, and avoid having to endure the snobbish attitudes of those eunuchs for several years.

The hard, dry steamed bun was still covered in dust. Qi Yitang took another big bite, tried to swallow it, and as she chewed, tears fell down her face, and her throat tightened.

It's okay, it's okay, Xie Ling will definitely find her!

……

Li Fengyao felt extremely overwhelmed.

More than ten hours have passed since the Empress went missing last night.

A perfectly healthy person enters a clothing store in broad daylight and then simply vanishes into thin air.

He led the Scorpion Guards and searched almost the entire imperial city, from the mansions of high-ranking officials to the courtyards of ordinary people, inns and taverns, even rummaging through rat holes in the gutters, but they couldn't find a single hair on the head.

The emperor stayed up all night, so how could they dare to close their eyes? They could only keep their eyes wide open and continue the search with utmost vigilance.

Shengjing is the capital region, with a large number of people coming and going. If it is rashly sealed off and restricted from entering and leaving, it will surely cause panic among the people.

But we can't worry about that right now.

If the Empress cannot be found in time, or if the delay is too long and she is missing limbs, the entire capital of Shengjing will likely be thrown into chaos.

To the outside world, they only said they were arresting serious criminals of the imperial court, and asked the people to cooperate with the search, and those who resisted would be punished for harboring criminals.

Thanks to Li Fengyao's "bad reputation" over the years, everyone dared not speak out and could only cooperate.

After more than ten hours of staying up late, Li Fengyao's lips were dry and chapped, and his voice was hoarse.

His men returned in waves to report, but still found nothing. "Sir, there's still no trace of the Empress..."

"My lord, I have searched everywhere, verifying men, women, and children, but there is no one suspicious of disguise or attempt to escape..."

Li Fengyao's expression was solemn.

Upon receiving the news, he dispatched men to seal off the city gates. In less than half an hour, how could such a vast imperial city have vanished into thin air so quickly?

Then a subordinate rushed in to report, "Sir, I have discovered a secret passage in the former residence of Prince Gong, with an exit leading directly to the west of the city."

not good!

If the kidnappers used a secret passage to transport the Empress out of the city and hid her in any mountain, how would they find her?

Just as Li Fengyao felt his head spinning, a child ran up, biting a candied hawthorn and clutching a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. "Uncle, someone asked me to give this to you."

The inscription read: "[Thirty li west of the city, an abandoned mountain god temple. Bring a prince in exchange; only the emperor is permitted to come.]"

...Your Highness? Prince Gong!

They really are remnants of Xie Jingyu.

Li Fengyao's pupils shrank. "Little kid, who gave you this note? Tell your uncle, and your uncle will buy you lots and lots of candied hawthorns."

The little boy, chewing on a candied hawthorn, mumbled, "It was an older brother, but he was so dark I couldn't see his face... Look, he walked that way."

Li Fengyao dared not delay in the slightest. On one hand, he ordered his men to investigate in that direction, and on the other hand, he rode back to the palace to report.

……

The Marquis of Anyang and his wife, along with the manager of Xuanyifang, were imprisoned and interrogated all night.

The former was indeed unaware of it.

Liu Ruyan was mentally unstable and her family couldn't keep her at all. She would dash out the moment they weren't looking, causing the Marquis of Anyang and his wife to search for her everywhere.

But the owner of Xuan Yi Fang was not so innocent; after being tortured, he confessed to everything.

He admitted that someone had given him a large sum of money yesterday at noon, instructing him to receive a distinguished guest in the afternoon and do nothing else but keep her guards out while she changed clothes.

The shopkeeper said the man was masked and his voice was deliberately lowered.

He thought it was just some sordid affair of an ordinary wealthy family, little did he know it was the Empress herself.

"Your Majesty, spare my life..." the shopkeeper pleaded weakly. "This humble subject knows his mistake, this humble subject will never dare to do it again..."

Xie Ling is in very poor condition.

He hasn't had a drop of water since last night, coughed up blood but still wouldn't stop, didn't sleep all night, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he was teetering on the edge of madness.

Li Degui felt a tightness in his chest. What good was it to admit his mistake now?

The Empress has been missing for so long, I wonder how much suffering she must have endured outside... Even if I were to behead her a thousand times, it wouldn't be enough to repay her debt.

At this moment, An Yi flashed in, knelt on one knee, and said, "Your Majesty, I have discovered that Zhao Yan and several remnants of his gang have been seen in the west of the city."

The next moment, Li Fengyao's urgent voice came from the prison corridor.

"Good news! The Empress's whereabouts have been found!"