Harem Daily Life

Li Jianzheng was so frightened that he was shaking all over and couldn't even speak.

"Tell me about the rainstorm. If you confess, I will give you an intact body." Tao Yanyan's words struck Li Jianzheng's heart one by one.

There was no point in hiding anything at this point, so he confessed everything: "...I had no idea they were so ruthless as to ambush and assassinate Your Majesty at the West Mountain Hunting Ground. I simply followed instructions and said that the rain would be light that day, making it suitable for travel."

Tao Yanyan already knew the whole story, so he raised his hand and had Li Jianzheng tied up and taken away. "Go and report to the Queen Mother. The traitor at the Imperial Observatory has been found. Send him to the Ningyuan Marquis, who will have full authority to deal with him."

Li Jianzheng felt disheartened. He regretted deeply why he had fallen for the beauty trap and ended up with his family destroyed today!

Ningyuan Hou acted quickly. In the afternoon, news spread that the house of Li Jianzheng, the director of the Imperial Observatory, had been raided and a concubine had been taken away.

In a small courtyard in the capital, Rong Ze was very happy, drinking and having fun with his servants, when he heard someone report: "Sir, the Li family has been raided."

Rong Ze's eyes flashed with ruthlessness, and he said calmly, "Fortunately, we met somewhere else before. Even if we were reported, we would have nothing to show for it."

Rong Ze was a shrewd and calculating man, having long considered his concubine a discarded child. When he gave her to Li Jianzheng as a concubine to corrupt him, Rong Ze had anticipated this outcome, and it wasn't surprising. As long as she had delivered the message, even if she was caught later, the Great Zhou Emperor was dead, and all was well, Rong Ze was content.

Seeing that he wasn't worried, his subordinates didn't dare ask whether they wanted to rescue him. They just heard Rong Ze say, "How's the situation over at West Mountain? Have they found the body?"

The subordinate said, "The cliff is very high, so searching is difficult. The foot of the mountain is under martial law, and all our men are dead. We can't get any information. But the soldiers haven't withdrawn yet, so I guess they haven't found anything yet."

Rong Ze thought for a moment and said, "They should have guessed my identity. I'm just worried that Ye'er will be wronged in the palace."

But Rong Ze has no spies in the palace, otherwise he would not have tried every possible means to get He Ye out of the palace.

Outside Yongxing Palace, a group of guards suddenly appeared and surrounded the palace. He Ye was very anxious in the palace.

"Go and ask the Queen what she means. Why is she surrounding me?" He Ye was confused. "Could it be that my father is missing, and the Queen is taking this opportunity to eliminate me?"

The maid consoled him, "I heard that not only here, but other places are also under guard. Your Highness, please be patient. This won't affect us."

He Ye saw that he couldn't get the maid to stop, so he smashed the stool in anger: "It has no impact, no impact. The prince was surrounded for no reason, and it has no impact? She is just making a show of force, taking advantage of my father's absence to protest against me!"

But even if the maid wanted to ask, she couldn't get out, so she had to retreat and leave the eldest prince going crazy alone in the room.

The concubine who married Li Jianzheng quickly revealed the addresses of every meeting with Rong Ze, a total of three places, but without exception, there was no sign of Rong Ze.

Tao Yanyan received the news and rubbed his eyebrows.

"The other party is very deliberate and must have made preparations long ago. Their true hiding place must be somewhere else." Tao Yanyan pondered for a moment. "Before, he pretended to escape, and Your Majesty conducted a secret search for him without any fanfare. So, we should issue a warrant for his arrest now and search the entire capital."

Chang Tai took the order and went down to find Ningyuan Hou to do the work.

Mingyue brought Tao Yanyan a bowl of porridge: "My Lady, please have something to eat."

Tao Yanyan really had no appetite. She ate a few bites and then heard someone sent by the empress dowager to summon her. She had no choice but to go to the Qinzheng Hall.

In the Qinzheng Hall, Prince Yong was waiting there in a state of disarray. Seeing the Queen coming, he quickly apologized: "It is my incompetence that I failed to protect Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Prince Yong and his men searched the mountains day and night for three days, but still could not find the emperor's body, so he had to return to the palace to report.

Seeing him exhausted, his clothes torn by thorns, and his eyes red, Tao Yanyan felt bad too.

"Your Highness, you have worked hard. Go back and rest early. Since the carriage and horses have been found, but the person is missing, I think His Majesty may have been rescued. Yingyi and the others are nowhere to be found either." Tao Yanyan comforted Prince Yong and himself, hoping that He Linzhang was only injured and was recuperating somewhere.

The Queen Mother also echoed: "In everything, we must prepare for the worst, but also have the best hope. Prince Yong, you should go back first, and make plans after you have rested."

Prince Yong had no choice but to take his leave and dragged his tired body out of the palace.

"The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. If there is no news from Your Majesty, turmoil is inevitable. I am thinking about whether we should first appoint a crown prince to reassure the court officials."

The Queen Mother's words made Tao Yanyan feel a little embarrassed. Her mind was in a mess. Apart from wanting to capture Rong Ze and tear him into pieces, she really didn't think about much else.

"Empress Dowager, the matter of appointing an heir is up to you. I don't have any ideas, but Yucheng is still young and doesn't know anything. If I really appoint him, it won't actually have any effect. As for Jin'an, he's more sensible..."

Before she could finish her words, the Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "Jin'an won't work. He's still officially adopted from the common people. Even if he is truly a prince, he's the son of a convicted concubine. It won't work. If he is enthroned, the court officials will object, and there will be another round of arguments, which will be very frustrating."

Tao Yanyan also nodded: "Then, how about we wait a little longer? The Queen Mother has been attending court before, so why not maintain the status quo for now?"

After hearing this, the Queen Mother had no choice but to do so.

She looked at the haggard little queen and sighed: "The child is too young, it's hard for you. I just hope that the emperor can return safely, and then all the burdens can be lifted."

Both the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law want to give up their power and take a rest. Now they are really tired of carrying the entire Zhou Dynasty.

"Empress Dowager, the arrest warrant for Rong Ze has been issued, and martial law has been imposed in the capital. For the time being, the palace is clear. I would like to go to the Western Hills to take a look."

After all, this was the place where he disappeared last. Tao Yanyan wanted to take a look, otherwise he would not be willing to give up.

The Queen Mother understood her feelings and sighed: "Well, go ahead. But you must not do anything stupid. You must protect yourself. When the Emperor returns, you can continue your love and affection."

Tao Yanyan's nose suddenly felt sore, and she nodded: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, I won't do anything stupid. The children still need me to raise them."

After bidding farewell to the Queen Mother, Tao Yanyan made some preparations and arranged the children's affairs. She left the palace early the next morning and headed straight for the West Mountain.

Rongze's men had been staring at the palace gate. When they saw a low-key carriage coming out with a maidservant beside it, they immediately went back to report.

Rong Ze heard this and pondered for a long time before saying, "I'm afraid it's most likely the Queen's carriage. Send someone to keep an eye on it, and when the opportunity arises, capture the person."

Tao Yanyan sat in the carriage with his eyes closed to rest, and Wushuang asked people to stop the carriage for a rest after a while.

Tao Yanyan opened the carriage curtain and took a look. Wushuang stepped forward and whispered, "It is indeed as Your Majesty suspected. Someone has been following us all the way. What should we do now?"

Tao Yanyan's eyes turned cold: "Tell our people not to alert the enemy. If they only want to catch me, they should pretend to be caught and go straight to his lair." After saying that, he lowered the curtain and waited patiently.