Dressed as the prince's substitute? I took the throne

The Empress Dowager was now filled with panic as she slowly stepped back, looking at Zhou Chuxuan in shock: "No, no... How did you know?"

Zhou Chuxuan smiled softly and said, "Empress Dowager, how I know this is not important. What's important is you. Why would you gamble on an uncertain future with your frail body?"

The Empress Dowager fell silent for a moment. She looked at Zhou Chuxuan without saying a word for a long while. Finally, she waved her hand and said, "Return to the palace."

Watching everyone go away, Nangong Yanling was slightly puzzled: "Your Highness, how do you know that she has a relationship with Prince Jin?"

Zhou Chuxuan watched the Empress Dowager and the others leave, his eyes flickering with surprise. "Back then, Zhou Wuhen once told me that the lineage of Prince Jin was particularly skilled in divination. I just found three copper coins used for divination in the Empress Dowager's hand, so I concluded that she is related to Prince Jin."

"Also, you have lived in the Wu Dynasty for countless years, but have you ever heard of such a thing as an underground palace?"

Everyone shook their heads, only Murong Xue seemed to remember something: "Your Highness, I remember a story my father told me when I was a child."

"Shh!"

Zhou Chuxuan suddenly put his finger to his mouth, made a gesture of silence, looked around, waved his hand and led everyone into the house.

"Your Highness, this is your residence. How dare anyone come here and eavesdrop? Our soldiers are everywhere."

Ma Sandao said this carelessly, but Han Bin hit him hard on the back of his head.

Zhou Chuxuan looked at Murong Xue: "General Murong, please tell me."

Murong Xue's eyes flashed with reminiscence when she heard this. "That year, I think I was five years old. My father was an official in the capital, a general guarding the border. I remember my father took me to meet a woman and called her Empress Dowager! I think it was the one I just saw."

"But, back then, I wasn't as old as I am now."

"Since then, my father's health has begun to decline, and he told me that from now on, I must never be alone with the Empress Dowager, otherwise, my body's vitality will be stolen."

"Stealing life?"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this. They looked at each other, and saw disbelief in each other's eyes.

What’s the difference between this and when Zhou Wanjiang went to Lotus Mountain to seek immortality?

Speaking of this, Murong Xue's mood became slightly depressed. "But, after that incident, my parents died. Their deaths were unclear. They were both in their prime, so why did they die so suddenly?"

"No one in the mansion was willing to look after me when I was little, except the old butler. In the end, only the old butler stayed with me and took care of me until I grew up!"

"Later, when I grew up, the old housekeeper told me something else! He said that the overseas Prince Jin and the Queen Mother had been colluding with each other for a long time."

"Every year, the Queen Mother sends a certain number of young boys and girls to the overseas Prince of Jin. In exchange, the Prince of Jin gives the Queen Mother a special medicine that helps her slow down her aging process."

"The Queen Mother then became greedy and no longer wanted to cooperate with the Prince of Jin. She tried to research medicine on her own and did not provide the Prince of Jin with virgins. After this happened several times, she angered the Prince of Jin."

"The Empress Dowager was afraid, so she dug a palace underground and locked herself in it. She stayed there for over a decade. From then on, she never asked about anything related to the Wu Dynasty again. It was as if she had her own dynasty underground."

Zhou Chuxuan embraced Xu Hanyan, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes: "So, it seems that the Queen Mother locked herself up in the underground palace to avoid being found. But now, why did she come out on her own initiative?"

Everyone shook their heads. They knew nothing about the Queen Mother, let alone the reason.

"It seems that I need to go to the underground palace!"

After Zhou Chuxuan finished speaking, he slowly stood up.

"Not allowed, Your Highness!"

The Imperial Guards' commander-in-chief, Hu Yongwei, was the first to intervene. "That old woman is already well over a hundred years old. She looks like a demon. The underground palace must be no better. Besides, we don't know what's inside. Going in rashly would only be dangerous!"

This time, not only Hu Yongwei, but even Nangong Yanling did not recommend Zhou Chuxuan to go: "Your Highness, if you must go, at least send someone to explore the way first."

Only the carefree Ma Sandao, who never used his brain to think about things, said: "Your Highness, I will go with you!"

"Snapped!"

Han Bin gave him another big scolding: "Can't you just be quiet and obedient? Why are you always making a fuss? Go ahead, go ahead. What if there's danger?"

Zhou Chuxuan waved his hand and said, "Everyone, it's actually not as complicated as you think. Now, don't we have a ready-made person who lives in the inner courtyard of the palace all year round?"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Murong Xue was the first to react: "Your Highness, are you talking about Canglang?"

Zhou Chuxuan smiled and nodded. "Yes, Canglang is the commander-in-chief of the Black Armor Guards. He's been in the inner palace for years. What kind of new and interesting gossip has he not heard?"

Nangong Yanling nodded slightly: "In that case, it is possible!"

"Okay, you guys go ahead and do your work. I'll go find Canglang to deal with this matter!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

After everyone left the room, Xu Hanyan still lay in Zhou Chuxuan's arms, her soul in dismay, her hands tightly grasping Zhou Chuxuan's sleeves, as if she had lost her soul: "Your Highness, the Xu family, is it true that there is nothing left?"

Even though she had little affection for the Xu family and only hatred for Xu Qinglong, when she heard the news of Xu Qinglong's death and the massacre of the entire Xu family, her whole state collapsed.

Looking at Xu Hanyan's appearance, Zhou Chuxuan hesitated for a moment, and said nothing. He just gently hugged Xu Hanyan: "Hanyan, I'm here!"

"..."

In the deepest part of the palace's sky prison, Salem Meng was chained to a pillar, unable to move.

Canglang stood in front of her, his eyes emitting endless coldness.

"Haha, Liao Kingdom, Salem Dream!"

After a long time, Zhou Chuxuan's voice was heard, followed by Zhou Chuxuan and Xu Hanyan entering the Sky Prison.

The moment he saw Salem Meng, Xu Hanyan could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. He rushed forward and gave Salem Meng a loud slap in the face.

"Snapped!"

The voice echoed in the prison for a long time, but Salem Meng was not as angry as expected. Instead, he looked Xu Hanyan up and down and asked with interest, "The girl from the Xu family?"