The Empress Dowager sized him up imperceptibly, then mused, "Come to think of it, if you're dead - set on this commoner girl, it's not entirely impossible."
Shangguan Yun said respectfully, "Please enlighten me, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager raised her hand, signaling a maid to serve a new cup of tea. She said deliberately, "After you marry Yunxi, I'll help persuade you. It's okay to take this girl as a concubine."
Hearing this, Shangguan Yun's thick and long eyelashes quivered, and his face darkened again.
The Empress Dowager shot a glance at Shangguan Yun and continued, "If you feel indebted, you can confer upon her the title of a noble lady later. Being a side concubine of the heir apparent isn't too shabby."
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yun's face looked extremely grim. He bowed and said, "She hurt her foot. I'm afraid it's not very convenient for her to change clothes, but it shouldn't have taken this long. Nephew will go and check." With that, without waiting for the Empress Dowager's reply, he left directly.
Seeing his blatant disregard for etiquette, the Empress Dowager on the seat turned livid with rage.
"Wei Dongling!" Shangguan Yun searched several rooms but couldn't find her. Anxiety welled up inside him. He pushed open the last room and saw Murong Yunxi sitting there, sipping tea and having snacks.
Seeing Shangguan Yun come in, Murong Yunxi put down the pastry in her hand and walked towards him. "Brother Yun, are you hungry? Come and have something to eat."
Shangguan Yun frowned and asked, "Where is she?"
Murong Yunxi replied, "She's gone."
Shangguan Yun stared at Murong Yunxi in front of him, the veins on his forehead bulging. He demanded in a deep voice, "Gone?"
Murong Yunxi pretended to be shocked and said, "Brother Yun, don't wrong me! I wouldn't dare. She said she was going to find Yu Zixi and left on her own."
Yu Zixi?
Shangguan Yun couldn't tell if it was true or not for a moment, and his face turned even uglier.
Murong Yunxi threw herself at Shangguan Yun, hugging his arm and coquettishly saying, "Brother Yun, come and taste the new tea I brought. You'll definitely like it."
Shangguan Yun didn't even glance at her. He flicked his sleeve and left.
At the north gate.
The maid showed the token of Princess Murong Qi and gave the order. Without a word, the imperial guards at the gate directly drove Wei Dongling away.
Wei Dongling put her hands on her hips and limped back, cursing under her breath, "This lousy place! As if anyone would want to come here!"
However, she soon couldn't utter a sound.
The north gate was relatively quiet. She had only walked a short distance when she felt a surge of killing intent.
Limping, Wei Dongling secretly groaned in pain. It was really like the house leaked just when it was raining.
Suddenly, four burly men sprang out from the woods and dragged Wei Dongling into the bushes like she was a little chick.
One or two passers - by on the roadside saw their actions from afar and turned around in fright and left.
Wei Dongling was thrown to the ground. Looking at the glinting knives in these people's hands, she trembled with fear and kept shouting, "B - b - b - b - big brother, don't kill me!"
The secret guards of Empress Zhao never wasted words. They were quite professional. The leader swung his knife and hacked down at her.
Wei Dongling quickly took out an iron hairpin from her head and was about to fight back when suddenly a figure sprang out from behind her. This person quickly kicked the knife out of the man's hand, and the two black - clothed men grappled with each other.
Who was this?
Wei Dongling was stunned for a moment, then heard a veiled white - clothed woman behind her whisper, "Miss Wei, I'm here to say hello to you on behalf of the young master." With that, she quickly pulled Wei Dongling behind her.
It was Cuihuan!
Wei Dongling was instantly excited.
Then she heard one of the wrestling black - clothed men take a moment to call out, "Is this the time to say that? Hurry and take her away!"
Judging from the voice, it was Tian Qi!
Wei Dongling was both surprised and delighted. Looking up, sure enough, there was an eagle hovering in the sky, staring menacingly at the people on the ground.
Good bird! Wei Dongling was so touched that she was on the verge of tears.
Cuihuan stopped talking. She picked up Wei Dongling from the ground and ran away. Wei Dongling wrapped her arms around Cuihuan's neck and saw the remaining three secret guards chasing after them.
Cuihuan held her slender waist, and it was obvious that she wasn't as agile as usual.
It seemed they would soon be caught up. Wei Dongling was secretly anxious and tightened her grip on the iron hairpin in her hand.
Sure enough, a menacing black - clothed man rushed over suddenly and swung his long knife down.
Wei Dongling shouted in alarm, "Be careful!"
Cuihuan quickly dodged. Wei Dongling turned her head to avoid the knife and instantly struck out. The iron hairpin stabbed hard at the black - clothed man's right wrist.
The black - clothed man didn't expect Wei Dongling to move so fast. Unable to dodge in time, his wrist was stabbed right on the mark.
The long knife clattered to the ground. The black - clothed man let out a shrill scream and trembled while covering his right hand, from which blood was spurting.
Seeing this, the remaining two black - clothed men rushed forward in a fit of rage.
Cuihuan quickly put Wei Dongling down, kicked up the long knife on the ground, and stepped forward to meet them.
She was so cool!
Wei Dongling was dumbfounded. Her eyes sparkled as she watched Cuihuan's agile moves. She couldn't help thinking in her heart, "I'm in love! When a woman is cool, there's really no place for men!"
It was already a bit strenuous to fight two opponents, especially since she was a woman. Cuihuan shouted urgently at Wei Dongling, "Miss Wei, you go first!"
Wei Dongling was stunned. After all this commotion, her foot injury had worsened.
Was she supposed to hop away on one foot?
Just as she was hesitating, a flying knife flew out of the woods and directly stabbed a black - clothed man in the neck.
It was a fatal blow! The man fell to the ground silently.
Cuihuan's pressure was suddenly reduced. She looked back. Then she saw a strange black - clothed man who had just made the move pick up Wei Dongling and turn to leave. Cuihuan was in the middle of a knife fight and couldn't spare any time. She could only shout urgently, "Stop! Who are you?"
Seeing someone come to her rescue, Wei Dongling was carried by this masked black - clothed man and didn't think much about it. She originally thought he was one of Cuihuan's people. Only after hearing Cuihuan's shout did she urgently ask, "Who are you? Put me down!"
This tall masked man ignored her completely. He grabbed the back of her clothes like she was a little chick and strode away at a gallop.
Wei Dongling shouted, "Big brother, please be kind. Let me go!"
The man ignored her.
Wei Dongling shouted again, "Big brother, I'm worried about Cuihuan and the others. Let me go and take a look!"
The man still ignored her.
Wei Dongling wasn't willing to give up. "Big brother, who on earth are you?"
The man continued to ignore her.
Wei Dongling cried and shouted, "Big brother, even if you're going to let me die, you should at least let me die in the clear, right?"
The man still ignored her.
Wei Dongling shouted again, "Big brother, are you deaf or mute? Say something at least!"
The man just ignored her.
Wei Dongling cried, "Big brother, where are you taking me? It's so uncomfortable for you to carry me like this!"
Suddenly, the man let go of Wei Dongling. She fell face - first to the ground and even crooked her nose.
Wei Dongling scrambled up awkwardly and burst into tears on the spot.
The man couldn't bear it anymore and struck her on the neck with a palm. Wei Dongling rolled her eyes and fainted.
The man sighed and said, "So noisy." With that, he hoisted Wei Dongling up like a pig on his shoulder and walked away quickly.