When Helian Qi rushed to the Queen's palace, he stood at the palace gate for a long time before stepping into the inner hall with a somewhat heavy gait.
A maid came forward to report that Her Majesty the Queen was feeling unwell and didn't wish to be disturbed by anyone.
Feeling unwell? But she had seemed perfectly fine last night. A sense of foreboding crept over Helian Qi.
He then abruptly pushed open the door of the bedchamber. The sight that greeted him made his expression turn icy cold.
What a farce about being unwell! There was no sign of Dongfang Yi on the bed.
"Search!" Helian Qi commanded Ru Yi. He wanted to find even the slightest clue.
Then he said to the maid beside him, "No one else must know about the Queen's disappearance today!"
After saying that, he waved his hand, signaling the maid to leave.
Ru Yi ransacked the entire bedchamber and finally found the bundle and a jade pendant that Dongfang Yi had thrown under the bed.
"It seems... Her Majesty the Queen left on her own..." Ru Yi said somewhat nervously. But then she was startled by a cold look from Helian Qi and immediately bowed and said, "Your servant admits her mistake."
Helian Qi felt a chill in his heart as he looked at the bundle. But the next second, his eyes were drawn to the jade pendant. He was all too familiar with it. Wasn't it the token of the former dynasty's royal family?
The former dynasty had always revered the Black Tortoise, and all the royal family members wore jade pendants carved with the Black Tortoise totem. And the one in his hand clearly had the characters "Dugu" on the back.
On the other side...
"You're a descendant of the former dynasty!" Dongfang Yi suddenly snapped.
Situ Qing responded to her accusation with silence, confirming her suspicion.
"Did you kill Xiaoxin? Were you the one secretly protecting Concubine Chu?" Dongfang Yi fired off two more questions.
Situ Qing looked up with a hurt expression, his eyes hazy. "Do I look like such a heinous person? I didn't do any of those things," he said.
"If it wasn't you, then who was it? I clearly heard Concubine Chu colluding with people from the former dynasty in private..." Dongfang Yi continued. But then she immediately regretted her words. She still remembered the voice of the man that night. It wasn't Situ Qing.
She noticed that Situ Qing just gave a bitter smile and didn't refute. After a while, he walked out of the private room, leaving behind a sentence as he left, "Hurry up and change your clothes. We need to leave this place as soon as possible."
After he completely disappeared from Dongfang Yi's sight, she sat on the bed feeling dejected, scolding herself.
Why did she have to question him? Whether he had done those things or not, it had nothing to do with her from now on. She should have left all the affairs in the palace behind long ago. After all, she was going to live outside the palace from now on and would have to rely on him. And seeing his desolate expression made her feel guilty.
Not long after, Dongfang Yi got dressed and walked out of the private room. She saw Situ Qing in a red robe standing in front of her. He still had that meaningful smile on his lips, as if nothing had happened just now.
"I'm sorry about just now," Dongfang Yi said to him with full apology.
She always had the virtue of admitting her mistakes quickly once she realized them.
"Hahaha—you little woman," Situ Qing laughed loudly with a hint of arrogance.
The sight of him in the red robe reminded Dongfang Yi of the first time she had seen him. Although he was a man, he was extremely beautiful. Every frown and smile of his exuded charm.
But later, when she saw him in the palace, he always wore black night clothes. His smile was occasionally marred by a sense of desolation. Although he tried his best to hide it, Dongfang Yi still noticed.
"Let's go," Dongfang Yi said with a giggle.
Inside the palace...
With a flick of his hand, Helian Qi smashed the jade pendant into pieces.
"Seal off the capital city and find Dongfang Yi for me!" he commanded Ru Yi.
Ru Yi had never seen Helian Qi so angry. Having grown up with him, she knew his temper well. She knew he was always a calm person, but now he had become like this.
She immediately took the order and led a team of the most elite Imperial Guards out of the palace.
Situ Qing had prepared a carriage and parked it outside the inn. The coachman was a man in his fifties with a black cloth wrapped around his head. Situ Qing called him Uncle Liu.
Before long, they heard the sound of horses galloping on the street. It was a team of horsemen.
Dongfang Yi took a closer look and recognized the leader as Ru Yi!
And the direction they were heading was exactly the city gate they had to pass through to leave the city. She quickly turned to Situ Qing and said, "They've found out I've escaped!"
Situ Qing narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a cold snort from his throat. "It seems we won't be able to leave the city easily," he said.
Then he led Dongfang Yi back to the private room on the second floor of the inn.
"What should we do then?" Dongfang Yi asked nervously.
"Do you know how to disguise? We can disguise ourselves and leave the city," Situ Qing said without much worry.
"Disguise?" Dongfang Yi was truly amazed. Such a plot that only existed in martial arts novels was actually happening to her. According to the novels, only martial arts masters could master the art of disguise.
But the truth was different from what Dongfang Yi had imagined.
Situ Qing took her to a restaurant called "Fragrant Butterfly Workshop". As soon as they entered, they could smell a strong scent of rouge and alcohol. Only then did she realize that this was a brothel.
But why did they have to come to such a place to disguise themselves? Could it be that a master was hiding in this place of debauchery?
A gaudily dressed woman in her thirties came towards them from a distance. She walked over and said, "Oh~ This gentleman is so handsome. But why are you bringing a girl with you~"
Situ Qing took out a piece of gold from his bosom and threw it to her. Then he said, "Call out the most skillful makeup artist here."
The madam's eyes lit up when she saw the gold. Then she let out a coquettish laugh and said, "Sure, sir~ Please wait on the second floor~" After saying that, she disappeared into the crowd.
Makeup? Isn't it supposed to be disguise!
Dongfang Yi was confused by what they said. But then she immediately understood. It seemed that the art of disguise she had read about in books didn't really exist. With that thought in mind, she followed Situ Qing up to the second floor.
Not long after, their door was pushed open by a woman in a pink silk dress. Her face was deathly pale, making it hard to tell how many layers of powder she had applied. Even her eyes were painted in bright red and purple, and her lips were blood-red.
"Ew~" Dongfang Yi recoiled in shock.
But she heard Situ Qing laughing heartily beside her with a look of triumph on his face.