On this side, the disappearance of the Queen and the Prince of Nanping had everyone in a panic. They all sent their own subordinates deep into the forest to search, and Helian Qi also sent Ru Yi with a group of people to look for them.
On the other side, Concubine Chu was filled with panic. Not far away, she unexpectedly saw Concubine Lian sitting there calmly.
She clearly remembered that Concubine Lian had just fallen into a trap. How could she appear here now?!
The uneasiness in her heart intensified. She stared at the figure without blinking.
Concubine Lian also felt someone's intense gaze on her. It made her feel as if there were thorns on her back. So she raised her head and just saw Concubine Chu staring at her.
She responded with a cold smile, as if mocking Concubine Chu's stupidity.
Seeing the usually submissive and gentle Concubine Lian now facing her like this, Concubine Chu's heart skipped a beat. Then she moved her feet and walked over.
"How did you get here?!" Concubine Chu asked in a deep voice.
She also glanced around warily, afraid that someone might notice her actions.
Concubine Lian sneered again. Then she stood up and asked, "If not here, where else should I be?!"
"Should I be in that deep pit?!" she continued.
Her voice rose an octave, as if she were questioning the woman in front of her.
Concubine Chu was even more panicked. She instinctively wanted to cover Concubine Lian's mouth to stop her from saying another word.
But Concubine Lian took a step back to avoid her. Then she said with a sharp look in her eyes, "Doesn't Your Highness want to know how I saw through your plan?"
"How did you know?!"
"Hehe~ Your Highness didn't plan things carefully enough, so it's easy for others to see through it," she replied.
Looking at the woman in front of her with trembling lips after hearing this, she felt a sense of pleasure.
Concubine Chu, Concubine Chu, you never expected that one day you would be so scared by my words. Now, as long as I expose you, you will be doomed.
Thinking of this, the corner of her mouth curled up into a victorious smile, and there was a hint of venom in her eyes.
"What on earth do you want?!" Concubine Chu asked.
She didn't understand why, since Concubine Lian had seen through everything, she still tricked her into following the plan. What good would it do her? Could it be that Dongfang Yi's disappearance had something to do with her?!
Thinking of this, she couldn't help asking, "Was it you?! Did you set up a trap to harm the Queen?!"
There was a hint of suspicion in her eyes. Although she was secretly happy about Dongfang Yi's disappearance, she never expected that all this was done by the woman who usually crawled at her feet and seemed to be indifferent to the world.
Thinking of this, her heart started beating wildly. She never thought that she had actually raised a tiger to cause trouble for herself.
"Was it my plan?! Don't forget that the trap was set up by Your Highness. I'm just a victim," Concubine Lian said. Then she pretended to be pitiful and stroked her face. Her lowered eyes made it hard to see her expression.
"What exactly do you want?!" Concubine Chu asked angrily.
She knew that she had no reason to argue at this moment. Now, Nangong Liuyun was not in the court. Even if he wanted to help her, it was too far away.
Moreover, judging from Concubine Lian's appearance, she must have planned for a long time and must have the help of a capable person. If she confronted her head-on at this moment, she would only be the one to suffer.
Thinking of this, she softened her expression and said in a gentle tone, "I wonder what you're thinking, sister. Could you please tell me?"
Concubine Lian sneered when she heard this. She thought that Concubine Chu was really able to bend and stretch. She actually knew that she should yield to her at this moment. But no matter what she did, she wouldn't forgive her easily this time.
She wanted to see how Concubine Chu could escape this time when both the person and the evidence were there, and Nangong Prime Minister, her backer, was not in the capital!
Thinking of this, she narrowed her eyes and said coldly to the woman in front of her, "Your Highness, you'd better take good care of yourself!"
Then she turned around and left.
She didn't plan to expose Concubine Chu to the Emperor right away. After all, doing so would easily arouse suspicion. What she needed to do now was to wait patiently.
Because when she and Yaoji left the trap, they threw a hairpin beside it. And that hairpin was the one that Concubine Chu often wore. With that hairpin, it could be determined that the trap was set by her.
Thinking of this, the smile on her lips deepened, and the pleasure in her heart also grew.
In her heart, this time not only the Queen in the deep pit couldn't escape and would surely be attacked by the poisonous snakes, but Concubine Chu, who had always bullied her, wouldn't be able to escape the Emperor's anger either. From then on, there would be no one in the harem to make things difficult for her.
Thinking of this, she saw Yaoji walking towards her. Their eyes met and lingered for a moment, then they walked into a tent together.
"Your Highness Concubine Yao's plan is really wonderful. In this way, the harem will be ours," Concubine Lian said.
But the woman sitting opposite her didn't say a word. She just nodded slightly.
She didn't care about ruling the harem at all. Her only purpose was to eliminate all obstacles for their Southern Neighboring Country. Since the Emperor of Dongsheng was so difficult to deal with, she had to find his weakness.
Obviously, Queen Dongfang Yi was his weakness. Now that Dongfang Yi had fallen into the trap and her life was in danger, when the people found them, they might only bring back a corpse.
By then, Helian Qi would be heartbroken and in a complete mess. That would be the best time for the Southern Neighboring Country to launch an attack.
Thinking of this, she seemed to have already imagined the scene of the Southern Neighboring Country unifying the two countries in the future. The victorious smile on her lips became deeper and deeper.
Both of them had their own ulterior motives. Concubine Lian was happily immersed in her utopian fantasy and didn't realize that she was being used at all.
The night was getting deeper and deeper. The moon was covered by clouds, and the forest became darker and darker. It was already difficult to walk normally, let alone search for people at night.
Torches were flickering in the forest. The voices calling for the Queen and the Prince of Nanping echoed everywhere, but in the vast forest, there was only an echo. There was no response from the missing people at all.
Helian Qi was extremely anxious. He was about to rush into the forest to search in person, but he was stopped by a group of ministers. They all shouted in unison that the Queen's disappearance proved that there was danger in the forest. They couldn't ignore the Emperor's safety. After all, the Emperor represented the whole Dongsheng Country. They absolutely couldn't let the Emperor take risks.
After hearing this, the veins on his forehead popped up, and his teeth were clenched tightly. He knew that he couldn't just leave at this moment, so he had to frown and return to his tent.
As soon as he entered the tent, he took off his black robe and put on a night suit. He also covered his face with a black cloth.