Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Chapter 526 Acting

Upon seeing this, the man in black immediately pounced again. This time, instead of grabbing Cui Zhihao's arm, he stuffed a wad of cloth into his mouth, tied his hands behind his back, and dragged him toward the horse.

"Mmm! Wanwan!"

Choi Ji-ho struggled desperately, his eyes filled with anxiety, but he could only watch helplessly as he was pulled onto the saddle.

Shi Wanxia wanted to give chase, but was entangled by two men in black.

She didn't know any martial arts and relied solely on brute force to keep going. She had also fought with Zhou Wenbin's men before, so her stamina was already exhausted. After only a few moves, the man in black slashed her arm.

By the time she shook off the other man, the horse carrying Choi Ji-ho had already run out of the alley, leaving behind only a jade pendant that had fallen from Choi Ji-ho's body—a white jade pendant with the character "Lu" engraved on it.

"Brother Cui!" Shi Wanxia picked up the jade pendant and chased after him towards the alley entrance, but the sound of horses' hooves had long since disappeared.

She stood there, looking at the "Lu" character pendant in her hand, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat—the Lu family of Fanyang, the Empress's maternal clan!

Just then, hurried footsteps came from behind; it was Little Li.

He was sweating profusely from running, clutching a token in his hand: "Miss Shi! Something terrible has happened! News has come from the palace that Her Majesty the Empress says the Crown Prince poisoned His Majesty's medicine and has placed him under house arrest in the Eastern Palace!"

"what?"

Shi Wanxia turned around abruptly, almost dropping the jade pendant in her hand.

"Household annexation? Is the Empress really going to take action against the Crown Prince?"

"Isn't she the Crown Prince's biological mother? Why would she do this!"

"Absolutely true!"

Little Li, panting, handed her the token. "This is the token His Highness Crown Prince Shen gave me. He said that if you encounter any trouble, you can use it to enter the Eastern Palace."

"Now only you can go and check the situation. I'll try to contact the patrol battalion to see if we can find Young Master Cui's whereabouts."

Shi Wanxia took the token, her heart filled with anxiety and confusion—on one side was Cui Zhihao, who had been kidnapped; on the other side was Shen Yanzhou, who was under house arrest; and there was also His Majesty, who was feigning illness in the palace. This situation was becoming increasingly chaotic.

But she knew that she had to stabilize Shen Yanzhou first, otherwise the situation in the entire capital would get out of control.

"Be careful,"

Shi Wanxia tucked the jade pendant into her bosom. "Once you find news of Cui Zhihao, immediately send someone to the East Palace to tell me."

Little Li nodded, and the two went their separate ways. Shi Wanxia, ​​clutching the token, hurried towards the palace, deliberately taking a longer route to avoid the patrolling imperial guards—

Since the Empress dared to place Shen Yanzhou under house arrest, she must have already taken control of the palace gates. She cannot confront her head-on.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the gate of the East Palace, there were three times as many guards as usual, each holding a long spear and with a serious expression.

Just as Shi Wanxia was about to take out the token, a maid dressed in a pink palace dress walked over. It was Jinshu, the Empress's personal maid.

"Miss Shi,"

Jinshu spoke in a low voice, holding a food box in her hand, "Her Majesty the Empress knew you were coming and asked me to take you in—but you must promise me that no matter what you see inside, you will not make a sound."

Shi Wanxia was stunned, her doubts growing stronger—if the Empress really wanted to harm Shen Yanzhou, why would she let Jinshu take her in? There must be something wrong here.

Following Jinshu into the East Palace, the corridor was eerily quiet, without even a single palace maid in sight.

As they reached the study door, Jinshu nudged her arm: "Go in, His Majesty and the Empress are inside."

His Majesty?

Shi Wanxia was startled. Could it be that His Majesty was not recuperating in his palace, but instead in the East Palace?

She hesitated for a moment, but still pushed open the study door.

As soon as the door opened, Emperor Shen Yuxi's voice could be heard: "Yanzhou, are you sure that Cui Zhihao's abduction was targeted at the Cui family?"

Shi Wanxia suddenly stopped in her tracks—in the study, the emperor was dressed in ordinary clothes, showing no sign of illness whatsoever.

Shen Yanzhou stood opposite him with a serious expression, while Empress Lu Shuyan sat to the side, holding a jade pendant in her hand, the very same "Lu" character pendant that had just fallen from Cui Zhihao's body!

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Shi Wanxia was so shocked that she couldn't speak, and the sword in her hand clattered to the ground.

Shen Yuxi looked up and saw her, but he wasn't surprised. He just waved his hand and said, "Come in. Since you heard it, listen to it too."

Lu Shuyan stood up, walked to her side, picked up the sword from the ground, and said gently, "Don't be afraid, Miss. His Majesty was not poisoned, and Yanzhou was not placed under house arrest. It's all an act for outsiders."

"Acting, acting?"

Shi Wanxia still didn't understand, "Why do we have to act in this kind of play?"

"Because the remnants of Rongyang King's faction are hiding deeper than we thought."

Shen Yuxi walked up to her and pointed to the jade pendant in the Empress's hand.

"This is the clan pendant of the Lu family of Fanyang. Only members of the collateral branches would use it."

"The Empress's cousin, Lu Yuan, has long been secretly colluding with Prince Rongyang, hoping to use the Lu family's power to overthrow me and support Prince Rongyang's restoration."

Lu Shuyan took over the conversation, a hint of helplessness in his eyes: "My Lu family of Fanyang is a family of scholars, and we absolutely cannot have anyone who colludes with the enemy and betrays the country."

"His Majesty feigned illness, and I deliberately placed Yanzhou under house arrest so that Lu Yuan would believe there was internal conflict among us, which would then prompt him to intervene—"

"The reason for kidnapping Cui Zhihao is to extract the whereabouts of the military defense map from the Cui family. Cui Yi fought alongside the late emperor and has a lot of secrets in his possession."

Shi Wanxia suddenly realized that everything before was a scheme!

Looking at the emperor and empress before her, she suddenly remembered what the empress had said when she prayed for blessings at the Imperial Ancestral Temple: "May Your Majesty be well and healthy, and may the country and the nation be free from worry." It turned out that she had already been acting in cooperation with the emperor back then.

"And what about Choi Ji-ho now..."

Shi Wanxia was most worried about Cui Zhihao. He was definitely in danger if he fell into Lu Yuan's hands.

Shen Yanzhou walked to her side and handed her a note: "This was just delivered by Xiao Li. Lu Yuan sent someone to tell you to take a copy of the military defense map to the abandoned dock in the west of the city to exchange for Cui Zhihao. It's tomorrow at midnight. If you miss it, you won't be able to go."

"Military defense map?"

Shi Wanxia took the note, her heart tightening. "Where can we get a copy of the military defense map?"

"Have."

Lu Shuyan took out a roll of blueprints from the drawer and handed it to her. "This is a fake blueprint that I ordered the Ministry of Works to make. Several checkpoints were deliberately marked incorrectly on it. If Lu Yuan really uses it, he will only walk into a trap."

Shi Wanxia took the blueprints, still feeling uneasy: "But Lu Yuan is so cunning, what if he discovers they're fake? What if he hurts Cui Zhihao?"

Shen Yanzhou patted her shoulder, his tone firm: "Don't worry, I'll lead the patrol battalion to ambush around the abandoned dock. As soon as Lu Yuan appears, we'll take action immediately. You just need to lure him out, don't be impulsive."

Looking at her nervous appearance, Lu Shuyan couldn't help but laugh: "Your feelings for Young Master Cui are clearer than the words on the case file."

"Rest assured, we will not let anything happen to Young Master Cui—Cui Yi is a loyal and virtuous man, and I cannot allow his son to sacrifice himself for the court in vain."

Shi Wanxia blushed, lowered her head, and clenched the blueprints in her hand.