Murong Min ordered his men to push open the palace door. The room was extremely dim. He murmured, "Who put out the candles?"
Aunt Meijiang came over in response and said with a smile, "Maybe Her Majesty came in for a drink of water just now. Seeing the candles burning and no one in the palace, she put them out. Your Majesty, don't take it to heart. Her Majesty has always had this habit."
Murong Min turned around and looked over with a scrutinizing gaze. "Where's the Empress?"
Aunt Meijiang replied, "Her Majesty has gone out. Why did Your Majesty come into the palace to look for her again?"
She had no idea where Dugu Luanyue was hiding and could only make up such an excuse. It was really terrifying. This emperor was so vigilant. He was even worried when his own empress came into his bedroom for a drink of water.
Murong Min continued to walk inside and looked around. Dugu Luanyue was hiding under the dragon desk. Murong Min's foot had stepped on the hem of her dress, and her heart was pounding. Once discovered by Murong Min, she wouldn't even have a chance to defend herself.
Suddenly, a scream came from outside the palace, from near the garden of Zichen Palace. "Help! Help! Someone come quickly!" Judging from the voice, it was Su Rou calling for help.
Hearing the sound, Murong Min immediately turned around and walked out of the palace, rushing towards the small garden. The guards of Zichen Palace also gathered there.
By the light of the palace lanterns, Murong Min saw a torn woman's dress on the ground. It was purple, and Su Rou had been wearing purple just now.
Su Rou let out a miserable cry. "Your Majesty, save me!"
Murong Min said in a deep voice, "Ying Xi, send someone to check it out."
Dugu Luanyue also quietly went to the small garden from the other side. When Su Rou was led out by the guards, she walked out of it innocently with a look on her face. "Su Rou, what happened to you?"
Su Rou's hairpin was in a mess and her clothes were in disarray. She cried softly, "Your servant was molested by a guard in the palace. Your servant doesn't want to live anymore!"
The guards brought Zhao Chuhe out from the small garden. Zhao Chuhe's eyes were still a bit dazed and his head was dizzy. When he came out, the belt in the middle of his armor was gone. He was held down by Murong Min's guards behind him and couldn't move.
Murong Min roared angrily, "How dare you! Zhao Chuhe, you actually drank while on duty in the palace and molested the maidservant in my Zichen Palace. I think you don't want to live anymore!"
Dugu Luanyue's voice became a bit softer. "Your Majesty, I had some doubts just now. I was still asking Your Majesty why there were fewer guards patrolling outside my Fengluan Palace. Now I understand. Maybe Commander Zhao has some selfish motives? Your Majesty also knows that there are many beautiful women in the harem. This Commander Zhao drank while on duty and withdrew some guards from the harem. I don't know if Commander Zhao has some selfish motives."
Zhao Chuhe pointed at Dugu Luanyue and scolded loudly, "Wicked Empress, you keep spreading fallacies all day long! The number of guards responsible for patrolling outside your Fengluan Palace has always been so small. What does it have to do with me?"
The person who had set up this situation was Huo Wei before. It was Huo Wei who deliberately transferred them away, and Dugu Luanyue herself knew it. After all, Huo Wei often came to find her secretly, and too many guards would be inconvenient.
Murong Min's eyebrows were tinged with anger. He folded his hands behind his back. "How dare you! Without talking about other things, you molested the maidservant today and should be severely punished!"
Zhao Chuhe explained, "Your Majesty, your subject is wronged! Your subject met Lord He at the palace gate. He said he had bought some good wine, so your subject took a sip. There was nothing wrong all the time. Who would have known... who would have known that when I walked into the garden during the patrol, I..."
Su Rou cried and complained, "Your Majesty, although your servant has a humble status, at least I'm the one who serves Your Majesty. How can I be molested by Commander Zhao like this? Please make the decision for your servant, Your Majesty."
Dugu Luanyue held Murong Min's arm and said in a somewhat low voice, "Your Majesty, this Commander Zhao drank and caused trouble. Today it was Su Rou who entered this small garden, but I was also in the small garden just now. If I had been... by this Commander Zhao..." She frowned and threw herself into Murong Min's arms, crying, "I'm the Empress after all. If something really happened to me, I would have no choice but to end my own life."
Murong Min put his arm around her shoulder. "Alright, I'll make the decision for you and Su Rou. Someone, remove Zhao Chuhe from his position as the commander of the imperial guards. Let the deputy general act as the commander temporarily. After the Prince of Yuzhang returns, hand over the position to him. Zhao Chuhe, for the sake of Concubine Zhao who has served me for many years, I won't take your life. If there's a next time, I'll definitely take your head. Go back home and confine yourself. Without my permission, don't step into the palace again."
Zhao Chuhe looked at Dugu Luanyue with angry eyes. Dugu Luanyue stared at him quietly, neither smiling nor making a fuss, but showing a victorious stance. What Zhao Chuhe would never know was that the good wine given by He Xun had no problem. What triggered his animal desire was the sachet on Su Rou. There was a medicinal ingredient in the sachet. As long as the person who drank the good wine smelled this fragrance, they would surely go crazy with lust. Su Rou was deliberately arranged there by her.
Before Huo Wei left, he gave Dugu Luanyue a copy of the patrol schedule. Only in this way could Dugu Luanyue calculate when Zhao Chuhe was on duty and when he would patrol to the garden outside Zichen Palace. Su Rou and Zhao Chuhe were bound to meet, and once they met, something would surely happen. All this was within Dugu Luanyue's plan. She couldn't let all the efforts she had made go to waste just because Huo Wei left.
When Dugu Luanyue returned to the palace, she was in a rather good mood. She said, "Aunt, it's been a long time since things have gone so smoothly. I've also changed the amount of silver on that memorial. I just didn't expect the plague in Danyang City to be so serious. Murong Min only allocated 14,000 taels of silver. It really broadened my horizons."
Aunt Meijiang looked up at the Empress in the phoenix carriage. "Your Majesty, when you said you wanted to renovate the hot - spring palace before, His Majesty wasn't so stingy. Why, when something happened in Danyang City, which is a national matter, His Majesty did the opposite? Don't you think it's strange, Your Majesty?"
Dugu Luanyue's smile faded. Her bright red fingernails tapped on the armrest of the phoenix chair in the carriage one by one. "It is strange, but Murong Min is very scheming. I can't guess his intention for the time being. He must have used the silver for something more beneficial to him, even more important than saving the disaster - stricken people. Let me think about it. There's no hurry. Anyway, I've changed the amount. After Huo Wei arrives in Danyang City, he won't start off in a losing situation."
Twenty days passed before Huo Wei sent an urgent secret letter from Danyang City. Dugu Luanyue held the letter and felt worried. "This is going to be a tough battle. It's not easy to fight. The situation in Danyang City is more serious than we thought. Huo Wei and the others can't even enter the city at all."
Aunt Meijiang said, "We don't know how the Prince of Yuzhang will solve this tough battle. It's really a thorny problem."
After this letter was sent, no more letters about Huo Wei were received for the next month.
Dugu Luanyue inquired in the court and learned that Murong Min had decided to seal off the city and only left the southern exit, which was the road leading to the border of Southern Chu.
Just when Dugu Luanyue was extremely worried, Military Advisor Shen, Shen Guilan, who was beside Huo Wei, asked her Fengling Guards to bring back a letter for her.
Dugu Luanyue unfolded the letter and only then did she know that something big had happened to Huo Wei in Danyang City.