Shen Guilan frowned tightly, a look of puzzlement on his face. But in his moment of distraction, he noticed Huo Wei's sharp and sinister eyes scrutinizing him.
Murong Min clutched his chest, his face abnormally flushed. His already frail body couldn't take the stimulation, and he suddenly started coughing violently. Then he shouted:
"Guards! Seal off the Changle Palace. No one is allowed to leave!"
A few days later, rumors started to spread in the court that the Second Prince had been silenced, and the words he had said before his death might very well be true.
Despite his illness, Murong Min was still extremely suspicious. In the middle of the night, he summoned Huo Wei from the Eastern Palace to the Zichen Palace.
Dugu Luanyue was in the Zichen Palace taking care of the emperor. Just as Huo Wei walked in, Dugu Luanyue happened to be standing beside him.
Murong Min squinted his eyes and seemed to see Xie Jinyang and Lu Wanyin standing together. In a fit of excitement, he got out of bed and grabbed Dugu Luanyue by the neck:
"Slut! You still miss Xie Jinyang in your heart, don't you!"
Dugu Luanyue was being choked almost to death, her eyes rolling upwards. "Your Majesty... I am..."
She had clearly asked Sheng Yunqi to replace the hallucinogenic golden pills for Murong Min. Why was Murong Min getting worse day by day?
In the past few days, Dugu Luanyue had clearly felt that Murong Min's mind was becoming more and more unclear, and the moments of clarity were getting fewer and fewer.
Huo Wei quickly moved behind Murong Min and was about to strike him on the head when Dugu Luanyue gave him a panicked look, signaling him not to do so.
Huo Wei slowly retracted his hand. The hostility in his dark, sinister eyes was hard to conceal, but he still reached out and pulled Murong Min away. "Father, you've mistaken her."
Then he shielded Dugu Luanyue behind him. His whole figure loomed over Murong Min like a dark shadow. At this moment, Murong Min regained a bit of clarity and then fainted.
Huo Wei said calmly, "It doesn't matter that he suspects. Now that the Wei family is behind me, those rumors in the court are just idle talk. The Wei family will suppress them in a few days."
Dugu Luanyue let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I can rest assured then."
Huo Wei grabbed her arm and dragged her to a corner behind the bedroom. But he still wouldn't let go. His voice was gloomy and forceful as he questioned her:
"Dugu Luanyue, don't you know that he's getting more and more crazy? If he strangles you to death next time, you deserve it!"
Dugu Luanyue shrank into the corner of the wall and rubbed her elbow that had been hurt from the impact.
"The Emperor has clearly been holding back recently. But why is he getting worse and worse? I've already asked Yunqi to stop the medicine, but his condition is really not right."
Huo Wei held her delicate neck, not using much force, but his face was still fierce. "Stay out of these things. Do you hear me?"
Dugu Luanyue raised her head and looked at him. Her beautiful and charming face showed a touch of sadness.
"You've already become the Crown Prince. Murong Min's health is much worse than before. I think you won't have any enemies in the future.
Huo Wei, I'm going to tell the Emperor that I'm going to the temple to pray for him, and then I'm going to leave Northern Yan on this pretext."
Huo Wei's expression twitched slightly, and then he regained his coldness. "Where Her Majesty wants to go has nothing to do with me. But as the Queen of Northern Yan, how can you escape?"
Dugu Luanyue glanced at Murong Min lying on the bed. Afraid that he would suddenly wake up, she lowered her voice and said:
"Huo Wei, I'm not joking with you. I'm really going to go back to Southern Chu.
I've told you before that when you've firmly established your position in the Northern Yan court and no longer use attacking Southern Chu as a means to seize power, it will be the time for me to leave."
Huo Wei's well - defined jaw tightened. Hostility emanated from his peerless and gloomy face. "If the Queen of Northern Yan escapes back to Southern Chu, do you really think Northern Yan won't find out when you ascend the throne in the future?"
Dugu Luanyue explained, "I have an identical twin brother. He has a congenital defect and can't replace me permanently, but we look exactly the same. We can fool outsiders."
Huo Wei's thin lips curled up slightly. He took a step closer to her.
"Your Majesty, just stay in Northern Yan obediently and enjoy the blessings of being the Empress Dowager in the future. Don't think about things that are too far - fetched."
After saying that, he returned to the Eastern Palace. Before leaving, the curve of his thin lips had changed from the previous arrogance. It was the sense of control over everything after the one in power held the power of life and death.
Dugu Luanyue watched his back, feeling mixed emotions for a moment. Huo Wei really seemed to have changed recently.
For such an arrogant person to obediently call Murong Min "Father" was already very abnormal.
However, she didn't take to heart what Huo Wei had just said. Huo Wei had known about her plan to leave from the very beginning.
The next day, Dugu Luanyue asked for the Emperor's permission, saying that she was going to the White Horse Temple to pray for the Emperor to ward off disasters.
Murong Min granted her permission, and she immediately set off without delay.
Not far after the phoenix carriage left the Fengluan Palace, it was stopped.
Huo Wei stood below, looking at her with a solemn expression.
"Your Majesty, you were frightened at the Fuyue Temple last time. This time when you go to the White Horse Temple, I've specially sent heavy troops to guard it. You can go there with peace of mind."
Dugu Luanyue lifted the curtain of the carriage and glanced at Huo Wei. Then she got out of the phoenix carriage. Her beautiful eyes were tinged with a bit of anger. "Huo Wei, what exactly do you mean?"
Huo Wei lowered his eyes and looked at her calmly. "Is Your Majesty complaining that I'm making decisions for you? I've learned all these tricks from Your Majesty."
Dugu Luanyue pulled him under a thick - trunked banyan tree. Standing in the snow in a red dress, her expression had turned cold.
"I know you resent me and hate me. But now you've already become the Crown Prince of Northern Yan.
From now on, you'll be at the top of the power in Northern Yan and have absolute control. What else do you want? Why won't you let me go? Tell me!"
Huo Wei said expressionlessly, "Do you know what it means for the princess of marriage to flee? What, are you in a hurry to go back and marry your husband Sheng Yunqi?"
Dugu Luanyue gritted her teeth. "Let me go, Huo Wei."
A faint, cold smile appeared in Huo Wei's dark eyes. "I'm the Crown Prince of Northern Yan now. I can do whatever I want. I won't let you go. What can you do about it?"
He took a step closer to Dugu Luanyue and gently scraped his cold, white and slender fingers across her cheek. The smile gradually turned ferocious.
"Now, I make decisions for the world and for everyone."
A troop of imperial guards came hurrying from behind. Zhao Chuhe gave an order. "By the Emperor's oral order, arrest the Queen Dugu!"
The imperial guards surrounded the phoenix carriage tightly. Two soldiers saw the Crown Prince and the Queen standing very close under the tree. They looked at each other and didn't dare to step forward.
Huo Wei glanced sideways and asked slowly, "What are you doing?"
The soldier said, "Arresting the Queen. Please, Your Highness the Crown Prince, step aside."
Zhao Chuhe came forward in armor, drew out his long sword and swung it at Dugu Luanyue.
"Your Majesty, the Taoist priest Yanxu and Cihe have been arrested and imprisoned. You're the mastermind behind drugging the Emperor. The Emperor knows everything now!"