In the Mingzheng Hall, a man was struck with horror.
His shrill scream shocked the people passing by. Everyone rushed over and saw a severed head hanging at the entrance of the Mingzheng Hall.
It was the little eunuch who often brought food to Rong Jiangyu. The eunuch's head was still dripping blood.
His death was truly horrifying.
The maidservant had been crying in terror just now, and this incident was immediately reported to Rong Xun.
"Your Majesty, the former crown prince is missing," said Mu Yue, a death - servant beside Rong Xun.
Mu Yue frowned as he spoke. He couldn't figure out how the man had escaped. Logically speaking, in such a desolate place, even if he had the strength to break the iron chains, he shouldn't have been able to get out of the heavily - guarded palace.
So, there was only one possibility: there must be some spies in the court.
"Search! Find him for me!" Rong Xun stared coldly at the entrance of the hall and watched as a group of people rushed out.
At the entrance, Su Ningde couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
It seemed that the situation in the palace was about to change.
At this moment, in the forest outside the palace, a carriage was speeding along. Inside the carriage was Rong Jiangyu, who had just escaped, and beside him sat the Western Regions envoy who had arrived not long ago.
"Are the arrangements outside in place?" Rong Jiangyu asked with a devilish smile.
"Everything is well - arranged. Your Highness, please rest assured," the envoy replied.
Hearing this, Rong Jiangyu took the small item the man handed over. He glanced at it casually and then tossed the small cube aside.
"So, you've been busy for so long just because of this little thing?" It was Bulin, the leader of the Western Regions envoys who had spoken to Tang Youyou that day.
Bulin said, "This little thing is very rare in our place, so I thought I'd take some back. I didn't expect it to cause delays and make Your Highness suffer so much."
"It doesn't matter. Isn't this how you usually do things?" Rong Jiangyu said.
Hearing this, Bulin blushed, and his white beard twitched nervously.
"I'm just scolding you a bit. Do you have to be so scared?"
Bulin remained calm and respectful, clasping his fists and saying, "Your Highness always exudes an aura of authority. How can I not be afraid?"
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Rong Jiangyu's face again, but this time it was not as ferocious as before.
Apparently, Bulin's words had pleased Rong Jiangyu, or rather, the great demon.
"Under the current circumstances, we can only return to the Western Regions first. The dog emperor is still testing the waters. Let him think hard and exhaust himself." Bulin nodded.
The situation in the Western Regions was not good either. As autumn turned to winter, there was no harvest at all. The people there were eating the food left over from last year.
Apart from horses, they didn't have much left. So, if they couldn't conquer the Ming Kingdom this year, it meant that many border herdsmen would starve to death.
And Rong Jiangyu was taking advantage of this weakness of the Western Regions people.
The so - called people from the Western Regions were mostly barbarians.
That was why Bulin's weakness had been grasped by Rong Jiangyu. Rong Jiangyu could tell that the people around him were worried.
"You don't need to worry blindly. I know more about some things than you think. I've already considered things you haven't even thought of."
Hearing this, Bulin just nodded slightly.
"I'm just worried about not having enough to eat. As the saying goes, food is the paramount necessity of the people. We in the Western Regions also understand this truth."
However, what Rong Jiangyu valued most was the medical skills of the Western Regions people. As is well - known, the people from the Western Regions were not good at martial arts but were very skilled in medicine.
Among their medical skills, they were especially good at witchcraft, which was known to very few people but was quite popular in the Western Regions.
Rong Jiangyu said, "As long as you cooperate with me well, not only this year's food but also future food will be easily obtained."
This time, he wanted the entire Western Regions and the entire Ming Kingdom. After the treacherous officials of the previous dynasty were exiled to the border, they had been waiting for Rong Jiangyu's return. He was considered the only promising talent in their eyes.
They were willing to follow him. On the one hand, it was because Rong Jiangyu was born extraordinary; on the other hand, it was because of his superb strategies.
In terms of strategy, Rong Jiangyu was better than Rong Xun, but in terms of overall ability, Rong Xun had the upper hand.
But he was self - confident and would never admit that he was inferior to Rong Xun.
This was absolutely impossible.
Soon, Rong Jiangyu arrived at Chang'an Street. When they came to Chang'an Street again, an unnatural look flashed across Rong Jiangyu's face.
Because there, he saw another old acquaintance. It was obvious that Tang Youyou was extremely happy at the moment.
Her belly was slightly bulging. If he didn't have excellent medical skills, he wouldn't have noticed.
Rong Jiangyu deliberately avoided the rouge shop and stopped at the Chenghuan Tower not far away. There were many beautiful women in the brothel, mostly women of easy virtue.
However, every woman here was forced into this situation. In such a place where one had no control over one's own life, forcing good women into prostitution was a common occurrence, and men gradually got used to it.
Rong Jiangyu watched as Tang Youyou in the distance was warmly entertaining customers. He felt a strange sense of emotion in his heart. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen her for a long time, and seeing her suddenly made him miss her.
Bulin saw Rong Jiangyu lost in thought and motioned for the madam in the distance to come over.
"Ma'am, find us some beautiful women. Just arrange some food that can fill our stomachs."
Seeing that these men were well - dressed, the madam immediately said in a high - pitched voice, "Okay, sir. Please wait a moment. I'll arrange it right away. Ruoyan, come quickly and serve these gentlemen well!"
At the madam's order, the girls rushed over like hungry wolves, sticking to the two men, constantly feeding them and even urging them to drink.
This made Rong Jiangyu frown. He glanced at Bulin opposite him and saw that this man was already infatuated with these women.
Rong Jiangyu unceremoniously pushed the woman beside him away, wiped his hands in disgust, then picked up the bowls and chopsticks and began to eat to his heart's content.
It had to be said that this was the first time he had eaten such delicious food in a long time, but it wasn't the most delicious meal.
Looking back, the roasted chickens Tang Youyou had brought every time were really mouth - watering.