At this moment, Kong Ze's consciousness was already a bit blurred. He vaguely heard the cries of the Fifth Princess. He propped himself up with his last bit of strength, suppressing the blood surging in his throat, and said with difficulty, "Princess Fifth, don't cry..."
Dongfang Mengling's heart trembled. Watching Kong Ze faint completely, at this moment she clearly felt that he wasn't heartless towards her. But she never expected it would be in such a situation.
"Sorry, sorry... It's all my fault that has harmed you..."
Dongfang Mengling murmured constantly with red - rimmed eyes. Soon, she was taken by several old maids to a relatively remote and desolate quiet hall in the palace.
This quiet hall enshrined a Buddhist niche. It was a place in the harem used to punish concubines who made mistakes or were impolite. They were confined here and had to copy Buddhist scriptures several times a day to reflect on themselves.
"Princess Fifth, Her Majesty the Queen has just instructed that you must copy the Buddhist scriptures a hundred times here. You're not allowed to leave this place until then."
Dongfang Mengling had no intention of copying the Buddhist scriptures at this moment. Her hand holding the writing brush couldn't stop trembling. Her mind was full of worries about Kong Ze's condition.
On this side, Kong Ze was unjustly accused by the Queen and directly thrown into the dungeon.
Concubine Mu stood in front of the table and slowly put away the black mist in her hand. Everything returned to normal.
At this time, a maid walked in from outside the hall. "Your Highness, Her Majesty the Queen sent word that the Grand National Master did indeed appear in the Changping Hall. He has now been thrown into the dungeon."
"Hehe."
Concubine Mu smiled proudly. "The Grand National Master is nothing special."
"I'd like to go and meet him. Prepare the sedan chair for me."
In the dim and damp dungeon.
Not long after Kong Ze was thrown in, he opened his eyes and woke up. The pain from the numerous knife wounds all over his body made him suck in a breath of cold air.
After thinking about the ins and outs of the whole thing, he knew that the whole thing was a trap. Maybe even the forced marriage of the Fifth Princess was a move in this trap designed for him.
So who on earth wanted to set such a trap for him?
The figure of Concubine Mu immediately appeared in Kong Ze's mind. This Concubine Mu was definitely the biggest suspect. But soon Kong Ze thought that there was no feud between him and Concubine Mu. Why would she target him?
Could it be...
Kong Ze's heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling. This Concubine Mu had targeted his junior sister several times before and tried to assassinate her. So Concubine Mu's real target was still his junior sister!
Kong Ze was extremely worried. The most urgent thing was to leave this place immediately, otherwise, God knows what would happen.
Now that he wasn't in that main hall, Kong Ze was going to try to gather his spiritual power again to see if he could release it in a different place.
However, as soon as he tried to mobilize his spiritual power, his internal organs felt as if they were being severely squeezed by something. The pain made him break out in a cold sweat. Moreover, his meridians were blocked, and he simply couldn't release his spiritual power.
What was going on?
Just then, the cold and sarcastic laughter of a woman came from outside. "Grand National Master, doesn't it feel so憋屈 and unwilling that you can't release your spiritual power?"
"Hehe, you don't have to struggle anymore. If you continue to try, your internal organs will be damaged to varying degrees, and your meridians may shatter at any time."
Hearing the woman's voice, Kong Ze immediately looked up at the person coming.
Sure enough, it was her!
"Concubine Mu, as expected, you're also the one behind the Fifth Princess's matter, aren't you?"
"Grand National Master, you're in such a difficult situation yourself. How do you still have the leisure to care about others?"
Kong Ze looked coldly at this coquettish woman and couldn't help but frown. "Who on earth are you? You're not Concubine Mu at all, or rather, the real Concubine Mu is already dead."
Concubine Mu slowly stroked the fur of the black cat in her arms, slightly raised the corners of her eyes, and glanced meaningfully at Kong Ze. "Grand National Master, your words are quite interesting. Isn't the real Grand National Master already dead?"
"Who on earth are you?!"
Kong Ze couldn't help but clench his fists. He didn't expect that there would be such a difficult person in the palace of the Dan Kingdom.
"It's not the time for you to know my identity yet. But don't worry, Grand National Master. When the Fifth Princess is successfully sent to the Wuz State for the marriage alliance, when Princess Helan is completely destroyed, and when you're at the end of your rope, I will naturally tell you everything you want to know!"
"You!" Kong Ze gritted his silver teeth so hard that they made a clicking sound. "What on earth did you do to me? Why can't I release my spiritual power?!"
"Well, I can tell you about this."
"Previously, you couldn't use your spiritual power in the Changping Hall because I set up a formation outside the hall. This formation can completely restrict your spiritual power. And now you can't use your spiritual power because I made you take the Rest - Stopping Pill. This pill is a kind of chronic toxin. First, it blocks your meridians, and then it gradually corrodes..."
As if in response to Concubine Mu's words, Kong Ze felt a burning and stinging pain deep inside his body, as if there was a ball of fire burning among his internal organs.
"You have a good - looking face. It's a pity... But since you're that dead girl's senior brother, I have no choice but to deal with you as well."
Concubine Mu left these words and then gracefully turned around and left.
However, not long after Concubine Mu left, Kong Ze gritted his teeth and adjusted his breath. He used all his strength to suppress the discomfort in his meridians. Finally, a glimmer of spiritual power ignited in his palm.
He tore off a piece of cloth from his clothes and used his limited spiritual power to write a line of words on it. Then he transformed it into a white bird. After letting go, the white bird immediately flew out through a window on the high wall.
...
It was late at night. A team of people was speeding towards the territory of the Yuan Kingdom.
"Master, something's wrong!"
"A lot of black - clothed bandits broke into the private residence of Concubine Xi and the Eleventh Prince. These black - clothed bandits are quite skilled in martial arts. Many of the guards and secret guards we sent there were killed or injured. Someone sent a signal asking for reinforcements!"
Helan Yanting frowned slightly. "Did they discover it so soon..."
"Yan Liu, you immediately mobilize other secret guards to rush to reinforce them. If necessary, send out our internal masters as well. We must protect Concubine Xi and the Eleventh Prince!"
"Also, try to capture those black - clothed bandits alive so that we can interrogate them."
"Yes, Master!"
Helan Yanting's face looked a bit pale in the light of the candle. Just after finishing speaking, he suddenly coughed a few times. "Cough... Cough..."
Hearing the coughing, Yan Qi, who was guarding outside the carriage, immediately stopped the carriage and lifted the curtain to check worriedly.
"Master, your body may not be suitable for continuing this long - distance journey. How about we find a place to rest and adjust in front, and then invite Doctor Bian to come and treat you?"
Helan Yanting's face was gloomy. How could he not know that his body was at the end of its strength, but this problem was not that easy to solve.
Helan Yanting slowly shook his head. "No need. Just continue on our original route."
"Cough... Cough..."
"But Master, your body—"
Helan Yanting glanced at Yan Qi. "I know what I'm doing. Just do as I say."
Knowing that he couldn't say more, Yan Qi had no choice but to nod, put down the curtain, and tell the coachman to continue moving forward.
Not long after the carriage curtain was put down, a black hawk flew in through the window on one side. The black hawk landed steadily on Helan Yanting's shoulder, and its green - glowing eyes rolled.
"Have you found any traces of the other souls I asked you to look for?"