“What are you thinking about?” Feng Dingchu shot her a sideways glance.
“Aren’t my things always different? What’s there to question?”
“But…”
“You think it’s a token?” He almost laughed; in fact, a smile was already playing on his lips.
A smile of irony.
Chu Qianli glared at him, her face full of resentment, “How come I’m not worthy of your token?”
“I’m just a wanderer, a cloud and wild crane. Where would I get a token? Let’s go.”
Chu Qianli put away the red pouch and turned to leave.
Ming Hong had arrived a day ago.
Tonight, some people were due to arrive.
…
The Great Wei Palace.
This was where the Emperor of Bei Ming entertained foreign dignitaries.
Before foreign guests entered the palace, they would generally stay at the Great Wei Palace.
Only when the Emperor decided on the time for the meeting would the Head Eunuch lead the royal procession to personally escort them into the palace for an audience.
Tonight, the Great Wei Palace welcomed two distinguished guests, one of whom was Wei Qiong.
“General, we have searched every inch of the imperial city, inside and out, except for a few princely manors. We have found no trace of Chu Qianli.”
“As for the residences of the princes, His Majesty has also sent people to conduct searches, but there is no news yet.”
Although the Emperor himself had issued the search warrant, the princes, especially Prince Xuan and Prince He, held sensitive and noble statuses.
Even with a imperial decree in hand, the imperial guards dared not act presumptuously in front of them.
A thorough search would not be easy.
“So, Chu Qianli is very likely at Prince Xuan’s manor right now?” Wei Qiong’s eyes deepened slightly, lost in thought.
Ming Hong, however, shook his head and frowned, “General, according to what I’ve learned, Chu Qianli’s relationship with Prince Xuan turned sour after returning to the imperial city.”
“Turned sour?” Wei Qiong was somewhat surprised. This matter was truly unexpected. “What do you mean by ‘sour’?”
How could the relationship between a pair of lovers who had faced life and death together just turn sour like that?
Back then, Prince Xuan had abandoned his own army for Chu Qianli, traveling thousands of miles to Long Teng just to help her reclaim the throne.
Such deep affection and righteousness were absolutely priceless. ‘Sour’?
It was hard to imagine.
“I heard that Chu Qianli later got together with Prince He and even requested an imperial decree for betrothal.”
“What?” This time, Wei Qiong almost fell off her chair.
This… it couldn’t be, could it?
Had Chu Qianli lost her mind?
“The matter is absolutely true.” Ming Hong could only gather so much information.
Of course, regarding the true and false Chu Qianli, even the Emperor was unaware. Very few people knew.
He certainly had no opportunity to verify it.
As for Wei Qiong, after Chu Qianli left, she was busy assisting Wei Xian and Long Ziyue in stabilizing the empire, so busy she didn’t even have time to eat.
She naturally had no interest in the Empress’s romantic affairs.
She had thought Chu Qianli would soon return to Long Teng with Feng Ye Xuan and govern the country together.
Who knew that Chu Qianli and Feng Ye Xuan’s relationship would change so drastically in Bei Ming.
Even more unexpected was the appearance of that imperial decree later…
In short, it was a mess.
Wei Qiong herself hadn’t expected things to reach this point.
“I don’t believe her feelings for Prince Xuan are truly gone. Perhaps she is at Prince Xuan’s manor right now.”
“General…”
“You don’t need to mention this to anyone. We’ll find another opportunity to investigate Prince Xuan’s manor later.”
Wei Qiong’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
She suddenly waved her hand, “Ming Hong, I’m a bit tired. You go back and rest. We’ll talk about anything tomorrow.”