With this point understood, Qiuye became excited.
To determine if her idea was correct, it was simple: she just had to sneak into the imperial palace tonight and see if Xiao An was there. Everything would then be revealed.
When night finally fell, Qiuye couldn't wait to set out.
She first followed a small path to the rear entrance of the imperial palace.
Although the rear gate was guarded by imperial guards, it was clear that their defenses were somewhat lax. There were no more than ten guards in total.
Qiuye leaped onto the rooftops and moved forward in the darkness. It was evident that the guards in the palace were quite relaxed. The patrolling soldiers were in pairs or small groups, some even chatting and laughing, showing no signs of tension.
This made Qiuye even more suspicious. Perhaps the Emperor was not in the palace. After all, if the Emperor were present, these guards probably wouldn't dare to be so insolent.
Qiuye crept all the way to the Emperor's study, only to find it pitch black. Xiao An was not in the study.
Qiuye turned right and headed towards the Great Hall, but no one was there either. Qiuye had no choice but to turn towards Kunning Palace. Kunning Palace was brightly lit.
However, upon closer inspection, the palace maids and eunuchs appeared quite casual. Some were gathered together, chatting.
Some were even playing around, and others were directly sitting on the steps of the main hall, eating.
It was clear that this was essentially consistent with her previous judgment. If the Empress were here, these people probably wouldn't dare to be so bold.
Qiuye waited on the rooftop for a full half hour before finally finding an opportunity to approach and reach the Empress's sleeping quarters.
She quietly hooked onto the eaves, flipped down, and peered in through a gap in the window.
There were two palace maids inside. They were sitting on either side of the Empress's chair, chatting.
Seeing this scene, Qiuye immediately understood. The Empress was definitely not in the inner palace. Otherwise, how would these palace maids and eunuchs dare to act like this? Wouldn't they be looking for death?
Based on this, Qiuye could basically conclude that neither the Emperor nor the Empress was in the imperial palace.
Having confirmed this, Qiuye immediately returned to her hiding place, wrote a secret letter, and sent it by carrier pigeon outside the city.
It wasn't until the third watch that Crown Prince Qiao Na finally received the message from Qiuye. When he saw Qiuye's suspicion that Xiao An was no longer in the city, he couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing him laugh, Bazahan, who was beside him, became even more excited. "Your Highness, can we send troops now?"
Crown Prince Qiao Na waved his hand. "Don't be impatient. I've thought of a better plan. Look."
Bazahan took the letter from Crown Prince Qiao Na and was a bit bewildered after reading it from beginning to end.
"How is this possible?"
"If he, Xiao An, isn't in Wannián City, where could he have gone?"
Crown Prince Qiao Na smiled faintly. "It doesn't matter where he went. Once he left Wannián City, he's like a toothless tiger, only able to roar. He poses no threat to us anymore."
"Now, our only threat is Du Bai. As long as Xiao Jingyun falls for Qiuye's poison, he won't live much longer."
Bazahan bowed again. "Your Highness is brilliant. You've killed Xiao Jingyun without a single soldier."
Qiao Na looked at Bazahan and said in a deep voice, "I will send word to Qiuye to find an opportunity to eliminate Du Bai. As for you, starting tomorrow, lead your troops in a feigned attack on the city. You must keep them constantly harassed until they are exhausted, but don't make too much noise."
Bazahan chuckled. "I understand Your Highness's intention. Your Highness wants to solve the problem of Wannián City at the minimum cost."
Before dawn, Qiuye received Crown Prince Qiao Na's instructions to find a way to eliminate Du Bai. Su Dan Novel Network.
Seeing this message, she smiled. Eliminating Xiao Jingyun was uncertain, but eliminating Du Bai was too easy.
Before Qiuye could even finish her breakfast, she heard a commotion in the street. Then, Tie Niu came and bowed. "Commander, the common people outside are spreading rumors that our men have begun attacking the East Gate."
Qiuye quickly regained her senses. This was Crown Prince Qiao Na helping her. As soon as they began attacking the city, Du Bai would have to show himself, and she would have an opportunity.
With this thought, she put down her rice bowl and went out.
Since Qiao Na had ordered an attack on the East Gate, Qiuye couldn't waste the Crown Prince's goodwill. She joined the crowd and headed for the East Gate.
At this moment, Du Bai was completely unguarded. Hearing the attack from outside, he immediately put on his armor and went to the East Gate to command.
After directing the troops from the city gate tower for a while, Du Bai saw through the ruse. The enemy outside was clearly feigning an attack, perhaps a probe, or perhaps to conceal other intentions.
Thinking this, he said to the soldier beside him, "Keep a close watch on the enemy's movements outside the city. If they maintain this intensity of attack, just shoot arrows when they get close. Don't waste too much rolling logs and stones."
After giving his orders, Du Bai dismounted from the city gate tower, mounted his horse, and prepared to return to his residence.
As he was riding, he suddenly felt something out of the corner of his eye, as if someone had waved at him. But when he turned his head, there was clearly no one at the alley entrance.
Strange, Du Bai rubbed his eyes. When he had passed by, there were clearly two people standing there, but now they were gone.
Perhaps he was hallucinating, Du Bai shook his head and urged his horse directly back to his mansion.
But as soon as he dismounted, Du Bai suddenly collapsed to the ground with a thud. The personal guards beside him rushed forward and found that Du Bai's eyes were tightly closed, his teeth clenched, and he was unresponsive no matter how they called him.
The guards were terrified. They hurriedly carried Du Bai into the mansion. Someone quickly went to report the matter to Zhou Quan.
Upon hearing that Du Bai had also fainted, Zhou Quan's heart sank. He rushed over and was shocked when he saw Du Bai's condition. He quickly ordered Du Bai's clothes to be unfastened and began to search.
Soon, three small red dots were found on Du Bai's shoulders and back.
Soon, the old imperial physician was summoned. After all, the Empress's previous wound had been treated by using a magnet to extract three extremely fine cowhair needles.
Seeing these three needles, Zhou Quan felt a chill in his heart, and the scene around him seemed to blur. He leaned against the table and wrote for a long time before he finally managed to calm his mind.
Those around him were very surprised and quickly stepped forward to ask.
Zhou Quan looked at Du Bai's subordinates. "Alas, it will probably be a while before he wakes up. You all should attend to your duties and absolutely do not speak carelessly. I will immediately invite a famous doctor to treat General Du."
With that, Zhou Quan stood up and quickly walked out of Du Bai's mansion, tears streaming down his face.
Zhou Quan lamented his misfortune. He had originally been just the Crown Prince's guard, but now he had become the backbone of Wannián City.
After a moment of thought, Zhou Quan changed direction and headed straight for the Liu residence.
Upon seeing Liu Yuanwen, Zhou Quan bowed again and said urgently, "Young Master Liu, the situation is critical. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again."