Chu Tang? They were looking for Chu Tang? Qi Leyun stood stunned. Lady Qi urgently prompted: “Speak quickly, don’t hide anything. Something serious has happened.”
“I did see her. We went out together to have fun, then came back together. She just went home. I watched her go in with my own eyes.” Qi Leyun said, then couldn’t help asking, “What happened to her?”
The official didn’t answer her. Probably realizing he couldn’t learn anything more, he turned and left, and the black-armored guards also departed in a rush.
Qi Leyun looked at the mess everywhere and her frightened family members, asking urgently: “What exactly happened? Has the capital been captured?”
Were these people here to arrest the Empress’s family?
Master Qi’s expression was complex. He said: “The capital hasn’t been captured yet. Chu Tang’s entire family has disappeared.”
Disappeared? Qi Leyun was surprised and confused: “What do you mean disappeared?”
Lady Qi pinched her arm: “Foolish child, the whole family fled!”
…
…
“The neighbors noticed nothing. The Chu Lan couple never went out, always recuperating from illness. Chu Tang even went out with the young ladies today.” The official reported to Deng Yi.
Nothing unusual at all.
Deng Yi stood in the great hall. Night was receding, light and shadow dim. He suddenly smiled.
“Don’t say you rose early—there’s always someone who rose earlier.” He said. “We just conceived the idea, and the Chu clan has already fled.”
The official was somewhat annoyed: “My lord, they must be hiding in some aristocratic family’s estate. They wouldn’t run outside at this time.”
With fighting about to break out outside, as members of the imperial maternal family, running outside would be seeking death.
Deng Yi nodded and said: “Go search every household, one by one. Don’t hide it—tell everyone that the Chu clan has a guilty conscience and fled to escape punishment. Whoever harbors them will be charged as accomplices.”
The people might have fled, but the crime couldn’t.
The official acknowledged and turned to stride away.
Deng Yi stood silently in the hall. How did the Chu Lan family flee so timely? Since Chu Zhao’s absence, the Chu Lan family had been cut off from the palace. Where did they get the information?
Were they so good at reading situations? The Chu Lan family had no such capable people.
Could it be that Chu Zhao told them?
The thought occurred to Deng Yi.
But first Prince Zhongshan had cut off messages, then the court deliberately concealed information. How did she know? And how did she get the message in?
Regardless, Third Young Master Xie’s plan had been instantly disrupted. Deng Yi suddenly smiled and called someone.
“Go tell Third Young Master Xie this good news.”
…
…
Without Deng Yi saying anything, Xie Yanfang already knew.
“How did they just flee?” Du Qi was surprised and angry. “A guilty conscience?”
Xie Yanfang showed neither surprise nor anger, smiling slightly: “The Chu Lan family has indeed always had a guilty conscience.”
Actually, their fleeing didn’t surprise him.
“What’s strange is that someone was willing to help them escape and willing to shelter and hide them.”
Steward Cai entered with a piece of paper, saying: “Yesterday five families left the city—some saying they were going to ancestral estates in the countryside, some saying they were going on outings. They had carriages and horses. This is the list.”
Xie Yanfang took it and looked, saying: “All prominent aristocratic families. By rights, these families wouldn’t even glance at the Chu Lan family.”
“Because Chu Zhao is the Empress.” Du Qi said.
Xie Yanfang shook his head: “It’s not just because of the Empress title.”
Throughout history, many had become empresses, and imperial maternal families had their own moments of glory, but for great aristocratic clans, they didn’t necessarily have to curry favor or fear them.
Moreover, the Chu clan’s family was thin and weak.
They were willing to help because of Chu Zhao herself.
This young lady had seized the position of Empress before, and now she had won people’s hearts.
Xie Yanfang lowered his eyes.
“Find out which family it is. I’ll visit personally.”
…
…
Inside the swaying carriage, the wooden plank cracks went from pitch darkness to letting in light. After swaying for who knows how long, it finally stopped.
The wooden planks were removed one by one, and a young lady’s face appeared before them.
She knocked on the carriage board, looking at the family of three lying inside.
“A-Tang, come out.”
Chu Tang was the first to get up and climb out. This was a large cargo wagon with a hidden compartment. The furniture and goods placed on top had all been unloaded.