Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

Wang Ruofu was startled and rushed to Hai Chaoyun and his grandson's side.

Consort Rong ignored her and praised, "The only daughter of Marquis Yongyi, you've certainly seen your share of storms. Your mistress, the moment she saw me, she inquired about the safety of her husband and son. It seems that the Sheng family girl who escaped has already returned?"

"We will not enter the palace. If Your Majesty has nothing else to say, please leave now!" said Old Madam Sheng.

Consort Rong smiled and said, "Since we're already here, we should at least give it a try!"

Two eunuchs stepped forward!

Hearing the footsteps, Zhou Ning knew the two men were highly skilled and no ordinary fighters. With two sharp cracks, both eunuchs groaned and were sent flying out of the hall!

That was Zhou Ning's all-out attack. With unparalleled speed, he approached the two men and then, with equally swift movements, broke their wrists, throwing them both away at the same time!

His attacks were all clean and swift, incredibly fast; the women could only see a blur of gray shadows flashing before their eyes.

Consort Rong was startled and was about to speak when Zhou Ning's left hand was already on her "Qihu" acupoint. He channeled his internal energy into the acupoint, following the meridians, and went straight to the "Zhongwei" and "Yangtai" acupoints on her knee joint. She felt her knees go weak and involuntarily knelt down.

"Did you ask me before you tried to make a move against the women of the Sheng family?" Zhou Ning asked.

He doesn't like to be ruthless with women unless they're asking for it!

Consort Rong exclaimed in surprise, "So you're not Sheng Changfeng! You didn't go to Yuzhou to deliver the blood edict and tiger tally, but stayed at the Sheng family's residence!"

She had noticed the only man in the hall, but assumed Zhou Ning was Sheng Hong's illegitimate son, Sheng Changfeng. She never expected that Zhou Ning would not rush to deliver the blood edict and tiger tally, but instead stay in the Sheng family to protect the women!

"Tell me! How are Lord Sheng and Sheng Changbai doing?" Zhou Ning asked.

The women all perked up their ears, showing great interest!

Consort Rong said, "I also have something to ask you. Answer me first, and I'll tell you about Sheng Hong and Sheng Changbai!"

Zhou Ning urged, "Ask quickly!"

Consort Rong asked, "Was it you who handled the matter between my sister and Princess Jiacheng that night on the Lantern Festival?"

Zhou Ning admitted, "It's me! Now it's your turn to answer my question!"

Consort Rong snorted and said, "It really is you! Let me go first!"

Zhou Ning released her, saying, "My patience is limited, don't push your luck!"

Consort Rong stood up, dismissed the four palace maids, and said, "Sheng Hong said his daughter was merely your concubine, but Prince Yan didn't believe him and had him beaten! When I saw Sheng Changbai, he already had a wound on his neck. Prince Yan is very afraid of you and won't kill them. But you'd better not even think about forcing your way into the palace! If you dare to enter the palace to rescue someone, two officials in purple robes and more than a dozen in scarlet robes will immediately lose their heads because of you! Think about the consequences yourself!"

"What consequences? What does that have to do with me?" Zhou Ning felt it was absurd.

Threatening him with a high-ranking official he didn't know?

joke!

Consort Rong said, "If you don't want to continue serving as an official and aren't afraid of being harassed in the future, then of course it's fine. Anyway, because of your scare, all the military officers' families have been imprisoned in the Funing Palace. Even if you don't personally rescue the Emperor, as long as someone dares to force their way in, believe me, those high-ranking officials, including Sheng Hong and his son, will have their heads rolled in an instant! All the military officers' families, oh right, the Duchess of Yingguo's wife is also inside, and they won't escape unscathed either! If you're not afraid of offending so many civil and military families, you can certainly give it a try!"

Zhou Ning frowned. Was he opening the dungeon incorrectly?

Is the Prince of Yan really this clever?

He could have been easily shot dead by Gu Tingye. He's the kind of idiot who wouldn't even know to shield himself when taking hostages!

(Based on the situation in the drama)

Old Mrs. Sheng said, "Stop talking! You can go now!"

Consort Rong laughed and said, "Why don't you leave me here and see if you can exchange me for Sheng Hong and his son?"

Wang Ruofu's eyes lit up. Such a good opportunity?

Old Mrs. Sheng angrily retorted, "You know perfectly well what I'm asking! Get out of the Sheng family!"

She was the old emperor's concubine, not the princess of Yan. Her relationship with the prince of Yan was merely a cooperative one, and that cooperation had already ended. She didn't have much value to the prince of Yan!

Consort Rong left, and no one tried to stop her; it was pointless!

The scene fell silent for a moment!

After a long pause, Zhou Ning said, "Let's go too. We already have enough hostages; we can't have any more! Once I deliver the Blood Edict and Tiger Tally to Zhao Zongquan and fulfill the Emperor's request, I won't concern myself with anything else!"

"What do you mean by 'don't care at all'? We can't send them! Didn't you hear what she said? If someone enters the palace to rescue the emperor, so many officials, including the emperor and Bai'er, will die!" Wang Ruofu said excitedly.

"Shut up! If these words reach the Emperor's ears, your father's plaque at the Imperial Ancestral Temple will definitely be taken down! We must leave now, we can't delay Pengqi from finding someone to save the Emperor!" Old Madam Sheng made the decision!

With Changbai already having an heir, there is still hope for the second branch of the Sheng family!

"Mother! No!" Wang Ruofu cried, hugging Old Madam Sheng.

Hai Chaoyun called out, "Young Master Zhou!"

"Just call me Pengqi, sister-in-law!" Zhou Ning replied immediately.

Hai Chaoyun firmly replied, "If my husband were still alive, he would surely tell you not to worry about him. I only ask one thing of you!"

"Given my relationship with Brother Changbai, I will never refuse if it's within my power! Please speak, sister-in-law!" Zhou Ning said.

"Do your best, and you'll have no regrets!" Hai Chaoyun only had eight words to say!

Zhou Ning understood what she meant and nodded.

Soon, the Sheng family had also arranged carriages, and a group of eight carriages set off towards the northwest outer gate of Bianjing.

Because the palace is located in the northwest of Bianjing's inner city, Zhou Ning, based on his memories, knew that Minglan was being chased as soon as she left the palace and escaped outside the city by carriage, where she met Gu Tingye and his group. Therefore, the outer city gate in the northwest direction must be the only one.

(Please don't apply this to the original novel, as I haven't read it at all.)

......

As the outline of Bianjing City came into view, Zhao Zongquan felt somewhat relieved!

Two days ago, thanks to the scheme devised by Zhao Ceying and Gu Tingye, he encountered "assassins" again. The frequency of this was twice a day, which made him, who was originally hesitant, completely determined to go to the capital to meet the emperor.

The group set off at dawn two days ago, disguising themselves as merchants, and arrived at their destination that afternoon.

"Who goes down below the city walls?" the rebel soldiers on the walls asked.

"We are merchants from Yangzhou, and we want to do business in Bianjing!" Gu Tingye said.

"We have just received orders from the Palace Guard to close the city gates ahead of schedule. No one is allowed to enter the city!" the rebel soldiers on the city wall shouted.

The daily gate duty of Bianjing City of the Great Zhou Dynasty was the responsibility of the Guanggu soldiers. This was a special Xiangbing (garrison) unit that was responsible for the daily maintenance of the city walls and the guarding of the city gates. They were under the command of the Palace Guard.

Upon entering the palace, the Prince of Yan immediately bound the commander of the Palace Guard. Learning that Zhou Ning would deliver the Blood Edict and Tiger Tally, he ordered several trusted men to retrieve the Palace Guard Commander's plaque and close all the city gates ahead of time to buy himself some time!

Unable to enter, and knowing that the other city gates were also closed, Gu Tingye and his party had no choice but to rest briefly in the woods a hundred meters away!

"Zhonghuai, what should we do? We can't get in at all!" Zhao Yingce asked as he came to his side.

Gu Tingye reassured him, "Don't worry, let's wait and see. It can't be sealed off forever." He thought to himself, "Pengqi, what do we do? I brought him here, but where are you?"

After waiting for most of the day, the city gates opened!

Eight carriages drove out of the city in succession. A man stood on the roof of the first carriage, his shoulders and back straight as green as a cypress. His eyebrows and eyes were deep but not fierce. His eyes were as deep as if they were filled with stars, and he had a sense of alienation that was out of place with his surroundings. It was as if the world could not leave a trace on his clothes.

"That's... Pengqi!" Gu Tingye rushed forward and waved!

Zhou Ning saw Gu Tingye waving and was overjoyed; the scapegoat had arrived!

I'm under so much pressure, bro!

"Zhonghuai!"

"Rise, Peng!"

......