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The feeling of despair struck his heart instantly, crashing against every nerve in his body. At that moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness.
Along with the despair came pain and regret. He was deeply frustrated with himself for not returning promptly when he received the first news.
However, having long been accustomed to solitude, he did not show any signs of distress.
He forced himself to calm down and ordered the guards in the palace to search through the ruins to see if there were any discoveries.
After seeing those guards head into the ruins, his feet involuntarily moved toward that area, and by the time he realized it, he found himself already amidst the debris.
Thus, relying on his memory, he made his way to Luo Bingbing's chamber in Phoenix Palace.
Suddenly, he saw two charred bodies trapped beneath two beams of Yellow Rice. He hurried over and moved the beams aside, directly approaching the smaller charred body.
At that moment, he had completely forgotten how much he despised dirty things.
Ignoring the fact that the charred body would soil his brocade robe, he reached out to lift it. However, as soon as his hand touched the charred small body, he immediately let go.
In an instant, the small charred body fell back into its original position.
Looking at the small body before him, he couldn't help but furrow his brows. After a moment of contemplation, his tightly knit brows relaxed.
At that point, his mood lifted.
Indeed, he realized that the charred small body before him was not Luo Bingbing.
Because he himself was a peculiar person who had always hated being touched by others—except for that Little One.
He did not mind the Little One's touch at all; on the contrary, he enjoyed being close to her. Especially when holding her and inhaling her faint herbal scent, he no longer felt lonely.
After confirming that Luo Bingbing was not dead, Dongfang Hao naturally deduced that the person next to him was not the Little One's Nursemaid.
He immediately ordered the guards not to search through the ruins anymore, but to look in various palaces of the imperial palace instead.
However, the guards and Imperial Guards turned the Silver Moon Kingdom's palace upside down but could not find any trace of the Little One.
Subsequently, Dongfang Hao expanded the search area, instructing them to search throughout Silver City.
When the Empress Dowager and Consort Mei heard the news that Luo Bingbing was still alive, they were puzzled because they had clearly confirmed that the Little One had indeed consumed those two types of pastries and had been poisoned.
After thinking it over, they believed that Dongfang Hao was deceiving himself, unwilling to accept that the Little One was dead, which was why he said so.
They secretly rejoiced in the shadows, unaware that disaster was about to befall them.
Dongfang Hao had already sent people to secretly investigate what had happened during his absence from the palace, including the fire at Phoenix Palace and what those two eunuchs had previously said about Luo Bingbing being poisoned by Deadly Poison.
He already knew that the fire was caused by Consort Mei's faction, but he only found out that Luo Bingbing showed signs of poisoning after eating pastries sent by Consort Xi and a Talent yesterday.
Thus, he speculated that Consort Xi and that Talent were responsible for poisoning the Little One.
He then ordered for Consort Xi and that Talent to be captured. However, the guards only brought Consort Xi before him, while the Talent was nowhere to be found.
Dongfang Hao looked at the lone woman kneeling below and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he asked, "Why is there only one person? Where is the other one?"
Upon hearing his words, the guard quickly knelt down and replied, "Your Majesty, Elegant Talent is missing. This servant searched all around the Royal Study Palace but could not find any trace of her."
"What? Go search for her! Turn the entire palace upside down if you have to; find her for me!"
"Yes, this servant will go search immediately." With that, the guards quickly took their leave from Dongfang Hao to look for Elegant Talent.
After they left, Dongfang Hao immediately returned to his Dragon Blossom Palace and went straight to his Dragon Throne, pressing the mechanism hidden beneath the cushion.
Descending the steps, he made his way directly to his Underground Study.
Inside the study, Miyazawa was already waiting for him. Upon seeing Dongfang Hao, Miyazawa quickly approached and knelt before him, saying, "Your subordinate pays respects to the Palace Master."
Dongfang Hao casually waved his hand, signaling Miyazawa to rise, then said, "Miyazawa, go investigate everything that happened in the palace over the past two days. The more detailed, the better."
"Yes, I will obey," Miyazawa replied before promptly leaving the Underground Study.
Once he left, Dongfang Hao sat quietly in the Carved Wooden Chair, deep in thought. He wondered why that Elegant Talent would poison Luo Bingbing and whether she had kidnapped that Little One.
Unable to come to a conclusion, he left the Underground Study and returned to his bedroom. Shortly after, he left the bedroom again and went to the Imperial Study.
As soon as Dongfang Hao arrived at the Imperial Study, several Captains of the Guards came to report that they had not found any trace of that Elegant Talent.
"Search for her. If you can't find her, bring your heads to me."
Suddenly, he thought of Consort Xi from earlier and ordered someone to bring her to the main hall.
Consort Xi was brought before Dongfang Hao. Terrified, she looked up at him on the throne and repeatedly pleaded, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me..."
"I ask you, did you poison the Empress?"
"Your Majesty, please spare me! I did not poison the Empress! I only used the Pear Blossom given by the Empress Dowager to make pastries for the Empress. It was also the Empress Dowager who instructed me yesterday to prepare pastries for her."
"Oh? You say it was the Empress Dowager who told you to make pastries for the Empress?"
"Your Majesty, every word I say is true."
After hearing her words, Dongfang Hao raised an eyebrow and asked, "When did the Empress Dowager reward you with the Pear Blossom?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, it was the day before yesterday. Moreover, the Empress Dowager also summoned Sister Wan at that time and rewarded her with a type of jade flower from a foreign tribute."
"Did the Empress Dowager ask both of you to send pastries to the Empress?"
"I dare not hide it; yes."
After nodding slightly, Dongfang Hao ordered someone to take Consort Xi away. Once everyone left, only Dongfang Hao remained in the study.
At that moment, Miyazawa suddenly appeared.
He knelt directly in front of Dongfang Hao and said, "Subordinate pays respects to the Palace Master. I have already found out that two days ago, the Empress Dowager summoned Consort Xi and Elegant Talent, rewarding each of them with a type of dried flower petal from a foreign tribute, instructing them to use those petals to make pastries for the Empress."
"Oh? Why use two types of petals to make pastries and send them to the Empress at the same time?"
"This..." Miyazawa hesitated, unsure how to respond.
"Speak. Not a word should be omitted."
"Yes, subordinate has separately taken samples of those two types of petals and sent them to the Demon Doctor in the Demon Palace. I believe news will come soon."
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Hao nodded lightly and said, "Alright. You must quickly investigate the whereabouts of the Empress. Be swift and mobilize all forces of the Demon Palace. Additionally, disguise yourself as this seat and go to the Asura Gate's stronghold in Silver City. Instruct them to search the entire city for the Empress's whereabouts."
"Yes, subordinate will arrange this immediately." With that, Miyazawa quickly took his leave.
As soon as he left, someone outside reported that there was urgent news from the Messenger in Yang City.
"Let him come in."
Soon after, the Messenger from Yang City recounted to Dongfang Hao the events of last night, when Lord Lo An was abducted. Dongfang Hao listened in silence for a long time.
The Messenger from Yang City grew increasingly anxious, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Just as he was engulfed in terror, he heard Dongfang Hao say to him, "You may return now. Inform Gongsun Ming to temporarily take over Lord Lo An's duties. I will send someone to investigate this matter immediately; we will rescue Lord Lo An soon."
"Yes, I take my leave."
"What a troublesome time," Dongfang Hao muttered to himself.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, a man in black suddenly appeared in the Imperial Study. He knelt directly before Dongfang Hao and respectfully said, "I pay my respects to the Palace Master."
Indeed, this man was Dongfang Hao's Second Shadow Guard, Ye Feng.
"Speak of the results."
"Yes, Palace Master. The Demon Doctor has combined the two types of petals for experimentation and discovered that together they form Deadly Poison."
Dongfang Hao's expression turned furious as he shouted, "What? This is outrageous! She is becoming bolder by the day."
"Palace Master, please calm your anger. News has come from the Underworld stating that the mastermind behind the Dark Gate is none other than the Empress. Furthermore, after verification by the Demon Palace, it has also been confirmed that the mastermind behind the Beggar Clan is the Empress as well."
"What? It's all her?"
Seeing his master's astonished expression, Ye Feng couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, thinking to himself, "I knew you would be shocked; I was quite surprised myself when I first learned of it!"
However, before Ye Feng could finish his internal laughter, Dongfang Hao calmly remarked, "Only she possesses such power."
At this moment, Dongfang Hao was completely certain that the Little One must be safe and that Lord Lo An's abduction was likely orchestrated by that Little One.
He waved his hand to signal Ye Feng to leave and continued pondering why that Little One would act in such a manner.
After some contemplation, he felt a surge of anger. Why? Because he had already guessed that the Little One intended to sever ties with the palace entirely.
Thinking of this, he felt an immense anger rising within him. He coldly muttered to himself, "Little Doll, if you think you can leave me, you're dreaming! I won't call myself Dongfang Hao until I bring you back."
At that moment, Luo Bingbing and her companions were already on their way to Spirit Mountain.
Luo Bingbing was traveling with the Snow Spirit Elder, while Xuan Ye was alone with Lo An Lord. They planned to meet up in the next town, where the Snow Spirit Fox and the Phoenix were already waiting.
However, they weren't in the town itself but rather in a large mountain near it. After they gathered, Lo An Lord learned that his beloved daughter had been kidnapped. He was far from pleased and scolded Luo Bingbing for her recklessness, complaining about how irresponsible she was for insisting on sending him back.
At that time, he was still unaware of what had transpired in the palace; otherwise, he wouldn't have blamed Luo Bingbing.
Meanwhile, the people from the Demon Palace had already tracked down Luo Bingbing's location and were determined to retrieve the Little One. Dongfang Hao was desperately making his way there.
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