Chapter 106.1: Deposed Empress! (1)

Even though Du Xiaoli had been rescued, Han Mingyi still had a cold face when he saw Han Mingze. Especially now, even though he knew that Du Xiaoli needed to rest and that the two of them wanted to be alone, he still ignorantly came over to intervene.
Han Mingze pretended not to see Han Mingyi's stinky expression and sat down on the chair the Grand Empress Dowager had just been sitting on, asking, "Anle, do you remember what courtyard you escaped from?"
"At the time, my head was so dizzy I couldn't even tell north from south and west from east. My vision was also blurred, and I couldn't remember where I was at all. Why?"
Han Mingze sighed and said, "We went to check the place where Auntie Hong Xiu found you. In that area are mostly several abandoned courtyards from the former palace. They erased any traces very thoroughly, wiped out all footprints, and also created several arrays around there. This Emperor sent people to look around, but didn't find the hole you came out of."
Du Xiaoli glanced at Han Mingyi, who also nodded.
Just now, when Xia Yuan was saving Du Xiaoli, he and Han Mingze personally went to take a look. They found no traces left behind by the other party– even Du Xiaoli's traces had been erased, which was enough to demonstrate the other party's cunningness and caution.
"Can you recount what you experienced last night?" Han Mingze asked.
"Sure. Last night, I was preparing to go to sleep when a palace maid from the Empress's palace came looking for me, saying that the Empress was looking for me and that I could only go alone. When I arrived at the Empress's palace..." Du Xiaoli nodded, recounting last night's experience from memory.
Han Mingyi's face grew sullen as he listened to what Du Xiaoli had gone through.
"You said, when you were locked up, you heard this Emperor’s voice?" Han Mingze asked.
"Yes. At that time, I was being strangled by their Mistress, and just when I was about to suffocate, someone outside said that the Emperor had arrived, so she released me and hid me." Du Xiaoli said, "Later on, I could still hear your voices from the secret chamber, but I couldn't hear very clearly and couldn’t tell what was said. I was going to call for help, but didn't have the strength to make a sound, and could only think of how to escape on my own."
"The only places this Emperor personally brought people to search were the Empress Mother’s, the Empress’, and a few Noble Consorts’." Han Mingze thought for a moment and asked, "Do you remember what time it was?"
Du Xiaoli shook her head, saying, "I was groggy for a majority of the time and don't remember what happened and when at all. The only time I was conscious was in the secret passage, and I started to get dizzy again before I even left the secret passage."
"It seems that the mastermind behind this is limited to the few people that this Emperor personally brought people to investigate last night," Han Mingze said thoughtfully, "Alright, you rest first, for this marriage sendoff you don’t need to..."
"Your Majesty, the Gu insect has been forced out already, it's still relatively early. Once I use my internal energy it’ll be fine." Du Xiaoli said.
"You..." Han Mingze looked at Du Xiaoli's stubborn state and said, "Alright, then it’s up to you."
Han Mingze left the inner palace when he was done speaking. Although Du Xiaoli’s words didn't directly point out who had used the Gu insect to cause trouble in the palace, it still pointed out a scope of focus. He had to go and organize this information, and it was also almost time for the morning court.
When only the two of them were left in the room once again, Han Mingyi rose and poured Du Xiaoli a cup of water. Seeing the persistence in Du Xiaoli's eyes, he swallowed all the words he wanted to say.
"Make sure to thoroughly use your internal energy to heal your injuries, I'll go have Xia Yuan and the girls send over all your things."
“Thank you, Xiao Yi-gege.”
After Du Xiaoli finished speaking, she crossed her legs and began to apply her energy to heal her injuries.
Wind Blowing Snow was amazing. Although generally speaking, using internal energy could eliminate fatigue, her internal energy not only eliminated fatigue, but also healed wounds. Wherever there was a strain or something in her body, cycling internal energy through her body could heal it. For a knife wound or similar body trauma, they would also heal over twice as fast as normal.
Han Mingyi went outside and explained everything to Xia Yuan and the girls, then returned to the room. Seeing that Du Xiaoli had already started, he quietly sat on a chair and watched her. Noticing the bruises on her forehead and the strangle marks on her neck disappearing little by little under the use of her internal energy, he felt both happy and shocked at the power of this secret Wind Blowing Snow.
At the very least his martial arts wasn’t this fast.
Xia Yuan knew that Du Xiaoli still wanted to send off the bride, so they went to move all of Du Xiaoli's things over. Of course, the premise was they had to first obtain the consent of Meng Gu and the other girls before they could leave.
It had reached the morning court time, so the civil and military officials from outside entered the palace, one after another. The palace maid and eunuchs busied themselves with their respective duties, working in their own roles. The palace appeared the same as always, everyone unaware of what had happened here the previous night.
Because today was the day that Han Mingxiang was getting married under the marriage alliance peace treaty, Han Mingze shortened the morning court, and then the civil and military officials went together to send Han Mingxiang off.
In Han Mingxiang's palace, she had already packed everything up. Her dowry and whatnot had already been moved onto the marriage procession float, which waited at the palace entrance.
"Princess, come, cover your head." An old nanny brought a red veil to Han Mingxiang's face.
Han Mingxiang absentmindedly looked out the window. She was still worried about Du Xiaoli's injuries– up until now, she still hadn't seen her, and didn't know how she was.
Although she had already prepared her heart for her sisters being unable to send her off, her heart still decided to be a bit bitter.
A pair of small hands took the red veil from the nanny's hand, with the words, "I'll do it."
Han Mingxiang turned around in surprise and saw that it really was Du Xiaoli, and her face was no longer ashen, like last night. She said in surprise, "Xiaoli, you're better?"
Du Xiaoli smiled and nodded, saying, "Everything’s just about healed. Except for the wound on my arm, all my other injuries are healed."
Han Mingxiang reached out and gently pinched her arm, saying, "This doesn't hurt anymore?"
"It doesn’t hurt, it’s all healed."
"Amazing!" Han Mingxiang said with surprise, "I originally thought you wouldn't be able to come. After all, you had so many injuries."MoonWhisperer, skyrise's Thoughts

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