Abandoned Woman Busy Farming
Chapter 1381 - 1383: Queen’s Escape_1

Chapter 1381: Chapter 1383: Queen’s Escape_1

It was not only the monarch who appeared, but also King Yuchuan, who had brought the crowd with him.

King Yuchuan looked in good spirits, and didn’t seem injured at all, certainly not like the rumors suggesting he had suffered in the palace.

Honglian and the others were shocked to see the monarch and King Yuchuan. How had the monarch released King Yuchuan?

The monarch smiled and patted King Yuchuan’s shoulder, saying, "Look how worried your sister-in-law is. You can’t act recklessly in the future."

King Yuchuan bowed to the monarch, "Brother King teaches rightly. It was my momentary confusion, I will certainly not make such a mistake again."

After finishing his words, he turned towards the onlookers, clasped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you all for your efforts on my behalf, but I do not know how the outside world concocted the stories. I accepted my punishment willingly and did not wish for any misunderstandings."

After her initial shock, Queen Yuchuan quickly regained her composure and with her head bowed, said, "It was I who was too hasty and led astray by malicious people. The day it was reported to me that my husband had been sentenced to whipping and that his fate was uncertain, that’s why we rushed to Gaochang."

"Who knows what wicked person spread such rumors, I am in excellent condition, not a single scar on me," said King Yuchuan, as he rolled up his sleeves to reveal his strong arms, indeed showing no sign of injury.

He even twirled around freely to prove he was indeed unharmed.

By now, Saintess Honglian’s face had turned extremely unsightly. She bowed to the monarch and said, "It seems I’ve misunderstood the situation. I shall take my leave first."

The monarch chuckled, "Good, good, sorry to have troubled Saintess Honglian for nothing."

Saintess Honglian, detecting the insinuation in the monarch’s words, could only grit her teeth and return to her carriage, leading her people to head back from whence they came.

Jiang Yichun squinted his eyes, flicked his finger covertly, and a small pebble struck the rear of the horse pulling the carriage. The horse pained and suddenly dashed forward as if mad, and the guards, no matter how hard they pulled, couldn’t restrain it, shouting in terror, "Saintess, the horse is spooked, jump off quickly!"

Honglian hastily jumped down from the carriage, but due to the carriage’s violent shaking prior to her abrupt departure, her hair had already slanted to one side, and even a hairpin had been lost to whereabouts unknown.

A lock of her hair fell loose, giving her a particularly disheveled look. With the carriage gone, she had to walk back to the Holy Hall on her own, likely the most disheveled she’d been since entering the Hall at eight years old.

"Saintess, are you alright?" the maid asked tremblingly.

Honglian did not answer nor glanced at the maid, her almond-shaped eyes brimming with hatred, as if she wished to commit murder, frightening the maids beside her enough to step back, no longer daring to ask any further.

Bai Ruozhu watched everything unfold from a distance, secretly giving Jiang Yichun a look of approval. If the great elders didn’t show up, she and Yichun really had no way to deal with them. But if they sent people over, well, one would be taken care of after another, a pair would be handled likely so. She and Yichun were a pair of scheming spouses for a reason.

After the monarch and King Yuchuan exchanged a few words with the crowd, the people began to disperse one after another. However, the woman whom Bai Ruozhu had treated did not rush off but again expressed her gratitude before asking uncertainly, "Am I really alright? I won’t die? The gods won’t punish me?"

Bai Ruozhu found it amusing, "If you did nothing wrong, why would the gods punish you? It’s only natural for humans to get sick from time to time; how could that be divine punishment?"

"But the saintess said I had sinned in a past life." The woman’s voice grew fainter, her face showing a hint of aggrievement.

"This is a question for your saintess, isn’t it? It seems like the previous saintesses never made such claims," Bai Ruozhu mentioned.

The woman showed a look of realization, and with the recent rumors in mind, her resentment toward the saintess grew even stronger.

"Hmph, they say she’s an illegitimate daughter who got in through the back door, completely incomparable to the former saintesses. She spouts nonsense to deceive us. What have I done to deserve this, ruining my reputation?" the woman complained.

Bai Ruozhu’s mouth curved up, and she nodded at the woman, saying, "Auntie, I’ll take my leave first."

The woman, hearing this, hurriedly responded, "Then I’ll be going as well. Thank you, Mrs. Bai."

After the woman had gone far, Bai Ruozhu whispered to Jianqi, "Arrange for two people to secretly protect her. I’m afraid the Holy Hall might harm her and then use it to attack me."

"Yes," Jianqi immediately arranged for two dark guards to protect the woman.

The monarch nodded to Jiang Yichun and Bai Ruozhu, saying, "Let’s go back and talk."

King Yuchuan had his family and followers settle in the allocated places in the city, but he entered the palace with only Queen Yuchuan. The Queen Yuchuan conducted herself with propriety, which was no wonder she held King Yuchuan’s esteem.

"Yuchuan, your sister was frightened. Why don’t you accompany her and have a chat first? I’ll host a feast for you tonight to calm your nerves," the monarch said with a smile, as if nothing had happened before.

It wasn’t until they reached Qingyou Hall that the monarch explained to Bai Ruozhu and her husband, "My relationship with Yuchuan has always been good. Though I was angry with him earlier, I wouldn’t truly blame him. He has been honest with me about his situation with Diao Mo. Back when we were suppressed by the power-hungry ministers and nearly lost our lives, he and Diao Mo were separated as a result. Later on, with Diao Mo’s support, he managed to save his life. Therefore, his gratitude towards her is even stronger. This time, hearing about Diao Mo and the great elder’s affair, he was furious and decided to confront Diao Mo, and he has also made a clear break with her."

Bai Ruozhu nodded. A woman who’s infatuated with you is naturally moving, but if that affection is based on her wanton behavior with another, and you’re fooled like an idiot, would you still be moved?

"However, Yuchuan also said he indeed hasn’t seen Yingtong. It’s likely that Yingtong was abducted on the way," the monarch sighed, "It’s my fault for spoiling her. I shouldn’t have given her the Sweat-Blood Horse, or she wouldn’t have been able to leave her guards behind and run away alone."

Looking at the situation now, it must have been the doing of the Holy Hall, Bai Ruozhu frowned and said, "It seems we’ll have to put our plans on hold for now."

The monarch’s eyes showed guilt and reluctance, and he nodded, saying, "Alright, let’s wait a couple of days and see. They should come to negotiate terms with me soon."

Just then, Lian Jia rushed into the hall with a grim expression on his face.

He bowed to the monarch and said in a grave voice, "Your Majesty, the Queen is missing."

"What? Did she escape the palace on her own, or was she kidnapped?" the monarch’s face showed anger.

"There are no signs of struggle in her chamber, and the experts who were with her have also vanished. It’s likely she fled on her own," Lian Jia said with his head lowered.

"Dammit! She isn’t afraid I’ll depose her?" the monarch exploded in fury, striding out of Qingyou Hall as if to arrange for people to pursue the Queen.

Yet Bai Ruozhu just picked up a fruit and started to nibble on it, then said to Jiang Yichun, "I actually think the Queen is off to save her daughter. Perhaps it’s a mother’s intuition. What mother wouldn’t worry about her own child?"