In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1154 - 1066 Leaving the City

Chapter 1154: Chapter 1066 Leaving the City

Qin Yi withdrew his gaze and waved his hand dismissively, "Very well, I know of your loyalty. Your services are not required here; you may leave."

After Qingwen withdrew, Qin Yi then turned to instruct Eunuch An, "Send someone to the hot spring pool immediately to check if the Empress is there. Report back as soon as there is news."

If he had not guessed wrong, Su Pan’er would definitely not be there.

Eunuch An didn’t dare to hesitate and quickly ordered someone to go and check, then turned around and had food sent over.

"Your Majesty, please start your meal. Don’t treat your own body poorly. Even if the Empress isn’t in the hot spring pool, she would be in some grand hall within the palace, and she will likely return soon. Don’t be anxious. You can eat while waiting."

Qin Yi was silent for a moment, "Serve the meal."

He watched the busy Eunuch An without saying a word. Only when the eunuch had laid out the meal and came to report did he rise from the inner room, take a seat at the table in the side palace hall, and silently picked up his bowl and chopsticks.

He ate quickly, as if a wind was sweeping through the clouds. By the time news from the hot spring pool arrived, he had already finished his meal and set down the bowl.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the guards at the hot spring pool reported that the Empress did not go there today."

"Understood."

Qin Yi calmly picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth before looking at Eunuch An at his side, "How do you think I figured it out?"

Eunuch An bowed his head very low.

"Your servant is slow-witted and does not dare to guess Your Majesty’s thoughts recklessly."

"There’s no harm in telling you. The Empress is currently pregnant, and taking a dip in the hot spring pool is not good for the fetus. Given her medical skills and her concern for the child, she would never do anything that’s detrimental to the child!"

Pan’er would not go to the hot spring, but she told the attendants that she was going to the hot spring pool—what could be the reason?

Eunuch An was obviously taken aback, somewhat flustered as he stepped forward, "Your Majesty, should your servant send people to search for her? Those traitorous officials are still hiding in the dark, and if any fish that slip through the net sneak into the palace, that would be awful."

"Indeed, that is my intention."

Qin Yi gave the order, and everyone hurriedly scattered in search of the person.

Before long, a guard reported that there was news of the Empress.

"Two hours ago, a female officer named Xiuzhu with the Empress’s token left the palace gates, and she has not returned to the palace until now."

"Xiuzhu? Which palace, which hall does this female officer manage?"

Eunuch An hurriedly stepped forward, whispering to Qin Yi, "Your Majesty, I’ve already checked, and there is only one female officer named Xiuzhu in the palace. However, this lady is nearly forty-three years old this year and has always been in charge of managing meals in the small kitchen of Huayang Palace. She is definitely in the kitchen right now and could not be the young Xiuzhu who left the palace gates."

If it wasn’t that Xiuzhu, then there was only one answer!

It must be Su Pan’er who used Xiuzhu’s name to sneak out of the Imperial Palace!

As soon as this thought emerged, Qin Yi felt a darkness before his eyes, and a nameless rage boiled within him. He suddenly stood up from his chair.

"Quick! Assign more people immediately, and follow me out of the palace!"

Qin Yi lifted a foot and kicked the Imperial desk aside, striding like a shooting star toward the entrance of the Warm Pavilion, shouting loudly as he walked.

"No, Your Majesty, you absolutely must not do this!"

Eunuch An fell to his knees with a thud, clinging to Qin Yi’s leg, "Your Majesty, the traitors are still hiding in the Imperial City and haven’t left. Right now, they have no idea that the Empress has left the Imperial Palace again. If you mobilize the troops to search for the Empress, won’t that also inform them that the Empress is outside the palace? This would only place her in greater danger! Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Eunuch An was earnestly persuading, not daring to relax even slightly.

Qin Yi gnashed his teeth audibly, and after a long while, he gradually calmed his emotions.

"My concern has indeed thrown me into confusion!"

He helped Eunuch An up smoothly, "I was too worried about the Empress, completely forgetting to consider the consequences. Eunuch An, you reminded me, and you did well. You deserve a reward. Just the other day I acquired a coral tree, and I shall bestow it upon Eunuch An to express my appreciation."

Eunuch An’s face displayed an appropriately pleased expression, but then he forcefully suppressed his demeanor, bowing respectfully, "Your servant was merely fulfilling his duty and does not deserve Your Majesty’s reward. What’s important now is to secretly search for the Empress."

"Indeed, we must bring the Empress back safely no matter what."

Qin Yi’s expression was extraordinarily grave, "Go and investigate for me! Dispatch our best men to thoroughly search, find out where Xiuzhu has gone, which places she passed through, who she met. Once everything is clear, report back to me immediately!"

While everyone was turning heaven and earth upside down to search for Su Pan’er, on the other side, Su Pan’er had already left the Imperial City in a carriage.

When she arrived at the city gate, like everyone else, she was inevitably stopped by the guards.

To prevent anyone from escaping the city in disguise, the inspection at the city gates was extremely strict. Not to mention larger items that needed to be checked, even small items like vegetable baskets were thoroughly searched by the guards. When it was Su Pan’er’s turn in her carriage, six or seven officers gathered around early on.

But this carriage was just too clean!

Aside from the pregnant woman driving it, the carriage’s interior didn’t even have a curtain to conceal its contents, and everything inside was visible at a glance—a couple of empty wicker baskets, and nothing else!

A few men seemed not quite satisfied, and even checked under the carriage wheels carefully before loudly admonishing.

"Where are you from?"

"Officer, this woman is from Cheng Family’s Manor outside the city. I’ve come to bring green vegetables into the city. Just look, there’s a basket for the green vegetables on the carriage!"

The eyes of several guards seemed like searchlights, suspecting everyone to be a thief as they scrutinized Su Pan’er carefully.

"That doesn’t seem right, does it? How come I haven’t seen you enter the city before?"

"Are you jesting, officer?"

Instead, Su Pan’er calmly smiled back, "Well, when this woman passed through the city gate at noon the other day, I saw an elderly gentleman with graying hair standing next to you. You two seemed to be chatting and laughing. I’m sure, officer, you’ve seen too many people and don’t remember such an ordinary person as myself."

The officer pondered for a long while before recalling indeed such an event had happened, easing half of his suspicions.

"You say you’ve come to collect green vegetables, but I seem to recall those vegetables are claimed property. Do you have any proof to verify your identity?"

Since Qin Yi took the throne, he had introduced a series of reforms. Among them was the introduction of a bypass, which every commoner possessed, detailing information like place of birth and name—it was akin to a modern ID card.

With her exceptional identity, Su Pan’er naturally did not have a bypass, but with a slight search within her bosom, she produced a document and handed it over.

"These green vegetables are to be delivered into the palace, and the details are in this document. Please examine it carefully, officer."

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