The Eunuchs left Chun Hua outside the palace gates. She stood there frowning at the palace gates for a while. Eventually, she let out a breath and started walking into the city. As she walked past a market street where the vendors were very boisterous in their sales campaign, she stopped at a few vendors and perused their selection. It appeared as if she were too polite to refuse their call.

She exchanged pleasantries with the vendors and then finally left the area, buying nothing but promising to return for a few items. She walked around for a long while, seemingly thinking of where she was to go now and eventually, she went into a small inn and got a room.

Chun Hua dropped her belongings and walked over to the window and scanned the pedestrians passing outside and then sighed. She was being followed. She did not know where or who they were. She did not even see them, she just sensed it. It was one of their family traits, an uncanny sense of alertness. Chun Hua let out a breath in irritation.

{...They are very good...Did he find out something? It couldn't be...How? Could she have -? But even if he believed that she was drugged, why would he suspect me?... That idiot Chen You must have said something unnecessary and foolish...}

Chun Hua frowned and went to sit on the bed, there was no point staring out the window, she would not be able to discern the spies anyway. If the Emperor had figured out their plan then it was only a matter of time before she was recaptured. She understood that she was now being used as bait to catch the others.

She had sent a message to Bao Zhun through one of their contacts who had been posing as a vendor. So the others would be made aware that her position may be compromised and know to lay low for a while and move stealthily.

Thankfully, she had the foresight to establish various code phrases for communicating with Bao Zhun and the others. So all anyone would have gotten from her exchange with her contact, was simply pleasantries and regular trade banter with a vendor. She even went through the trouble of stopping at multiple random vendors to throw them off.

Trying to leave the city now will probably be futile and regardless she was not ready to leave. Bao Zhun was easy to control but?her brother was a problem though. She knew he did not approve of this mission and worried that he might have done something foolish to blow her cover but he had behaved himself so far and even helped her. So she hoped he would continue to be on his best behavior.

Although due to Chun Hai's presence, she was not worried that they would be captured, with him here escaping the city would be easy...but escape was not what she wanted and she was worried that?but that he would force her to leave. He was definitely not above blowing her cover to force her to leave.

She needed a new plan fast before he ran out of patience...At the very least, she needed to return with something, she could not go back empty-handed.

***

"You want me to call off the search?" The Empress dowager asked in a chilling tone as she turned her cold gaze to the commander who was kneeling before her. Another idiot had come to give her the same report she had been getting every day for the last few days, which was: I apologize, your majesty but we have been unable to find any traces of the Monk. But then this idiot took this embarrassment further and dared to ask her to call off the search.

{...Who does this fool think he is?...}

The Commander gulped but stood his ground and continued, "Your majesty, we are not even sure which way Taohua temple is. We can't keep advancing to nowhere...There are no traces of the monk. It was like he -" The Commander paused and then advised, "...At this point, it's bet-"

"At this point what?!" The Empress dowager barked, "Do you have any idea what is at stake here?! I-" The Empress dowager stopped herself and took deep breaths and held her aching head to calm herself down.

{...I'm surrounded by useless fools!...}

"Your majesty, please calm down...I am speaking out of worry for you. The conditions here are not ideal, it is better if you return to the palace...Instead of the soldiers blinding searching the forest, it will be better to send out a few men skilled in tracking and investigations to seek out the monk and temple. Lull him into a false sense of security..." The Commander quickly rambled.

Since the Empress dowager suddenly showed up in the search party's camp three days ago, she had been ordering the men to work them non-stop without any rest. There were no tracks to follow, the men were tired but she insisted they keep searching.?She herself had probably not slept the last few days.

Some men even avoided returning to the camp to avoid her anger and just rested where they could in the forest.? What's more, the Empress dowager only allowed twenty men to stay behind to protect her with much begging on the commander's part.?This situation was not ideal, if they were attacked now the Empress dowager would be in danger.

"Keep searching." The Empress dowager calmly said, obviously holding back her anger.

But the oblivious commander kept pressing, "Your majesty, the men need to-"

"I said to keep searching! If anyone wants to stop, then they should be ready to stop living! Keep searching!" The Empress dowager barked as she rose to her feet and then dizzily swayed and held her head. Luckily Song mama was at her side and immediately caught her then helped her back down to the seat.

The Commander worriedly looked up but remained still, Song mama immediately turned to him and barked, "You're still here? Do you want to be the first example?!"

The Commander knit his brows and then bowed and left with a disgruntled stride. As he exited the tent, he brushed past the messenger who came bearing the good news.

The messenger went into the tent and bowed in greeting and then on his knees, cupped his hands cupped and with a smile he went, "Congratulations Your majesty, the Emperor has finally named his Empress and your presence is requested back at the palace for th-"

"What?" The Empress dowager froze and asked wide-eyed.

The messenger blinked and his smile disappeared as he saw the Empress dowager's expression. He gulped and carefully explained, "The Emperor named Noble consort Lei as his Empress this morning." And then he held out a scroll that contained the notification with the Emperor's seal.

Song mama took the scroll and opened it and showed the Empress dowager whose breathing increased as her expression changed into a deep scowl. The messenger could feel the fury radiating from her and kept his head bowed and was cold sweating as he waited to be dismissed.

The Empress dowager just kept glaring at the scroll and Song mama could see that she was on the verge of exploding, to save the Empress dowager's face, Song mama turned to the messenger and said, "You can leave." The poor messenger immediately bowed and rushed out of the tent.

Song mama turned back to the Empress dowager, whose hands were gripping the scroll so tightly her knuckles were white. Song mama knit her brows and worriedly called to her, "Your majesty...Your majesty...Your-"

BANG!

The Empress dowager slammed the scroll down on the table and slowly turned her glare to Song mama and coldly and calmly asked, "Did I say you could tell him to leave?"

Song mama blinked and then gulped, "I'll have him call-"

"Answer the question!" The Empress dowager barked.

Song mama immediately fell to her knees, "Your majesty, I apologize-"

"You apologize?" The Empress dowager cut her off and Song mama immediately fell silent and started shaking in fear. The Empress dowager let out a breath and then stood up, she grabbed the inkstone and walked over to Song mama. Song mama began shaking but maintained her silence.

The Empress dowager looked at the inkstone in her hand and then a slow smile crept on her face and then she raised it up and struck Song mama's head with it. Song mama immediately fell over and stifled her screams, rolling on the ground whimpering. The Empress dowager snorted and then suddenly started laughing, she haphazardly threw the inkstone next to Song mama as she howled in laughter.

"Another Empress wanting to take away my power..." The Empress dowager said in between laughs, "This is good..."

{...Very good...}

The Empress dowager suddenly froze and narrowed her eyes as a realization dawned on her and then burst into laughter again.

{...So it was all a setup...The Monk...Chen You...and that s.l.u.t...A coup? Good....Very good...}

She stopped laughing again and condescendingly looked down at Song mama and coldly ordered, "Get up." Song mama immediately scrambled to her feet and then the Empress dowager went back to sit down and carefully rolled the scroll as she calmly said, "We're going back right now."

Song mama looked up at the Empress dowager and shakily advised, "Your majesty, it's the middle nigh-"

"Do I need your permission?!" The Empress dowager roared and then she took a deep breath to contain herself. Song mama flinched and lowered her head. The Empress dowager had been trying to contain herself since that stupid monk said those eerie familiar words to her and brought up unnecessary memories.

{...How dare anyone tell me what to do?! I will kill them all...All of them...They need to bow...}

The Empress dowager closed her eyes and took a few breaths and then calmly said, "Call off that stupid search and tell the men to get ready..."

"As you command." Song mama said with a bow and she ran out of the tent. When she got outside she stopped and touched her aching head and stared at the blood on her shaking hand.

Song mama had always played the Empress dowager's mouthpiece since they were young. The Empress dowager had never complained before ever reprimanded Song mama about her choices before.

The Empress dowager had also never punished Song mama before, much less hit her.? What's more, Song mama?had actually never seen the Empress dowager hit anyone with her own hand before, she always ordered it but never did it herself. Well except...for that one time with Lei Xing, but that was obviously different.

Song mama used to believe that she understood the Empress dowager, but lately, she was becoming...different. And it was clear now how different she was truly becoming. The Empress dowager was becoming someone she did not know.

She heard the Empress dowager's howling laughter ring from inside the tent and jumped and then immediately shuffled her shaking feet to go find the Commander as she brought her handkerchief to her head.

She quickly found the commander and passed along the Empress dowager's orders, he was greatly relieved and smiled. Then he noticed her pale face and blood-soaked handkerchief and asked what happened. Song mama smiled and quickly informed that she tripped in her rush to find him and then she quickly went to the medic and had her wound tended to.

She made her way back to the Empress dowager's tent but then froze before she reached the entrance. Then she promptly changed directions and?went to her sent and shakily sat on her bed taking deep breaths. Her mind went back to the scene of the Empress dowager strangling Lei Xing and her fears immediately surged.

She was terrified to return, her lifelong friend now seemed like a stranger.