At the dark night, the wheels rolled, rushing all the way to the west.

Tu Muxue kept struggling constantly in the bumpy carriage. She was grabbed by An Hong and pressed firmly in the depths of the carriage.

The girl was sweating profusely. Her face was sallow and she narrowed her sore eyes, trying to fix her eyes on Ming Lan's awl face in the blurred vision.

"Is that you? Ming Lan. Is that you?"

Ming Lan sat there calmly, his thin body swaying slightly from side to side with the carriage.

"What's wrong? Were your eyes completely destroyed?

He asked in a high voice with contempt and arrogance, raising one side of his eyebrows.

Tu Muxue gritted her teeth bitterly and she looked so cold and resentful.

"D**n Eastern Depot! Leng Qingtang is so vicious!"

Ming Lan sneered.

"Stop dreaming of being the concubine of Emperor. Emperor fainted on the spot at the Spring Banquet. I surely knew that you would be in danger. So, I came to save you specially. If I hadn't been there in time, you would have fallen to death."

"Huh! Did you save me?"

The girl sneered coldly, bore the sharp pain in her eyes, and gasped,

"Master Ming, do you really think I'm stupid? You bothered to knock down my dagger with a hidden weapon just for yourself and Gu Yunxi's face!"

Ming Lan raised his eyebrows playfully and nodded in acquiescence.

Tu Muxue snorted and then she suddenly remembered something as her body trembled.

"Let me guess. I'm afraid the person who informed Jingyang Palace was you!"

In an instant, Ming Lan's eyes turned sharp. As soon as An Hong saw it from the side, he decisively slashed his palm towards the back of Tu Muxue's neck. She gave a muffled cry and fainted.

Ming Lan bent down. His wet white fingers stroked the girl's chin. He moved his red lips slightly, smiling wildly.

"You are so clever. You are right. I did that for Gu Yunxi and it was I who informed Jingyang Palace. After they received the news, the Eastern Depot must be prepared. Your face is really pretty, but it doesn't belong to you. Now it is the time to give it back."

In the thick darkness, the wind blew through the street, tormenting the carriage running under the pale moon ruthlessly.

After staring at her face for a moment, Ming Lan said,

"An, when Tu Muxue is settled, you can leave the Western Depot..."

An Hong was startled.

He knew his Master was unstable and moody.

Following him over the years, An Hong believed that he always served him properly and never made any big mistakes in handling affairs.

With a pale face, An Hong smiled bitterly,

"Master, you... Do you have anything else for me to do?"

Ming Lan lowered his eyelashes and shook his head. His eyes suddenly turned deep with a light flickering in them.

"You have seen what happened in Baohe Palace tonight. After Emperor wakes up, I don't know what will happen next. I think the Wan clan is no longer reliable. Before Emperor takes actions, people in the Western Depot had better leave as soon as possible..."

"Master!"

An Hong seemed to be hit by a thunderbolt and there was a buzz in his head. He went rigid in the carriage immediately.

"Master, what about you? What should you do?"

Suddenly An Hong's eyes turned wet and he looked at Ming Lan tremblingly.

Ming Lan smiled peacefully with a trace of bleakness at the corners of his lips.

"What should I do? Haha, there is no way out. The Western Depot relies on the Wan clan and we are never powerful enough. Since the Wan clan falls into decline this time, I'll be involved certainly."

“Two days ago, I deposited a sum of money in Yongchang Villa in your name. Just go back to your hometown with peace of mind, buy a few acres of fertile farmland, or do some business. You will have no worries about livelihood in your life then..."

"Master, stop that!"

An Hong lowered his head and covered his face with his hands, crying loudly.

He had never heard his Master speak to him in such a sad tone.

His Master was notorious. He had always been domineering and he was famous for his bad temper. He always punished his subordinates corporally. So, working for him was always a somewhat frightening thing.

But at this moment, his Master was like a god in a ray of sunshine who was so good that he didn't want to be separated from.

An Hong suddenly hugged Ming Lan's thigh, knelt down, and swore,

"No, I won't leave. I will accompany you to death and I will serve you even in the hell!"

“Don't be silly."

Ming Lan lifted his foot and kicked him. His eyes turned sore and his heart ached as if it was torn apart.

He had his own pride. He didn't want his voice to choke in the throat easily when he spoke again.

Taking a deep breath to relieve the discomfort in his tight chest, he slowly said,

"An, you have been with me for the longest time, and so I can't watch you end up like Qin Zhong at such a young age."

"I'm useless. I'm unable to make the Western Depot stronger. The only thing I can do is to save the lives of my subordinates at the last minute. If you still consider yourself to be my subordinate, take good care of yourself from now on..."

"Master..."

The carriage continued to rush in the dark night and from time to time miserable crying came out from it, which was feminine and sharp, sounding harshly in the silent night.

…

In the Palace, Baohe Palace was still in chaos.

The moment Emperor fainted on the dragon table, Empress Qian rushed forward and yelled to the others,

"Imperial doctors! Where are the imperial doctors?"

Head Qi of the Imperial Hospital and several doctors rushed out of their seats and surrounded Emperor. They pinched his philtrum and took his pulse, but failed to find out the cause of the disease for a while, so that several senior old doctors became so anxious and started sweating.

The Imperial Noble Concubine Wan Yuyao stood aside in a daze and turned her eyes to the people under the stage.

She saw that Lord Shen Wan Zong rushed to Wan Li angrily with trembling hands. He shouted angrily,

"Li, why is this so?"

"I... I don't know... "

Wan Li's face turned red in panic and he deliberately avoided looking directly at his father.

There was a sudden noise from the golden stage.

Emperor Jingxiao suddenly opened his eyes with his face towards the sky. His terrifying eyes stared into space. He slowly got up.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... "

The imperial doctors stretched out their hands to help him but were crazily pushed away by Emperor.

"Get away. Get away!"

Emperor’s eyes were red like a madman. He held the treasure map offered by Wan Li in his hand, screaming fiercely at the surroundings.

"No, I don't want to! I don't want to! It's you who force me..."

Leng Qingtang heard it clearly under the stage. He raised his eyes and a mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. A mighty force appeared all over his body.

Twenty-five years ago, Huanan Ze did the evil things personally and at this time he finally got the evil consequence.

High Priest Yu Xuanji pointed high, yelling.

"Grab the map from His Majesty and put it in the brocade box quickly!"

Lord Zhang asked several imperial doctors to press Emperor down. He grabbed the sheepskin from his hands, threw it into the box, and closed the lid tightly.

Emperor held the table, wheezing and panting. His eyes were red, as if the dripping blood was about to come out from them.

Just now, after the sheepskin was soaked in vinegar and was dried by the candle flame, Emperor suddenly felt a headache and then lost consciousness.

When his vision suddenly became clear, his whole body was like walking in the void. He didn't even know where he was.

His throat seemed to be blocked by cotton and he was unable to make any sound when he opened his mouth. When he turned angry, he saw two people who were dressed in red on the opposite side. One was tall and the other one was short. They walked straight towards him.

Emperor got a big shock.

They were not dressed in red at all! They were a man in dragon robe and a woman in phoenix robe. Their robes were stained with blood completely. Their bodies were as light as smoke, drifting and approaching him inch by inch.

They were the dead former emperor and Noble Concubine Lan.

It was an inch away and Emperor Jingxiao couldn't make any sound with the fine hair on his whole body standing out.

Watched by these "two people" with eerie and weird eyes, Emperor Jingxiao felt that his brain was forcibly controlled by some force, forcing him to recall a certain period of time many years ago when he did some bad and evil things to come to the throne.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Seeing that Emperor's body tightened again, Empress Qian walked close to him and hugged his shoulders, bursting into tears.

"Your Majesty, what's the matter with you? Your Majesty, wake up! Your Majesty!"

Emperor woke up suddenly, looking directly at his sad and crying wife.

However, at this moment, he saw her as Noble Concubine Lan who leaped in front of him, grabbed his robe tightly with five fingers, and opened her mouth wide to avenge her death.

Anger surged from his heart and evilness came out then.

"Don't pester me! Get away!"

With a roar, Emperor suddenly extended his hands and pushed Empress Qian off the three-meter-high golden stage.