Lin Yi, driven by a sense of pressing urgency, leapt directly into the dark tunnel.

His Majesty was in danger, and Judge Zhong was restless as well.

"Gongsun senior, I must go out too. His Majesty is in danger; I cannot sit idly by."

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Mo took out a rope and tied Judge Zhong to a pillar, speaking with earnest gravity.

"You, a mere Scholar with no knowledge of Martial Arts, would only add to the chaos if you went. You'd be better off staying put here."

"Out of consideration for your help in uncovering the truth, I'm tying you up here to save you. My accursed Junior Brother must have set a trap outside, planning to doom you to death."

After securing Judge Zhong and fearing he might call out, Gongsun Mo pulled out a piece of cloth, ready to stuff it into Judge Zhong's mouth.

Judge Zhong yelled out in panic.

"Gongsun senior, you can't do this! Mr. Lin has important matters he entrusted to you."

But Gongsun Mo didn't take Judge Zhong's words seriously and stuffed the gauze straight into his mouth.

"I told you to be good and listen, so you be good and listen."

"Nowadays, His Majesty is my son-in-law. Of course, I must go save His Majesty; otherwise, my poor daughter will never have good days ahead."

Gongsun Mo had gone to great lengths to prepare for this day.

He approached the split column, changed into a set of clean clothes, and concealed many Hidden Weapons within.

Judge Zhong, with his mouth gagged, was extremely anxious. Had he known that Gongsun Mo was going to leave, he would have told him about the fake limbs and walking sticks left by Lin Yi right away.

Now, with his mouth sealed by the gauze, no matter how he tried to shout, he couldn't make a sound.

'It seems Mr. Lin had foreseen that Gongsun Mo would leave Qiankun Palace, so he arranged these prosthetic limbs and walking sticks.'

If he couldn't speak, then he'd stamp his feet.

Judge Zhong frantically stamped on the floor with both feet, desperately trying to make as much noise as possible to get Gongsun Mo's attention.

Meanwhile, Gongsun Mo, having dressed himself, heard the grinding noises of Judge Zhong and felt extremely irritated.

"You brat, are you annoying or what? Can't you just stay put? Seems I have to tie your feet as well."

Upon hearing this, Judge Zhong became even more desperate. He hadn't expected this stubborn old man to deny him the opportunity to speak.

After both of Judge Zhong's feet were tied up, he could only shake his body frantically and cry out in hopes that Gongsun Mo would help remove the gauze from his mouth.

Suddenly, a tear dropped onto the back of Gongsun Mo's hand, which finally calmed him.

"You brat, why are you crying? 'A man's tears should not be easily shed.' You're losing face for men."

Gongsun Mo was somewhat moved and reached out to remove the gauze from Judge Zhong's mouth.

"Mr. Lin— Mr. Lin—"

Panting and anxious, Judge Zhong said: "Mr. Lin asked me to give you the walking stick and fake limbs, he said you would definitely need them."

Following Judge Zhong's gaze, Gongsun Mo finally noticed the pair of prosthetic limbs.

"This, this thing really looks like it could serve as my legs!" Gongsun Mo's eyes lit up, and he couldn't put them down.

Seeing this, Judge Zhong finally breathed a sigh of relief and spoke slowly.

"Gongsun senior, please untie me, I'll help you set them up."

It must be said, Judge Zhong was very good-natured; he wasn't angry with Gongsun Mo and offered to help politely.

"This?" Gongsun Mo felt ashamed, guilt-ridden for his earlier behavior.

"There's no time, Gongsun senior, His Majesty is waiting for you to rescue him."

Gongsun Mo nodded in agreement with Judge Zhong's suggestion.

Through their cooperation, Gongsun Mo finally put on the prosthetic limbs. He took a few steps and, to his amazement, walked steadily and naturally.

"Has the heavens finally opened their eyes? Can I really stand up and walk in this lifetime?"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Gongsun Mo's eyes were brimming with tears, as if he were in a dream.

He took a few more steps on the spot to make sure there were no issues and then grasped Judge Zhong's hand and headed towards the secret tunnel.

"Let's go, I will take you out."

"This? Won't I cause trouble for you?"

Gongsun Mo shook his head resolutely.

"When I had no legs, I feared I couldn't protect you completely, but now, thanks to Brother Lin Yi, I have a pair of legs to move freely with; of course, I can keep you safe."

The secret tunnel that Gongsun Mo had dug was very long, with the exit at the rockery in the backyard of the Imperial Kitchen. It takes about half an hour to traverse.

Just as Gongsun Mo and his companion hurriedly squeezed into the secret tunnel, there was unrest in the Imperial Study Room.

Outside the Imperial Study Room was still heavily guarded, showing no difference from the daytime.

But inside the Imperial Study Room, Luoluo circled around Ying Qi, and Ying Yi, frantically emitting strange cries, then jumping crazily beside the window at times.

"What's wrong with Luoluo? Did it eat something wrong?" Ying Qi was at a loss over Luoluo's abnormal behavior.

Ying Yi was also baffled. As she squatted down, trying to gently calm Luoluo's agitation, Luoluo instead became more frantic, crouching in a corner, wildly digging at the ground.

Meanwhile, Keke in the basement wasn't faring any better. It avoided moving around due to its injuries but was making strange cries.

"Ow—Ow—"

The young Emperor also felt something was amiss, harboring a sense of foreboding.

Thus, she took out a walkie-talkie. The old eunuch had been quiet all day, which concerned her. And Lin Yi, where was he now?

"Beep beep beep—"

The long alert tone kept ringing, but Lin Yi did not answer.

'This rogue is getting bolder by the minute. To dare ignore my summons twice in one day, is he thinking of rebelling?'

Little did she know that Lin Yi, in his haste leaving the Qiankun Palace, had accidentally left the walkie-talkie there.

Realizing the situation was grim, the young Emperor steadied herself on an armrest, readying to return to the surface.

Yet at that moment, Keke, despite its wounds, followed her, firmly grabbing the young Emperor's Dragon Robe, preventing her from going up.

"No, Keke, let go of me!" The young Emperor was anxious, struggling to remain calm without news from Lin Yi.

"Ow ow, ow ow—"

Keke refused to let go, using all its strength to bite the young Emperor's Dragon Robe, fiercely pulling her back.

"Keke, what's the trouble for?" The young Emperor, unwilling to see the injured Keke hurt again, relented and returned.

She wanted to comfort the wounded Keke, but seeing Keke's eyes brimming with tears, her heart went soft.

"Alright, alright, I won't go up. I'll stay here with you."

Just then, the young Emperor's walkie-talkie suddenly rang.

She grabbed the walkie-talkie; it was Ying Yi.

"Your Majesty, something terrible happened, there's a fire outside the Imperial Study Room, the blaze is fierce, please do not come out!"

Through the walkie-talkie, alongside Ying Yi's anxious voice, there were also sounds of people running and yelling in chaos, the scene was extremely disorderly.

It was arson again. The young Emperor suddenly thought of something, her vision darkened, and she fainted.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Ying Yi shouted into the walkie-talkie, but there was no response from the other end.

Ying Qi, also worried about the Emperor's safety, specifically sent away ten Shadow Guards.

With Ying Qi's cooperation, Ying Yi swiftly headed down to the basement.

...End of chapter...

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