Cui Ji’s face turned cold. “Dugu Sheng, we have exhausted all kind words. If you still won’t step aside, don’t blame us for being impolite!”

Facing his words, Dugu Sheng closed his eyes and sighed deeply. The next moment, a sinister smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he slowly opened his eyes and said, “Even if you kill me, you’ll never find His Majesty!”

Hearing this, Pei Qiantong urgently asked, “Where have you hidden Yang Guang?”

“Hidden in a place you’ll never find, hahaha!” After saying this, he wielded his long sword and charged toward the crowd. Almost the moment he made his move, Sima Dekan and countless imperial guards behind him raised their swords and spears, ready to take the life of this stubborn old fool.

“Don’t kill him!” Pei Qiantong shouted as quickly as he could, but it was still a step too late. Almost as these words left his mouth, dozens of swords and spears simultaneously pierced Dugu Sheng’s body. Deep red blood, like peach blossoms blooming in March, gushed forth, staining the imperial guards holding their weapons.

“You will never… find His Majesty…” With these words, Dugu Sheng fell backward toward the sky, breathing his last breath in this world, but his eyes remained wide open.

Sima Dekan withdrew his long sword. Seeing Pei Qiantong continuously staring at Dugu Sheng’s corpse, thinking he was grieving for him, he said, “Such an old stubborn fool isn’t worth sympathy.”

Pei Qiantong shook his head. “I’m not sympathizing with him, but thinking about what he said.” Speaking thus, he said somewhat reproachfully, “Why didn’t you listen to me? Why did you have to kill him?”

“If we hadn’t killed him, we couldn’t have entered Chengxiang Palace.” Speaking thus, Sima Dekan said somewhat displeasedly, “Brother Pei, don’t tell me that at this point, you’re becoming soft-hearted again?”

Cui Ji answered for him, “Master Pei isn’t being soft-hearted, but has discovered the problem within.”

“Problem? What problem?” Facing Sima Dekan’s words, Cui Ji sighed and looked toward the distant Chengxiang Palace. “If I’m not mistaken, Yang Guang should not be in Chengxiang Palace. The only one who knew his hiding place was Dugu Sheng, but you killed him, so there’s no one left to ask.”

Only then did Sima Dekan and the others realize they had caused trouble, and for a moment were speechless. It was still Cui Ji who said, “Even if Dugu Sheng were alive, given his loyalty to Yang Guang, he would never tell us his whereabouts.”

Pei Qiantong gritted his teeth. “There’s no other way. We’ll search room by room. I don’t believe Yang Guang can sprout wings and fly away.”

“Right, as long as he’s still in the palace, we can definitely find him.” Speaking thus, Sima Dekan gestured to the soldiers behind him. They understood and charged into Chengxiang Palace. After a while, a soldier came out and said, “Reporting to the General, no trace of Yang Guang was found!”

“Search!” Pei Qiantong said coldly. “Even if we have to dig three feet deep, we must find Yang Guang!”

Under Pei Qiantong’s orders, over a thousand soldiers searched palace by palace, courtyard by courtyard. After more than half an hour, they brought Pei Qiantong and the others the news they least wanted to hear—Yang Guang could not be found!

Hearing this, Sima Dekan immediately said, “This is impossible. I already ordered people to block all the main roads. Yang Guang couldn’t possibly have escaped, unless he truly grew wings.”

“Right, when we sealed off last night, I still saw Yang Guang making merry in Chengxiang Palace. How could he disappear in the blink of an eye?” Speaking thus, Pei Qiantong angrily kicked Dugu Sheng’s already cold corpse. “This old thief, where exactly did he hide Yang Guang?”

One of the generals who had returned from Fengyi Palace bowed and said, “Reporting to General Pei, besides Yang Guang, Empress Xiao has also disappeared.”

Before Pei Qiantong could speak, Cui Ji had already urgently asked, “What about Princess Jinyang?” His assistance to Pei Qiantong and others in raising an army had two reasons besides avenging past grievances. One was Yunyi. When he had tried every means to become a candidate for Prince Consort, there were two reasons: first, naturally, the Prince Consort position could help the Cui family rise to the next level; second, he had indeed taken a fancy to Yunyi. That day when the breeze lifted her veil, revealing half a face as beautiful as a fairy, he had never been able to forget it.

A soldier who had returned from Feixiang Palace said, “Princess Jinyang is still in Feixiang Palace. We’ve already sent people to guard her.”

“Good.” As Cui Ji breathed a sigh of relief, the expressions of Pei Qiantong and the others became increasingly grim. If they couldn’t find Yang Guang, everything they had done today would be in vain. They had to know that besides the imperial guards, Yang Guang also controlled other armies. Once Yang Guang left the imperial palace and gathered his troops, not only would they be unable to return to Guanzhong, but they would die here.

What to do? What to do? The more Pei Qiantong and the others thought about it, the more frightened they became, pacing anxiously. Sima Dekan gritted his teeth and said, “Continue searching! Don’t stop until you find Yang Guang!”

The imperial guard soldiers looked at each other helplessly. “General, we really have searched everywhere. There truly isn’t anyone. We really can’t think of anywhere else to search.”

Another soldier said, “We’ve looked inside and outside the bedchambers, even in the wells. There really isn’t anyone.”

The more Sima Dekan heard, the more panicked he became, and cold sweat began to form. Looking at Pei Qiantong, he said, “What do we do? Once Yang Guang escapes, we’ll all die. What can we do?”

Pei Qiantong himself was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, his mind in complete chaos, unable to think of any solution. At this moment, Cui Ji suddenly said, “Wait, there’s one place we haven’t searched.”

Hearing this, Pei Qiantong’s spirits lifted, and he hurriedly asked, “Where?” Not only him, but everyone’s gaze turned to Cui Ji as their only hope.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Cui Ji slowly uttered two words: “The Perpetual Alley!”

The so-called Perpetual Alley referred to the long corridors in the palace, the residence of palace maids and eunuchs who had not yet been assigned to various palaces and courtyards; it was also the place where fallen and out-of-favor concubines were confined.

Whether it was the Chang’an Imperial Palace, the Luoyang Ziwei Palace, or the palaces of Jiangdu, all had the existence of the Perpetual Alley. It could be said to be the most indispensable place, and at the same time, the most inconspicuous.

This place was probably somewhere Yang Guang had never set foot in his entire life. Could he really be hiding there now? Whether he was or not, they should search there first.

Driven by this thought, everyone swarmed toward the Perpetual Alley. This place was divided into the Eastern Pavilion and Western Pavilion, narrow and eerily long. Just looking at it made one feel cold, let alone searching through it.

Pei Qiantong randomly grabbed a passing palace maid and said, “Speak! Where is Yang Guang?”

The palace maid was terrified and kept waving her hands. “This servant… this servant knows nothing, no… ah!” She let out a frightened cry because Pei Qiantong had placed his sword at her neck. “If you don’t speak, I’ll kill you!”

“This servant truly doesn’t know. Please, my lord…” Before she could finish, the steel blade had already sliced across her neck. With a streak of deep red, she collapsed to the ground, ending her brief life.