Hui Qingping's gaze merely lingered on Quan Taifeng for a moment before she looked around.
Seeing Hui Qingping in her current bedraggled state—her hair disheveled and tangled with straw, her clothes smeared with dirt, yet still wearing the Empress's robes—Quan Taifeng wore a smiling face, though his heart was filled with emotion.
After all the rights and wrongs, grudges and grievances, Quan Taifeng no longer wished to say anything. He stepped forward. "Let's go!"
Hui Qingping sneered. "I never expected you to be the one sending me on my final journey."
Quan Taifeng was taken aback, then gave a bitter smile. Knowing she had misunderstood, he stepped aside and gestured for her to proceed. "This isn't the place to talk. Leave first, then we'll talk."
Hui Qingping stood still. "Just say what you want. There's no need for all this trouble."
"Hui Qingping..." The words reached Quan Taifeng's lips, but he swallowed them back. He said no more, simply grabbed her arm and dragged her away.
He did not take her anywhere else, but directly brought Hui Qingping onto a large bird.
Then the three large birds spread their wings and departed. They rose into the dawn and quietly left while the people of the Song Capital had not yet fully awakened, all for the sake of secrecy.
Given Hui Qingping's status, secretly sending her away was better than publicly releasing her. It could at least preserve some of the Imperial Court of the Song Kingdom's dignity.
It was also to protect Hui Qingping's safety.
Wu Gongling had considered killing with a borrowed knife—say, having some accident happen to her along the way, or leaking some news to the Heavenly Maiden Cult.
Yet in the end, he did not dare act rashly because of Niu Youdao's arrangements.
Niu Youdao had