Feng Ning is smart.

Very smart in fact.

Lin Zi Xuan wouldn't believe that she hadn't known about the fact that his enemies were waiting for him to make a mistake. In fact, she might have been the one to lure them all out by coming here by herself.

He had eliminated them now.

But at the same time, he had lost her.

Looking at the beautifully written message, Lin Zi Xuan knew very well that Feng Ning had planned her own escape route.

Escape from everything.

From her identity.

From her life.

From him.

Normally, she would never have the chance to do so. And with her normal capabilities, Lin Zi Xuan knew that it was impossible for her to force herself way. She's not a martial artist as she simply learned medicine.

But her position had granted her the necessary knowledge.

The hidden tunnel and escape route from the Summer Palace.

There were several hidden tunnels meant for their safety back in the main palace that Lin Zi Xuan was aware of. But the hidden tunnels in the Summer Palace was different as Lin Zi Xuan didn't even consider it.

It was due to this that he was not sure where she went.

Lin Zi Xuan waved his hand. "Back to the main palace. Clean up the mess."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The guards noticed the terrifying aura around Lin Zi Xuan and didn't dare to say anything. They simply did as they were told.

On the other hand, Lin Zi Xuan wanted to go back as fast as possible and then studied the secret tunnels in the Summer Palace. At the same time, he ordered his trusted men to search for her.

Alive.

He wanted to find her at all cost.

...

Hospital

"Imperial Doctor Wu, there's a young man looking for you," one of the intern doctor called.

"A young man?" Imperial Doctor Wu was stunned.

"Yes, he refused to give his name and only asked for some of your time. Maybe he's a patient?"

Imperial Doctor Wu was speechless.

If that person was a patient, he would never try to search for him. After he was being promoted to become Imperial Doctor, Imperial Doctor Wu could no longer treat ordinary people except if it was ordered by the Emperor or Empress.

He shook his head and walked out to the courtyard. There, he found the young man that the intern said.

"Excuse me, are you...." Imperial Doctor Wu unable to finish his sentence when he saw the other party's face. His mouth opened wide and closed again as he nearly cursed.

The only question ringing in his head was:

Why are you here?

The young man was actually Feng Ning. She had dressed in male clothing in order to be able to blend better. Well, she had never worn male clothing before, which caused it to be a bit messy, but it was passable.

"Master... I... need.... To... get... out." Feng Ning struggled to force herself to speak. Technically, she could speak since her vocal cord had healed, but she hadn't spoken any words for so many years.

This had caused her vocal cords to be undeveloped.

She had practiced in secret, but it was still hard for her to even speak a full sentence. Not to mention, her voice was so low and hoarse that it could be easily mistaken as a boy's voice.

"You... come with me." Imperial Doctor Wu felt that his head was a mess. He had heard that there was chaos in the palace, but he would never expect that the Empress herself was the one who went missing.

Did she know how much chaos it would be without her presence?

It took him a long of time to calm down and listened to Feng Ning's explanation, which she had to do through paper. There was no way she could finish a full sentence faster than writing an essay.

Looking at that, Imperial Doctor Wu was speechless.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

"Living as an ordinary villager would be completely different than when you're a princess..." Imperial Doctor Wu faintly remembered that when they were in that desolate city, Feng Ning didn't have any problem to blend in.

In fact, it looked as if she was accustomed to the lives of ordinary people.

"I know."

Feng Ning smiled.

She had lived for two decades as an ordinary person in her previous life. Working hard, cooking, cleaning, and many others. It was all very normal for her to do back then because there were no one who would do it for her.

It was also because of this that Feng Ning decided to just go back and live as an ordinary person.

Rather than waiting for the day her husband come and kill her, which meant that her lifespan would be less than a year.

It would be better for her to run away first.

She had always wanted to leave the life as a princess and tried to sneak out a few times. But unfortunately, those novels were all scams. The guards were guarding the place so tightly that she believed an ant wouldn't escape.

There was only one choice left for her.

That was to escape through the secret passage that was only known to the Emperor.

It was her real plan.

When she saw Lin Zi Xuan's gaze, she had known that he would want to take the throne. If he were to become the Emperor and she became the Empress, her status would be slightly higher just because she was part of the Lin Family.

She would be able to gain access to those documents.

And with them, she managed to find the escape route out of the Summer Palace and headed to the hospital to find Imperial Doctor Wu.

She had to admit, though.

She didn't have any other plan right now.

Imperial Doctor Wu looked at his disciple and sighed. His disciple was indeed talented and capable, but she was also a very hard headed person. He had already prepared the carriage since Feng Ning did mention that she wanted to get out of the Capital City in secret if it was necessary.

In the end, he relented.

Feng Ning rode the carriage and left.

"I hope that things will turn for the better." Imperial Doctor Wu sighed.

...

There were various small villages around the Capital City.

Feng Ning settled in one of them after handing the necessary payment. She had purposely collected quite a lot of copper and silver coins in order to be able to blend here. Gold ingots were rarer and naturally, she would not use them.

Having a small hut, Feng Ning cleaned it up and stayed inside.

It was not much worse than her previous house back in her original life.

Here, she could also take care of her own garden, wash beside the river, fish, and do many other things she previously couldn't.

It's nice.

That was the only thought Feng Ning had when she fell asleep in her new place.