Ye Yiheng in the Eastern Palace heard rumors and left the capital city in the middle of the night, taking Ruofeng, Mo Chen, and Song Guo with him.
The following morning, the chief eunuch of Cining Palace came to the Eastern Palace to proclaim the imperial decree. The decree had not yet been unfolded when he was informed that the Crown Prince had already left the Eastern Palace.
Without the Crown Prince to receive the decree, it could not be enacted.
Frustrated, the Empress Dowager ordered a search for the Crown Prince, but it was fruitless.
She had no choice but to angrily summon the Crown Prince's companion tutor, Jian Lecheng, and demanded, "Where has the Crown Prince gone?"
The blind Crown Prince was certainly capable, having made it to Jiangnan and now escaped the capital.
Could it be that he had not found Leng Yu Yan in Jiangnan and was off to search for her again?