Assassination Attempt

We left Lingbao Temple at 1:45 PM.

Xu Qi'an entered the palace, asked a guard to announce his arrival, and waited at the palace gate for a quarter of an hour. It was not until 11:45 PM that the young eunuch arrived.

"Lord Xu, what's our next step in the investigation?" the young eunuch asked.

"Go to the Phoenix Palace to see the Empress. Do we not need to inform His Majesty beforehand to see the Empress?" Xu Qi'an asked.

The young eunuch quickly waved his hand, "His Majesty said that you can go wherever you want in the inner palace. Of course, that is, only if a servant accompanies you, especially when you see the Imperial Concubine and the Empress."

Xu Qi'an nodded.

A woman who wants to see the emperor cannot, of course, meet him in private.

The full name of the Phoenix Palace is Phoenix Perch Palace. It is the largest and most luxurious palace in the harem—excluding the emperor's sleeping quarters.

Upon arriving at Fengqi Palace, they learned that the Empress was taking a nap. Xu Qi'an and the young eunuch waited in the outer corridor for about half an hour before a pretty palace maid came to announce their arrival.

"Her Majesty the Empress has awakened. Please come over, Lord Xu."

Xu Qi'an then entered the palace and met the Empress, who was the mother of the nation, in the luxuriously decorated front hall. She was wearing a dark phoenix robe embroidered with gold thread and a magnificent phoenix crown.

With her delicately arched eyebrows and full lips, she may no longer be young, but her face is full of collagen, showing no signs of aging. This adds a touch of mature womanly charm to her flawless and stunning beauty.

She ranks among the top two beauties I've ever seen, with Luo Yuheng ranking first. However, the Imperial Advisor possesses innate charm, a kind of buff, while the Empress relies on her natural beauty. With a woman like that as Empress, no one in the harem can rival her.

Xu Qi'an quickly lowered his head, maintaining the proper etiquette and decorum expected of a foreign official.

"Truly a young prodigy."

The Empress was clearly also a sucker for good looks. She scrutinized Xu Qi'an and nodded with satisfaction. "Huaiqing often mentions you to me and speaks highly of you. I have also heard about your many remarkable cases solved in the capital."

Both sides had a good first impression.

Whether it was due to his own high opinion of himself or not, Xu Qi'an felt that the Empress appreciated him greatly and treated him with complete respect.

"Wei Yuan is fortunate to have such an outstanding subordinate as you," the Empress said softly. "Serve tea to Lord Xu."

A palace maid served steaming hot tea, which Xu Qi'an accepted with both hands. Without drinking it, he asked directly, "This humble servant has come regarding the case of Consort Fu, and has a few questions for Your Majesty the Empress."

"May I ask, Lord Xu?"

Do you know the palace maid Huang Xiaorou?

"I don't recognize him." The Empress shook her head.

"Is there a palace maid named He'er in Your Highness's palace?"

"Yes." The Empress paused for a few seconds, then slowly nodded.

"Granny Rong from Crab Pavilion said that four years ago, Huang Xiaorou attempted suicide for no reason, but a palace maid who shared a room with her saved her. That palace maid was He'er from the Empress's palace."

"He'er has never been to the Crab Pavilion," the Empress denied directly.

Xu Qi'an continued, "After examining the body, I discovered that the palace maid Huang Xiaorou suffered a fatal wound, which could not have been saved by a mere palace maid, nor by the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau. She must have taken spirit medicine that could bring the dead back to life."

The Empress stared at Xu Qi'an and said calmly, "Lord Xu, do you have any evidence for your words?"

"The corpse is the evidence."

"What about the elixir?"

"No." Xu Qi'an shook his head.

Was it the Empress who tore up the Imperial Pharmacy's income and expenditure records?

The Empress nodded and said softly, "I am tired. Please escort Lord Xu out of the hall."

"Didn't you just finish your afternoon nap?" Xu Qi'an murmured a few times, then reluctantly got up and left Fengqi Palace with the palace maid.

Xu Qi'an glanced at the sun. "Young Master, has the list I asked you to collect been completed?"

The young eunuch pulled a folded piece of Xuan paper from his robes. "I was just about to give it to Lord Xu."

Not bad, very efficient. No wonder you were trained in the palace.

Xu Qi'an unfolded the list and glanced at it. It listed more than a dozen palace maids, servants, and guards.

"Let's check each person on the list one by one," Xu Qi'an said.

"And what about the Empress?"

"Of course, it can't be investigated."

Xu Qi'an sighed. Although Emperor Yuanjing had given him great privileges, allowing him to investigate whomever he wanted, the Empress refused to cooperate no matter what, so Xu Qi'an had no choice but to force her.

However, one thing is certain: the Empress has something to hide.

Could it really be the Empress? Then Huaiqing would be so pitiful. Should I not investigate further? But if I don't investigate, wouldn't the poor girl be so pitiful? Here it comes, a dilemma of choosing one or the other. Xu Qi'an sighed silently in his heart.

But seriously, the Empress is damn beautiful. She still has such charm even in her old age; how beautiful she must have been in her youth! No wonder she became Empress.

Huaiqing and the Empress share some resemblance in their eyes and eyebrows.

"Compared to her, I still think Luo Yuheng is better because she can satisfy my various tastes, and so can Su Su."

Xu Qi'an couldn't help but recall what Master Jinlian had just said: Luo Yuheng possessed the ability to represent all kinds of people, allowing men to see the type they preferred, while he was attracted to young women in their twenties, women in their thirties, and mature women in their forties.

"I really don't want to admit I'm a womanizer."

Over the next hour, Xu Qi'an arranged to check the names on the list. Because of time constraints, he had to leave the palace before it closed, so he only had time to check one-third of the names.

Amidst the resounding closing bells, he smoothly left the palace, took his own mare from the Imperial Guards, retrieved the black and gold longsword given to him by the Imperial Supervisor, and leisurely departed the imperial city.

At this moment, only the afterglow of the setting sun remained.

The curfew had begun, and the streets were deserted. Xu Qi'an, dressed in the uniform of Nightwatchers and with his gold token by his side, could move freely anywhere except inside the palace.

"Da da da"

As the mare walked slowly down the deserted street, Xu Qi'an pondered the details of the Fufei case.

Consort Fu was the biggest victim in the whole case, a scapegoat used to frame the Crown Prince, and the one who carried out the deed was Huang Xiaorou, who had already been silenced.

Huang Xiaorou had been seriously injured, but the Empress healed her, so the Empress had done her a great favor.

The Empress's fourth son is the legitimate son, while the current Crown Prince is born of a concubine. The Empress is unwilling to let the position of Crown Prince fall into the hands of others, so she devises a scheme to frame the Crown Prince and reclaim the position of the Eastern Palace.

The motive is clear, and the whole case is reasonable; the only problem is the lack of evidence.

Yes, there is currently a lack of evidence to convict the Queen.

"Granny Rong is right. There are too many unspeakable secrets in this deep palace. Once you get in, you can't get out. I thought this case would take some time, but I didn't expect it to progress so quickly. Now there's no chance to stall for time. That damned Emperor Yuanjing hasn't even issued an edict to confer a title yet. I'm taking leave tomorrow."

At that moment, a scene flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind: a man in black was lying prone behind the roof ridge on the left, and another man in black was lying in ambush behind the roof ridge on the right.

In the alley ahead, stood a man in black holding a knife.

Thanks to the unique abilities of a martial artist at the Spirit Refining Realm, he immediately sensed the danger.

The thought that I had been ambushed arose in my mind, and the next moment, a sharp sound of something cutting through the air came.

dusk.

After having dinner, Emperor Yuanjing planned to go to Lingbao Temple to find Luo Yuheng, meditate with her, and listen to Daoist classics.

A eunuch waiting outside suddenly reported, "Your Majesty, Consort Chen is requesting an audience."

What is she doing here at this time? Emperor Yuanjing frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Bring her in."

If Consort Chen had come to her palace at this time a few years earlier, Emperor Yuanjing would have thought she was offering herself up for his bedchamber and coming to serve him.

For the first ten years of his cultivation, the concubines in the harem relentlessly begged to serve him in bed, but Emperor Yuanjing ignored them all. Stubborn by nature, he would kneel outside all night.

Later, seeing that his heart was as hard as iron, and knowing that they could not win back his heart, the concubines gave up their hopes and lived peacefully.

By now, I've become very Zen-like.

Everyone lives their own lives, but occasionally they can get together to chat.

Emperor Yuanjing's harem was probably the most harmonious harem in the five hundred years of the Great Feng.

After the eunuchs left, Emperor Yuanjing sat cross-legged on the bed, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. Not long after, Consort Chen rushed in, sobbing, saying:

"Your Majesty, you must seek justice for me and for the Crown Prince."

It turned out they came for the Crown Prince. Emperor Yuanjing was not surprised by this result, or rather, it was within his expectations.

Emperor Yuanjing, his hair now black again, opened his eyes and calmly looked at Consort Chen. "The matter of the Crown Prince is still under investigation. My beloved consort, please return. Right and wrong will naturally be judged fairly."

"Still under investigation? Wasn't the case already solved, Your Majesty? I heard everything from Lin'an." Consort Chen, clutching a silk handkerchief, wiped away her tears as she spoke mournfully.

"The Crown Prince is innocent! The Crown Prince is innocent!"

"Hmm?" Emperor Yuanjing frowned and asked, "What did Lin'an say to you?"

"That Lord Xu already found out the truth."

Emperor Yuanjing was taken aback. He knew that the drowned body retrieved from the Crab Pavilion that day belonged to the palace maid who had been missing for several days, serving Consort Fu. But he never expected that Xu Qi'an would uncover the truth so quickly.

Consort Chen cried as she recounted the information she knew.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yuanjing's face darkened, and he turned to his chief attendant, ordering, "Summon the person supervising Xu Qi'an."

The old eunuch in the python robe responded and left. Less than a quarter of an hour later, he returned with a young eunuch.

The eunuch glanced around and saw Emperor Yuanjing sitting cross-legged on the couch, his expression unreadable, while Consort Chen knelt by the bed, sobbing softly.

Emperor Yuanjing asked calmly, "What progress has been made in the case today?"

The young eunuch, having already prepared his answer, replied without hesitation, "After Young Master Xu entered the palace, he immediately went to examine the body and concluded that the palace maid Huang Xiaorou was first held down in the water and drowned, and then her body was thrown into the well."

The autopsy was then supplemented to support this conclusion.

"Furthermore, Lord Xu also discovered that the palace maid Huang Xiaorou had suffered a fatal wound to her heart and should have died several years ago, but was saved by a miraculous medicine. He then went to the Crab Pavilion and questioned Granny Rong."

This time, the young eunuch was very experienced; he only recounted the process without adding any personal feelings or mentioning the interactions between Xu Qi'an and the two princesses.

He realized that while revealing these things would certainly cause trouble for Lord Xu, his act of reporting on the two princesses would likely displease His Majesty even more.

It harms both yourself and others; why bother?

Besides, Lord Xu treats him very well and cares about him deeply. Although he has a bit of a temper, his attempts to make things difficult for him are not really bad.

"Is it confirmed that part of the Imperial Pharmacy's income and expenditure ledgers has been torn up?" Emperor Yuanjing inquired.

"That's what Lord Xu said," the young eunuch replied, still offering no personal opinion.

Emperor Yuanjing nodded slowly. "Summon the coroner to the palace tonight to re-examine the body of palace maid Huang Xiaorou. I need to know the answer immediately."

Half an hour later, Da Ban brought back the coroner's autopsy results, which corroborated Xu Qi'an's findings, confirming the truth without a doubt.

Emperor Yuanjing was lost in thought and remained silent for a long time. The vast palace was completely silent.

Consort Chen prostrated herself on the ground, crying, "Lord Xu dares not investigate the Empress; only His Majesty can handle this matter personally. I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for the Crown Prince and for my sake."

PS: 15,000 words completed. The typos in the previous chapter have been corrected. This chapter will be updated first and corrected later.