Turned away at the door

"Back then, to demonstrate my 'status,' I secretly took a piece of fabric from the Empress's palace." At this point, the Imperial Brother-in-law glanced at the yellow silk cloth.

Xu Qi'an understood; so that's how Huang Xiaorou got the yellow silk on her body.

However, there should be quite a few concubines in the palace with this kind of material, so a single piece of material is hardly enough evidence against Xu Qi'an. Thinking of this, he suddenly heard Huai Qing say calmly:

"If Lord Xu could pinpoint the Imperial Brother-in-law based on the autopsy results and subtle clues, how much more so would someone who already knew the inside story be able to do so?"

"If the Empress Dowager denies it, then naturally there will be evidence to help Lord Xu trace it back to the Imperial Uncle. Besides, given the Imperial Uncle's unyielding character, he would confess everything after a night in prison."

A cold smile curved Huaiqing's lips.

What she said makes sense. It's because my thinking has become inertia. I'm afraid such a dandy still has many handles. The crux of the problem is not how many handles he has, but the queen's choice.

Although he's a good-for-nothing, he's still my only younger brother. If Erlang spends his days bullying men and women, and my political enemies use him to attack me, should I save Erlang or not?

Xu Qi'an pictured Xu Xinnian leading a group of entourage, surrounding a respectable woman, while Xu Erlang greeted him with a lewd grin.

"The scene is so beautiful, it gave me goosebumps. Hmm, with Erlang's looks, he doesn't need to force himself on him, there are plenty of respectable women who are lusting after him," Xu Qi'an muttered to himself.

"I want to see the Empress! I want to see the Empress!" The Imperial Uncle excitedly rushed towards Huaiqing, like a child who had made a mistake but longed for someone to bail him out.

"If Your Majesty wants to depose the Empress, then so be it. She doesn't love Your Majesty anyway, and the position is meaningless to her. But Huaiqing, you only have me as your uncle."

"Shut up!"

Huaiqing was unusually furious, and said sternly, "How dare you slander the affection between Father and Mother?"

That's a real character! Rather than being audacious, it's more accurate to describe him as foolish. He acts without thinking of the consequences, always expecting someone to clean up his mess. He's just like a hot-blooded teenager with a mental disability.

"In my time, that would be considered a giant baby, lacking the harsh lessons of society, "Xu Qi'an thought to himself, clicking his tongue twice.

Most importantly, while it's certainly exciting to put a hat on the emperor, this imperial brother-in-law is truly one of a kind, daring to actually do it.

Whether the empress is deposed or the emperor's brother-in-law receives his due punishment, these are matters of the emperor's family and have little to do with him.

Therefore, he was quite relaxed. At most, he felt sorry for Huaiqing, but given Huaiqing's dislike for the emperor's brother-in-law, even if the brother-in-law were beheaded, his first wife probably wouldn't be sad.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind. The Empress was the Emperor's brother-in-law's elder sister, so he couldn't really do anything to her. But how could Duke Wei tolerate such a useless ally?

Even though the two families were old friends, with Duke Wei's skills, it would be an easy task for him to teach a spoiled brat a lesson and make him behave properly.

"Does Duke Wei know about this?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Upon hearing this, Huaiqing immediately looked at him, seemingly lost in thought.

"Wei Yuan?"

The emperor's brother-in-law, who had been terrified and helpless just a moment ago, suddenly became sinister and angry, and sneered, "Yes, all of this must have been designed by Wei Yuan, it must be him."

"He killed my father, and now he's trying to harm me. He's a heartless bastard, and he deserves to be childless and without descendants."

A big question flashed through Xu Qi'an's little mind. Before entering the mansion, Huaiqing had told him that the Wei family and the Shangguan family were old friends.

Judging from the attitude of the emperor's brother-in-law, this was more like a blood feud than a friendship between families.

Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an immediately looked at Huaiqing, who was frowning, seemingly unaware of the inside story and also puzzled by the Emperor's brother-in-law's words.

Xu Qi'an cleared his throat and took the initiative to question, "What do you mean? Why would Wei Yuan want to harm you?"

The emperor's brother-in-law glanced at him and gave a cold laugh, "I dare to say it, but do you dare to listen? Do you know Wei Yuan like back then?"

"Smack!"

Halfway through his sentence, Xu Qi'an slapped him, interrupting the Imperial Brother-in-law.

"Alright, I don't want to hear it. I just want to take you back to the Nightwatchers's office." As Xu Qi'an spoke, he turned to look at Huaiqing, seeking her opinion.

Princess Huaiqing said, "Take him away."

"Huaiqing, Huaiqing, you can't do this to me! I'm the only son of the Shangguan family, and your mother will never allow you to do this."

The emperor's brother-in-law was dragged out of the mansion by Xu Qi'an. As instructed by Huaiqing, he was handed over to several guards who escorted him to the Nightwatchers watchman's office.

Xu Qi'an mounted his horse, and the Princess, who had just entered the carriage, opened the window and said in a cool voice, "Lord Xu, why don't you ride with me?"

"Oh dear, this is not proper. How can a lone man and woman ride in a carriage together? My sister, aunt, and I have never ridden in a carriage together before. "Xu Qi'an quickly jumped off the horse and climbed into the luxurious carriage made of Phoebe zhennan wood.

With a flick of the driver's whip, the two fine horses neighed and trotted off swiftly and smoothly, leaving the street outside Shangguan Zu's residence and heading towards the imperial city.

Inside the carriage, there was a soft cashmere carpet, and at the very back was a chaise lounge covered with a blue kui dragon cotton cushion, two large chairs, and a fixed coffee table.

The eldest princess took out tea leaves from the wooden cabinet under the tea table, lit the smokeless animal-shaped charcoal, and asked while brewing the tea, "Does Lord Xu have any suggestions?"

This is the ancient version of a nanny carriage. This carriage is probably worth several thousand taels of silver. Xu Qi'an thought to himself, and upon hearing this, pondered:

"Your Highness must have already made up your mind."

Huaiqing nodded slowly. "I have never liked the emperor's brother-in-law. This matter started because of him, and it should end because of him."

The subtext is: I'm prepared to hand over the Emperor's brother-in-law.

"Even so, the Empress is still guilty of protecting someone." Xu Qi'an frowned.

This could be a minor or major issue. If Emperor Yuanjing is magnanimous and forgives her, then a small punishment will suffice, and there's no need to depose the empress. Conversely, if Emperor Yuanjing is not, he could use this as an excuse to depose the empress, as the charge would be sufficient.

Based on Xu Qi'an's understanding of Emperor Yuanjing, this emperor was possessive and power-hungry. Such a person was deep-thinking, but equally intolerant of any wrongdoing.

"Who said the Empress Dowager covered it up? It was the Imperial Uncle who, after learning about the Consort Fu case, knew his actions were about to be exposed, so he sent someone to plead with the Empress Dowager. Out of consideration for blood ties, although the Empress Dowager hated the Imperial Uncle for committing such a treacherous act in the palace, she still chose to take the blame for him."

Princess Huaiqing's expression and tone remained as steady as a rock, her face seemingly saying, "Yes, that's the truth."

"The princess is right," Xu Qi'an sighed.

Wow, if I married this woman, it would be hard for her to have an affair or cheat on me.

"I'm quite curious about what the Imperial Uncle was about to say. Why did Lord Xu interrupt him?" the Princess asked casually.

Xu Qi'an calmly examined Huai Qing's exquisitely sculpted features. "What did the Imperial Uncle want to say just now? This humble servant doesn't know. If Your Highness wishes to know, this humble servant will interrogate him for you later."

He deliberately interrupted the emperor's brother-in-law because this matter involved Wei Yuan.

For Xu Qi'an, there are two things he needs to avoid. The first is palace secrets, which goes without saying.

Secondly, it concerns Wei Yuan's secret. Wei Yuan is his superior and patron; if he wants to continue to survive in the capital, he must maintain a good relationship with Wei Yuan.

Therefore, he shouldn't have known some of Wei Yuan's secrets.

Unless Wei Yuan tells him himself.

Huaiqing smiled and then said, "You don't need to worry about the Empress's matter, Lord Xu; Duke Wei will handle it. What you need to do is find out who's behind this. What are your thoughts, Lord Xu?"

Xu Qi'an frowned, staring at the purple clay teapot whose bottom was licked by bluish-red flames, and remained silent for a long time.

The Nightwatchers's office, the Haoqi Tower.

A clerk in black entered the tea room and said respectfully, "Duke Wei, Princess Huaiqing's guards have brought the Imperial Uncle to the yamen. The Imperial Uncle is demanding to see you."

Wei Yuan looked down at the memorial, not even raising his head, and said indifferently, "There's no need to see a dying man. Go and inform Nangong Jinluo to give the Imperial Brother-in-Law a proper welcome."

After the official in black left, Wei Yuan closed the memorial, slowly walked to the watchtower, and gazed at the palace with his deep and weathered eyes.

Upon returning to the palace, Huaiqing went straight to Fengqi Palace.

Xu Qi'an planned to continue investigating the people on the list, so he summoned a young eunuch to assist him.

Following the list and searching for the last person, we ran into a snag.

That person was a palace maid from Jingxiu Palace.

"Sister Lang'er is attending to the Imperial Concubine, Lord Xu, please come later." The eunuch guarding the gate stopped Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an glanced at the sky and said with a gentle smile, "When would be a good time for me to arrive?"

The eunuch replied indifferently, "Who knows? Come again tomorrow."

"The case is urgent; it can't be delayed like this. I just need to get a quick understanding; it's just a matter of a few words."

Xu Qi'an took out a five-tael silver note, "I'd be so kind as to ask for your assistance, sir."

The gatekeeper eunuch took the silver, turned and went inside, never to return.

"This is outrageous!" the young eunuch roared in anger, "Lord Xu, that scoundrel is playing you for a fool!"

"What would happen if I just barged in like this?" Xu Qi'an asked expressionlessly.

"Oh dear, no!" the young eunuch quickly stopped him, advising, "Entering the imperial concubines' chambers without permission is a serious crime."

Xu Qi'an nodded, then turned and left.

The young eunuch trotted up to us and said, "Let's just forget about it. It's getting late, sir. You should head back now."

"No, I need to get reimbursed by His Highness Prince Lin'an."

P. S.: To update around 2 PM, this chapter is a bit shorter. Today's chapter is still 10,000 words; the next chapter will be longer. Actually, I could update on time at 2 PM, but it's always too short. I always want to write longer chapters because readers love long ones.