Ye Qingcheng rolled over and fell into a deep sleep.
Shangguan Hong smiled, turned around, returned to the courtyard, and sat down: "Speak, what happened in the palace?"
The young servant nodded and said in a low voice, "It's the Empress."
Since Shangguan Hong and the Empress had an affair, they had each arranged for trusted confidantes who would absolutely not reveal the matter to handle information exchange. The young servant before him was Shangguan Hong's arranged confidante.
He was responsible for conveying the Empress's wishes to Shangguan Hong.
"The Empress? What's wrong with the Empress? What is it this time?" Shangguan Hong rubbed his temples impatiently.
"The Empress did something this noon, and she's a bit frightened, saying she wants to see you, young master," the servant said.
Shangguan Hong sneered, "I'm afraid it's nothing good. Tell me, what did she do?"
The servant was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It's the palace maid responsible for washing and dressing in the Empress's palace. While styling the Empress's hair, she accidentally pulled out a few strands of hair, and the Empress… drowned her…"
Even the Empress committed a crime by killing someone.
However, Shangguan Hong did not show much surprise at such a matter.
He picked up a cup of tea on the table and took a sip: "She's scared, so she's come to find me?"
"Yes, she's probably scared. But the Empress sent someone over saying she misses you, young master," the servant said.
"Then I understand." Shangguan Hong waved his hand and put down the teacup. To say she missed him was just to use him to prevent the matter from being leaked, wasn't it?
Ever since he made those promises to the Empress, she had become increasingly arrogant, practically strutting around the palace.
Perhaps she thought that knowing a modern person would allow her to act with impunity.
Shangguan Hong did not stop her actions, but rather indulged her. After all, everything was within his plan.
"Yes."
After sitting alone for a while longer, Shangguan Hong stood up, his hands behind his back, glanced at the room where Ye Qingcheng was, and murmured in a low voice, "Since she wants to see me, then I'll go to the palace. Anyway, some exciting stories are about to unfold."
As he spoke, the corner of his mouth curved into a smile of unknown meaning.
The Emperor had been feeling that everything was going wrong lately. First, the incident of the Crown Prince frequenting brothels, which caused unrest in the court, then the Empress's recent domineering behavior, completely lacking the dignified bearing of an empress, and the palace was also filled with quarrels.
Therefore, the Emperor, who usually reviewed memorials until late, also planned to go to bed early today.
Dismissing his servants, the Emperor yawned and walked towards the dragon bed. Through a thin veil, he vaguely saw a figure lying on the bed.
The Emperor frowned: "Could it be that those people have come up with another bad idea and found me a beauty?"
Although he called it a "bad idea," the Emperor was still somewhat expectant.
He reached out and lifted the curtain. His gaze froze when he saw the woman on the bed. A surge of heat rushed into his mind, but his body turned cold.
After a moment of daze, the Emperor trembling called out, "Someone! Someone!"
After calling out, the Emperor's body softened, and he collapsed onto the ground, his hair disheveled.
Lying on the bed was not some beauty, but a dead woman!
The guards who had been waiting outside the door quickly rushed into the hall upon hearing the Emperor's summons.
Under the dim, flickering lamplight, everyone saw the corpse on the bed, and everyone was stunned.
The leading guard was quick-witted and stepped forward to help the Emperor up: "Your Majesty has been startled."
The Emperor's body was still trembling, and he could only stand up with the guard's help. He put on an outer robe and sat down to calm himself a little.
After his emotions had somewhat settled, the Emperor frowned and said, "Investigate for me! Find out where this woman came from! Why she died, and why she appeared on my bed!"
"Yes!"
The Emperor was still shaken, and the guards quickly began a thorough search.
The two young palace maids serving the Crown Prince were on guard outside. Seeing such a scene, they were full of curiosity and chattered for a long time with no results.
After some time, a large group of guards marched in unison towards the Crown Prince's sleeping quarters. The two young palace maids quickly hid themselves aside.
The captain of the guards called out from outside the door: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, I apologize for disturbing you so late at night. However, His Majesty has ordered that you be summoned."
The supervising nanny hurried over and stopped the captain of the guards: "Don't be so loud. His Highness the Crown Prince is already asleep."
"His Majesty has ordered it. Does His Highness the Crown Prince still intend to disobey the imperial decree?"
Among these guards, one was a fellow villager of one of the young palace maids. So, the young palace maid called out the guard's nickname and beckoned him closer.
"What happened? Was there an assassin?" the young palace maid asked softly.
"No," the guard said. "It's strange. They say His Majesty was about to go to bed late at night, and a female corpse was found on the dragon bed. It looked like she was drowned, it's quite terrifying."
"Ah! Drowned!" one of the young palace maids seemed frightened.
The guard laughed at her: "You haven't seen it, why are you scared? I saw it and I wasn't scared."
"You're a man, of course you're bolder. But let me ask you, have they found out who killed that little palace maid? Or, who is the deceased sister?" another young palace maid asked.
The guard's expression changed. His voice, which was already low, became even lower: "It is said that she was someone from the Empress's palace."
Over there, the captain of the guards, after speaking a few words with the head nanny, suddenly raised his voice: "This is His Majesty's order to summon His Highness the Crown Prince! Even if you refuse to let him go, we will force our way in!"
The supervising nanny sighed and had no choice but to push open the Crown Prince's chamber door.
The guard who had been talking to the young palace maid quickly rejoined his team and entered the Crown Prince's sleeping quarters.
The young palace maid craned her neck to look inside, but she could see nothing.
However, moments later, the captain of the guards walked out with a livid expression and questioned the supervising nanny: "Tell me, wasn't His Highness the Crown Prince punished with solitary confinement? The three-month period has not yet ended, so why is His Highness the Crown Prince missing?"
"This… this slave doesn't know either! This slave has been guarding outside all along and hasn't seen His Highness the Crown Prince leave!" the supervising nanny quickly knelt down.
"Hmph, save that for the prison! If you can't keep an eye on His Highness the Crown Prince, you, the supervisor, are also to blame," the captain of the guards said, then strode out of the sleeping quarters. "Go! Report back to His Majesty!"
After the guards left, the two young palace maids, not believing it, bravely ran into the sleeping quarters and searched around, but they really couldn't find any trace of the Crown Prince.
They looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.
At this time, the Crown Prince was actually already at the Imperial Mausoleum.
His consciousness was hazy and unclear, and he could only vaguely see Shangguan Hong standing in front of him.
He couldn't even remember when he left his sleeping quarters or when he arrived here.
Shangguan Hong smiled and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, you have worked very hard these past few days."