The next moment, the Cold King and his consort immediately left the Empress Dowager's sleeping quarters.
Subsequently, they arrived at the Emperor's sleeping quarters. To their surprise, just as Prince Xian had said, the Emperor was not in his chambers. Only Eunuch Li was bound tightly to the leg of the desk where the Emperor usually reviewed documents.
There was not a soul to be seen around the sleeping quarters. They had no idea where Prince Ning had taken the Emperor.
Upon seeing this, the Cold King and his consort immediately flew through the window of the Emperor's sleeping quarters, first freeing Eunuch Li from his bonds and then unblocking his mute acupoint.
Eunuch Li then opened his mouth to speak.
"Cold King, Cold Consort, you've finally come to save us! Prince Ning intends to rebel. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager have both been taken away and placed under house arrest by him."
Eunuch Li spoke to them with a dejected expression.
"Do you know where Prince Ning has confined the Emperor and Empress Dowager?"
Leng Ruo Li asked him with some urgency.
"This old servant does not know. The Emperor had only just lain down when this old servant heard his pained groans. He said his head was hurting terribly, so this old servant intended to check on him. However, as this old servant approached the Emperor's sleeping quarters, someone held a knife to my neck. After that, they bound me tightly to the leg of the desk and even sealed my mute acupoint to prevent me from calling for help."
"Then, this old servant saw Prince Ning storm into the Emperor's sleeping quarters with a group of men in black. He spoke a few words to the Emperor, and the Emperor began to suffer from a headache, vomited blood, and fainted. Afterwards, this old servant could only watch as Prince Ning had the Emperor carried away..."
Eunuch Li recounted the night's events in detail to the Cold King and his consort.
Leng Ruo Li quickly found the key points from Eunuch Li's words.
"Eunuch Li, you just said the Emperor had only lain down a short while before you heard his pained groans... and then he spoke with Prince Ning for a bit, after which the Emperor vomited blood and fainted, is that right?"
"Yes, Cold Consort! You know the Emperor's health; he is still quite robust. How could he suddenly have such a headache?"
Eunuch Li also could not understand what was happening.
This left the Cold King and his consort in a state of confusion.
"Eunuch Li, what did the Emperor eat today?"
After she spoke, Eunuch Li lowered his gaze and pondered for a moment, carefully recalling the day's events.
"Cold Consort, the Emperor's meals today were all prepared by the imperial kitchen. Furthermore, every dish the Emperor ate was tested for poison by palace servants three times before being served to him," Eunuch Li stated earnestly.
"Did he eat any other snacks or refreshments?"
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Li first shook his head, then his eyes suddenly brightened, as if he had thought of something.
"Cold Consort, at noon today, the weather was humid and hot, and the Emperor's mood had become irritable. Princess Anle happened to bring the Emperor a bowl of cool sweet soup. This old servant tested the sweet soup with a silver needle to confirm it was not poisoned, and then gave it to the Emperor to drink. Could it be that Princess Anle poisoned the Emperor?" Eunuch Li said with great regret.
"It's possible. Anle and Prince Ning are siblings. It is highly probable that these siblings conspired together to drug the Emperor." The more Leng Ruo Li thought about it, the more agitated she became.
"Alas, if that were truly the case, the Emperor truly doted on Princess Anle in vain," Eunuch Li could not help but sigh.
"Eunuch Li, you needn't concern yourself with such matters. My husband and I will go find Princess Anle now. You should quickly find a place to hide."
Leng Ruo Li kindly reminded him.
"Yes, Cold Consort, this old servant understands. You should also be careful in the palace now."
Eunuch Li had long since regarded the Cold King and his consort as his own children, caring for them deeply.
Finally, Eunuch Li looked at the Cold King and his consort with great worry as they left the Emperor's sleeping quarters.
After the Cold King and his consort left the Emperor's sleeping quarters, they now purposefully headed towards the small courtyard where Princess Anle resided.
At this moment, Princess Anle was also too worried about everything that had happened today to sleep.
When Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mohan barged into Anle's room, Anle was startled and sat up abruptly.
"What are you doing barging into this princess's room in the middle of the night?"
The Cold King and his consort ignored Princess Anle's words and directly asked.
"Anle, did you drug Father Emperor's sweet soup today?"
"Leng Ruo Li, what evidence do you have to prove that this princess drugged Father Emperor's sweet soup?"
"Anle, Father Emperor has been taken by Prince Ning to an unknown location and is under house arrest, his life unknown. If you have any conscience at all, tell us immediately what you gave Father Emperor today!"
"Leng Ruo Li, this princess will not say. What can you do to me?"
As Princess Anle finished speaking, Jun Mohan unexpectedly spoke first.
"If you do not speak the truth tonight, this king will kill you now!"
Jun Mohan looked sharply at Princess Anle, his long, narrow eyes suddenly turning sinister, emitting two cold glints, as if a single glance could pierce two bloody holes through Princess Anle.
Upon receiving Jun Mohan's gaze, Princess Anle trembled, filling her with extreme fear.
"You, you want to kill this princess."
"If you don't tell the truth, it's not impossible for us to kill you."
Leng Ruo Li found Princess Anle's words somewhat amusing.
"No, no, no, you cannot kill me! I am a princess of Tianwu Kingdom, and also your own sister. No matter what, you cannot kill me."
"Hah! You can poison Father Emperor, so why can't this king kill you?"
If Jun Mohan weren't trying to extract useful information from Anle, he wouldn't bother speaking to such an idiot.
"Second Imperial Brother, please let me go. I didn't intentionally drug Father Emperor today..."
Then, Anle concisely explained to the Cold King and his consort how she had drugged the Emperor today.
"Who is this Granny Chang you mentioned?" Leng Ruo Li asked after listening.
"She is that supervisor, Granny Xiao, from the Imperial Wardrobe. You summoned her before. In fact, she is the culprit who killed the young palace maid beside Empress Grandmother."
At this moment, Princess Anle said, her eyes darting around evasively.
However, these small movements of hers fell directly into Leng Ruo Li's sight.
"Anle, what else are you hiding from us? Tell us everything truthfully, or I will use a needle to sew your mouth shut, so you can never speak again." Leng Ruo Li threatened her with fierce eyes.
Hearing Leng Ruo Li mention sewing her mouth shut, Anle immediately covered her mouth with her hands, her face turning pale with fear.
She had heard of Leng Ruo Li's past exploits of sewing up wounds.
The thought of that scene sent shivers down her spine.
Leng Ruo Li was simply like a madwoman. If she didn't reveal what they wanted to know, Leng Ruo Li might actually sew her mouth shut.
Thus, Anle revealed everything, including how she had hired someone to take Prince Ning's place in prison and how she had conspired with Granny Chang to drug the Emperor.