When Chen Yuan realized that the cause of Consort Shu's death couldn't be openly discussed, he started thinking about other things. Since it couldn't be brought to light,

then he would achieve his goals as much as possible.

As for reporting back, he felt that as long as he hinted correctly, Jingtai would naturally understand. Anyway, there were no specific punishments stipulated, so at worst, it would just be a "failure to handle affairs" remark.

Compared to exposing the whole thing, this was better....

He didn't want to stand out. He wouldn't let himself pay the price to kill Sima Ke. He didn't have the right to drag Chen Yuan down with him.

Moreover, with the major event approaching, he didn't want to cause any more trouble.

"Commander Chen, what business do you have with the Noble Consort?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's attention focused on him.

Wasn't he investigating the cause of Consort Shu's death?

Why was he suddenly involving the Noble Consort?

"The place where Consort Shu fell is not far from Chunhua Palace. Perhaps we can get some information from the Noble Consort," Chen Yuan said calmly.

"This...."

The old eunuch seemed hesitant, but Chen Yuan was using this matter to pressure him, so he couldn't say anything to refute it. He could only nod.

Chen Yuan then led his men directly towards Chunhua Palace. The two palace maids from before were arrested again. Predictably, their fate would probably not be good.

It was estimated that Jingtai wouldn't make such a scandal public, and they would be the scapegoats on the surface.

This wasn't something Chen Yuan could decide. What he had to do first was protect himself. He couldn't really risk it for the sake of some truth. That wasn't his personality.

After some reporting, Chen Yuan saw Noble Consort Yang again.

She still had an air of grace and luxury, gazing at Chen Yuan with a calm expression, as if she had forgotten the previous hatred. She said in a deep voice:

"Commander Chen, why are you not investigating the cause of Consort Shu's death, and instead coming to my Chunhua Palace?"

She didn't mince words, getting straight to the point.

Mainly because there really wasn't anything to be polite about.

Chen Yuan had been disrespectful to her before, repeatedly contradicting her.

He had also personally crippled her younger brother, who had now been banished to the borderlands, never to return to the capital. Because of him, her son had been reprimanded by the emperor.

He was punished to copy scriptures and meditate in the palace.

Given all this, how could she engage in pleasantries?

Chen Yuan didn't think there was anything wrong with getting straight to the point. He wasn't good at or fond of playing mind games. He said directly:

"I came here to investigate the cause of Consort Shu's death."

"A joke! My Chunhua Palace is not the Shu Consort's residence. How could it be related to Consort Shu?" Noble Consort Yang sneered, looking displeased. She continued,

"If Commander Chen wants to frame me because of the previous grudges, then you've come to the wrong person."

Chen Yuan remained unmoved, surveying Chunhua Palace. He said calmly:

"Is that so?"

"Of course, it's true."

"This humble official suggests that Your Highness dismiss the others, lest anything said gets out."

"Ha! What could be said?"

Seeing that the other party was still playing coy, Chen Yuan said softly:

"It's about the Fourth Prince."

When Noble Consort Yang heard these words, a faint unnaturalness flickered in her eyes. She stared intently at Chen Yuan, who also smiled faintly, staring back at her.

The two remained deadlocked for a moment. Eventually, Noble Consort Yang looked away first, took a deep breath, and instructed the two palace maids beside her:

"You go and wait outside. I have important matters to ask Commander Chen."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Although according to custom, imperial concubines of the inner palace were not allowed to be alone with external officials, the two palace maids didn't dare to say anything in this situation.

They quickly bowed and retreated.

However, they didn't dare to go far, quietly guarding outside the palace. They would hear any movement immediately. But for safety, Chen Yuan still waved his hand to shield Chunhua Palace.

"What do you want to say?"

Noble Consort Yang asked calmly.

Compared to before, her composure seemed to have indeed improved. Whether it was her true nature, or she knew that Chen Yuan was a tough nut to crack and wouldn't give her much face, she had naturally become much more polite.

"I just said, it's about the death of the Fourth Prince and Consort Shu."

"Chen Yuan, don't misjudge yourself. How dare you frame someone with such treasonous accusations?" Noble Consort Yang stared at Chen Yuan.

"Frame?" Chen Yuan shook his head and chuckled:

"This Chen is a loyal subject of Great Jin. How dare I commit the crime of framing a prince?"

"Then what are you saying?"

"Everything requires evidence. What I say naturally has proof. To be honest, all the suspicions currently point to the Fourth Prince. He accidentally killed Consort Shu."

"Chen Yuan, do you really think I wouldn't dare to punish you?"

"Is Your Highness really going to do this? If so, then let's do it. It's also good to let the people in the harem know what ugly things the Fourth Prince has done."

"You...."

Noble Consort Yang glared at Chen Yuan.

But he slowly walked up to Noble Consort Yang and said calmly:

"Consort Shu died last night, pushed into the pool below. At the same time, the senses of the two palace maids below were silently masked,

Until the Hai hour did they find something wrong, but at this time, the murderer had already left the scene, no... or maybe not. The murderer might have been staring at the chaos in the nearby Chunhua Palace."

"Is this the evidence you speak of? It's simply absurd!" Noble Consort Yang sneered.

Chen Yuan smiled and wasn't annoyed. He continued:

"The evidence isn't today, I'm just letting Your Highness know the general idea. As for the real truth, would Your Highness like to hear it?"

"Just say it."

"Alright." Chen Yuan nodded and began to narrate:

"That day, the Fourth Prince...."

"You!"

"Your Highness, don't be anxious, let me finish."

"That day, after the Fourth Prince finished copying the Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, he had a secret meeting with Consort Shu in the pavilion. The two whispered sweet nothings to each other, and Consort Shu told the Fourth Prince that she was pregnant.

The Fourth Prince was flustered and wanted Consort Shu to abort the child, but Consort Shu refused and wanted to give birth in another way. But the Fourth Prince was afraid that this matter would affect his future, so he accidentally pushed Consort Shu. That's why there was a missing piece on the railing.

However, Consort Shu didn't fall down, but was pulled by the Fourth Prince. In order to prevent people from suspecting and to completely eliminate the root of the problem, the Fourth Prince had murderous intentions. He killed Consort Shu with a secret soul technique,

And masked the senses of the two palace maids below, pushing Consort Shu down. It's just that in his panic, the Fourth Prince didn't do many things well,

He should have pretended first. It's just that at that critical moment, he only thought of killing people and didn't think of cleaning up."

"Is this the story you made up?"

Noble Consort Yang snorted, without the slightest hint of panic.

"This is indeed just a story that this humble official made up."

He wasn't a god. It was impossible to 100% reproduce the situation at the time. As long as it was roughly the same, that was enough.

"However, it's already very close to the truth. What the Fourth Prince doesn't know is that the reason why I suspected him was because of a trace of Dragon Incense Ink he inadvertently carried.

"There is still residue of this Dragon Incense Ink on Consort Xiang, um... even after special treatment, I could still smell it.

From other people's mouths, I learned that this Dragon Incense Ink is only specially supplied to His Majesty and a few princes, and recently, the only one who was punished to copy Buddhist and Taoist scriptures was the Fourth Prince."

"Based on this, you dare to slander a prince of the court? Could it be that you want to trick me? This Dragon Incense Ink is commonly used in the palace. It's also possible that some people want to use this to frame a prince and make an ugly affair. You, the dignified Demon Blade Chen Yuan, can't even think of this?"

Noble Consort Yang's tone seemed somewhat mocking.

"Of course, I thought of this. It's just that what I said is only the first suspicious point. In addition, Consort Shu has been having an affair with someone for more than a day or two. The time is probably more than a year.

The times that the palace maids recorded when Consort Shu enjoyed the moon were when she was having an affair with someone in the pavilion. Just check when the Fourth Prince entered the palace and compare it, and you can naturally find something.

Your Highness, do you think we should investigate?" Chen Yuan said with a smile.

Noble Consort Yang's face was unusually gloomy because of these words.

Chen Yuan continued: "This is the second point, and there is a third point. There is a stillborn baby in Consort Shu's belly. As long as you take it out and do a blood fusion with the Fourth Prince, it can also be used as evidence."

"All of this points to the Fourth Prince. Isn't that enough to explain anything?"

Noble Consort Yang's eyes flickered.

Chen Yuan slowly walked forward and lowered his voice:

"Actually, Your Highness also knows about this, doesn't she? It's just that you knew about it later, um... let me think, was it just when you ran into the Fourth Prince and Consort Shu having a secret meeting?"

This deduction was made by Chen Yuan based on Noble Consort Yang's constantly changing expression.

And hearing these words, a hint of shock did flash in Noble Consort Yang's eyes. Clearly, Chen Yuan was right. It was indeed that night that she found out that this rebellious son dared to collude with the imperial concubines of the inner palace.

It was precisely because she ran into their scandal that she instructed Sima Ke to find a way to kill Consort Shu. As for the child in her belly, she really didn't know about it at the time.

When the Fourth Prince killed Consort Shu, he himself hadn't thought of a way out and was too flustered. The real way to clear his name was to frame someone else.

He failed to do so, so Chen Yuan was able to easily guess him.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

Noble Consort Yang said after a long silence.

"At this point, Your Highness doesn't need to hide anything from me. Otherwise, it will be detrimental to our communication."

Chen Yuan said with a smile, then slowly approached Noble Consort Yang a little closer and said lightly:

"Your Highness, you don't want His Majesty to know about this, do you?"

He was very close, and the heat blew onto her earlobe, like a hand gently stroking it, causing Noble Consort Yang to be startled. Her eyes flickered as she said in a low voice:

"Chen Yuan, what do you want to do?"

"I just want to make a deal with Your Highness. You don't want to tell His Majesty about this, and I can help you."

"You would be so kind?"

"Hehe."

"I understand. You also know that such scandals cannot be told, otherwise, you will not only have no merit, but also have demerit. You are a smart person and will not anger His Majesty."

Noble Consort Yang also easily thought of this.

"What Your Highness said also makes sense. This is indeed a place that makes Chen somewhat hesitant, but... no one knows the specific situation. If I only report this matter to His Majesty alone, it seems... it doesn't matter."

Of course, he was just scaring her.

After thinking it over, he felt that he shouldn't report this matter to Jingtai. Otherwise, the consequences would be unpredictable. As for why he was asked to investigate the case, perhaps it was because it was within the scope of his authority in the Imperial City Division.

Second, it was thought that he was a smart person and wouldn't really investigate. Even if he found out, he wouldn't say it.

Third, it was to shut up the public.

Investigation was definitely necessary. After all, Consort Shu's death was indeed suspicious. Not investigating would damage the royal face and would cause people to speculate endlessly.

But this 'investigation' meant just putting on a show.

Jingtai naturally wouldn't say it too clearly. Chen Yuan needed to understand this on his own.

He even guessed that Jingtai probably already knew the truth about Consort Shu's collusion.

"What do you want?"

Chen Yuan's request naturally best suited their interests. Otherwise, once he exposed it, Ke'er's future would be completely over. Even out of consideration for face, Ke'er would be deposed, or even executed....

Now Chen Yuan controlled Sima Ke's fate. Even though she was also on this line, she didn't dare to gamble. No matter what request he made, she would try her best to fulfill it.

"What can Your Highness give me?"

Chen Yuan said lightly.

"Whatever you want, as long as I have it, I will naturally try my best to satisfy you," Noble Consort Yang said in a low voice.

"Your Highness, don't make this official seem like some kind of villain. Now, it is I, Chen, who is saving you and your son despite the previous grudges. You are repaying me."

Chen Yuan's eyes were a little cold.

If there was an opportunity, it would naturally be best to destroy them, but the time was not right. Rashly taking action would be detrimental to him, and killing them currently would not bring any substantial benefits to Chen Yuan.

Stabilize first, then slowly plan....

Noble Consort Yang stared at Chen Yuan, looking at the unrestrained gaze in his eyes, and sighed lightly:

"What Master Chen said is true."

"What I want is very simple. From now on, the grudges between you and me will be wiped out. If I find that Sima Ke dares to target me in the slightest, once this matter comes out, he will surely die.

In addition, I heard that Your Highness has a decree that allows you to freely enter and exit the inner palace. Give me one. Perhaps one day I will have the opportunity to support Your Highness's grace again." Chen Yuan said in a calm voice, without any expression on his face.

Sima Ke was not in his eyes at all. As long as the other party temporarily calmed down, when he accumulated strength, there would be an opportunity in the future for him to repent for what he had done.

The reason why he came to Chunhua Palace to threaten Noble Consort Yang this time was for the inner palace decree in her hand.

Noble Consort Yang was an imperial noble consort, second only to the empress. She had a high status in the inner palace and naturally had a token that allowed people to enter and exit freely. He wanted to sneak into the inner palace during the ancestral sacrifice ceremony, and he must have a decree to help him.

Otherwise, breaking in would only lead to death.

Even if Jiang He and others attracted most of the court's attention, there must still be strong people sitting in the palace.

His main purpose was to rescue Moro, not to fight....

"Inner palace decree?" Noble Consort Yang frowned and asked:

"What do you want this thing for?"

"I just said that I just want to support Your Highness's grace from time to time. What, is even such a small request not being satisfied?"

Chen Yuan had the opportunity to use Li Hongshuang's power to enter the inner palace, but it was inevitable that he would be investigated and possibly pit her. It wasn't too appropriate.

"I can agree to your request, but you must know that even if you know about this matter, you can't be too rude."

Noble Consort Yang closed her eyes and said in a deep voice.

"Your Highness is thinking too much."

Chen Yuan chuckled. He had no interest in being Sima Ke's stepfather. Although the nearly fifty-year-old Noble Consort Yang still had undiminished beauty, she didn't have that much attraction to him.

Moreover, he, Chen Yuan, never approached women.

Noble Consort Yang looked at Chen Yuan deeply for a moment and handed him the inner palace decree. She knew that Chen Yuan must have other plans, but at this moment, she couldn't help but do what he said.

For the sake of her son, this was something she had to pay.

She only hoped that what Chen Yuan did wouldn't be too excessive, otherwise... even if this noble consort's waist tag was her death warrant.

"Thank you, Your Highness, I'll take my leave." Chen Yuan didn't stay any longer and turned to leave, but after walking halfway, he suddenly turned around and said: "Your Highness, you should still warn the Fourth Prince. Be careful when doing this kind of thing in the future..."

After saying that, Chen Yuan left directly.

Leaving only Noble Consort Yang with an uncertain expression.

After a long time, she recovered and turned around to walk towards a certain place in the palace.

The Fourth Prince Sima Ke was currently writing Buddhist and Taoist scriptures according to Jingtai's orders, but his arms were trembling and he couldn't calm down to write.

After killing Consort Shu, he had been worried and afraid.

He was afraid that because of this matter, his furious father would directly depose him.

He... was very afraid!

This matter was actually related to Chen Yuan. After Chen Yuan broke through the barrier before, he was reprimanded and was full of distress and resentment. He thought of venting it on this matter, but it turned out that he accidentally made such a thing happen and was caught by his mother...

He could only make a painful decision, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

And now, the consequences were here. The person investigating Consort Shu's death was his enemy... Chen Yuan.

If he found any clues, how could he spare him?

And he had just learned that Chen Yuan was now meeting his mother in the main hall.

Hearing the familiar footsteps gradually approaching, Sima Ke swallowed and quickly put down the brush in his hand. He stood up and walked quickly towards Noble Consort Yang, asking:

"Mother, Chen Yuan came to Chunhua Palace, what exactly is..."

Before he could finish his words, he was directly slapped by Noble Consort Yang, who scolded:

"You bastard, you even dare to touch the emperor's woman!"

"Mother... I..."

"Do you know that Chen Yuan has found out about you."

"What should I do then, Mother? You have to find a way to save me," Sima Ke said quickly, with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Hmph, I'll settle this matter for you for the time being. Chen Yuan won't report the ugly things you've done to His Majesty," Noble Consort Yang said, taking a deep breath.

"How is that possible? How could he let me go?" Sima Ke asked subconsciously.

In his opinion, he had completely torn his face with Chen Yuan. How could he let him go? This was absolutely impossible.

"Don't worry about this matter. You are not allowed to provoke Chen Yuan again in the future. Your fate is in his hands and he can depose you at any time."

Noble Consort Yang said solemnly.

"I..." Sima Ke's voice choked, looking at his mother's graceful figure. He was suddenly shocked and thought of a possibility. Could it be that his mother had given herself to Chen Yuan because of this matter?

He had heard that Chen Yuan had raised a plump woman in Tangshan, known as Madam Xu...

His habits were also different from ordinary people, liking other men's wives....

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Requesting monthly tickets, brothers!