The Moon Kingdom's forces have entered, and those responsible for defending the front lines are the King of Dingnan and the former subordinates of Ye Tingyun.
Ye Tingyun still harbored hope and wished to personally travel to Yuzhou to investigate, but was subdued by Feng Yinwan, who expressionlessly inserted two needles. He immediately gave up his intentions and became compliant.
Feng Yinwan retracted her needles, glanced at him, and spoke with a hint of gravity in her tone.
"This matter is more than just a simple rebellion and defection."
"Last night, we followed that person to Wolong Valley, and the one she met was a Moon Kingdom spy. Their conversation subtly mentioned the capital. It now appears the Moon Kingdom's ambitions may extend far beyond this."
The person who risked exposure to infiltrate the prison and silence witnesses likely sought to conceal this very matter.
Hearing this, Ye Tingyun's expression faltered. He saw a flicker of contemplation in her eyes before she continued.
"You must immediately send someone to Yuxiu Palace. Under the pretext of ongoing war and the infiltration of spies within the palace, detain the favored concubine first."
Once she heard the Moon Kingdom's language, she was almost certain of the other party's identity.
With the Emperor incapacitated and the palace in a state of vulnerability, they had to act first to prevent any potential chaos.
"She's really behind all this?!"
Ye Tingyun was somewhat astonished by this, and immediately nodded, "Understood. I'll send someone at once."
As he spoke, he turned to leave. However, just as he stepped out of the courtyard, a嬷嬷 (ancient governess) from the Empress Dowager's side had already arrived.
"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager requests your immediate presence at Shou Kang Palace."
This嬷嬷 was an elder in the Empress Dowager's service, having been in the palace for many years. She was usually inconspicuous and rarely displayed such haste.
Ye Tingyun observed the unusual expression on her face, his heart sinking slightly. "What is so urgent?"
The嬷嬷 glanced left and right, her voice lowered considerably.
"The Emperor's decree has gone missing."
Upon arriving at Shou Kang Palace, Ye Tingyun found the Empress Dowager standing in the hall, her face extremely grim.
He left the嬷嬷 behind and hurried forward, the hall door closing softly behind him.
"Imperial Grandmother, what is going on?"
The Empress Dowager looked at him, her solemnity undiminished.
"Your father had made arrangements last night, and this matter is of utmost importance. Therefore, this empress commanded someone to retrieve the decree from the Imperial Study this morning."
"But somehow, the eunuch I sent searched everywhere and could not find a trace of it. It's as if the decree never existed."
It had only been a few hours since the Emperor had given his instructions last night.
In such a short time, news of the imperial decree had not even spread throughout the palace, and thus, no trouble should have arisen. Yet, now...
Ye Tingyun's brows furrowed.
After a moment of silence, he spoke, "Imperial Grandmother, could it be that Father, to avoid suspicion, specifically stored the decree elsewhere?"
"Can you recall carefully, did Father leave any other information?"
The palace was crowded with people and rife with spies, and with the Moon Kingdom's infiltration, this possibility could not be ruled out.
The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment with a frown, then shook her head.
"Your father only said the decree was left in the Imperial Study. He did not tell this empress of any other location."
If that was the case, then it should not have vanished.
Ye Tingyun was also perplexed, but he reassured the Empress Dowager, "Perhaps the eunuch did not search thoroughly. Imperial Grandmother, please do not worry for now, and order someone to search again."
This was all they could do for now.
The Empress Dowager was about to nod when there was a hurried commotion outside the hall. Immediately after, the嬷嬷's voice was heard through the door.
"Empress Dowager, Imperial Physician Jiang has sent someone to report that His Majesty's condition is critical and he may be nearing his end."