Although the Crown Prince heard that his treasury was hidden under the bed, his status was too noble to stoop to crawling beneath it. How undignified.
Another reason was that his father, the Emperor, was dead. As the Crown Prince, he would soon ascend the throne. The entire Great Xing Dynasty would be his. If the treasury was gone, so be it—the national treasury was overflowing with treasures and wealth.
Snapping back to reality upon hearing the urgent report from the guards, the Crown Prince’s first reaction was disbelief. The roof eaves were so high and the material so sturdy—how could they possibly have been torn off?
The Empress, however, believed it. Connecting the two incidents, she was so furious that her nostrils flared and her chest heaved. Glaring at the guards, she raged, “Were you all asleep? My bedchamber has been emptied! Even the eaves were dismantled! And you useless fools only noticed now?”
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment. The eaves of the palace had been torn off?
Using anger as an excuse, he rushed outside. “Who dares to be so audacious! Mother, have the guards check under the bed. I’ll go outside to investigate!”
With that, he left the Empress’s side and strode out quickly.
The Empress, barely holding herself together, watched his departing figure and could only point at the guard who had delivered the report, urgently commanding, “You! Go open the secret passage under my bed at once!”
Originally, this hidden treasury was meant to remain a secret, known to no one. But now that the Emperor was dead and her son was about to take the throne, she was the most powerful figure in the entire rear palace!
Who would dare disrespect her?
Even the most favored Imperial Noble Consort was dead—she was the ultimate victor!
With such thoughts, the Empress felt increasingly unrestrained.
“Yes!” The guard was overwhelmed by the successive shocking reports. Staring at the bedchamber, now stripped bare except for the large bed, it took him a long moment to find his voice. Wide-eyed, he cried out in protest, “How… how could everything be gone? I and the others were guarding outside the entire time. We saw no one enter! It’s impossible for everything to vanish without us noticing!”
The guard panicked.
The Empress, seething with rage, her well-maintained face flushed with anger, snapped, “Open the passage immediately! I’ll deal with you negligent fools later!”
The guard scrambled on hands and knees under the only remaining large bed in the bedchamber, fumbling around before finally locating the entrance to the secret passage.
The palace maid beside the Empress was at a loss. She wanted to fetch a chair for the weakened Empress to sit, but a glance around revealed the vast palace was so barren it lacked even a carpet. She could only carefully support the Empress, not daring to speak a word for fear of saying something wrong and being implicated.
Outside the bedchamber.
The Crown Prince rushed to the main entrance and looked up at the palace roof. Under the moonlight, the eight iconic gilded eaves had vanished without a trace!
The gaps looked as if they had been forcibly torn away, ugly and unsightly, utterly devoid of their former splendor and nobility.
“This is a provocation! A direct challenge to me! How utterly audacious! Who is behind this?” The Crown Prince kicked the threshold hard, then pointed at the large group of guards at the entrance, berating them, “You useless fools! How could so many things disappear without you noticing a thing? What good are you?”
The guards hurriedly knelt, begging for mercy. They were equally baffled, all pleading their innocence.
“Your Highness, please calm your anger. We truly saw no one appear! Dozens of us can testify to that!”
“That’s right, no one saw anything.”
“With so many items being moved in and out, it’s impossible for us not to notice!”
“I swear, not a single word is a lie!””Your Highness, please investigate thoroughly! I wouldn’t dare even with a hundred times the courage!”
“Your Highness, I am truly wronged!”
The Crown Prince also found it strange. Indeed, even with a hundred times the courage, these guards wouldn’t dare lose so many items from the palace.
He could only return to the bedchamber to see if he could find any clues.
There, he saw the Empress sitting on the floor, completely devoid of any decorum.
The Crown Prince hurried forward to help her up, comforting her in a gentle tone, “Mother, why are you sitting on the floor? I will investigate this matter thoroughly. Please don’t worry.”
“Everything under the bed is gone, wuwuwu…” The Empress said that she hadn’t been this heartbroken even when the Emperor died. This time, she was truly crying her heart out, her face streaked with tears.
The Crown Prince’s expression darkened further. If he ever found this person, he would absolutely have him torn to pieces!
“Mother, now is not the time to grieve over these things. The most important matter is handling Father’s funeral arrangements.”
The Empress naturally understood the implication—securing the throne was the key. Yet, the frustration in her heart still felt like it was about to explode.
Her ten thousand taels of gold and the deeds to numerous shops in the imperial city!
With a bitter sniff, she wiped her face with a handkerchief. “Then I will go to the side hall of your bedchamber to sleep for now. Tomorrow, I will have someone rearrange things. Also, this matter must not be leaked. It could affect your future.”
What she feared most was someone using this as an opportunity to cause trouble.
But with the Third Prince watching closely like a tiger, how could he possibly let this chance slip by?