In Zhuyun Pavilion, while Jiang Yingcheng was still troubled about how to reveal the information told to her by 007 to her beautiful mother, Fang Zhaoyi had already waved for the matron responsible for her care and then hurriedly disappeared from her sight.
Just as Jiang Yingcheng was about to chase after her with her short little legs as usual, she was scooped up by Zhang Momo who had rushed over.
“Be good, Little Princess. Niangniang has matters to attend to. How about Momo plays with you first?”
007 seized the opportunity to say: 【This matter isn’t urgent. Besides, we haven’t figured out how to phrase it yet—we can’t just rush up and tell her directly.】
Seeing Jiang Yingcheng’s expression waver, 007 pressed on: 【Moreover, I have many other functions. Let’s go back first, and I’ll explain them to you properly.】
Only then did Jiang Yingcheng lower her eyelids, her little milky voice sounding pitiful: “Chengcheng is sleepy.”
Zhang Momo coaxed her gently: “Alright, alright, let’s take a little nap first. Momo will wake you when it’s time for dinner.”
With that, she carried her into the room.
Meanwhile, Fang Zhaoyi dismissed all the palace attendants, keeping only Qing Bi by her side.
She still couldn’t stop her heart from racing, her fingers trembling involuntarily.
Fang Zhaoyi took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing her palpitations, and said in a trembling voice: “I need you to leave the palace and secretly investigate something for me.”
Qing Bi had been her personal maid since childhood and was one of the few who knew about the prince-swapping incident. Entrusting this matter to Qing Bi gave her some peace of mind.
Influenced by Fang Zhaoyi’s state, Qing Bi also felt a thread of unease but still managed to say: “Niangniang, please give your orders.”
Fang Zhaoyi slowly closed her eyes, her pale fingers clutching the hem of her jacket so tightly that her knuckles turned white: “I need you to leave the palace and go to my… to my sister and brother-in-law’s residence…”
Then she changed her mind: “No, observe around my brother-in-law’s mansion for two days.”
“See if there’s anything unusual about my Jinshu.”
This short sentence seemed to drain all of Fang Zhaoyi’s strength. As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn’t stop coughing.
Qing Bi was startled, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation. She quickly stepped forward and gently patted Fang Zhaoyi’s back, trying to help her catch her breath: “Does Niangniang suspect that someone might harm the young master?”
To prevent eavesdropping, they always referred to the little imperial prince as “young master” in their daily conversations. Today, Niangniang had directly spoken the young master’s name, showing how truly flustered she was.
Fang Zhaoyi suppressed the itch in her throat and slowly shook her head.
If things were really as Chengcheng’s inner thoughts had suggested, the one most likely to harm Jinshu right now would be her own sister, Fang Yiwan.
Worried that Qing Bi might lack direction in her investigation, Fang Zhaoyi endured the bitterness in her heart and instructed: “When you go out, pay close attention to how Jinshu usually interacts with my sister.”
If her sister had long ago revealed Jinshu’s true identity to him, the atmosphere between them wouldn’t be as warm and harmonious as that of an ordinary mother and son.
There would surely be some clues, Fang Zhaoyi comforted herself inwardly.
Qing Bi’s heart sank to the bottom.
For Niangniang to say this, she must have already noticed some traces of evidence.
But did Niangniang’s sister mistreat their noble young master?
Qing Bi felt indignation burning in her heart.
How dare that woman?!
She nodded emphatically and said, “Niangniang, rest assured. I have an excellent relationship with the palace maid responsible for procurement. First thing tomorrow morning, I will seek her help to slip out of the palace unnoticed. I will definitely investigate the matter Niangniang entrusted to me thoroughly!”
Fang Zhaoyi tightened her grip on the small piece of fabric and nodded gently.
At the same time, in Xianyang Palace.
Lu Yao, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, stood respectfully before the Mingze Emperor, awaiting his assignment.
Jiang Yan Chuan, now dressed in light robes, appeared much softer under the candlelight, the sharp lines of his jaw seeming gentler. Yet despite such exceptionally handsome features, no one dared to gaze upon him casually.
Except for that little princess who resembled a snowball today.
After a long period of closed-eyed contemplation, the Mingze Emperor finally turned his head. The flickering candlelight cast shifting shadows across his face, and Lu Yao, who had unconsciously been staring transfixed, quickly lowered his head.
Jiang Yan Chuan merely glanced at him indifferently before slowly withdrawing his gaze.
“I summoned you today to assign three tasks.”
Lu Yao immediately bowed, assuming a posture of respectful attention. “Your Majesty, please command me.”
“First,” Jiang Yan Chuan’s gaze traveled past Lu Yao to the vast snowy landscape outside the hall, his voice as cold as the wind and snow beyond, “go to the embankment of the Hucheng River outside the city and carefully investigate whether the Ministry of Works used cooked soil or raw soil during the repairs.”
Lu Yao couldn’t distinguish between raw and cooked soil himself, but the Jinyiwei had numerous capable individuals, so this shouldn’t pose much difficulty. He responded briefly, “Yes!”
Jiang Yan Chuan continued, “Second, investigate Liu Zhengqing thoroughly.”
This instruction was rather vague. Uncertain of the emperor’s exact meaning, Lu Yao pondered for a moment before asking, “…What does Your Majesty intend?”
Which aspects to investigate? How to proceed? Was there a victim involved, or had His Majesty detected some suspicious signs? No specifics had been provided.
After all, Liu Zhengqing was a high-ranking official of the third rank. Without explicit privileges granted by the Mingze Emperor, their investigation would face numerous constraints.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan Chuan recalled the inner thoughts he had overheard from Jiang Yingcheng—
Over the years, Liu Zhengqing had amassed enormous wealth through selling official positions and titles, embezzling hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
While this amount wasn’t excessively large, he had just been promoted from Vice Minister to Minister of Personnel. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t become even more unscrupulous in the future.
His eyes abruptly turned cold, the chilling aura around him growing even more intimidating. He replied to Lu Yao with just two words: “Thorough investigation.”
From head to toe, inside and out, uncover his crimes completely and clearly.
By any means necessary.
Lu Yao’s expression turned stern, and he replied solemnly, “Yes!”
“As for the final matter…” Jiang Yan Chuan’s tone was extremely light, pausing momentarily as if he had even smiled, “I want you to send agents to infiltrate Pan Jifeng’s residence to gather more confidential information.”
Lu Yao was taken aback.
Pan Jifeng—biological father of Noble Consort Rou, maternal grandfather of the Fourth Prince.
Although the Mingze Emperor had long ago established the Empress’s son as Crown Prince, there had always been those in the palace secretly supporting the Fourth Prince.
Was the imperial family about to undergo a major upheaval?!
Lu Yao didn’t dare say more. After accepting the orders, he bowed and withdrew. As he passed Changshun Gonggong in the hallway, neither man lifted their head to glance at the other.
After Lu Yao’s figure had walked far away, Changshun stepped forward again: “Your Majesty, regarding the Seventh Prince, should this servant send someone to take care of him?”
Today, the Mingze Emperor had already instructed him personally to go down and warn them to carefully attend to all matters concerning Zhuyun Pavilion, yet had not mentioned a single word about the Seventh Prince’s situation.
The Little Princess had clearly stated that the Seventh Prince would lead Da Rui to glory in the future, so the Mingze Emperor shouldn’t have shown no reaction at all.
Changshun remained bowed, waiting for the Mingze Emperor’s instructions. Only after a long while did he hear a light chuckle from above.
“No rush.”
Jiang Yan Chuan rarely offered an explanation: “The relationship between the two children is clearly not very harmonious yet. Let the little one have some time to repair their relationship.”
As for who this “little one” referred to, both of them understood without saying it aloud.