Duke Yong’s Residence
As Lin Yue’er quietly led Wang Qingwan toward the back of the crowd…
Madam You and Madam Guo silently stepped in front of her, making sure she could not move forward again.
Because of this interruption, the vague thought that had just crossed Wang Qingwan’s mind disappeared.
Instead, she thought about her beloved eldest daughter again.
“Yue’er, your elder sister… and Yu-ge… I wonder if they are safe.”
“Mother, don’t worry. Grandmother already said that we will all be fine. Elder Sister will be fine too.”
Lin Yue’er did not like the way her mother was reacting.
In their current situation, it was obvious that the people in the Duke’s residence were in much greater danger.
Besides, with so many people watching…
As the Duchess of Duke Yong’s household, her mother should have been setting a good example.
Instead of worrying about everyone in the residence, she was only worried about her married daughter.
It was not that Lin Yue’er did not care about her eldest sister.
She simply felt that her mother did not have her priorities straight.
Wasn’t she putting the less important matter before the more important one?
Fortunately, the search did not last very long.
Every single book in Lin Zhengbei’s study was opened and searched page by page.
In the end, they did not find the secret letter.
They did not even find a single suspicious piece of paper.
As for the so-called Princess of the Jin Kingdom, there was not even a trace of her.
Shi Yue had no choice but to withdraw the Imperial Guards from the Duke’s residence.
He ordered the soldiers to return first.
He himself went back to Taiji Hall to report to the Emperor.
…
Taiji Hall
By the time Shi Yue returned, it was almost noon.
The court officials were still standing inside the hall.
During this time, they had been given something to eat.
As if everything had already been prepared…
Chief Eunuch Yin had sent several eunuchs to hand each official two steamed buns.
Those two buns were all that had kept them going until now.
As soon as Shi Yue strode into the hall…
The older officials, who had been swaying from standing too long, immediately straightened their backs.
They all knew that Duke Yong’s fate depended on the news Shi Yue had brought back.
The Emperor, who had been sitting silently on the dragon throne with a gloomy face, also sat up straight.
Another person eagerly waiting for Shi Yue’s report was Chen Yuanqing, who was still kneeling on the floor.
He had been kneeling since morning.
By now, both of his legs were completely numb.
When Shi Yue returned, Chen Yuanqing felt that his suffering was finally about to end.
He was certain…
Absolutely certain…
That Lin Zhengbei would not escape this time.
That old man had caused him so much pain.
Even now, he could still feel a sharp ache throughout his chest and stomach.
Among everyone present, only Lin Zhengbei remained completely calm.
When Shi Yue entered, his expression did not change at all.
No one knew what he was thinking.
“This humble servant greets Your Majesty.”
Shi Yue bowed once again.
“What were the results of the search?”
Suppressing his excitement, the Emperor deliberately spoke slowly.
“Reporting to Your Majesty… this humble servant found nothing in Duke Yong’s residence.”
Shi Yue lowered his head, not daring to look at the Emperor’s face, which immediately darkened.
“Found nothing? How is that possible?”
Chen Yuanqing no longer cared that he was still kneeling.
He tried to get up.
He wanted to question Shi Yue and ask whether the search had been thorough enough.
Unfortunately, after kneeling for so long, his legs no longer obeyed him.
He awkwardly struggled on the floor several times but could not stand.
“General Shi, are you certain… nothing was found in Duke Yong’s residence?”
The Emperor ignored Chen Yuanqing, who was struggling on the floor.
Instead, he stared fiercely at Shi Yue.
“Your Majesty, I searched the residence very carefully. There was no secret letter that Chen Yuanqing described… and there was no such person either.”
Shi Yue’s words struck Chen Yuanqing like a bolt of lightning.
He even wondered if he had heard them wrong.
They had planned this scheme for so long.
How could it end like this?
From persuading the Emperor to summon Lin Zhengbei back to the capital…
To secretly send someone into Duke Yong’s residence…
To prepare that letter…
Every step had been discussed and carefully planned over and over again.
How could everything go so terribly wrong today?
“General Shi, did your men fail to search properly? They weren’t careful enough, were they?”
Chen Yuanqing had completely forgotten that Shi Yue was his superior.
Publicly questioning his commander’s ability could only bring trouble upon himself.
But Shi Yue did not bother arguing with him.
Since nothing had been found today, the unlucky one would be Chen Yuanqing.
Falsely accusing an important court official was a crime punishable by death.
Why waste time arguing with a man who was already doomed?
“Father, General Shi has always been extremely careful.”
Seeing that the Emperor remained silent, Song Jingmu finally spoke to remind him.
“General Shi, are you certain you searched everything carefully?”
The Emperor truly could not understand.
He had spent so much effort arranging this entire plan.
Yet…
It had collapsed just like that.
He refused to accept it.
He knew Shi Yue’s character.
Shi Yue would never lie.
The most likely explanation was that Lin Zhengbei had somehow learned of their plan beforehand and destroyed the secret letter.
And…
The Princess of the Jin Kingdom, whom the Emperor had secretly arranged to be brought from the northern lands, had also disappeared without a trace.
In other words…
His entire plan had failed.
“Your Majesty, I carried out the search exactly as ordered. I didn’t even overlook the rat holes in Duke Yong’s residence.”
Shi Yue felt that he had made himself perfectly clear.
He hoped the Emperor, who refused to face reality, would finally wake up.
There was no point continuing this.
After all, so many officials were watching.
Wasn’t preserving his dignity the thing the Emperor cared about most?
What Shi Yue did not know was that the Emperor was struggling with his own thoughts.
No matter how unwilling he was to admit it…
Chen Yuanqing had become a useless piece.
If he did not clearly state his position now, the court officials would surely begin to lose trust in him.
After all, without any evidence, he could not simply accuse someone by his own words.
“Duke Yong… I was mistaken.”
The Emperor took a deep breath and forced his face to relax.
“I heard those accusations so suddenly that I acted too impulsively.”
With those words, he officially declared that Chen Yuanqing had made a false accusation.
“Your Majesty…”
Chen Yuanqing could not believe what he had just heard.
Did the Emperor intend to sacrifice him to protect himself?
If today’s plan failed, Chen Yuanqing would become the target of everyone’s blame.
As allies, hadn’t the Emperor considered that?
“Your Majesty, I absolutely did not make a false accusation. Perhaps… Perhaps Duke Yong learned about our plan in advance and destroyed all the evidence.”
Now Chen Yuanqing could only keep insisting that his accusation was true.
He simply could not bear the consequences if he admitted otherwise.
The Emperor had been waiting for him to say exactly that.
“Duke Yong, although nothing was found in your residence…”
His voice carried the unquestionable authority of a ruler.
“I believe Chen Yuanqing would not make accusations without reason.”
“Father!”
Song Jingmu cried out in shock.
General Shi had already confirmed that nothing had been found in the Duke’s residence.
Could it be…
That his father still refused to let the matter end?