The two people's gazes just crossed for a moment and then moved away, as if they were not very familiar with each other on a normal day.
"Mother, you came in such a hurry. Why didn't you take more time to stroll outside the palace? I heard you went out for a stroll to relax."
Shi Muyuan had run over in a hurry for fear of wasting time. At this moment, she was still a bit out of breath.
The young emperor shook his head helplessly and handed her the tea in his hand.
After drinking the tea, she felt much better and then stated the purpose of her visit.
"I got these things outside the palace. Your Majesty should make a decision as soon as possible. I'm afraid this plague will surely shake the people's confidence. If we don't take timely action, the sky over Changjing City will change."
Cui Qizhou also looked over curiously. After the two men, one old and one young, saw the contents clearly, their expressions changed.
"This is no small matter. Should we first inform the court officials to come and discuss it?"
Shi Muyuan finally stopped the young emperor's idea.
"It's clearly stated above that some officials have done a lot of shady things during this plague. If we summon everyone now, won't we be tipping off the enemy?"
"What does Mother think we should do now?"
"First, find a few reliable people to go and gather information. If the information is true, immediately detain those officials and then make further plans."
Cui Qizhou listened from the side and couldn't help but admire this empress dowager more and more.
"Then which people does the empress dowager think are suitable to be sent there this time?"
Shi Muyuan really hadn't thought about this. She quickly went through all the information of the court officials she had seen before in her mind. It seemed that, apart from her own eldest and second brothers, there were no other reliable people.
However, they were after all her relatives. If they were to encounter the plague there and lose their lives, it would be the last thing she wanted to see.
So, she said, "Why not trouble the national teacher to make this trip? Among all the court officials, Your Majesty trusts only you and me the most. I definitely can't go."
With just a few words, she easily pushed this matter onto the man. Even if the man had reasons to refuse, he could only hold them back.
But he didn't intend to refuse. From the very beginning, he had wanted to go and gather information in person. He didn't trust this matter to anyone else.
"Then let this subject go. Coincidentally, this subject also wants to share Your Majesty's burden."
Since he had said so, the young emperor naturally wouldn't refuse.
"I'll have to trouble you, my dear subject."
Just like this, Shi Muyuan happily returned to her palace. However, this good mood only lasted for less than a quarter of an hour.
There was a noise from the window. Her heart skipped a beat, and then she looked over.
Soon, a man jumped down from the window.
"It seems that the empress dowager really hopes that I'll leave. I just wonder if you've got the thing I asked you for?"
Shi Muyuan rolled her eyes and reluctantly threw the thing in her hand over.
After getting the thing, the man didn't intend to stay and was about to leave. Although the woman was a bit reluctant, she still softly reminded him.
"The national teacher should be careful in everything. I don't want to go out and collect your body in the end."
"Thank you for your concern, Empress Dowager."
The man slightly hooked the corner of his mouth, and his mood seemed to be very good. That night, he led people to secretly visit the mansions of those officials.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, they noticed something strange. It was clearly the time when people should be asleep, but there were voices of conversation coming from the room.
He quietly approached. Taking advantage of the inattention of all the guards, he flew onto the roof. The words of the people below fell into his ears.
"What on earth is wrong with you two? You've made mistakes twice already. If this goes on, I won't work with you anymore. I'm afraid it won't be long before the court takes notice of what's going on here."
"No way. We've dealt with everyone cleanly. Once those medicines are developed, the court won't care about those things. I'm afraid the people who want to buy our medicines will line up all the way outside Changjing City."
It had to be said that what this official said made the other two's eyes light up with expectation.
Yes, if those medicines were developed, it would be a huge fortune for them.
"However, I've noticed some suspicious people around here recently. Why don't you hire some killers to deal with them?"
"Okay."
"By the way, when will that medicine be developed? My concubine can hardly bear it anymore."
"Don't worry, Lord Wang. It'll be soon."
Listening to their conversation, Cui Qizhou squinted his eyes and made a gesture to the people behind him. Just like this, one after another black shadows suddenly appeared in the study. Those officials began to panic and tried to escape, but how could they be a match for these shadow guards? Before long, they all fell to the ground.
"Arrest them and lock them up in the imperial prison. See if there's anyone behind them."
"Yes."
The next day.
During the court session, the minister of the Supreme Court's forehead was constantly dripping with sweat.
"Your Majesty, last night, Lord Wang and several other officials suddenly disappeared. Now their whereabouts are unknown, and we haven't found a single clue."
The young emperor widened his eyes. Such a thing had never happened in Changjing City before, except for the last time.
"Have you searched carefully? Logically speaking, no one can make people disappear right under our noses."
The minister of the Supreme Court shook his head. "We've searched everywhere, and there's not a single trace. This subject speculates that maybe they've offended some enemies, and now they've been targeted."
Although this speculation was not impossible, the young emperor still thought this idea of the minister of the Supreme Court was a bit too absurd.
"You're the minister of the Supreme Court. Is this how you handle cases? In that case, I think you don't need to be the minister of the Supreme Court anymore."
By the end of his words, the young emperor was already angry.
When the emperor was angry, all the officials knelt down.
Many officials were quite dissatisfied with the minister of the Supreme Court. He couldn't find the people, so he just came up with some lame excuses, which caused all of them to be implicated.
The minister of the Supreme Court naturally didn't miss the looks from his colleagues. He gritted his teeth. It was most important to keep his official position for now.
"Your Majesty, this subject knows his mistake. This subject shouldn't have dealt with it carelessly. This subject will surely go back and carefully consider it. Please forgive this subject."
Just then, Cui Qizhou came late and finally broke the deadlock.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. The three lords disappeared because this subject arrested them. Last night, this subject led people to investigate the situation there and found the three lords acting suspiciously outside, so this subject arrested them and put them in the imperial prison. There must be some misunderstandings. Your Majesty, would you like to go and have a look with this subject?"
With his explanation, the whole hall seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. The minister of the Supreme Court also cast a grateful look.
Ji Heng nodded slightly. "Then I'll go and find out. You can go back first."
"We'll take our leave, Your Majesty."
Ji Heng looked at the person beside him, not knowing what he was thinking. "The national teacher should tell me in detail what happened last night."