"Since you've already found the person, why didn't you hand them over to Liang Sheng?"
Yun Xi had secretly hidden the person away but still continued to increase the reward. If anyone said Yun Xi had no ulterior motives, she simply wouldn't believe it.
Thinking that Yun Xi might be doing this to manipulate her into rehabilitating Prime Minister Yun, the Empress flew into a rage. She immediately stood up from her chair and glared at Yun Xi.
"What on earth is your purpose in doing this? Are you trying to coerce me?"
The Empress narrowed her phoenix eyes coldly, her tone chillingly icy.
Yun Xi knew the other party had misinterpreted her intentions, but she wasn't in a hurry. Instead, she simply countered,
"Based on Her Majesty the Empress's understanding of Yun Xi, do you think Yun Xi is someone who acts without considering the consequences?"
"Moreover, if Yun Xi really wanted to coerce you, why would I have told you the whereabouts of the Taoist priest?"
"As I said just now, what the Taoist priest gave Yun Ni wasn't poison but water chestnut powder. However, His Highness the Crown Prince suffered from poisoning and vomited blood before falling into a coma in the Prime Minister's Mansion. There are so many doubts and oddities in this. Doesn't Her Majesty the Empress want to catch the mastermind behind this and seek justice for His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Moved by Yun Xi's words, the Empress showed a thoughtful look on her face.
Of course, she wished she could tear the person who had poisoned the Crown Prince into pieces!
Or execute the person by slow slicing in public as a warning to others! Let those who were secretly scheming and trying to harm the Crown Prince see the fate of such people!
Since the Crown Prince was poisoned, she had suspected this possibility more than once.
However, some time had passed since the incident, yet there was no progress from the Prefectural Magistrate.
No matter how much she tried to hint around, on the surface, it seemed that Yun Ni, the second young lady of the Prime Minister's Mansion, had poisoned the Crown Prince.
It seemed that there was a powerful force behind the scenes desperately blocking any investigation. Even the people she had sent out had found nothing!
If it weren't for Yun Xi never giving up, perhaps by the time the case was finally closed, the outcome would have remained unchanged.
"So what do you plan to do with that Taoist priest?" the Empress asked.
Although she wanted to interrogate the Taoist priest herself, based on her understanding of Yun Xi, she knew Yun Xi wouldn't do anything meaningless.
Therefore, she wanted to give Yun Xi a chance to explain.
If she could agree with Yun Xi's approach, from then on, she wouldn't interfere with Yun Xi's actions.
Seeing that the Empress had finally calmed down and was willing to listen to her explanation, Yun Xi gently moved her numb feet and said seriously,
"Whether it's Yun Ni or this Taoist priest, they've both been pushed out as scapegoats. Even if we hand them over to Lord Liang, there may not be any progress. On the contrary, this might tip off the enemy and be extremely unfavorable for the later investigation!"
"So, Yun Xi plans to play the long game and catch the big fish. Follow the clues to first find out the person who instigated the Taoist priest to set a trap for Yun Ni, and then draw out the forces that were chasing the Taoist priest! With these two additional clues, Lord Liang will be able to get closer to the real culprit!"
Listening to Yun Xi's analysis, the Empress unconsciously tapped her fingers on the armrest of the chair, thinking about the feasibility of Yun Xi's plan.
"Have you thought about the next step of the plan? How confident are you?"
The Empress pressed further, and Yun Xi answered truthfully,
"At present, there's no plan yet. As for the confidence, there's only a one - tenth chance."
And this one - tenth chance came from that Taoist priest, which was why she had hidden the person in the Prime Minister's Mansion to prevent them from being killed.
Seeing the Empress slightly frown, Yun Xi added,
"If Yun Xi can get Her Majesty the Empress's support, then the chance of success will increase to five - tenths. I wonder what Her Majesty thinks?"
Currently, she was in a weak position and couldn't achieve much on her own.
If the Empress could support her from behind, things would surely go more smoothly for her.
However, upon hearing Yun Xi's request, the Empress showed a hesitant look on her face.
Although Yun Xi might not know the real reason why the Prime Minister was thrown into the imperial prison, the Empress had heard some rumors.
After all, she had been the mistress of the six palaces for so many years and still had some informants in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Thinking of the Emperor's warning, the Empress was extremely conflicted. Although this matter concerned the Crown Prince, she didn't want to go against the Emperor on this issue.
After all, since the Emperor had started to pursue immortality and alchemy in the palace, their relationship as husband and wife had been deteriorating.
Even the Crown Prince had been scolded by the Emperor several times, while the Second Prince, the son of Concubine Yu, was gradually gaining the Emperor's favor. At a young age, he often accompanied the Emperor to study, seemingly vying with the Crown Prince for the position of the heir apparent!
The Empress didn't answer for a long time. Yun Xi saw her hesitation and immediately compromised, saying,
"Yun Xi only has one request. I hope Her Majesty the Empress can allow me to visit my younger sister, Yun Ni. I want to ask her some things in person. I hope Your Majesty will grant this request!"
As she said this, Yun Xi bowed deeply.
Without an official document from the court, Liang Sheng wouldn't allow her to visit Yun Ni.
But the Empress was different. As long as she issued an order personally, Liang Sheng wouldn't dare to go against her will!
The Empress thought for a moment and finally nodded,
"I grant your request. Later, you can take my personal letter and go talk to Liang Sheng."
She thought that as long as it didn't concern Prime Minister Yun, the Emperor wouldn't be angry.
She let Yun Xi deliver the message personally because she didn't want to make this matter public.
Yun Xi understood and then bowed seriously,
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"
As long as she could see Yun Ni, the current situation could move forward! As for seeking external help, she couldn't be hasty and had to plan carefully.
Yun Xi walked out of the palace gate and stared at the magnificent palace behind her, not moving for a long time.
"Miss, what should we do next?"
Yu Zhu stood beside Yun Xi, rubbing her still - sore legs with a worried look on her face.
The Empress's attitude clearly showed that she wouldn't help the miss. It seemed very difficult to rescue the master from the imperial prison. Relying solely on the miss now, it would be extremely hard!
"It's okay. There's still Young Master Qi and Su Qian. We still have many opportunities!"
Seeing Yu Zhu's worry, Yun Xi gently patted her on the shoulder to comfort her.
In fact, her smile couldn't hide her bitterness because even she herself didn't know what to do next to rescue her father as soon as possible.
After all, the imperial prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was extremely cruel. An ordinary person wouldn't be able to endure it for long once they were thrown in.
Her father was a civil official and naturally didn't have a strong physique. If anything happened to him in there, she would surely hate her own incompetence!