Hun Yuan seemed extremely angry, and his voice was colder and harsher than Yun Xi had ever heard:
"I've said countless times that after my junior sister came to visit me today, she suddenly felt unwell and is resting inside."
"Why do you insist on making up facts out of thin air? If my junior sister is inside and you are trying to gain merit by deceiving the Emperor, you will lose your head!"
Yun Xi roughly understood what was going on.
As smart as she was, she immediately thought that the day she had picked out gifts was a ruse, and that Yi Zhen had deliberately set a trap for her to go to the Jianjia Palace and then brought people to catch her red-handed.
But how did Yi Zhen know that she was investigating the matter of Concubine Qing?
Her heart was filled with doubts. While Yun Xi was thinking, her hands did not stop for a moment. She hid the clothes she had changed out of and then urgently checked her body to see if there were any flaws.
The maid outside seemed to be frightened and did not say another word.
Only Yi Zhen gave a little laugh and said:
"Why does the Great Master need to scare a little maid? She was only reporting what she saw. If she was mistaken because of a momentary dizziness, then it would be enough for her to apologize to the immortal. Why is the Great Master, who should be the most kind and compassionate person, even more aggressive than ordinary people?"
"Could it be..."
Yi Zhen deliberately dragged out her voice and raised it slightly:
"Because the Great Master has feelings for the immortal, he is especially partial to her and is even willing to deceive the Emperor?"
"Your Highness, be careful what you say! I've never..."
Hun Yuan's voice became even more forceful. He was about to say something else when he was interrupted by Emperor Zhao Huan:
"That's enough!"
After all this tug-of-war, Emperor Zhao Huan was already impatient. Of course he knew what Hun Yuan was secretly investigating, but anything related to the Jianjia Palace could not be revealed. Otherwise...
Emperor Zhao Huan's phoenix eyes were cold as he stared at the angry Hun Yuan:
"Since you are innocent, why are you afraid of an inspection? You all..."
He casually pointed at a few guards and said:
"Open the door immediately."
"Creak—"
The moment Emperor Zhao Huan finished speaking, the door was opened.
It was so fast that the guards who had been named did not even have time to respond.
Everyone was shocked.
Hun Yuan, Ling Yan and the others were pleasantly surprised as if they had been relieved of a burden, while Yi Zhen and the others were shocked.
"You, how could you..."
The maid who had previously identified Yun Xi in the Jianjia Palace was even more shocked as she stared at Yun Xi with her eyes wide open. She pointed at Yun Xi with her mouth wide open and could not say a complete sentence.
Emperor Zhao Huan stared at Yun Xi suspiciously, looking up and down as if he was trying to find a flaw that she had not hidden well.
But Yi Zhen could not help but take a step forward. The shock, hatred and venom in her eyes flashed as she questioned:
"Since the immortal is in the room, why did she not respond at all when we were talking for so long outside? Only when the Emperor sent someone to invite her did she come out to meet us? Could it be that she just came back from somewhere?"
Based on Yi Zhen's appearance, Yun Xi was almost completely certain of her previous suspicions.
A cold smile kept rising in her heart. Yun Xi bent forward and covered her lower abdomen with her hand. She said weakly:
"Why does the Fourth Princess say such things? This poor person is just unwell and cannot get up."
Ling Yan, who was standing beside her, had already stepped forward to hold her up the moment Yun Xi bent forward. She cooperated and did a good job.
Yun Xi leaned on Ling Yan's body and then said feebly:
"I originally thought that as long as my senior brother explained properly, it would be fine. But I did not expect that it would instead cause the Princess to misunderstand me even more."
"This poor person really does not know why the Princess is so certain that what this maid said is the truth. Could it be that when someone entered or left the Jianjia Palace, the Princess and her were watching? Or could it be that the Princess sent a trusted person to watch and that is why she is so certain?"
Yi Zhen's expression changed and she immediately rebuked:
"Nonsense! How could this Princess..."
"Since there is none,"
Yun Xi interrupted:
"Then no one can testify to what this maid said. How can her one-sided words be convincing?"
"You..."
Yi Zhen was so choked that she could not say a word.
She could only turn her head and look at Emperor Zhao Huan and say:
"Father, this son thinks that Qing He is just a little maid and has no grudge against the immortal. If she did not see it with her own eyes, why would she randomly point out someone? She had to point out the immortal. There must be something fishy going on. Father, you must investigate this matter thoroughly."
"Of course we must investigate thoroughly,"
Thinking of the matter of "seeing a ghost" that Yun Xi had told him before, Hun Yuan coldly continued and began to make up nonsense:
"I calculated on the Lantern Festival that there was something wrong with the Jianjia Palace and I went there with Lian Yi to investigate. I saw a white shadow flash by in the Jianjia Palace. It looked like a ghost."
After Hun Yuan finished speaking, even though Emperor Zhao Huan was there, the palace servants who did not know the situation could not help but gasp.
Emperor Zhao Huan's eyes flashed, but there was not a trace of fear in them. Before he could ask, Hun Yuan continued:
"But Lian Yi could see the color on the white shadow. It was clearly a living person."
"But before me, someone had already said that they saw the white shadow. The palace servants thought that they saw something dirty and did not dare to say anything. They were afraid of causing unrest in the palace. But what is strange is..."
Hun Yuan glanced at Yi Zhen, whose face had turned slightly pale, and said:
"There are many palaces in the Imperial City, and everyone knows that the Jianjia Palace is sealed. There is no one living there on weekdays, only the servants who clean the palace enter and leave. That person did not choose any other place, but deliberately chose to play the ghost in the Jianjia Palace. It can't be just to scare the servants, right?"
"Your Majesty has been so busy with the affairs of the Dayin Kingdom and the Seventh Prince of the Ying Kingdom's proposal for marriage these days that he has almost no time to rest. This official did not report it, but instead investigated it secretly."
Hun Yuan bowed to Emperor Zhao Huan and said with a self-reproachful look on his face:
"This official is just useless. I have not found any clues about that person after so many days. Please punish this official, Your Majesty."
"But the matter of someone secretly entering and leaving the Jianjia Palace with unclear intentions had already happened on the Lantern Festival. And my junior sister had not come to the palace before. That person was so familiar with the Jianjia Palace. In this official's opinion, this matter must have been done by someone in the palace."
"Coincidentally, this official has also had the idea of investigating thoroughly for a long time. Previously, this official was tied up and could not find anything. Since the Princess and this official have a rare moment of understanding, Your Majesty, why not leave this matter to this official to handle?"
Yi Zhen did not expect that the pit she had dug would end up trapping herself. She tightened her sleeves and tried her best to control the expression on her face.
She wanted to argue again, but Emperor Zhao Huan's face had almost sunk to the bottom of the valley. He raised his hand and said:
"Then you investigate."
"If you still can't find a result, Hun Yuan..."
Emperor Zhao Huan's eyes were cold and filled with killing intent:
"You know the consequences."
After saying that, he angrily waved his sleeve and turned around to leave.
"Yes!"
Hun Yuan bowed his head and responded. He bowed with everyone to send Emperor Zhao Huan off.
A peerless good chess game, but it ended in such a way. Not only did she not move a single hair on Yun Xi, but she had also ended up getting herself involved.
Yi Zhen was so angry that she almost gnashed her silver teeth. She looked back coldly at Yun Xi and waved her sleeve. She then turned around and left.
The hair on Yun Xi's body stood on end and she felt numb all over.
It was not because of the look that Yi Zhen gave her, but because she finally knew why the painting she saw in the tunnel looked so familiar.
The eyebrows and eyes of the woman in the painting looked extremely similar to Yi Zhen!