Soon, the palace was put under strict guard. Since Concubine Mu had been framed and almost lost her unborn child, the emperor ordered a search of every concubine's chambers, especially those of Noble Consort Hua.
If this plot had succeeded, Noble Consort Hua would have been the greatest beneficiary, so she was the prime suspect.
Noble Consort Hua watched the eunuchs rummaging through her palace. She was so angry that she almost smashed the teacup. If it weren't for the maids standing by, she would have thrown a tantrum long ago. Damn Mu Xingrou!
Noble Consort Hua knew that she was the most suspected. Although she was usually stupid, she would never play tricks on such a matter. Moreover, Mu Fengqie had said those words just yesterday. Unless she were a fool, how could she do something so stupid?
Noble Consort Hua, with her eight - month - pregnant belly, said, "You all better be careful! If you break anything and I get so angry that something happens to me or the baby, you won't be able to bear the consequences!"
Suddenly, the eunuchs around her slowed down their movements. It didn't matter much if something happened to Noble Consort Hua, but if something happened to the baby in her belly, they would lose their heads a dozen times over.
After the search turned up nothing, the eunuchs quickly left with their men.
A day later, the eunuchs found a packet of medicine in Lady Chen's chambers. The emperor was furious and originally wanted to send Lady Chen to the cold palace. But Lady Chen suddenly fainted, and the imperial physician diagnosed that she was pregnant. For the moment, the matter was at a standstill.
When Mu Fengqie heard about this, she just smiled. This Lady Chen was the second daughter of the Chen family. She never expected that the person who had poisoned would be her. And after poisoning, she didn't even know how to dispose of the evidence. One didn't know whether to call her stupid or foolish.
On the grassland, after the Grassland King returned, he looked at the devastated grassland tribes in disbelief.
"What happened? Where is Shu Yi? What on earth has he been doing?" the Grassland King roared.
Suddenly, everyone noticed the Grassland King. Like lost sheep finding their shepherd, they all gathered around him.
"Your Majesty, you're finally back. Our tribe was attacked by someone," one person after another complained to the king. The Grassland King's face was so grim that it was almost unreadable.
"Where is Shu Yi? Where has he gone?" The Grassland King looked around but didn't see Shu Yi. His anger flared even more.
"Your Majesty, General Shu said that Tule Haojia had escaped, and he led his men to chase after him." Then the speaker curled his lips disdainfully. "It's not that someone escaped. It's obvious that General Shu killed Tule Haojia out of personal motives and then made up an excuse."
The Grassland King's sharp eyes suddenly turned towards him. "What do you mean?" The king couldn't believe that Shu Yi had the audacity to do such a thing.
"When our tribe was attacked, General Shu was drinking with a beauty. He didn't care about our lives at all. After that incident, we wanted to send a message to you by carrier pigeon, but General Shu always stopped us, saying that you were busy and couldn't spare the time for us.
At first, we didn't believe it. I even secretly sent a message, but there was no response from your side. So we finally believed him."
After saying that, the guard looked at the Grassland King with a very aggrieved expression. What could be so important that the king didn't care about the lives of the grassland people?
"I've never received any carrier - pigeon messages. Are you sure you sent them out?" the Grassland King looked at the guard suspiciously.
The guard was also stunned. Not received? But he was sure he had sent it out. Why was this so? For a moment, the air was filled with silence.
"How long has Shu Yi been gone?" Now, whether the Grassland King wanted to believe it or not, he had to. This Shu Yi really had the ability to intercept those messages.
"Three days after our tribe was attacked, he led a group of men out and hasn't come back yet. It's been almost three months now."
Suddenly, the Grassland King's face turned as black as coal. "Someone, issue a wanted notice for Shu Yi! If he resists, execute him on the spot!" the Grassland King said mercilessly, showing his ruthless and cold - blooded nature to the fullest.
"Your Majesty, there's another thing I want to report," another guard stepped forward at this time, looking hesitant as he addressed the king.
"Speak! What else do you have to say?" the Grassland King took a deep breath and said.
"It's also about General Shu. Before General Shu left, I saw him call out a black - clothed man. The two of them went into a tent. Out of curiosity, I went over to take a look. Unexpectedly, General Shu took advantage of the black - clothed man's inattention and knocked him out."
After saying this, the guard secretly glanced at the Grassland King's face. Seeing that there was no change in expression, he continued:
"I saw General Shu put a worm into the black - clothed man's body."
"What were the characteristics of the black - clothed man you mentioned?" The Grassland King suddenly thought of Wu Ming. He also wore black clothes. Coupled with Wu Ming's previous assassination attempt on him, everything seemed so strange.
A worm? Could it be a gu worm? It was said that the Witch Clan had such skills. Could it be that Shu Yi had some connection with the Witch Clan? One thought after another popped up in the Grassland King's mind, and he was full of suspicion.
If so, then Wu Ming hadn't betrayed him. He had been controlled by Shu Yi's gu worm.
No matter how much the Grassland King suspected, he could only put these things aside for the time being and deal with the immediate matters first.
The Grassland King led his men to a big tree and dug out countless gold, silver, and jewels from under it. These were all the treasures he had brought back during his military campaigns when he was young.
He originally thought these things would be used in battles, but unexpectedly, they were used here.
The Grassland King spent a great deal of money and resources. After half a month, he finally restored the grassland tribe to its former glory. And finally, he had time to deal with other matters.
"Has Shu Yi been found?" the Grassland King rubbed his forehead and asked.
"The men we sent out said that General Shu and his men had reached the border of the grassland tribe. It seemed that they were trying to cross the border." The guard beside him told the Grassland King the latest news, but this news was three days old. They didn't know what had happened to Shu Yi since then.
"Do you think Tule Haojia could still be alive?" The Grassland King's eyes were deep, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
"This... I don't know, Your Majesty. If General Shu really..."