Eunuch Li thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“Your Majesty, it was only you, Prince Ling, and the Fifth Prince.”
After Eunuch Li finished speaking, his heart gave an involuntary jolt.
Could there really be some problem here?
The emperor rose and began pacing back and forth.
He remembered the report from the secret guards: Fourth Brother had also once overseen the court in the emperor’s absence.
Why had nothing happened to Fourth Brother?
Why had that person spared him alone?
Was that person acquainted with Fourth Brother? Or had Fourth Brother overseen the state for too short a time?
After much deliberation, the emperor made a decision.
“When you return, have the Sixth Prince assist the Fifth Brother in overseeing the court.”
Eunuch Li froze.
“Your Majesty, this servant is only a servant!”
The emperor understood what Eunuch Li meant, and he could not help glaring at him.
“Useless fool!”
He was pretending to be unconscious and could not issue an imperial edict.
No matter what, Eunuch Li was only a servant. How could he possibly meddle in a matter concerning the empire and its governance?
The emperor paced back and forth several more times, growing increasingly vexed.
He had miscalculated!
If he had known this would happen, he should not have hurriedly sent Prince of Pingyang to deal with the Xiongnu.
Now that the fighting at the border had ended in victory, hadn’t he indirectly assisted the Fifth Brother in overseeing the court?
“How is the epidemic in the south being handled?” The emperor suddenly thought of another difficult matter.
Eunuch Li hurriedly reported, “Your Majesty, we have received word from the south. Imperial Physician Li and the others have arrived there.”
“They are working to contain the epidemic. It is said that they have already made some progress.”
Upon hearing this, the emperor’s tense heart relaxed somewhat.
Seeing his people suffer had weighed heavily on him as well.
These past few days, he had been unable to eat or sleep properly.
Now, at last, there was some good news.
However, although those crises had passed, how was he supposed to deal with the danger lurking within the palace?
“Go back and investigate immediately!”
“I’m giving you three days!”
“Remember, do it in secret. You must not alert anyone!”
Whenever the emperor thought of someone plotting against his empire, he wanted nothing more than to drag that person out and tear them limb from limb.
Eunuch Li hesitated for a moment before saying, “Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will return and investigate at once.”
The emperor impatiently waved his hand.
After bowing to the emperor, Eunuch Li pulled open a small door to one side and walked through it.
That was right—the small door in Imperial Physician Li’s study did not lead to the courtyard.
It led to the imperial palace.
Only the emperor, Imperial Physician Li, and Xiao Lizi knew about this secret passage.
Inside the palace, a palace matron had brought two thick stacks of registers from the Office of Palace Affairs.
Duoduo looked at the registers curiously.
“Great-Grandmother, are there really this many people?”
The Empress Dowager smiled kindly.
“These are only registers.”
“If someone dies, a red mark is made on the page bearing her name.”
Only then did Duoduo understand. These were lists of all the imperial consorts.
Duoduo volunteered to sit beside her.
“Great-Grandmother, I’ll help you!”
The Empress Dowager nodded. “All right! My eyesight isn’t very good, and I can’t see the writing clearly anymore.”
“Do this: read out each name that has no mark beside it.”
A palace matron brought over several candle stands and placed them on the table.
The room immediately grew much brighter.
Duoduo glanced at the registers on the table, then picked up the older one.
When she opened to the first page, she saw a large red X.
This person was no longer alive.
Duoduo froze for a moment before continuing to turn the pages.
Several pages in a row produced the same result.
The Empress Dowager watched her movements, and her eyes dimmed slightly.
There was no need to guess. She knew that this was the register of the late emperor’s consorts.
After a long while, Duoduo finally found a name.
“Zhong Yuan,” she read aloud.
For a moment, confusion appeared in the Empress Dowager’s eyes.
“Why do I feel as if I’ve never heard that name before?”
The palace matron remembered.
“Your Highness, could it be Lady Zhong?”
“The one who was always crying?”
“You once said she was made of water because she spoke in such a delicate, tearful voice.”
“This servant remembers that Lady Zhong loved wearing bright green dresses. You said she looked like a green snake.”
The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes and thought for a long while. Vaguely, she recalled that there had indeed been such a person.
“She’s still alive?”
Duoduo looked at the notes beneath the name in the register.
Lady Zhong was from Jiangnan.
She was not from the Southern Border.
Duoduo continued turning the pages. After another dozen or so, she found another name.
“Yun Qiluo.”
Duoduo could not help looking at the name a second time.
There were very few people with the surname Yun.
The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes as she searched her memory.
“I have some impression of this one.”
“Yun is a rare surname. She was Consort Yun back then.”
“She’s still alive too?”
Surprise filled the Empress Dowager’s eyes.
Duoduo nodded and looked at the notes beneath the name.
Registered origin: Southern Border.
Duoduo’s gaze lingered there for quite some time.
The Empress Dowager did not hear Duoduo continue reading and asked, “Changle, what is it?”
Duoduo came back to herself and smiled at the Empress Dowager.
“Why is Consort Yun only in her forties?”
“She looks younger than Grandfather.”
An indescribable expression appeared on the Empress Dowager’s face.
The palace matron hurriedly explained to Duoduo, “Your Highness may not know this, but Consort Yun and Lady Zhong were both among the last group of women selected for the palace.”
“Not long after they entered the palace, the late emperor passed away.”
Duoduo’s eyes widened.
The late emperor was already on the verge of death, yet they had still held a selection for the imperial harem?
Seeing Duoduo’s expression, the Empress Dowager gave a light cough.
“It was done to bring good fortune to the late emperor.”
Duoduo blinked. She understood.
But then she had another question.
“Great-Grandmother, if she had only entered the palace shortly before, how did she become a consort?”
The Empress Dowager was taken aback.
“As I recall, among all the women who entered the palace with Consort Yun, she was the only one to receive a title.”
The palace matron nodded.
“Your Majesty, have you forgotten?”
“It was said that Consort Yun knew how to do that sort of thing, and the late emperor summoned her to the Palace of Mental Cultivation.”
“The very next day, the late emperor made her Consort Yun.”
With the palace matron’s reminder, the Empress Dowager remembered as well.
She let out a sigh.
“Thanks to her, the late emperor lived a little longer.”
Duoduo was filled with curiosity about their earlier conversation.
“Great-Grandmother, what did you mean by ‘that sort of thing’?”
The Empress Dowager and the palace matron exchanged a glance, and the palace matron lowered her head.
The Empress Dowager lifted her chin toward Duoduo.
“Continue reading.”
Duoduo found this strange. Did Great-Grandmother not want to tell her?
Or was it something she could not tell her?
Could it be a taboo in the palace?
At the thought of taboos, Duoduo suddenly remembered something that had happened before.
Consort Shu had ordered someone to bury a little figure pierced with needles outside Kunning Palace, intending to frame her.
Could that have been witchcraft?
