Qi Yanzhou was summoned by the officials from the Ministry of Justice in the afternoon and remained in the palace until the gates were locked for the night.
He thoroughly investigated Xishou Palace, interrogating all the palace servants, yet the more he dug, the stranger things became.
The imperial guards and elite soldiers found no trace of any intruder.
The entire Xishou Palace was turned upside down, yet no secret passages were discovered.
From the moment the servants were rendered unconscious to Eunuch De's return, only a quarter of an hour had passed.
It was as if everything in the palace had vanished into thin air.
Frustrated, Qi Yanzhou left the palace and returned to the Ministry of Justice to ponder over the clues.
Later, he heard that the Capital Prefecture had taken on a case eerily similar to the theft at Xishou Palace.
He immediately went to the Capital Prefecture to gather details.
There, he learned that a few days prior, Ye Chutang's Ningchu Courtyard had been completely ransacked within the span of two incense sticks burning.
Similarly, no traces were left behind—everything had simply disappeared.
Qi Yanzhou decided to wait outside the Minister's Mansion until daybreak to inspect the premises.
That was when he encountered Ye Chutang climbing over the wall.
Dressed in men's clothing and with her face concealed by a black scarf, Qi Yanzhou naturally didn’t recognize her.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Knowing she was no match for Qi Yanzhou, Ye Chutang retorted in a deliberately deepened voice, "None of your damn business!"
With that, she vaulted back over the wall and disappeared into the Minister's Mansion.
Qi Yanzhou gave chase immediately.
He landed in the courtyard mere moments after the intruder, only to lose sight of them.
The granary was vast, yet so empty there was nowhere to hide.
The man had vanished—just like the items from Xishou Palace!
At that moment, the granary guards, alerted by the noise, rushed over with torches.
"Who are you? What are you doing in the Li Family Granary?"
The leader of the guards gasped upon seeing the emptied granary.
Pointing his torch at Qi Yanzhou, he shouted, "Seize him and send him to the authorities!"
Qi Yanzhou eyed the approaching men and calmly stated, "I am Prince Chen, Qi Yanzhou."
He produced his jade identity plaque engraved with the character "Chen" and a coiling dragon motif.
The men dropped to their knees upon recognizing the insignia.
"Your Highness, Prince Chen."
"Rise."
Qi Yanzhou asked, "Were you stationed here because the granary was full?"
"Your Highness, when we inspected the granary this afternoon, it was fully stocked. Now it’s empty. Did you see anything suspicious?"
"I witnessed a black-clad figure leap out of the granary. When I pursued, they retreated inside and disappeared. Summon all the granary guards immediately."
The leader, understanding Qi Yanzhou’s suspicion, hurried to gather the men.
Soon, all twenty guards stood before him.
Qi Yanzhou compared each man’s physique to the intruder he’d seen—none matched.
"None of them. Report this to the authorities."
With that, he vaulted over the wall and left.
Back in Ningchu Courtyard, Ye Chutang shed her disguise, removing the men’s attire and wiping off the alterations to her appearance.
Exhausted, she collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep instantly.
At dawn the next day, Steward Chen sent a maid to inform her that Prince Chen had arrived to investigate the theft in Ningchu Courtyard.
Still groggy and irritable from lack of sleep, Ye Chutang resisted waking up.
Dan'er coaxed her for a long while before she finally rose to wash and dress.
"Miss, Prince Chen is highly capable. He might actually recover your stolen belongings."
Ye Chutang yawned drowsily, thinking, Even if he had divine powers, he’d never uncover the truth.
Aloud, she murmured, "Let’s hope so."
Once ready, Ye Jingchuan personally escorted Qi Yanzhou to Ningchu Courtyard.
The emperor was returning to the palace from Qingyun Taoist Temple that day, requiring all officials to gather at the city gates by mid-morning.
Eunuch De had thus canceled the morning court session.
Ye Chutang curtsied. "Your Highness, Prince Chen."
"Rise."
Qi Yanzhou noted the shadows under her eyes. "Did you sleep poorly last night, Miss Ye?"
She nodded wearily.
"Too much happened yesterday. I was troubled by nightmares and woke easily."
Just then, Jinzhi burst out, disheveled and barefoot.
"Miss, come inside. Sleep."
Ye Jingchuan scowled at the deranged woman in her undergarments and barked at Dan'er, "Take this madwoman away at once! Don’t let her offend His Highness!"
He had once suspected Jinzhi of feigning madness—now he was convinced it was real.
As Dan'er moved to comply, Ye Chutang gently took Jinzhi’s hand. "Jinzhi, go rest. Be good."
"Okay. Jinzhi listens."
Uninterested in the family drama, Qi Yanzhou cut to the chase, inquiring about the theft.
Ignoring Ye Jingchuan’s warning glare, Ye Chutang recounted how Kong Ru had drugged her with a paralytic agent, provoking her to leave home in anger.
"Your Highness, I wasn’t present when the theft occurred. Upon returning the next day, I assumed my father had orchestrated it to punish me."
Ye Jingchuan flushed with humiliation. "Chu'er, don’t spout nonsense!"
Ye Chutang continued, "Later, I reconsidered. Though my father is stingy, he wouldn’t stoop to robbing his own daughter. So I formed another theory."
Qi Yanzhou arched a brow. "And what might that be?"
"Perhaps my mother, displeased by my mistreatment, took everything from Ningchu Courtyard as a warning. Otherwise, how could an entire courtyard vanish without a trace in two incense sticks’ time?"
"Miss Ye, your logic is flawed. If it were your mother, she would have taken your father’s possessions instead."
Ye Chutang cast a meaningful glance at Ye Jingchuan.
"True enough."
"May I inspect the courtyard?"
"By all means, Your Highness."
As Qi Yanzhou conducted his search, Ye Jingchuan grew increasingly restless.
The careless remark struck a nerve.
He bitterly regretted not checking his secret study chamber earlier.
"Your Highness, I have official matters to attend to."
"Proceed, Minister Ye. I’ll see myself out once I’m done."
Ye Chutang slumped at the stone table, yawning repeatedly.
"Dan'er, fetch breakfast from the main kitchen. Say Prince Chen wishes to dine here. You’re injured—have a maid deliver it."
"Yes, Miss."
When Dan'er reached the kitchen, Ye Jingchuan arrived at his study.
He headed straight for the hidden chamber.
Descending the steps, he noticed the absence of the usual emerald glow from the night pearls.
Dread coiled in his gut.
In his panic, he misstepped, triggering hidden arrows that nearly impaled him.
Tumbling down the stairs in his frantic evasion, he accidentally saved himself, rolling into the chamber.
Groping in the dark, he finally located an oil lamp and lit it with a flint.
The empty chamber made him rub his eyes in disbelief.
"I must be exhausted. Seeing things."
After this feeble self-assurance, he strained his eyes—still nothing.
Lighting every lamp revealed the same void.
The gold, jewels, secret letters, grain stores, and weapons—all gone.
The realization that his dealings with the Crown Prince and Second Prince might be exposed sent him into a dead faint.
