The next day, after morning court, eunuchs came to escort Suzhen and her group to the Imperial Study.

Upon reaching the study door, Xuanwu and the others greeted her. Ming Yanchu entered to announce their arrival.

Soon after, Ming Yanchu emerged and walked to Suzhen. “Magistrate Li, His Majesty wants you to go in.”

Suzhen was puzzled. “What about the Empress Dowager and Magistrate Li? And my bureau colleagues – aren’t they going in to discuss the case?”

“His Majesty only wants you to go in.” Ming Yanchu answered very patiently, then said to Wu Qing and the others, “Please wait here for a moment.”

Quite courteous.

Suzhen was still hesitating when Xiao Zhou kept urging her, “Go quickly, go quickly.”

Everyone knew about the situation between her and Lian Yu. Zhui Ming said in a low voice, “If you don’t want to go in, we’ll fight…”

“Wait here for me.” Suzhen quietly interrupted him and walked over.

Xuanwu and the others made way. Ming Yanchu opened the door, and Suzhen lowered her head as she entered.

The door quickly closed behind her.

Suzhen kept her head down, but from the corner of her eye she could still see that profound yellow figure seated behind the desk ahead, concentratedly reviewing memorials.

She always felt uncomfortable meeting Lian Yu alone now. She couldn’t describe the feeling in her heart – wanting to see him yet not wanting to see him. In any case, her heart would ache faintly.

Since it was just the two of them, though they had cleared up their relationship, performing full court etiquette and speaking too formally would seem affected. She stood several steps from his desk and simply began, “Aren’t we discussing the case? Isn’t the Empress Dowager coming?”

“What are your instructions?” she finally asked.

Lian Yu slowly raised his head, his gaze falling on her, his expression probably even more detached than during their previous minister-sovereign interactions.

“After nearly losing your life this time, do you still plan to continue with the case?” He set down his brush on the inkstone, his ten fingers elegantly interlocked.

“Yes, this concerns not only Consort Yu but also our bureau’s coroner who died because of the coffin re-examination. I must give them an accounting. Any case has dangers – I choose to continue.”

Lian Yu leaned back further in his chair. “I’m not telling you not to handle it. It’s just that during this period, you must remain in the palace. After all, if they dare act under my nose, regardless of whether they’re the same group that killed my mother, I must root them out.”

“The Empress Dowager was indeed supposed to come, but I stopped her. I’ll be frank with you – the Empress Dowager’s concern about this case is because she thinks it’s greatly related to Dowager Consort Ai. You know she and Dowager Consort Ai have never gotten along. But I don’t want her too involved, disrupting you all.”

“Understood.” Suzhen nodded.

She wanted to end this conversation as quickly as possible. This businesslike tone made her feel suffocated.

That day in the underground chamber felt like a dream. This was how Lian Yu was – he seemed more harmless than the gentle Lian Jie, but when he hardened his heart, he was colder than anyone.

He still cared about her – otherwise he wouldn’t have her and the Criminal Investigation Bureau people, even Li Zhaoting, stay in the palace.

As Li Zhaoting said, this person wanted him to be her scapegoat, so he even considered his safety.

But love – that he reserved for A’luo.

She didn’t expect they could still have anything, but this feeling of being unable to completely cut ties really hurt, really made her panic.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you about.” She quickly asked, hoping to end this conversation soon.

“Ask.” He was extremely concise.

“The night Consort Yu died suddenly, the Criminal Investigation records mention that you gave her a bowl of soup. Who gave you this soup? Or where did you get it? Did something happen on your end that night as well?”

Lian Yu’s eyelids moved slightly. After a long pause, he said, “It was Councilor Yan.”

“Him?” Suzhen was startled.

“Mm. That night I went out looking for food. You know, children are always getting hungry, very greedy—” As he spoke, a shallow curve appeared at the corner of his lips.

It seemed both self-mocking and reminiscent of something.

Suzhen’s heart clenched traitorously.

“And then?” She curved her nails into her palm and gripped hard, trying to calm herself down.

“That night happened to be Mother Empress’s birthday. The entire palace was decorated with lanterns and colored decorations, bustling with splendor. I went to the Imperial Kitchen wanting to steal some food, but with the Empress’s birthday and the Late Emperor hosting officials, during such grand celebrations, how could the Imperial Kitchen not be heavily supervised to prevent poisoning? Naturally, I got nothing.”

“Later, I went to where the banquet was being prepared. When I arrived, the banquet was set but the feast hadn’t begun. Eunuchs and palace maids, led by supervising eunuchs, were hanging lanterns, arranging potted plants, setting out wine and food, and guiding arriving consorts, royalty, and officials to their seats – all very busy. I hid to the side, waiting for an opportunity, planning to take some food when no one was watching.”

“But just as I was eyeing everything hungrily, sharp-eyed Ninth Brother spotted me. At that time, Ninth Brother and Seventh Brother hadn’t started playing together, but their attitude toward this wild child was consistent. There were also Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and several other young men who dragged me out and beat me. Seventh Brother was especially harsh – after all, in his view, my mother had wronged his mother. But the truth was, being favored or not wasn’t something my mother could choose. At that time, to help her brother Qiu Jing advance further in power, Consort Ai actually requested that the Late Emperor divide half of my future uncle Murong Jinghou’s military authority to her nephew, Qiu Jing’s eldest son.”

“At that time, Qiu Jing was already the highest-ranking civil official, and his son held the military power that’s now in Chao Huang’s hands. Though the Late Emperor loved Consort Ai and somewhat favored my Seventh Brother for succession, he also worried about relatives monopolizing power and overturning the Lian family’s empire after his death, so he didn’t agree.”

“Consort Ai was truly beloved then, so much so that such a thoughtful person dared to coldly snub the Late Emperor. The Late Emperor therefore favored my mother to warn her that they weren’t just husband and wife, but emperor and consort. Everything she had was given by him – if she didn’t want it, countless women were waiting and fighting for it.”

“Consort Ai was hurt, but the Late Emperor, though a tyrannical ruler, truly cared for her and quickly forgave her. Ironically, my mother became witness to this imperial family’s sincere love.”

The curve at Lian Yu’s lips grew larger, but his gaze was cold as ice, making Suzhen feel that whoever provoked him now would surely die horribly.

But she still fearlessly interrupted him. “I can imagine the rest myself – continue from where you left off.”

Because she felt she too was a witness to his and Gu Xiluo’s sincere love.

Fortunately, Lian Yu didn’t pursue this and continued, “Being young then, I was stubborn and didn’t beg for mercy, so they beat me even more enthusiastically. No one came to mediate, including important ministers like Wei Chenghui, Huang Zhongyue, Cai Beitang, and Xiao Yue. The Qiu father and son even watched the show from the side, until Yan Da and Murong Jinghou came over.”

“They might have felt pity, but since I had no relationship with them then, it’s not hard to imagine that as Mother Empress’s people, they understood clearly that as long as I existed, Consort Ai would definitely be unhappy. So they had me stay, saying the princes would later pay respects to the Empress, and I should also go forward to greet her.”

“They also gave me some food. I thought of my mother having nothing, so Yan Da told me to take things back. But Uncle stopped me, and his look made me understand something. Today I had made Seventh Brother and the others lose face – how could they not hold grudges? They would definitely cause trouble for Mother and me afterward. I could endure hardship myself, but couldn’t let Mother suffer. Only then did I realize how foolish I was. Uncle’s meaning was to take nothing away, but Councilor Yan still told me to casually take some things back. I didn’t dare take much, only took a bowl of what I thought was the most delicious soup, and even kowtowed to Seventh Brother, saying thank you for Seventh Prince’s reward.”

Suzhen felt inexplicably angry and didn’t want to listen anymore! In the past, she would have patted his shoulder, like she did with Leng Xue, Zhui Ming and the others. But now she couldn’t do anything.

This right no longer belonged to her.

She somewhat hated him for telling her these things, even though she seemed to be the instigator of this conversation.

“Seventh Brother and Ninth Brother were somewhat stunned then. Thinking back now, it’s still quite amusing. This way, they couldn’t give me trouble anymore – otherwise, they’d lose face too.”

And he, as if not noticing her emotions, or not caring to notice her emotions, continued his bland narration.

“Later, Consort Ai arrived, and the Late Emperor and Mother Empress also came. The Late Emperor was furious seeing me and told me to get lost. Mother Empress had no feelings for me then – keeping me was just to provoke Consort Ai. This birthday banquet was extremely grand, the Late Emperor gave her full respect, and she didn’t want to displease him too much, so naturally said nothing.”

“Then you took the soup back to your mother?” Suzhen emphasized her tone.

“Mm. I left, but before departing, I encountered two people entering.”

Suzhen was surprised. “Someone dared arrive late? With the Emperor and Empress already seated.”

“I also found it strange and deliberately looked more closely at these two people. I heard them greeting the Late Emperor – one was Fu Jingshu, and one called himself former Criminal Investigation Magistrate Feng Shaoqing.”

“My father?” Suzhen was immediately shocked and exclaimed.

There will be another update later tonight.