Meeting Yu Jin’s clear gaze, Emperor Jingming nodded.

“Seventh Brother is indeed an honest child,” he thought. “Since that’s the case, we should investigate thoroughly. We cannot be lenient with relatives who would bring trouble to Seventh Brother and his wife.”

Princess Rongyang secretly gritted her teeth. While the person who had instigated that scoundrel to harass the virtuous woman hadn’t been exposed, if the Imperial Guards investigated deeper and discovered the culprit’s actions weren’t spontaneous but orchestrated, it would ultimately cause her trouble. Moreover, if the Emperor learned that Prince Yan’s wife wasn’t implicated by relatives but was targeted, far from punishing the Prince and his wife, he would likely sympathize with them instead. The Prince and his wife were proving more troublesome than she had imagined. She would need to be much more cautious in her future moves.

Princess Rongyang could only watch helplessly as Emperor Jingming gave his orders, feeling frustrated. The Empress Dowager, however, remained unconcerned. A street ruffian harassing a virtuous woman wouldn’t have even caught her attention if it hadn’t involved Prince Yan and his wife.

Emperor Jingming rose, saying, “Mother, you must be tired from your temple visit. I won’t disturb your rest any longer.”

The Empress Dowager smiled, “Your Majesty may attend to your duties. I’m not tired, and I’d like to chat with Prince Yan’s wife for a while.”

Palace etiquette was strict – it wouldn’t be appropriate for Yu Jin, who had his own residence outside the palace, to stay long, but keeping female family members for the company was much more acceptable.

Emperor Jingming was pleased with this arrangement and said casually, “Then let Seventh Brother’s wife keep Mother company. I’ll also check on Seventh Brother’s studies to see if he’s been slacking off lately. They can return home together afterward.”

Yu Jin exchanged a glance with Jiang Si before following Emperor Jingming out of Ci’ning Palace.

Outside Ci’ning Palace, the weather was bitterly cold. Since the winter solstice, snow had been falling constantly this year, seemingly more than usual. Emperor Jingming exhaled, his breath forming white vapor in the air, while a thin mist shrouded the distant scenery.

Yu Jin walked silently beside Emperor Jingming. Such matters couldn’t be discussed outside, not even a single word.

Father and son both quickened their pace.

Pan Hai opened the door to the Imperial Study and helped Emperor Jingming inside. After sitting down and taking a sip of the hot tea Pan Hai served, the Emperor asked Yu Jin, “Tell me what leads you’ve found.”

Pan Hai glanced at Yu Jin before lowering his eyes. How could Prince Yan have led so quickly? The Prince had only reviewed the registry he had compiled, without questioning anyone. If palace leads could be discovered just by sitting in the Prince’s residence, wouldn’t that make him redundant?

Yu Jin, who had been prepared for this, directly stated, “Son deduces that person is in Ci’ning Palace.”

Emperor Jingming’s face darkened instantly as he slammed the table. “How dare you!”

The teacup he had just set down rattled slightly.

Pan Hai was stunned. He had always thought Prince Yan was bold, but never imagined he would be this daring.

“Nonsense! How dare you speak so recklessly about the Empress Dowager?” The Emperor was truly angry now, unlike his earlier demeanor in Ci’ning Palace.

Yu Jin appeared startled by the Emperor’s reaction and stammered, “How could son dare to speak ill of Imperial Grandmother? I merely deduced that the person was hiding in Ci’ning Palace. Son was worried that being so close to Imperial Grandmother, they might harm her… That’s why I hurried to inform Father Emperor… Perhaps the son’s consideration was inappropriate. I should wait until I have concrete evidence before reporting the details to Father Emperor.”

Seeing Yu Jin close his mouth obediently, Emperor Jingming grew anxious.

Seventh Brother’s concerns were valid – if that person truly was in Ci’ning Palace, what if they tried to harm the Empress Dowager?

Setting aside the impropriety toward the Empress Dowager, the Emperor asked, “Who is it?”

Yu Jin glanced at Pan Hai.

“No need to look at Pan Hai, he’s trustworthy,” the Emperor said.

Yu Jin pursed his lips. The Chief Palace Eunuch and Commander of the Eastern Depot was “trustworthy”… Well, the Emperor’s word was law – whatever he said must be right.

“Son certainly trusts Pan Hai. I was able to deduce this person’s identity from complete obscurity thanks to the registry Pan Hai compiled,” Yu Jin tactfully gave Pan Hai credit.

Pan Hai naturally appreciated the gesture, thinking to himself that Prince Yan was indeed good – straightforward like himself.

Yu Jin took out a folded paper from his sleeve, opened it, and presented it to Emperor Jingming. “It should be this person.”

He hadn’t dared to be so certain initially, but when Jiang Si discretely pointed out Palace Matron Duo in Ci’ning Palace, it gave him complete confidence.

He had always said that working backward from results was efficient and foolproof.

Pan Hai glanced at the paper, seeing several names marked out, with one circled in red.

His first reaction wasn’t to read the name, but rather to marvel at Prince Yan’s perfect memory!

After his amazement subsided, he read the name.

“Palace Matron Duo?” Emperor Jingming had no impression of this name and looked toward Pan Hai.

Though he visited Ci’ning Palace frequently, he only noticed two or three of the Empress Dowager’s closest confidants and couldn’t recall a Palace Matron Duo.

Pan Hai, however, knew of her and quickly explained, “She’s allowed into the Empress Dowager’s chambers and sometimes delivers messages throughout the back palace for Her Majesty. However, she’s rather unremarkable, not among the Empress Dowager’s most trusted…”

It wasn’t surprising that the Emperor had no impression of a palace matron who occasionally delivered messages for the Empress Dowager – she was too ordinary.

In fact, not just in the strictly hierarchical back palace, but even in noble households, servants allowed into the mistress’s chambers were considered relatively privileged. In the inner courts, there were strict rules about which servants could enter the masters’ chambers – unauthorized entry was punishable.

Emperor Jingming fixed his intense gaze on Yu Jin. “Why do you think it’s her?”

“Intuition,” Yu Jin replied quickly.

Emperor Jingming frowned reflexively.

Those two words alone couldn’t convince him – only Old Zhen could convince him with “intuition.”

Hmph, not even his son could get away with that.

Noting this unequal treatment, Yu Jin rubbed his nose and continued, “Of course, more importantly, there’s evidence.”

Emperor Jingming sat up straighter at these words.

Why didn’t you lead with the evidence instead of babbling about intuition, you foolish boy?

“Speak.”

“Son recently bought a cosmetics shop for the Princess Consort, located on West Market Street.”

Emperor Jingming’s mouth twitched.

Was he showing off how well he treated his wife?

Knowing Yu Jin wouldn’t speak without reason, he had the patience to listen further. “Continue.”

“When Consort Chen used strange insects to harm Fu Qing since son spent many years in the Southern Borderlands and knows of their prevalent mysterious arts, I deduced that person might have connections to the Wu Miao tribe there.”

“What does this have to do with that cosmetics shop?”

“By coincidence, there’s a small shop on the same street as that cosmetics shop. While the Princess Consort was managing the shop, she happened to learn that it was run by a Wu Miao grandmother and grandchild. So I had people secretly watch it. Just today, my people saw Palace Matron Duo visit that shop…”

Emperor Jingming’s expression changed dramatically.