Consort Ya swept a glance over Noble Lady Xin and said coolly, “Noble Lady Xin, don’t think that because of this, I’ll let the matter go!”

“Today, it’s only because of the Empress’s sake that I’m letting you off. Hmph!”

“Sister Ya.” Noble Lady Xin’s face crumpled with distress. “Little sister truly didn’t do it. Please don’t be so quick to fall for someone else’s scheme.”

Just then, a young palace maid ran in from outside and knelt at the entrance to the hall.

“Empress, Noble Consort, Noble Lady Xin — Miss Murong requests an audience!”

Noble Lady Xin raised her eyes to the Empress. “Empress, that is this consort’s younger sister, Murong Wanping.”

“It’s Wan’er. Let her in.” The Empress turned and waved a hand.

“All of you, rise. Don’t make a spectacle of yourselves in front of others!”

“Yes.” Consort Ya, Noble Lady Xin, Feng Jiu’er, the maids, and the old matron all bowed and rose to their feet.

“Please, Empress, take the seat of honor!” Noble Lady Xin stepped back and gestured with her hand.

Supported by two palace maids, the Empress ascended to the main seat and sat down.

“All of you, be seated.”

“Yes.” Consort Ya and Noble Lady Xin nodded and took their seats, one to the left and one to the right.

Feng Jiu’er retreated behind Consort Ya and stood there.

Soon, the old matron led in a young woman of striking beauty.

The woman looked up at the person in the main seat and knelt. “This one greets the Empress. May the Empress be blessed with good fortune!”

“Rise!” the Empress said, waving her hand.

“Yes!” The woman stood, then turned and bowed to Consort Ya. “This one greets Consort Ya!”

“Hmph!” Consort Ya let out a cold snort.

The Empress beckoned her over. “Wan’er, come closer so I can have a proper look at you.”

“Yes!” Murong Wanping nodded and walked slowly toward the Empress.

She came to the Empress’s side, knelt, and lifted her head.

The Empress touched her face, studying her features carefully.

“Not bad! Ha, indeed not bad. Once Jin’er returns, I’ll have the two of you meet.”

“Our Jin’er is always so preoccupied with matters of state that he neglects his own marriage. I’ve decided to take this into my own hands and arrange something for him.”

The moment the Empress mentioned Feng Jin, Consort Ya grew visibly uneasy, and Feng Jiu’er, standing behind her, clearly felt a surge of killing intent.

So it was true — the relationship between Consort Ya and Feng Jin was no ordinary one.

Not only that, Feng Jiu’er also caught the provocative look in Noble Lady Xin’s eyes. It seemed this Noble Lady Xin knew something too.

“Thank you, Empress!” Murong Wanping bowed.

“Rise.” The Empress waved a hand.

What followed was idle chatter among the women of the harem, none of which interested Feng Jiu’er.

As for the Night Prince’s grand wedding, the Empress mentioned it only once and did not bring it up again.

Feng Jiu’er listened to the harem women’s chatter for a good while before finally following Consort Ya back.

Another day passed, and still there was no discovery.

Before the evening meal, after Feng Jiu’er finished giving Consort Ya her treatment, she took her people and left the palace.

Having been inside the palace for so many days, they were almost entirely cut off from the outside world — they needed to go out and see how things stood.

The wellness pavilion was doing brisk business, just as before.

But Feng Jiu’er had little interest in making money these days.

Was her father truly inside the palace, or not?

The moment Feng Jiu’er stepped into the pavilion, Xing Zizhou strode quickly toward the place where she worked.

“Jiu’er.” He placed a letter in front of her. “This came from the Yue Family Hall.”

Feng Jiu’er took the letter, tore it open, and pulled out the paper inside.

She read through it once, then held it to the candlelight and burned it to ash.

“Well?” Xing Zizhou asked in a low voice.

“The letter only mentions the First Prince marching his troops back to court. Nothing else.” Feng Jiu’er stood up.

“That matter — Third Imperial Brother also mentioned it in his letter.” Xing Zizhou handed her another letter.

Feng Jiu’er opened it, glanced through it, and burned it once more.

“If that’s the case, then Father is very likely truly in Feng Qiongcang’s hands.”

“These past few days, have you found anything inside the palace?” Xing Zizhou asked.

Feng Jiu’er composed herself and shook her head. “No news at all. The guard around Feng Luan Hall is extremely tight — we still haven’t found a way to get close.”

“Little Feng.” A knock sounded at the door, and Qiao Mu’s voice came from outside.

Qiao Mu knocked, then pushed the door open and led someone in.

The tall man removed his veiled hat, revealing a dark, pockmarked face.

“Doctor, I need my face looked at.”

Feng Jiu’er glanced at the man, then raised her eyes to look at Qiao Mu.

Qiao Mu turned to shut the door, then nodded at Feng Jiu’er.

Feng Jiu’er went over, bent down, reached her hand beneath the cabinet, and turned a switch.

Not far away, a section of the floor slowly opened.

The four of them filed into the underground room one after another, and once the floor closed again, the room above stood empty.

“Third Brother, can we be certain the person in the palace is really Father?” In the underground chamber, Feng Jiu’er clung to Feng Jiang’s arm.

The matter affected everything else — she truly dared not act rashly.

Otherwise, Feng Jiu’er would already have stormed into Feng Luan Hall in the dead of night.

Feng Jiang ruffled her hair and sat down in the chair beside them.

“Eunuch Hai had someone bring me a letter.” Feng Jiang, his face covered in pockmarks, drew a letter from his sleeve.

Feng Jiu’er took it and tore it open at once.

In the letter, Eunuch Hai said that he himself, at the Sutra Pavilion of Feng Luan Hall, had seen Feng Li with his own eyes.

But though the fact itself was simple, Eunuch Hai’s description of it was anything but — he had used an entire page to write it out.

Feng Jiu’er handed the letter to Qiao Mu and looked at Feng Jiang. “What do you think?”

“Eunuch Hai has been coerced.” Feng Jiang let out a sigh. “I’m afraid, right now…”

He looked up at Qiao Mu and reached out to take her hand.

Qiao Mu came back to herself and set the letter down on the table.

Feng Jiang picked up the brush beside him and traced out a few characters on the letter.

“Don’t come. Danger.” Qiao Mu looked at the letter, her brow furrowing.

Feng Jiang wrote again on the letter, this time circling three characters at an angle.

“Jianglai Residence?” Qiao Mu read out the three characters above.

“Mm.” Feng Jiang nodded. “That’s my residence. If I’m reading this right, Eunuch Hai is telling me that Fourth Imperial Uncle is right there in my quarters.”

“But he’s telling me not to go back — there’s danger!”

“I’ve never been to Jianglai Residence.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head.

“Jinlai Residence, Yanlai Residence, and Jianglai Residence all fall under the jurisdiction of Feng Luan Hall.” Feng Jiang stood and drew a cloth map from his waist.

He unrolled the cloth painting and looked back at everyone.

Feng Jiu’er, Qiao Mu, and Xing Zizhou all leaned in.

“If it’s Jianglai Residence, I have a secret passage that leads in.” Feng Jiang pointed at the cloth map.

“Back then, I thought that if there were ever any upheaval in the palace, this could protect Father’s safety. I never imagined it would come to this.”

“An underground passage?” Feng Jiu’er looked at the red line drawn across it. “Is this a tunnel you dug yourself?”

“Mm.” Feng Jiang nodded. “It goes in from the woods northwest of the residence and leads straight to the western wing’s imperial kitchen.”

“From the cellar of the western wing’s imperial kitchen, it’s about a quarter hour’s walk to Cining Palace. Behind Cining Palace, in the back courtyard, there’s a dry well that leads directly to my bedchamber at Jianglai Residence.”

“Choosing Cining Palace back then wasn’t a mistake — to this day, no one lives there.”