Long Xuanmo's expression was cold and icy, with a heavy killing intent and gloom lurking in his eyes and brows.

"After returning to the palace, I reported the situation to the Emperor, and he immediately decreed to secretly take control of Consort Li, all her Palace Attendants in her sleeping quarters, and the family of Consort Li and that eunuch Quan Lin;"

According to the confession of Consort Li and Quan Lin, the two were childhood sweethearts. However, Consort Li's father, in pursuit of glory and wealth, forced her into the palace. Quan Lin, worried about Consort Li, was willing to become a eunuch to protect her. By a stroke of misfortune, he avoided castration and bribed a Steward eunuch to stay by Consort Li's side;

On the night of the incident, Consort Li's personal Palace Maid Si Qing lured the two to the Imperial Garden under the pretense of exposing their affair. When they realized something was amiss, they had already been drugged with an Aphrodisiac and lost control, resulting in indecent acts;

After the effects of the drug wore off, they realized they had been set up. What panicked them even more was that Yingtong had accidentally stumbled upon their affair. Quan Lin wanted to kill Yingtong, but Consort Li couldn't bear it and stopped him in time. Quan Lin then knocked Yingtong unconscious, and they hurriedly erased all traces before stealthily returning to their sleeping quarters;

The next day, upon hearing that Yingtong had fainted in the Cold Palace and woke up without speaking again, they felt lucky yet puzzled, and chose to remain silent;

For years, Consort Li had been restless in her sleep and eating. Seeing the Emperor and me, she confessed without being tortured, and even mentioned that on the night of the incident, she inadvertently saw Sister Yu from Concubine Yao's side in the Imperial Garden. The Emperor immediately ordered the guards to bring Concubine Yao and Sister Yu for interrogation;

Sister Yu, seeing the guards, realized her plot had been exposed and bit into the poison she had hidden in her mouth, committing suicide out of fear of her crimes;

While Concubine Yao confessed without denial;

Consort Li and Concubine Yao came from similar family backgrounds and entered the palace at the same time. Within a few years, Consort Li was promoted to Consort, while she remained only a third-ranked Concubine, feeling naturally envious and discontented. She schemed by all means to eliminate Consort Li but never managed to do so;

A month before the incident, Concubine Yao received a note stating that Consort Li's personal eunuch Quan Lin was a false eunuch, who also had an illicit relationship with Consort Li. After secret investigation confirmed the news, Concubine Yao was overjoyed;

Originally, Concubine Yao wanted to denounce Consort Li to the Empress Dowager, but Sister Yu advised against it and offered a malicious plan instead;

That was to use a chess piece they had placed in Consort Li's sleeping quarters, Si Qing, to lure Consort Li and Quan Lin to the Imperial Garden at night, then drug them while they were there, and order Sister Zhang, who served Yingtong, to lead her there too. Yingtong, being the beloved three-year-old of the Emperor and Empress Dowager, would not be doubted by anyone;

Concubine Yao thought she would kill three birds with one stone: firstly, the opportunity to get rid of Consort Li, secondly, to be unassociated with the deed, and thirdly, if Consort Li and Quan Lin, out of fear of their affair being exposed, killed Yingtong, it would deeply wound the Empress Dowager;

Unfortunately, things did not go as she had hoped, and Concubine Yao was greatly dismayed and dared not act rashly again. After all, the Emperor immediately ordered the execution of all the Palace Maids in Yingtong's sleeping quarters, including Sister Zhang, and when I returned to the palace to investigate, even pushed Wen Fu forward as a scapegoat;

Concubine Yao repeatedly defended herself, claiming she had only arranged for Yingtong to catch Consort Li and Quan Lin in the act, not to throw her into the Cold Palace, and disclosed that the original rumors were covertly spread by Sister Yu, having nothing to do with her;

The day after the incident, Consort Li found an excuse to kill Si Qing, and Sister Yu and Sister Zhang also perished one after the other. The clues were cut off there, but the Emperor and I both suspected that it was very likely the work of the Dregs of the Previous Dynasty;

The Emperor took the opportunity to purge the harem extensively and also ousted many Imperial Court Officials, indeed uncovering some remnants of the Previous Dynasty. The secret investigation continues."

Dregs of the Previous Dynasty?

Yang Mengchen had read of it in the history books—the last Emperor of the previous dynasty had been dissipated and debauched, and the dynasty itself had been extinguished for over three hundred years. Yet there were still those who delusionally sought to restore it. Indeed, wealth and power blind people and corrupt their hearts!

Watching Yang Mengchen first furrow her brow and then wear a face of cold sarcasm, Long Xuanmo asked softly, "What is Ah Jiu thinking about?"

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