Chapter 256.

Chapter 256.

At this instant, Xu Qi’an could hardly hide the expression of dismay and surprise on his face.

The results detected by the Qi Looking Technique made his heart abruptly alert, and various thoughts collided with each other, sparks flying everywhere.

He quickly thought of two possibilities: one, Luang’er actually didn’t love mung bean cake, and the reason why she acted like she loved it was because she wanted to please Noble Consort Chen.

Two, she was lying, and the fact that the lookout technique wasn’t screened meant that she had a spell on her that shielded the lookout technique.

The first possibility is, for the moment, impossible to judge.

The second possibility was what made Xu Qi’an’s scalp tingle and his adrenaline run wild.

How could the palace maid of Jingxiu Palace have a magic weapon that shielded the lookout technique?

What was she doing wearing a spell that shielded her lookout technique?

Unless, of course, she needed to use such a spell to hide from the world these days. Unless she knew she was going to be subjected to cross-examination in the near future.

What has she done in the last few days?

She’s been to the Royal Apothecary!

As for the question of whether or not the person standing in front of him was an “outsider” in disguise, Xu Qi’an felt that it was unlikely. Xu Qi’an felt that it was unlikely, and that a human skin mask would not be able to conceal his observation.

If it is a high level powerhouse’s “transformation” technique, it is even more impossible. This is the Imperial Palace, high level powerhouses can’t sneak in at all.

“Lord Xu?”

Lang Er frowned, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized Xu Qi’an, who had lost his expression management.

“You can’t jump to conclusions, maybe she just doesn’t like mung bean cakes and unintentionally spoke from her heart.”

With that in mind, Xu Qi’an didn’t panic to stabilize her emotions, but kept her face somewhat ‘bad’ and stared at Luang’er, saying in a slightly indignant tone:

“Although Miss Luang’er is a person child beside Noble Consort Chen, but her temper is too big, this official has shed blood for the imperial court, and has made great achievements, Miss Luang’er’s attitude is so light-hearted, is it an opinion on this official?”

Lang’er glanced at him and faintly said, “Lord Xu is overthinking it, the slave girl is not being frivolous and has no opinion of your lordship.”

After a pause, she saluted, “The slave girl is still in a hurry to go back to serve Your Highness.”

With that, he crossed the threshold and left.

Looking at the palace maid’s back as she left, Xu Qi’an’s heart sank to the bottom.

Just now, in the feedback from the Qi Looking Technique, Luang’er still didn’t lie.

The last line of questioning, that is, Xu Qi’an was covering up his loss of temper and digging a hole for Lang’er to jump into.

First of all, Lang’er was very impatient with this inquiry, and she viewed him with dislike, wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible, which Xu Qi’an could confirm.

Normal people, when confronted with a question like “Do you hate me?”, will subconsciously lie out of politeness and not admit it, which constitutes a lie.

However, in the feedback given by the Qi Looking Technique, Luang’er’s emotions were unusually stable and no lies were detected.

From this, it can almost be confirmed that this palace maid has a magic weapon to shield the lookout technique on her body, and it also sideways verifies that she is weak-minded, and deliberately uses this kind of means to open up to circumvent the torture.

By this point, a nuanced truth is revealed.

The person behind the curtain is her!

Princess Chen?

At this moment, countless details and clues surfaced in Xu Qi’an’s mind, the pheromones like a boiling lake.

I hadn’t thought of that. Get out of here and report my findings to Lord Wei and Huaiqing. Xu Qi’an doesn’t want to stay in Jingxiu Palace for a moment.

It felt like entering some deserted mountain hotel in the dead of night in the dark, only to realize it was a haunted house. The receptionist was an evil ghost with eyes hanging out of his face, full of rotting flesh and maggots crawling all over the place.

The plates of food on the table are maggots, shit, rotting meat, heads

Xu Qi’an, on the other hand, was the living person who had inadvertently peeked into the secrets of the haunted house, his scalp tingling with the thought of pretending that he didn’t know anything, and then hurrying to leave before the evil spirits reacted.

“I’m done asking, little eunuch, let’s go back.”

Xu Qi’an took a deep breath and offered to leave in a dignified manner.

“Yes!”

The little eunuch did not doubt it and answered rather easily, following Xu Qi’an as he crossed the threshold of the side hall.

And so on!

Xu Qi’an’s pace suddenly froze, if Noble Consort Chen was the person behind the curtain, then what happened to the Empress was the price Noble Consort Chen was about to pay: stripped of her position and sent to the Cold Palace.

Whether the Crown Prince will be deposed or not, it’s hard to say. Xu Qi’an doesn’t care what happens to the Crown Prince. What he cares about is what happens to Lin’an.

She was happy today because the case was about to be solved and it was only a matter of time before the Prince was acquitted.

But next thing you know, I could be personally pushing her mother consort into the abyss of all depths.

She should hate me when she finds out about this.

Compared to Huaiqing, a girl like Lin’an’s mental capacity is even worse, and it’s possible that her mother consort will be sent to the Cold Palace, or even given white silk and hemlock.

Not to talk about the emperor’s favor, just from the position, the noble consort and the empress is far from it.

The Empress was the Emperor’s proper wife, and perhaps the death of a consort would not be bestowed upon her, but what about the Noble Consort, was the Noble Consort treated in such a manner?

“Lord Xu, Lord Xu?”

The little eunuch couldn’t help but shout a few times when he saw Xu Qi’an staring blankly at his spot.

Xu Qi’an drifted back to his senses, still not having come up with a way to get the best of both worlds, at the same time, some confusion flashed through his heart, and after learning that the person behind the scenes was Noble Consort Chen, he still hadn’t unraveled all of his questions.

Let’s go back first. I won’t talk to Wei Yuan about this. For Lin’an, I’ll think about it again.

When they reached the courtyard’s entrance, the eunuch guarding the gate resentfully glanced at Xu Qi’an.

However, when Xu Qi’an approached, he immediately collected his emotions again and was honest and respectful.

“By the way, you took my silver and went inside, did you help pass the message.” Xu Qi’an stopped in front of the eunuch guarding the door.

“Of course!”

The eunuch guarding the door helplessly said, “I have passed the message, but Sister Luang’er said she didn’t see it, and the lackey was greedy and unwilling to return the silver ticket, and it’s not good to explain it to you, my lord, so…”

So she was prepared . Xu Qi An nodded and was about to leave when Luang Er’s shouts suddenly came from behind her.

“Take care, Lord Xu!”

“Luang-er girl.”

Xu Qi’an’s spine muscles quietly tightened, but on the surface, he turned around as if nothing had happened, “What is it?”

The pretty-looking grand courtesan paused, her smile faint, “Your Highness would like to thank Lord Xu for solving the case of Concubine Fu and allowing His Highness the Crown Prince to recover from his wrongdoings, so I would like to ask you to go over and thank you in person.”

Xu Qi’an’s newly loosened muscles were once again tense. Perhaps it was because of the “thief’s heart”, a bit of scalp numbness.

“This official still has important matters to attend to, it is inconvenient to linger, the case of Concubine Fu is an act of imperial decree, her duty, Your Highness does not need to be thankful.” He did not want to see Noble Consort Chen right now.

“Lord Xu is so polite.”

Lang’er covered her mouth and laughed lightly, saying as if in jest, “The empress said that if Lord Xu does not go to see her, she will not allow Lord Xu to step out of Jingxiu Palace.”

Fuckin’ mudblood!

Xu Qi’an’s heart sank in vain, quietly dispersing his Yuan Shen, sensing his surroundings, confirming that there was no feedback from the “danger signals”, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

I didn’t tell anyone about my discovery just now, including Luang’er, she didn’t notice anything, Chen Guifei can’t possibly know that I’ve already broken through her trick, she should simply want to thank me and make a show of it, taking a step back, this is the palace, there are guards from the inner sanctum, Lin’an is inside, as well as the eyes of this Yuan Jing Emperor who sent me to supervise me, it’s not possible for Chen Guifei to dare to do anything to me here!

Besides, my cultivation of two Li Yuchuns in one slash is not vegetarian.

“Good, please trouble Miss Luang’er to lead the way.”

Xu Qi’an turned his head again and said to the little eunuch, “You follow as well.”

The two of them followed behind the lotus-colored palace dress of Luang’er, walked through the corridors of the front yard, and entered the back yard.

The main house of Jingxiu Palace is an exquisitely constructed two-story attic, with layers of black tiles, flying eaves and corners, and twelve gabled beasts squatting on the four-sided roof ridge.

On the second floor, there is a lookout for observation, which is suitable for drinking and enjoying the view in the spring season, or the high autumn season.

Coming to the inner courtyard, the little eunuch coughed hard to give a reminder.

Xu Qi’an understood and stopped in the courtyard.

Lang’er’s footsteps did not stop as she entered the inner room alone, and then Xu Qi’an caught her thin voice: “Your Highness, Lord Xu is here.”

Noble Consort Chen let out a “hmm” and softly said, “I have some things to say to Lord Xu, so all of you should stand down and go to the outer courtyard.”

Then there was Prosper’s voice, saying in a petulant voice, “Huh? Prosper wants to go too? I’m not leaving I’m not leaving.”

“Advent obeyed.”

“. Hm.”

What does Noble Consort Chen mean by this ah, why did she have to screen out the others, what is there to say that people can’t sit in the sunlight and say? Xu Qi’an frowned.

Immediately afterward, Lin An and the two large palace maids in the house crossed the threshold, and as they brushed past Xu Qi An, the framed secretly spat out the tip of her tongue and whispered:

“Remember to report back to the palace later.”

The little eunuch was in a dilemma, not knowing where to go from here, when he heard Luang’er say, “The Empress has said that the rest of the people will retire, don’t you have ears.”

“Hey.” The little eunuch nodded in response and turned to follow.

“Wait,” Xu Qi’an called out to him, reprimanding, “His Majesty has sent you to supervise me, so you must have the self-consciousness of a “minister of honor” and straighten your back.”

Immediately, he exclaimed, “After all, this official is a foreign minister, and it is inconvenient to meet with Your Highness in private; this young eunuch is responsible for overseeing this official by His Majesty’s decree.”

His words were ostensibly addressed to Luang’er, but were actually addressed to Noble Consort Chen inside.    After a few seconds of silence, Noble Consort Chen’s voice came from inside the room, “Then wait outside.”

“Stand away,” Xu Qi’an waved his hand.

The little eunuch obediently retreated into the distance.

Standing in the middle of the courtyard, Xu Qi’an pretended to straighten her appearance, but actually took advantage of this brief moment to weigh the pros and cons and guess what would happen next.

“If it’s just to thank me, there’s no need to screen out the crowd; in other words, what Noble Consort Chen said to me cannot be heard by outsiders.

“I asked the young eunuch to stand farther away as a compromise with Noble Consort Chen; the advantage of standing far away is that one cannot hear the conversation between Noble Consort and I, yet one can clearly see our every move inside the house.

“This puts an end to Noble Consort Chen’s calculations of pretending that the eagle eats the chicks and actually falsely accusing me of bullying the consort Although this operation is a bit shoddy, I can’t help but defend against it.”

With his thoughts over, he entered the house and met Noble Consort Chen, who was seated on a soft cushion and in gorgeous palace attire.

This was the second time Xu Qi’an had seen Noble Consort Chen, the last time was the Ancestor Sacrifice Ceremony at the end of last year, when he collapsed the Yongzhen Mountain and River Temple with a roar of his voice, and then pretended to show his loyalty to the Emperor’s women who had seen them up close and personal.

Chen Guifei and Lin An are the same face shape, standard goose egg face, eyebrows, lips and nose are all very standard.

In terms of face value alone, Noble Consort Chen is slightly inferior to the Empress, but she has a dignified and gentle temperament and is more affable than the Empress.

However, the garishly embroidered dress and the elaborate and expensive jewelry on her head spoiled her approachability.

Of all the women Xu Qi’an had ever met, only Lin’an could manage extravagant jewelry and clothing, and the more flamboyant she was, the stronger her charm became.

It was as if many girls, who were pretty when they weren’t dressed up, looked tacky once they were heavily made up. Lin An, on the other hand, is the kind of woman who looks better the more colorful she dresses up.

This is unlike mother and daughter.

“His Majesty proposed the abolition of the queen in the courtroom this morning, and Lord Xu must have heard about it.”

Noble Consort Chen’s voice was less of a young girl’s crispness and more of a mature woman’s gentleness, which was like a spring breeze.

“I am known to my humble servant.” Xu Qi’an nodded his head succinctly.

“Then what is Lord Xu’s purpose in coming to my Jingxiu Palace?”

“There are still some doubts in this case.”

Noble Consort Chen gave an “oh” sound, smiling but not laughing: “What are the doubts?”

“This humble servant is ignorant and has no clue for the moment.”

The room was briefly quiet, Chen Guifei stared at Xu Qi’an for a long time, the smile on her face a little convergence, not long, has been like a cover of frost, word by word:

“You lie!”

These three words were like a heavy hammer hitting Xu Qi’an’s heart, and like thunder exploding in his ears.

How did she know I was lying. A harsh light shot out of his eyes uncontrollably, and his breath caught in his throat, but then he gathered all his emotions in the next moment and said blankly:

“What does the Queen mean by that?”

“If you can look at others with a lookout, others can look at you with a lookout.”

Noble Consort Chen picked up her teacup, took a sip unhurriedly, and sighed, “This palace invited you over just to test the waters, but the lies you just told made it impossible for this palace to get lucky again. Lord Xu’s mind is sharp, the world’s most subtle cases are all tricks to you.”

Princess Chen is a warlock? That can’t be right.

Why did she confess to me? Isn’t she afraid I’ll tell Emperor Yuan Jing.

What was the purpose of her inviting me here?

All the thoughts flashed by and turned into a sigh, “My Lady, why bother. I can pretend I don’t know.”

Then turn around and find Wei Gong and Huaiqing to deal with you Xu Qi An added in his heart.

By this point, the two were equivalent to being honest.

Noble Consort Chen’s candor surprised Xu Qi’an, and he knew that this was never a good thing.

“When did you find out, just now?” Noble Consort Chen took another sip of tea, calm as if she was making small talk.

“Yes, I can see that Luang Er has made a disguise.”

“But there were suspicions before, right, tell me about it.” Noble Consort Chen smiled.

Xu Qi’an mused, “As I review the events of Consort Fu’s case, I do have a lot of doubts, how could Your Highness place the Hundred Days Spring sent by the Empress on the table for no reason at all, this is the Harem after all, and when you poured the Crown Prince into a slight drunken stupor with nourishing and aphrodisiacal wines, weren’t you afraid that he would do something wrong? This is not in line with your careful style.”

On that day, Huaiqing spoke to him about the Empress’s experience of being sent to the Cold Palace, mentioning the importance that Noble Consort Chen placed on the position of the Crown Prince, as well as her narrow-minded and cautious style. Xu Qi’an had this doubt.

He continued, “Although the Empress can bribe Huang Xiaorou to set up a trap for the Crown Prince, how can she guarantee that the Crown Prince will definitely go to the Qingfeng Palace? You are the Crown Prince’s birth mother, and you know your son as well as his mother, and you know that he has thoughts about Concubine Fu, so you sent Huang Xiaorou to wait for him halfway. When you think about it, it makes more sense.

“After that, from the discovery of Huang Xiaorou’s body to the clues I found pointing to the Empress, the traces of human impetus are too obvious. But if Huang Xiaorou disappeared, it would not fulfill your purpose of framing the Empress.

“Of course, at that moment I hadn’t reacted and still felt that the Empress was the most suspicious. What I couldn’t figure out was why you sent someone to tear up the imperial pharmacy’s income and expenditure pamphlets, which should have been the most favorable evidence to identify the empress. Instead of being superfluous, you also exposed yourself.”

Noble Consort Chen shook her head, ”It is not superfluous, that was originally the evidence I deliberately left behind, if the organizer of the investigation was not you, it would have been one of the most useful pieces of evidence to attack the Empress.

“But your resurrection from the dead was completely unexpected by this palace, and if Huang Xiaorou’s body and the imperial pharmacy’s pamphlet were found at the same time, the traces of guidance would have been too heavy. I was afraid that you would see something and report directly to His Majesty, so I sent someone to tear up the booklet.

“So you were skeptical at the time, but didn’t bite the bullet and say that the Empress was the one who was wrongly accused. Heh, if His Majesty knew this in advance, the effect of this palace’s cry yesterday would have been greatly reduced.”

“Then, learning about the progress of the case from Lin An, I’ll put pressure on His Majesty while sending someone to assassinate you. As long as you die and the Empress confesses to the crime, it will all be seamless.”

Xu Qi’an slowly nodded his head, this morning he still felt that the Empress was the biggest suspect in his assassination, and in his heart he was fuming to divorce Huaiqing. Knowing that Wei Yuan told him that the Empress had confessed to the crime, only then did he feel that there was something else going on in this case.

It turns out that the person who wants to put me to death is Noble Consort Chen. Well, there’s no need to say anything, I’m divorcing Lin An.

“My humble servant has two more questions, I wonder if the Queen can answer them?”

“Speak up.” Noble Consort Chen faintly said.

“The Crown Prince is already a Crown Prince, so why is the Queen still doing this?”

Noble Consort Chen laughed, a complicated laugh, as if she was mocking Xu Qi’an, but also as if she was laughing at herself:

“The Crown Prince is after all the Crown Prince, and as long as he doesn’t ascend the throne, there is the possibility of a change of master. The Empress will always be the Empress, and the Fourth Prince will always be the first son. What if I tell you that His Majesty originally favored the Fourth Prince? If His Majesty hadn’t known back then that the Empress didn’t love him at all, the Fourth Prince would already be the Crown Prince.”

Xu Qi’an keenly noticed that when Noble Consort Chen said these words, there was both pain and resentment in her eyes.

“But even so, after many years, the position of the Crown Prince has remained unchanged, isn’t Your Highness being too wishy-washy.”

“What do you know about the affairs of the court.”

Noble Consort Chen sneered, ”With Wei Yuan around, the fourth prince will always have a better chance of winning than my son. Wei Yuan is always thinking of taking sole charge of the court and sweeping away the disease, and if he wants to fulfill his ambitions, he will definitely push the Fourth Prince to the throne.

“I can’t fight Wei Yuan as a woman, so I can only make efforts from the Empress. The Empress is the head of the harem, the mother of the world, the highest honor for a woman. This palace is also a woman, and is also keen on the Empress’ position.”

Regarding Wei Yuan’s ambition, Xu Qi’an had some understanding and knew that Noble Consort Chen was telling the truth.

“One last question, who is the person behind the Empress?” Xu Qi’an asked.

Noble Consort Chen was obviously stunned for a moment, she was silent for a long time, shaking her head and losing her smile: ”This Palace is appreciating you more and more, it seems that Lin’an has unintentionally dug up a piece of treasure.

“How are you sure there is someone else behind this palace.”

Xu Qi’an’s gaze lowered, looking at his toes as he pondered, ”If Your Highness had already known what Guoyu had done, then why did she hold back for so long and not make a move until this moment.

“If Your Highness only recently learned of the matter between State Uncle and Huang Xiaorou, then who told Your Highness about it, it certainly wouldn’t be Huang Xiaorou. She was able to hold back for so many years, for no reason at all, and would not suddenly change her insistence on taking the initiative to reveal it to you. There must be a bridge-builder among them.

“In addition, Your Highness knows that Peerage lied, the Szetian Supervisor’s lookout technique is not something that ordinary people can perform. Your humble servant just guessed another possibility.”

Xu Qi’an raised her head and gazed at Noble Consort Chen’s pretty face, “Your target is the Empress, while the person or force behind you targets Duke Wei.”

Noble Consort Chen’s face lost its smile, narrowed her eyes, scrutinized Xu Qi’an for a long time, and suddenly said, “What does Lord Xu think, how is Lin’an?”

Very Ness. Xu Qi’an’s heart fluttered, and he didn’t answer.

“The Crown Prince said with me that Lin’an had reached the age of leaving the palace, and I silently kept a watchful eye, and then realized that since she had met you, whenever she came to Jingxiu Palace, the person whose mouth chanted the most was you.”

Noble Consort Chen followed her advice: ”This palace has also experienced the age of a young girl who is pregnant. I heard that Lord Xu will be knighted in a few days, and although a viscount is not a big thing, it means that you have stepped into the aristocratic class.

“This palace can give you a promise that within three years, it will let you further your knighthood, and at that time, it will marry Lin An down to you.”

Nakedly pulling the strings, which is why Chen Guifei was honest with him.

Xu Qi’an was a little hesitant.

Noble Concubine Chen pursued her attack, “Even though you know the secret, it is impossible to identify this palace, Luang’er has not been in good health recently, he had a sudden illness, and the eunuchs did not save him. What does Lord Xu think of this result?”

How could the naive and lovely Lin An have a mother like you, drawing big cakes and trying to fool me . Xu Qi’an mused, “Three years is too long, who knows if Your Highness is trying to fool me.”

Noble Consort Chen frowned, “Two years at the earliest, the matter of being knighted is not trivial. You should be clear about this.”

“That is not what my humble servant meant.”

Xu Qi’an waved his hand, revealing a coy smile, “What I’m trying to say is that it takes three years to get married, but can we consummate the marriage first?”

PS: Would you guys believe me when I say I took the entrance exam?

Okay, you guys don’t do anything. I’ll slap myself, slap slap slap.