Chapter 398

Thinking of this, Noble Consort Li broke out in cold sweat and sternly asked the palace maid, “Why didn’t you wake me up when this happened?!”

“Your Grace, it happened too suddenly. I came in to wake you up right after I heard the news, but before I could, Noble Consort Qi brought people to search the palace. Please forgive me, Your Grace.”

“What did you say? Noble Consort Qi came not long after you received the news?”

“Yes. Most of our spies have been eliminated, and the rest are all spies that have not been used and have no way to approach the Masters in the palace. Because of this, we don’t know a lot of information in time, so…”

Thinking of Noble Consort Qi’s actions just now, Noble Consort Li was anxious and jittery. “Hurry and stop Noble Consort Qi! How can she go and search other places before she finishes searching mine? Ask her to come back and investigate thoroughly.”

She was not foolish enough to leave any evidence in her palace, so it would not be a problem for Noble Consort Qi to search casually. However, if Noble Consort Qi did not search carefully, she would be implicated when the Emperor knew about this. In fact, Noble Consort Qi intentionally did not ask her people to search the place thoroughly! She did not want to get involved in this muddy water!

When the palace maid heard the order, she quickly ran out to chase after Noble Consort Qi. Noble Consort Li hurriedly got up and ordered the maids to help her get dressed. Half of her spies had been eradicated overnight, and she had no way to know about the latest and important news, so she did not know what was going on outside. At this time, the only way she could understand her situation was to stay by Baili Qingcang’s side. In that way, she could clear her name, more or less.

When she changed her clothes, the palace maid, who had gone out to chase Noble Consort Qi, ran back. “Your Grace, Noble Consort Qi has already brought her people to report to His Majesty.”

Hearing this, Noble Consort Li suddenly stood up. The palace maid who was combing her hair behind her was caught off guard and pulled her hair. It hurt so much that Noble Consort Li gasped and turned to slap the maid. “Imbecile!”

“Your Grace, please forgive me. Your Grace, please forgive me!” The palace paid knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

Enduring the pain in her scalp, Noble Consort Li sat in front of the mirror and combed her hair bit by bit. Then, she carefully put on all kinds of golden hairpins and accessories on her hair. Although her palms were constantly sweating, she repeatedly warned herself in her heart that she should not panic. If she revealed a trace of panic at this time, she would be at disadvantage.

After carefully dressing up, she and her maids walked to Chunlan Palace, which was where Baili Qingcang was.

Inside Chunlan Palace, Noble Consort Qi served Baili Qingcang a cup of tea. “Your Majesty, please have a sip of tea and calm down.”

Baili Qingcang’s face was especially gloomy. “Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down?! I’ve always thought that the palace harem has been calm and peaceful. Even if there are some problems or jealousy among concubines and consorts, it is not a big deal. But now? Twenty-something palace maids died in one night! Is this my palace or hell?!”

“Your Majesty, please calm down. The harem is, of course, your home. With you overseeing it, no one can stir up any trouble.” Seeing that Baili Qingcang did not take the teacup, Noble Consort Qi carefully placed it on the table and softly comforted him.

“No one can stir up any trouble? How do you explain the death of the two dozens of palace maids then?! So, if someone really stirs up trouble, will that person come after me and kill me too?!” Baili Qingcang became more and more furious. “This is my palace, and I don’t allow anyone to do something so horrendous here! Go and investigate this matter! I want this matter to be investigated even if I have to turn the palace upside down! Have you checked the dead palace maids? Have you found anything?”

Noble Consort Qi’s fingers trembled, and her face was full of hesitation.

Baili Qingcang frowned. “What’s wrong? Did you not find anything?”

Noble Consort Qi paused before saying, “Your Majesty, as you know, I have never cared much about the affairs in the harem, and I have only taken over the palace affairs for a short period of time. I have asked my people to investigate it and found something unusual in the rooms of those dead palace maids.”

“Something unusual? What is it? Just tell me. You must investigate this to the end no matter whom it involves.”

“Yes, I found some precious jewelry and a lot of gold and silver. We couldn’t trace the gold and silver, but the jewelry came from Internal Affairs Department. We’ll definitely be able to find the origin of that jewelry if we ask the Internal Affairs Department to verify them.”

“Okay. Pass it to the Internal Affairs Department. Xiao Qi is currently the head of the department. He is very meticulous and precise. Let him investigate. No, wait. Someone, summon Xiao Qi here. I will ask him personally.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The elegantly dressed Noble Consort Li came to Chunlan Palace. Looking at the gate of the courtyard wall, she felt that her feet were rooted to the ground, and her heart was thumping vigorously. She didn’t want to go in.

The eunuch, who had gone to summon Xiao Qi, saw Noble Consort Li as he got out of the palace and bowed at her, “Greetings, Your Grace.”

Noble Consort Li paused before saying, “Is His Majesty inside? I want to go in. Go and inform my arrival.”

The eunuch quickly bowed, “Your Grace, I’m delivering His Majesty’s oral edict to the Internal Affairs Department. When you go to the door, someone will inform your arrival.”

“Alright. You can go now.” Noble Consort Li strode forward, but she felt so nervous as if there was a huge stone pressing down on her heart, making her feel breathless. This eunuch was going to the Internal Affairs Department to deliver the Emperor’s oral edit, which meant that the Emperor was going to see Xiao Qi.

The maid walked into the hall and reported, “Your Majesty, Noble Consort Li asks for an audience.”

Baili Qingcang frowned. “Let her in.”

“Greetings, Your Majesty, greetings, Your Grace.”

Baili Qingcang waved his hand to gesture for her to get up. “What are you doing here?”

“I was tired yesterday, so I slept in today and hadn’t gotten up when Noble Consort Qi brought her people to search my palace. She was worried about me, so she asked her people to casually look around. Later, I heard that something big had happened last night, and I was concerned about it, so I came here to see Your Majesty.”

“Yes, Noble Consort Qi has already told me that she just asked someone to take a brief look at your palace. Are you not happy about this? Is that why you came here to complain about her?”

Noble Consort Li’s knees went soft, and she directly knelt on the ground. “No, I did not mean that at all! I was worried that Noble Consort Qi did not look carefully and missed something, so I came to make it clear to Your Majesty. I didn’t want to be a hindrance to your investigation.”

“Get up.” Baili Qingcang suppressed the impatience in his eyes. “Noble Consort Qi has always done things carefully. She told me earlier that she went to your palace to take a look just for the sake of the procedure, because she didn’t want the people in the harem to think that you have no status in the palace. She is so considerate, but you don’t appreciate her kindness. ”

Noble Consort Li’s face was pale. Now that Baili Qingcang was annoyed with her, anything she did now would displease him. “Yes, it’s my fault. Your Grace, please forgive me. I’ll definitely apologize to you in person another day.”

Noble Consort Qi looked calm, and there was a faint smile on her face. “Sister, you don’t have to do that. It is just a misunderstanding.”

Xiao Qi rushed over and knelt at the door, waiting for Baili Qingcang to summon him in. After Xiao Qi bowed, Baili Qingcang directly asked without asking him to stand, “Do you know about all the jewelry that the Internal Affairs Department sent to the various palaces?”

“Your Majesty, yes, I have recorded all of them in the book. What do you want to know? I can look it up.”

“Very good. Noble Consort Qi, show him the things.”

“Yes.” Noble Consort Qi had someone bring a tray up. There were many hairpins, makeup ornaments, hair accessories, and several pairs of excellent-quality jade bracelets. “Xiao Qi, I want you to find out which palace you sent these items to.”

Seeing the things on the tray, Noble Consort Li gasped secretly and felt a chill down her spine. There were many things on the tray that were from her palace!

Xiao Qi took the tray over and looked at the jewelry carefully. He divided the jewelry into several bunches. “Your Majesty, Your Grace, on this side, the magnolia hairpin, jade hairpin, pearl hairpin, and various makeup ornaments were delivered to Noble Consort Li’s Changqiu Palace. On this side, the magpie hair ornament and red hairpin were delivered to Consort Lan’s palace. This dragonfly hairpin was delivered to Consort Jing’s palace. As for the rest, I can’t remember, so I need to go back and check the record.”

Baili Qingcang looked at the pile that had the most jewelry. “You said that those were sent to Noble Consort Li’s palace?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The material of this jewelry is extremely exquisite. Because they were delivered to the two Noble Consorts’ palaces, I checked them personally over and over again, for fear that I overlooked something, so I remember them very clearly.”

The corners of Baili Qingcang’s eyes twitched. After he took the register Noble Consort Qi had sent over and carefully examined it, he slammed it on the table with a bang. The teacup on the table was shaken and made a sound. “Madam Lin!”

Noble Consort Li wanted to stay calm, but when she heard his roar, her legs went jelly, and she knelt down involuntarily. “Your Majesty, I’m innocent. I don’t know anything about these things at all. What exactly is going on? I don’t know anything.”

Xiao Qi replied, “Your Majesty, these things were all jointly escorted by several eunuchs and delivered to the various palaces. The Masters would have to stamp their seals upon receiving the items. All of these are clearly stated in my booklet, You can find the origin of each and every item in my record.”

Noble Consort Li’s face turned pale. “Xiao Qi, what have I ever done to offend you? Why do you have to accuse me like that?!”

“Your Grace, I am just stating the facts. His Majesty asked about the origin of the hairpins, and I answered his question truthfully. I’m working for His Majesty, so I must take my responsibility seriously and do my job. Did I do something wrong?”

“You…” Noble Consort Li trembled all over, and her voice was shaking.

“Shut up!” Baili Qingcang felt the rage surging inside him. “You can’t deny the fact that these things were from your palace. Tell me the truth, and I will spare your life for the sake of the relationship we have had for years.”

“Your Majesty… I… I don’t know. I really don’t know.” Noble Consort Li gritted her teeth. She couldn’t admit it. If she admitted it, how could she explain to the Emperor how these things were found elsewhere? Could she say that she rewarded them to the palace maids? No way! Why would she give her things to the palace maids from other palaces?!

“I see that you’re still denying it. Fine, I’ll investigate this thoroughly. Let’s see what you have to say then!”

Noble Consort Li’s eyes trembled, and a layer of cold sweat covered her forehead. “Your Majesty, these things…”

Baili Qingcang understood what was going on from her sheepish look. He waved his hand, gesturing for Xiao Qi, the eunuchs, and the palace maids to retreat, leaving only Noble Consort Qi beside him. “Madam Lin, you are the Third and Fourth Princes’ mother. Even if I want to kill you so badly, I need to be concerned about the princes’ feelings. Tell me honestly, what is going on with these things!”

“Your Majesty…”

Baili Qingcang gritted his teeth and snapped, “Listen to me carefully. This is your last chance to confess, and don’t test my patience. If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll…”