Even Eunuch Xia couldn’t help but gasp inwardly.
Heavens above!
This was a dagger stabbed right into Emperor Yongchang’s heart!
Who didn’t know that the Emperor was a devout follower of Daoism, dreaming day and night of becoming immortal, of attaining eternal life?
That was precisely why he trusted Li Changqing so much.
Because the pills Li Changqing offered did seem effective, after taking them, the Emperor often felt invigorated and free from fatigue.
But later, when Jiang Yanzhen came forward and confessed, everyone realized—
There had never been any real “miracle medicine.”
Those so-called divine pills simply contained excessive amounts of Wushisan, which by nature was highly stimulating.
This had been a thorn in the Emperor’s heart ever since.
Because of this scandal, not only did Li Changqing die, but many of the officials who had originally recommended him were also executed.
It was even said that after Li Changqing’s corpse was discovered, the Emperor personally rewarded the finder with a hundred gold taels, then had the body bound and displayed at the Earth God Temple for public viewing.
And now Qilin had the audacity to mention this?
He was clearly sending Cao Xingwang to his death!
At the same time, Eunuch Xia’s mind stirred.
Wait—Qilin was Qi Wang’s trusted aide.
Even if captured, he could have minimized the situation; Said it was all his own doing, clear Qi Wang of involvement.
But he didn’t.
Not only did he not do that, he went further—
He dragged in Cao Xingwang without hesitation.
Cao Xingwang was on Qi Wang’s side!
This, Eunuch Xia hadn’t known until now.
He couldn’t help but cast Cao Xingwang a deep glance, then looked again at the kneeling Qilin.
Qilin no longer cared.
The things he had confessed were already enough for Qi Wang to kill him ten thousand times.
He had burned all bridges behind him.
At this thought, Eunuch Xia closed his eyes for a moment.
Cao Xingwang, meanwhile, snapped out of his shock and lunged straight at Qilin:
“You b*stard! What are you saying?! Lies! Slander! You’re trying to kill me—!”
Qilin was nearly strangled to death, his breath faltering.
It was Lu Yifeng who pulled Cao Xingwang off.
Cao Xingwang collapsed to the ground, wailing:
“Your Majesty! This old slave has been wronged! Qilin is falsely accusing me!”
Suddenly, Qilin, expression blank, pulled a seal out of his robes and handed it to Lu Yifeng.
Lu Yifeng quickly passed it to Eunuch Xia.
Eunuch Xia then presented it before Emperor Yongchang.
The Emperor took it, examined it briefly, then curled his lips coldly toward Cao Xingwang: “Now… what more do you have to say?”
Cao Xingwang burst into sobs: “Your Majesty, Qilin is skilled in martial arts, he must’ve stolen the seal from me! Otherwise, why would he kill the official guarding the grain warehouse?!”
Truly, this was madness!
Why was Qilin suddenly sinking his teeth into him?
What could he possibly gain?
Everyone knew how close he and Qi Wang were.
Exposing him meant dragging Qi Wang down too!
But Qilin, as if mustering all his courage, cried out: “Your Majesty! This humble one still has more evidence! If you don’t believe me, go dig up Eunuch Cao’s ancestral tomb! See what’s buried beneath it!”
Ancestral tomb?!
Eunuch Xia’s eyes widened.
Cao Xingwang, however, immediately turned ashen. His whole body went limp. He pointed at Qilin, but couldn’t speak a word.
The Emperor shot a look at Lu Yifeng: “Go!”
Cao Xingwang was a eunuch. Perhaps because of that, he placed even greater importance on clan and family.
His parents had died long ago and were buried wherever there had been space.
But after he rose in power, he naturally sought a grander resting place for his ancestors.
He purchased an entire mountain slope to build an elaborate ancestral tomb.
Calling it a “tomb” was an understatement, it was more like a prince’s mausoleum.
This act had drawn many complaints from censors and scholars.
But Cao Xingwang had quashed them all. The matter never truly stirred public outcry.
It was, in fact, one of his greatest prides. He would boast about it with great satisfaction.
But now, there was no pride left. Only terror, his whole body trembled.
Time seemed to crawl.
His heart nearly stopped.
But while Cao Xingwang felt time was dragging, Qi Yuan felt no such thing.
She sat in a teahouse, watching Lu Yifeng lead a troop galloping out of the city, and curled her lips faintly.
Old Marquis Qi saw her smile and couldn’t help asking:
“Ah Yuan, how did you know he hid the real relief grain under his family tomb?”
Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly:
“Because they were once dirt poor. Cao Xingwang became a eunuch voluntarily only because his family was too destitute. But even so, it didn’t make things better. His parents still died from poverty.”
Which is why Cao Xingwang had a fixation on food.
He served in the palace, yet in his various mansions across the capital, he stockpiled food like mad.
This time, with such a huge volume of relief grain, hiding it at home would’ve been too risky.
Even splitting it up wouldn’t help.
Too many eyes, too many mouths.
The safest place… was the ancestral tomb.
Qi Yuan reminded the Old Marquis again: “Just a few days ago, they said there had been a landslide during renovations at the Cao family tomb.”
When you connected the dots, it became obvious.
The Old Marquis was amazed.
Even this, Qi Yuan could figure out?
What was her brain made of?
He couldn’t help but think: Qi Yuan had truly saved the Imperial Grandson.
If the relief grain, full of sand and stones, had reached Jiangxi, what would’ve become of His Highness?
If Qi Wang had used that to stir the people, the Imperial Grandson might have been torn to pieces by angry commoners.
But Qi Yuan didn’t look pleased.
She knew Qi Wang was shameless. She also knew he didn’t value human life.
But what she didn’t expect was that he had gotten smarter.
He truly had.
On the surface, he let Feng Caiwei stir up trouble. But behind the scenes, he had Qilin and Cao Xingwang swap out the relief grain.
Luckily, she remembered those thirty men, which made her investigate.
If she hadn’t, everything would have been lost.
Three birds with one arrow.
Expose Xiao Yunting’s hidden years at Longhu Mountain, causing the Emperor’s favor to waver. Use Feng Caiwei to deal with herself. And have Cao Xingwang and Qilin swap the relief grain, cutting off Xiao Yunting’s support.
It was vicious.
She frowned slightly, feeling a bit uneasy.
With Qi Wang’s intelligence, he couldn’t have thought of such a devious plan on his own.
And rumor had it that he had partnered with Xu Hai.
But who?
Who gave Qi Wang this plan?
And Xu Hai—
Once a monk, later a pirate, now a mercenary for the Japanese pirates, he was a demon to the coastal people.
And he was heading to Jiangxi…
Qi Yuan suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
She stood up in alarm.
The Old Marquis beside her had been lost in thought and jumped at her sudden movement.
“Ah Yuan, what’s wrong?”
