Chapter 25: Chapter 25: General’s Mansion Eldest Lady VS Transmigrated Younger Sister (Part 24)
Jiang Yunsan entered the palace.
She gritted her teeth and swore that the issue with her face was caused by someone poisoning her and earnestly requested the Empress to advocate for her, to find the vile person with malicious intents behind this.
The Emperor was also present at the time and he still valued Jiang Yunsan, his daughter-in-law who dreamt of the sun and moon. Moreover, the security at the Crown Prince’s Mansion was extremely strict; if today someone could silently poison a concubine in the Crown Prince’s Palace, given time, that same person might also dare to attempt to poison him within the Imperial Palace.
An investigation must be conducted—a thorough investigation!
Ji Yu certainly received this news and the smile on his face was particularly meaningful, “An investigation? Perfect, I have prepared some interesting things as gifts for you all.”
The result of the Hidden Guard’s search in the Crown Prince’s Mansion was that the cause of the poison on Jiang Yunsan’s face remained unclear, but they found something else in other parts of the Crown Prince’s backyard.
For instance, a strange flower from the Western Regions—the Mysterious Fragrant Mandala.
This substance was extremely rare in the Tianqi Dynasty. Once the Imperial Medical Bureau’s physicians analyzed its components, they concluded: This substance had hallucinogenic effects, which when added to one’s food, could not only cause a person to experience an illusion, but even more so, could influence a person’s dreams.
The Emperor’s complexion turned unsightly at that moment. An emperor is prone to suspicion, and he immediately thought of that shared dream between him and the Empress.
Was the sun and moon as a dream not an excellent omen? However, during recent times, he not only failed to observe any sign of this omen, but incidents had also been frequently occurring within the Crown Prince’s Mansion. Furthermore, Jiang Yunsan, the new concubine the Crown Prince had just taken, did not exhibit anything unusual compared with ordinary people.
He suspected that someone had meddled within his palace.
Sleeping Dragon Hall, where the Emperor lived, was thoroughly searched, and indeed, in an inconspicuous corner, a Multitreasure Pouch used as a decoration was found to contain the Mysterious Fragrant Mandala.
The Emperor was furious that someone had managed to add something to his own sleeping quarters so easily!
Today it was just a Mysterious Fragrant Mandala, but what if someday someone wished to take his life?
Who was behind this? Who could gain the most from that bizarre dream of his?
With a grave expression, the Emperor didn’t summon the Crown Prince but instead immediately commanded a thorough investigation of the Harem!
The Harem was the Empress’s domain, and the fact that the Emperor ordered an investigation of the Harem without informing the Empress indicated that there was a hidden agenda.
The Empress hurriedly dressed and made her way to Sleeping Dragon Hall.
“Your Majesty, may I ask what this great commotion is about?” the Empress, now over forty, was impeccably well-maintained. Although she could not be compared with young girls in their teens, she possessed a mature woman’s charm. What’s more, her long-standing high status endowed her with a noble quality unmatched by ordinary people.
The Emperor looked at the woman he had doted on for many years beside him and remained silent. This supposed “dream of the sun and moon” just happened to be a dream both he and the Empress shared, and how much truth lay in it, as well as the role the Empress played in it, was still an unknown.
“Last night, I dreamt that my ancestors warned me there was evil at play within the palace, thus I ordered an extensive search,” the Emperor said.
He noticed a fleeting unnaturalness in the Empress’s eyes, which deepened his suspicions.
The palace investigation lasted for several days, and despite the Emperor’s strict orders for confidentiality, some Prominent families in The Imperial City, such as the Grand General’s Mansion, still received the news. No one knew what occurred, but suddenly, the entire Imperial City became much quieter.
After ten days, the palace investigation finally concluded.
What was unearthed enraged the Emperor to no end.
He went directly to the Empress’s palace.
“My dear Empress, to think I was unaware that you have done so much over these twenty years!” The Emperor, grinding his teeth in anger, looked at the Empress and threw the pile of discovered items at her feet.