The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1157 - 1157 563 Perfect (two updates)_2

Chapter 1157: 563 Perfect (two updates)_2 Chapter 1157: 563 Perfect (two updates)_2 Empress Dowager Xiao had never seen the prowess of the Dragon Shadow Guards and couldn’t imagine how quickly they could strike. No one could easily injure His Majesty under their watchful eyes, and even if someone did, it was impossible to escape unscathed.

“I am very puzzled about one thing,” Xiao Hen said.

Gu Jiao nodded.

She felt the same way.

His Majesty adored Princess Ning An so much that suspecting her based on just a confession letter seemed a bit far-fetched.

Unless something else happened in the Imperial Study Room that caused His Majesty’s familial affection for Princess Ning An to shatter instantaneously.

The senior sacrificial official stroked his grizzled beard and said, “The downfall of Concubine Jing was too abrupt; I always felt like there was something between her and His Majesty that we overlooked.”

Xiao Hen said, “Regarding the second doubt, I have a guess.”

The senior sacrificial official looked at him, “Go ahead.”

Xiao Hen analyzed, “She couldn’t have bypassed the Dragon Shadow Guard to strike at His Majesty herself. She must have either lured the Dragon Shadow Guard away or defeated them. Since she didn’t know Sun Ping would come to deliver the message, the likelihood she lured them away beforehand is not high.”

“So she can defeat the Dragon Shadow Guard?” The senior sacrificial official turned to Gu Jiao, “Jiaojiao, does she know martial arts?”

Gu Jiao took a sip of the hot tea her husband had passed her, warming her belly, and shook her head, “I haven’t discovered that.”

The senior sacrificial official frowned, “Could she be a master, like Concubine Jing, using medicine to change her pulse and conceal her martial arts skills?”

Gu Jiao said, “If that were the case, her body would show signs of weakness, which she does not have.”

Xiao Hen spoke up, “One doesn’t necessarily need martial arts to deal with the Dragon Shadow Guard. In this world, everything has its counter, and since the Dragon Shadow Guard come from Yan Country, I believe Yan Country certainly has a way to counter them.”

The group simultaneously thought of the force behind the scenes that was in collusion with Xianle Inn.

With their careful planning, could they truly be concerned about a young master of Xianle Inn?

With Empress Dowager Zhuang’s capabilities, would it be difficult to depose the princess with an edict?

That they still resorted to lowering themselves to play mind games was largely to probe the Yan Country force hidden in the shadows.

Xiao Hen paused before saying, “Hua Xiyao can no longer stay in the Ministry of Justice.”

The Emperor couldn’t discern the authenticity of the confession letter, but the young master of Xianle Inn could see through its flaws at a glance because, after all, the content of the letter was not truly Hua Xiyao’s experience, and the narrative tone was off. The only thing that matched was the handwriting, but with the former two aspects fabricated, it wasn’t hard to guess the handwriting was forged as well.

The young master of Xianle Inn realized that up to this point, Hua Xiyao had not betrayed her. However, times had changed, and with such significant actions taken, the risks were much higher than before. Hua Xiyao’s existence remained a threat to her.

Xiao Hen didn’t care about Hua Xiyao’s life, but Hua Xiyao had always been important evidence to bring down the young master of Xianle Inn.

After the group consulted, Hua Xiyao was secretly transferred to the Medical Hall that very night, becoming neighbors with Mo Qianxue.

Hua Xiyao: “…”

Mo Qianxue: “…”

Gu Jiao planned to transfer the Dark Guard over to watch Hua Xiyao. Mo Qianxue snorted, “There’s no need for all that trouble. I can keep her secured… Just add a little more to the paralyzing powder!”

Hua Xiyao: “…”

After securing Hua Xiyao, they assessed the risk to other related parties, with the smallest to largest being Empress Xiao, the Emperor, and Minister Xing.

Empress Xiao was investigating this case, and the less she knew about the insider details, the safer she was. As long as she was on the wrong track, it was what Princess Ning An wanted. However, once she realized who the true culprit was, her situation would become dangerous.

This was why Xiao Hen decided not to reveal the inside story to her for the time being.

The Emperor was now in Princess Ning An’s hands, and his personal safety was at risk. Yet, if he died at this moment, Ning An’s gains would also come to a halt. Until she fully exploited the Emperor’s value, Ning An wouldn’t make a move against him.

It remained to be seen how long this value could be extracted.

Ironically, Minister Xing might be the first to be targeted.

The next day, Dali Temple started investigating the case of Sun Ping’s assassination attempt on the Emperor. Minister Xing adamantly claimed Sun Ping was innocent and hoped Dali Temple would do him justice.

After all, Minister Xing was a second-rank official. Unless His Majesty personally ordered his punishment, Dali Temple really couldn’t subject him to harsh interrogation.

But dragging this out wasn’t a solution either.

Just as Dali Temple was at a loss for solid evidence in the case, an officer from the Ministry of Punishment approached them, claiming a suspect in custody had evidence regarding this case.