Chapter 733: Trap

Zu'an couldn't help but ask, "What is so urgent that it has to be done at night? You know I must leave the palace after dusk."

After the last incident where he was framed with the Crown Princess, he now suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and was constantly worried about misunderstandings and trouble arising from such situations.

Although his identity as an Embroidered Uniform Guard allowed him to stay in the palace, he couldn't let the Empress know about it.

"You'll know the specifics when the time comes," the Empress said calmly. "As for leaving the palace, you don't need to worry."

As she spoke, she took a uniform from a drawer. "After dusk, you'll leave the palace first. Then, put this on, take the waist token, and re-enter the palace. No one will know it's you."

Looking at the familiar clothes before him, Zu'an's expression became very strange, because it was an Embroidered Uniform Guard's attire.

Of course, it was only for the lowest-ranking Bronze Token Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Although he was initially puzzled, he quickly felt relieved. As the Empress, her available resources must far exceed what he could imagine, so acquiring an Embroidered Uniform Guard's uniform was not surprising.

Moreover, even with her power, she could only obtain a bronze token uniform, which indicated that the Embroidered Uniform Guard's confidentiality measures were indeed very good.

"Alright, I'll come back tonight." Given his true identity, coming back at night wouldn't have been difficult, but now that he had a legitimate excuse, Zu'an naturally wouldn't refuse. He was also very curious about what the Empress needed his help with.

After he left, Eunuch Lu's sinister figure appeared in the room. "Has Your Majesty made up your mind?"

The Empress's expression was calm. "Do I have a choice? If I had known about that matter from the beginning, I wouldn't have had to do what I did back then, leaving behind unnecessary hidden dangers..."

Eunuch Lu hesitated. "It might not be as Your Majesty suspects."

The Empress shook her head. "Even if I'm wrong, what's the loss? But if I'm right..."

As she spoke, her eyes became fervent.

A strange light also flickered in Eunuch Lu's eyes. "Then I wish Your Majesty's plans succeed."

The Empress glared with her phoenix eyes. "You dog slave, why do you look even more excited than I am?"

Eunuch Lu chuckled. "This servant is happy for Your Majesty. After all the suffering Your Majesty has endured over the years, you finally see hope."

The Empress raised her eyebrows, and her chest heaved rapidly, clearly indicating her turbulent emotions at this moment. "How are the other arrangements progressing?"

Eunuch Lu respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured, everything has been arranged."

The Empress hummed in acknowledgment, then waved her hand, signaling him to withdraw.

She then went to the bronze mirror, gazed at the woman reflected within, and gently stroked her face with her fingers. Gold nail guards adorned with precious gems on her pinky and ring fingers made her fair face appear even more luxurious and beautiful.

After Zu'an left Kunning Palace, he took a long detour to ensure no one was following him, then changed back into his Gold Token Number Eleven attire and returned to the Embroidery Tower.

Soon, a subordinate came to report the results of their recent investigation.

Xinrui's younger brother was named Hua Xiaohai. He was an idle good-for-nothing who loved frequenting gambling dens, mostly losing money rather than winning. He always asked his mother for money. However, his mother earned very little from mending clothes, so most of the money ultimately came from Xinrui.

Recently, it was rumored that Madam Hua was even arranging a wife for him, and a considerable dowry was being prepared. Everyone who knew Hua Xiaohai envied him for having such a good elder sister, as it was clear that all this money was provided by her.

Neighbors reported that Madam Hua doted on her son excessively, while often scolding and even beating her daughter. On several occasions, when the daughter couldn't bear her brother's gambling habits and refused to give him money, Madam Hua would cry and accuse her daughter of being unfilial, claiming she wanted the Hua family line to end.

The neighbors generally sympathized with her daughter. They had seen her a few times and knew she was delicate and gentle. Many even considered asking a matchmaker to propose marriage to her.

However, upon learning that she worked in the palace, and unwilling to be associated with her good-for-nothing gambler brother, those neighbors abandoned their intentions.

After listening to the information gathered by his subordinates, Zu'an secretly sighed. He never imagined that women who endlessly supported their brothers existed in this world too.

He then asked, "By the way, has the drawing of the carriage been completed?"

The subordinate replied, "The artist has drawn it, but the people in that area are unworldly; they consider anything slightly grand to be extraordinary. In the capital, it would just be an ordinary carriage, impossible to trace."

Zu'an took the image and looked at it. Indeed, there was no information on it that could reveal its origin.

Thinking about it, it made sense. Why would anyone use a carriage that revealed their identity to pick someone up?

At this moment, a Silver Token Envoy from another team, who was responsible for a different area, came to report: "Lord Eleven, these past few days we've searched all the wells, ponds, lake bottoms, and various hidden corners throughout the palace. We did find a few skeletons, but they were from old cases, and the identities of those individuals have already been confirmed. None of them were Xinrui."

Zu'an was dumbfounded. No wonder there were so many ghost stories about the Forbidden City in his previous life, all claiming countless unjustly deceased souls were buried within.

The palace truly was a man-eating place.

"It doesn't make sense," Zu'an said, feeling a headache. "There's no record of her leaving the palace, yet she can't be found inside either. Did a living person just vanish into thin air?"

Then the Silver Token Envoy responsible for searching inside the palace suggested, "There's no record of her leaving the palace alive, but what if she was taken out after dying?"

Zu'an's heart stirred. "Right, this world has spatial rings!"

However, not everyone's spatial artifact was as extraordinary as his Glazed Pearl. Most storage artifacts had limited space, probably not enough to hold an adult.

Some special artifacts had larger internal spaces, but their owners were all individuals of extremely noble status, and they would likely disdain engaging in such an act.

Zu'an immediately ordered, "Go immediately and investigate the entry and exit records of all palace gates. This time, don't look for Xinrui herself, but see who left carrying spatial artifacts or similar items."

The Silver Token Envoy shook his head. "Lord Eleven, you may not know this, but wearing spatial artifacts is not permitted when entering or exiting the Imperial Palace. This is to prevent ill-intentioned individuals from bringing dangerous items inside and endangering the safety of the nobles. There are special personnel at each palace gate to check for this."

Zu'an was stunned. He hadn't expected the palace's defenses to be so strict, even considering this. Fortunately, his Glazed Pearl had already been refined into his body, so no one could detect it.

Wait a minute, if the palace defenses were so thorough, how did Yun Jianyue and her group manage to get in earlier?

Although he had handed over Cheng Xiong to close the case, he knew that Cheng Xiong was merely a scapegoat. He had not uncovered Yun Jianyue's true inside accomplice.

Shaking his head, he pushed these distracting thoughts out of his mind. The immediate priority wasn't to investigate those matters; it was to return to the current case. "Then you should investigate who among those leaving the palace carried bundles or similar items. I've observed that while entry into the palace is strictly checked, personal items carried out are relatively less scrutinized."

He suspected that Xinrui might have been dismembered and taken out of the palace. Of course, if the perpetrator possessed something like the "corpse-dissolving powder" seen in TV dramas, he would just have to admit defeat.

The Silver Token Envoy looked troubled and was about to speak, but Zu'an had already slipped a handful of silver notes to him. "You brothers have worked hard during this time. Take these and divide them among yourselves. After the case is solved, there will be further rewards from His Majesty."

To motivate people to work grueling hours, he couldn't just talk about ideals like some entrepreneurs in his previous life. Anyway, he had plenty of money, and the Crown Princess had just given him a large reward not long ago.

Seeing the thick stack of silver notes, the Silver Token Envoy's eyes lit up. Sure enough, his previous reluctance vanished, and he enthusiastically accepted the order and left.

After several hours of work in the Embroidery Tower, night gradually fell. Zu'an first left the palace city in his true identity to leave a record. The previous incident with the Crown Princess had left a flaw there, and he couldn't repeat the same mistake.

Outside, he changed into the bronze token envoy uniform the Empress had given him. After entering the palace, he quietly made his way to Kunning Palace.

Logically, Kunning Palace, as the Empress's residence, should have had many guards, palace maids, and eunuchs.

But for some reason, it was exceptionally quiet now, with only occasional personnel passing by.

Zu'an felt a surge of alertness. *Could the Empress have deliberately set a trap for me?*