Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 260: Beauty Lian’s Relatives

Chapter 260: Chapter 260: Beauty Lian’s Relatives

The Emperor couldn’t help but ask, "Where is the person?"

The situation turned out to be unexpectedly smooth; since the person was there, matters would be easy to handle. Once found, he could go back and tell his Nannan, who was surely very happy. He could find an opportunity to let her meet her relatives and give her some comfort.

Hu Miaomiao bowed, "His Majesty, please don’t worry. The servant will find the person very soon, but I feel that there is something strange about this matter, and it’s not simple."

The Emperor was startled. How could there be something strange about finding someone? He looked at Hu Miaomiao with some confusion and asked, "Explain in detail."

"Yes," Hu Miaomiao answered respectfully.

A few days ago, I dispatched people to investigate, and they found that Beauty Lian’s relatives, before she entered the palace, were in Yanqing Mansion. Even though they had moved, their whereabouts were traced within a day, and my people hurried over without delay.

Just as my people were about to approach the door, they keenly noticed someone secretly surveilling Beauty Lian’s relatives. Sensing something unusual, my people did not proceed to knock on the door but instead carefully identified and captured all those who were watching.

When they were about to approach the door again, they encountered a group of assassins. These assassins were well-trained, extremely fast, brutal, and unbridled, kicking down doors and seizing people with weapons in hand.

My people immediately intervened, and during the fight, they killed some assassins and captured others alive, yet one still managed to escape.

Feeling that the matter was out of the ordinary, my people sent me a message by pigeon. When I saw the message, I realized something was wrong and rushed there immediately, only to find that the captured assassins had all committed suicide, with not a single survivor.

The Emperor, listening with increasing alarm, hastily asked, "What is the situation with the person now?"

This was the most important concern; if something had happened, he dared not imagine how his Little Concubine would react.

Hu Miaomiao said, "The person is fine, please rest assured, Your Majesty. Those petty thieves are no match for my people. It took some effort to deal with the two groups, and I have just returned to report."

The Emperor pressed, "Where is the person now?"

"I have brought Beauty Lian’s relatives back to the Capital and settled them in secret, stationing people to protect them covertly. I await Your Majesty’s decision." Hu Miaomiao said and presented a folded note: "Your Majesty, this note details the events and the results of my interrogation of the people who were watching. Please review it."

"Well done with this matter," the Emperor breathed a sigh of relief. With Hu Miaomiao protecting them, nothing would go wrong.

Hu Miaomiao humbly waved his hand with a smile, "Your Majesty is too kind. If not for Your Majesty’s wisdom and divine strategies, sending us out at the right time, we could not have seized such an opportune moment. It is Your Majesty’s wisdom indeed."

Ignoring these flatteries, the Emperor opened Hu Miaomiao’s note, read a few lines, his pupils constricted, and he coldly uttered three words, "Xue Wanjun!"

His expression grew colder the more he read, and with a cold laugh, he realized his Noble Consort had indeed played a long game. She had arranged people to watch over his Little Concubine’s relatives so early on and even set a trap for her uncle, the implication was self-evident!

Did she really think she could own the Harem as if it were the Xue Family, keeping all the Concubines under tight control, in her hands, as though he were dead?

Nanny Qi was right; Xue Wanjun was scheming, appearing tolerant and generous on the surface but insidiously manipulative behind the scenes, wanting to have everything in her grasp. Fortunately, she hadn’t made her move, or else, even if it alerted Xue Ping by stirring the grass, he would have taken action against her.

A glint of murderous intent flashed in the Emperor’s eyes. After pondering for a moment, he had a plan in mind and contained his emotions, continuing to read.

Hu Miaomiao dared not be slick and oily anymore. What was written in the petition was crystal clear to him—one matter involved Noble Consort Xue, person in charge of the harem, and the other involved His Majesty’s most beloved Beauty Lian, something that couldn’t be openly discussed, hence the submission of the petition.

The surveillance was easy to investigate, also unknown were the rabble gathered by Noble Consort Xue; under questioning, they had all spilled the beans cleanly, which made the investigation straightforward.

The band of assassins was much harder to investigate. Those who were dead were dead, and those who had fled had fled, but the one who escaped was stabbed with a sword and fled towards the Capital. It seemed that they were Dead Soldiers raised by a major family in the Capital, and it would take some effort to look into them.

There was silence in the hall for a while, and Hu Miaomiao sensed that the atmosphere seemed somewhat different from before.

He was curious in his heart; the rest of the petition just reported on the recent status of Beauty Lian’s relatives, nothing else. How come His Majesty seemed to be staring at it for a long time without speaking, his face expressionless, impossible for anyone to discern what he was thinking?

He quietly waited until, after a long time, he heard His Majesty’s voice, "Ensure that those brought back are well protected, and you may withdraw."

"Yes." After Hu Miaomiao responded, he stepped back and exited.

He felt very perplexed inside, sensing that His Majesty’s voice was even-tempered yet he seemed to be suppressing something, as if he had discovered something significant, even more so than looking at the Noble Consort deploying people for surveillance, which agitated His Majesty’s emotions more...

How to put it, it was an intuition, not necessarily accurate. He could not see through His Majesty nor dared to try, in any case, it was unclear and indescribable. The fact that there was no killing intent from His Majesty was very strange.

After Hu Miaomiao left, the Emperor had Zhang Qing summoned to bring the archival records of the palace maids.

The Emperor pulled out one of the volumes and flipped to a certain page, comparing it to what was written in Hu Miaomiao’s petition.

After finishing, his thoughts were in turmoil. He sat still for a long while, neither moving nor speaking. Then he directly tore off one page along with the petition and had Zhang Qing burn them both cleanly. He placed the volume he had taken out inside Star Palace and had Zhang Qing return the other volumes. If anyone came looking for this particular volume, he was to say it was lost.

Having dealt with these matters, the Emperor dismissed all the attendants. His gaze fell on the desk where he stared absentmindedly at a little snowman, the one his... Lian Hua had given him.

Someplace in the Capital, within an alleyway.

"Young Master, we can’t get any closer. If we do, we might be discovered," a determined-looking middle-aged man in his forties or fifties spoke in a low voice to a young man around twenty years of age.

He protected the young man behind him, ready to defend, as they both half-hid in an alley, looking towards a distant residence.

The exterior of the residence appeared modest and ordinary, with nothing unusual about its surroundings, but he knew that there were secret guards positioned around it day and night.

These people were highly vigilant. They had followed them from Yanqing Mansion all the way to the Capital, and they came close to being discovered several times. They also nearly lost track of them multiple times. Thanks to the Young Master’s quick wits and intelligence, they had managed to follow them to this residence.

Inside the residence, there were people with mysterious backgrounds and high martial arts skills. Their skills were witnessed firsthand—they moved swiftly and efficiently, without any unnecessary flourishes. Each movement was well-practiced and direct, with no frills, yet every move was deadly.

The young man’s thin lips were firmly pressed together, his expression grave. He had a pair of affectionate, upturned phoenix eyes and a straight nose, giving him a somewhat androgynous beauty—exceptionally handsome. Had he been a woman, it would have been certain he would be a seductress.

His cold gaze was fixed on the residence, his eyes flashing with intense defiance. Being only half a day late, they had missed by a hair’s breadth and lost their chance; everyone had already been taken away.