Chapter 517: This Person Might Know the Situation of Emperor Shunwu

Chapter 517: This Person Might Know the Situation of Emperor Shunwu

Immediately after, they overheard two people whispering.

"Nanny Wang, do you think Jiuye and his wife managed to leave this place safely?"

"Is Her Highness worried about them leaving to find the Third Prince and trying to come back to see you?"

"The biggest mistake of my life was switching my own child all those years ago. Now, the Empress is deliberately tormenting me, withholding food just to see me die.

Even if Jiuye's wife cures my illness, I'm afraid I won't escape the Empress's clutches.

All I want before I die is to see the child I've owed for more than twenty years. If I can do that, I'll have no regrets in this life."

"Your Highness, don't think like that. The actions of the Empress's faction are attempts to usurp the throne. We still don't know the Emperor's true condition.

If there's any hope that the Emperor can restore order, we might still be saved."

"Heh... No one understands the Emperor’s true nature better than I do. He's arrogant and foolish, with no sense when facing problems. How could we expect such a person to turn the situation around?"

The rest of her words were instructions to Nanny Wang, such as telling her that if she were to die, she must inform Fei Nanyu that his birth mother had wronged him.

Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran didn't want to listen anymore, but they could tell from the sound of Consort Yuan's voice that she was no longer as weak as she had been the previous day; her body was gradually recovering.

As long as Consort Yuan's health was not in danger, they would have done a great service for Fei Nanyu.

As for how the mother and son would get along in the future, that wasn't their concern anymore.

Mo Jiuye led He Zhiran as they used their light martial arts to leap over the palace walls, avoiding patrolling guards along the way, and headed toward the Emperor's bedchamber.

The Emperor's bedchamber was naturally the most luxurious place in the entire palace.

In Mo Jiuye's memory, even late at night, it should have been brightly lit.

However, today was completely different from what he remembered. Not only was it not brightly lit, but there weren't even any guards around the palace.

From this, it could be preliminarily determined that Emperor Shunwu was not here.

Still, since they had come all this way, they had to go inside and check, leaving no useful clues behind.

Mo Jiuye carefully observed the surroundings. Apart from the occasional patrolling guards, there were indeed no permanent guards here.

So, after a team of patrolling guards had just passed, Mo Jiuye scooped He Zhiran into his arms, and they effortlessly leaped over the palace wall.

The bedchamber was pitch black inside. Fortunately, Mo Jiuye was familiar with the place and could find his way around using the moonlight.

He led He Zhiran straight to Emperor Shunwu's chamber.

Emperor Shunwu's chamber resembled a modern-day suite, with a main hall for temporary office work and an inner room for sleeping.

The door wasn’t locked, so Mo Jiuye pushed it open easily.

They had already determined that the entire bedchamber was deserted, and Emperor Shunwu's chamber was located in the central position, surrounded by other buildings with very high palace walls. Unless someone climbed up high, they couldn’t see what was going on inside.

Once they confirmed it was safe, He Zhiran pulled out a flashlight from her bag.

With the flashlight, they carefully surveyed the room.

The cushions on the central sofa were askew, and a thin blanket lay crumpled on the floor.

If we analyze this based on the logic of examining a crime scene, it is very likely that Emperor Shunwu was taken away while he was resting here.

On the desk not far from the soft couch, the memorials to the throne were not neatly arranged as they usually were, obviously hastily piled up after being touched by someone.

All of this proves one thing: Emperor Shunwu was forcibly taken away.

He Zhiran was always thorough, leaving nothing behind. Before leaving, she waved her small hand, and the items in the room instantly disappeared from sight.

As for the inner chamber where Emperor Shunwu had been resting, after inspecting everything, all miscellaneous items were stored into her space.

He Zhiran did this not because she was greedy, but because Emperor Shunwu owed the Mo family, and he owed the people of the world.

After confirming there was nothing suspicious, Mo Jiuya and He Zhiran quickly left Emperor Shunwu's palace. The two headed straight for the Empress’s residence.

Emperor Shunwu’s disappearance was undoubtedly the work of the Empress’s faction. To find his whereabouts, they had to start with her.

Staying hidden the whole way, it didn’t take long for the two to arrive at the Empress’s Fengxi Palace.

In stark contrast to the deserted palace of Emperor Shunwu, Fengxi Palace was brightly lit, and guards holding lanterns were stationed around the walls.

Additionally, a patrol of guards passed by approximately every five minutes.

Mo Jiuya calculated the gap in the patrol guards’ schedule and took He Zhiran around to the weakest point in the defense at the back of Fengxi Palace, where they jumped in.

Although Mo Jiuya was familiar with the terrain of the palace, he had never been to the Empress’s Fengxi Palace and wasn’t clear about its layout.

He was prepared to hide as soon as they jumped in, but luckily, they landed in the palace’s back courtyard where there were few people around.

To get useful information, they would have to head towards the areas where people were.

Mo Jiuya led He Zhiran, observing their surroundings while moving towards the Empress’s chambers.

This seemed to be the most secluded part of Fengxi Palace. Apart from a few rooms used for storing miscellaneous items, there wasn’t anything else.

They had only walked about ten meters when Mo Jiuya suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He Zhiran wasn’t as sharp-eyed as he was, but she knew that if Mo Jiuya stopped suddenly, he must have noticed something.

She quietly asked, “Husband, what’s wrong?”

Mo Jiuya made a silencing gesture, wrapped his arm around He Zhiran’s waist, and leapt onto a nearby large tree in one fluid motion.

Soon, a cursing voice clearly reached their ears.

“Hehehe… I didn’t expect that old fox to end up in my hands. The Empress, in her mercy, wanted to give you a quick death, but I, on the other hand, won’t allow it.”

“Xu Li, you’re just a petty man who thrives on success. If it weren’t for me taking pity on you and mentoring you, how could you have achieved what you have today? Yet you repay me with such ingratitude?”

“Hmph! When you mentored me, was that really mentoring? Every day, I had to pour your foot-washing water, and if you were unhappy, you would beat or scold me. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”

One of the voices in the conversation was very familiar to Mo Jiuya.

It was Chief Eunuch Qi Changshun, who served beside Emperor Shunwu.

In a voice only He Zhiran could hear, he said, “Ran Ran, stay here and wait for me. This person might know something about Emperor Shunwu’s situation.”

With that, he used his martial arts agility and, in the blink of an eye, landed behind the newcomer.