Chapter 58: The Empress's Reward! (Seeking Follow-up Reads!)

Xu Qingyi truly could not understand.

Only a few short days had passed, yet Chen Mo had actually handled both major cases?

Could this fellow really be some kind of genius at solving cases?

"It happened like this..."

Starting from when he met Lin Jingzhu at the Drunken Moon Pavilion, Chen Mo gave a rough account of the entire incident.

Naturally, he omitted the parts concerning Gu Manzhi.

"When it comes down to it, it was just good luck that I happened to catch them in the act."

"And I didn't expect that these two matters were actually one single case..."

Yu Youhan shook her head.

While there was indeed an element of luck involved, one must also possess the ability to seize the opportunity.

If not for that final, extraordinary strike that sealed the outcome, anyone else might have already been a corpse in the wilderness.

"The commander of the Zhou residence has already been thrown into the imperial prison and can be interrogated at any time," Chen Mo said.

Yu Youhan sneered: "With these images, whether he confesses or not is no longer important."

She copied the contents of the images into another recording stone and handed it to Xu Qingyi: "There is no time to lose. At this hour, the officials have not yet arrived at the Gate of Heavenly Peace. You take this to Yunhe; he will naturally know what to do."

"Additionally, notify the others to proceed according to the original plan."

"Yes."

Xu Qingyi nodded and hurried away.

"Illegally mining red sand and colluding with the demon race?"

"If there wasn't someone supporting them from behind, the Zhou family would absolutely not have the guts."

Yu Youhan leaned against the rattan chair and shifted her posture; her skirt fluttered, revealing a glimpse of tender, fair, and delicate leg.

Chen Mo did not know where to rest his eyes.

"By the way, your subordinate captured that demon soul; it should know the inside story."

"However, the demon qi might trigger the grand array..."

"It does not matter."

Yu Youhan waved her hand, and a layer of radiance isolated the entire terrace.

Chen Mo released the soul of Juemi.

Suddenly seeing the light again, the three-tailed demon fox was still a bit unaccustomed to it.

Looking at the strange surroundings, its first reaction was to dissipate its soul and escape.

However, just as it turned around, it saw an extremely beautiful woman, her pair of jade-green eyes watching it gloomily.

In an instant, a chill surged up, and its spirit seemed about to be frozen into ice!

The keen intuition of a demon told it that the woman before it was unfathomable, a being that completely transcended its understanding!

With just one glance, it lost even the courage to flee.

"Three tails? Is this the kind of trash that Qingqiu Plain sent?" Yu Youhan frowned.

Juemi shuddered and said with a fawning smile: "Venerable one, please ask whatever you wish to know. This little demon will certainly tell you everything without reservation."

"No need, this palace will look for itself."

Yu Youhan reached out, grabbed the spirit, and crushed it with a bang!

Countless streams of light submerged into her sea of consciousness, and starlight seemed to shimmer in her phoenix eyes.

She quickly cleared away the redundant memories, and scene after scene was projected into the void.

The memories obtained through forced soul-searching were not complete, but they guaranteed absolute authenticity.

"So it was the Yu Prince's residence?"

"It really does have to do with the heir..."

Watching the images in the air, Chen Mo's eyes flickered.

He had not guessed wrong; the person behind the Zhou family was indeed the Yu Prince's heir, Chu Heng.

The purpose of illegally mining the red sand was to create fierce-burning powder to blow up the Eight Desolations Demon-Quelling Array!

The Eight Desolations Demon-Quelling Array covered the entire capital and was jointly built by the Wuwang Temple and the imperial court, and that Ministry of Works official named Lin Huai was one of the officials who participated in the matter back then.

"Wanting to force the location of the array eye out of Lin Huai's mouth..."

"The construction materials of the Eight Desolations Demon-Quelling Array are mixed with 'Demon-Breaking Stone,' which is extremely hard and immune to magic; it can only be destroyed with explosives..."

"After breaking the array, lead the demon race into the city to possess officials and take their places..."

Chen Mo felt a slight chill down his back.

Damn it, this part wasn't in the original plot!

There was indeed content about a demon invasion in the game, but that didn't appear until the fourth chapter. According to the timeline, the first chapter hadn't even ended yet...

The butterfly effect?

Or a change in the world line?

Yu Youhan shook her head and said: "The Eight Desolations Demon-Quelling Array is not that fragile; it wouldn't be blown up, only temporarily weakened."

"For a spirit to perfectly fuse with a physical body, it takes at least five days; during this period, the demon qi is hard to conceal."

"As long as this period passes, and then one uses the so-called 'Evil-Suppressing Jade' to suppress it, even if the array is repaired, no abnormalities will be detected."

Perfect fusion takes five days?

But I seem to have only used a few minutes back then...

Chen Mo touched his nose; could it be that Laozi is naturally gifted?

"In that case, Yan Liang raising barbarian slaves was also directed by Chu Heng to corrupt officials in the imperial court."

"After leaving behind evidence of their crimes, he used both threats and inducements to forcibly bind them to his chariot."

"Zhou Jing'an must be like this... that's why he became Chu Heng's tool."

"No wonder he was watching me in secret; because he wasn't sure how much evidence I had grasped, and once the secret was exposed, it would lose its deterrent power..."

Chen Mo couldn't help but click his tongue.

This heir's guts and appetite were too big; wasn't he afraid of a backlash from the demon race?

"The pattern of the two parties is set, and the interests are basically solidified. If he doesn't do this, he has no qualifications to sit at the table at all."

"Although it's not bad to add some trouble for Jiang Yuchan, this palace really dislikes filthy things like the demon race."

A cold, murderous intent flashed in her jade-green eyes.

However, Yu Youhan quickly restrained her aura and looked at Chen Mo, her gaze softening slightly.

"You did very well this time. What reward do you want?"

"A reward?"

Chen Mo did not express his loyalty as usual, but instead began to think seriously.

He had promised to help Gu Manzhi obtain the "Qingming Seal," and it wasn't entirely just empty talk.

First of all, this thing posed no threat to the Empress; after all, what could be destroyed once could be destroyed a second time.

On the other hand, it was also to stabilize the Yuehuang Sect.

Before obtaining the "Qingming Seal," the Yuehuang Sect would no longer target the Chen family, and instead would honestly cooperate with him.

Therefore, the treasure could be given, but not immediately.

Moreover, to ask the Empress for this item, he had to find a suitable excuse. If the Empress discovered his secret deal with Gu Manzhi, his life would likely be in danger...

Chen Mo's thoughts were complex, and he fell into deep contemplation, his eyes losing focus.

And Yu Youhan followed his line of sight and looked down...

Was he staring at her feet?

And he was even mesmerized by it?

"Again?!"

Yu Youhan's brows sank.

The previous few times of "desensitization training" had severely damaged her confidence.

To show such a disheveled appearance in front of this dog slave time and again was truly damaging to her image.

But he had made a great contribution this time; if she refused just like that, it didn't seem quite appropriate...

Yu Youhan hesitated for a moment, sighed helplessly, and stretched her jade feet out in front of Chen Mo.

"I really can't do anything with you. Here."

?

Chen Mo was bewildered.

I didn't even say I wanted this reward?

Yu Youhan turned her head away and snorted coldly: "What are you still pretending to be serious for? If you don't want it, you won't have it in the future!"

"..."

Chen Mo thought for a moment and said cautiously: "Your subordinate has a small gift I would like to give to the Empress. It would be even better if the Empress could wear it..."

"A gift?"

Yu Youhan was slightly stunned.

Over the years, others either feared her like a snake or scorpion, or respected her like a ghost or god; no one had ever given her a gift.

After all, this kind of behavior was already considered somewhat "intimate."

"What is this?"

"To be precise, it is a pair of stockings, custom-made by your humble servant at the Brocade Workshop specifically for Your Highness."

Chen Mo took out a black object as thin as a cicada's wing from his Sumeru bag.

Yu Youhan: (⊙ˍ⊙)