Chapter 744

The words sounded like a sonic boom in Wu Zhao's heart, causing her expression to turn suddenly cold, while at the same time, a terrifying killing intent swept over her body!

Shangguan Wan'er was also shocked, and she said to Gao Yang with a serious face, "Lord Gao, this concerns the Late Emperor's passing; these words cannot be spoken carelessly."

Wu Zhao also said to Gao Yang, "Who is it?"

Wu Zhao's body was permeated with a terrifying killing intent.

But Gao Yang shook his head and looked directly at Wu Zhao, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for not being able to say yet. I implore Your Majesty to give me a few more days."

"I have already started investigating; in just a few days, the truth will come to light, but please, Your Majesty, take more precautions."

Li Long was likely inquiring everywhere, and he wasn't doing it secretly. After all, Gao Changwen had been set up; this matter was too small to warrant secret investigation.

In this way, if what the Lin family said was true, and what Chen Qiang said was true, it would definitely alarm the Empress Dowager!

Li Long inquiring personally, and it involving Gao Changwen—the person behind this could easily guess it was him.

Whether the Lin family had been exposed, and whether the Empress Dowager knew this person had a connection to Chen Qiang, Gao Yang did not know.

But he had started investigating Chen Qiang for no reason. If the Late Emperor's death was truly unusual, Empress Dowager Xiao would definitely summon him, or even... assassinate him!

But the difficulty of assassinating him in Changancheng could be imagined.

He, Gao Yang, still had some reputation. Once unsuccessful, he would surely meet with crazy retaliation, or even the counterattack of the entire Duke of Ding Prefecture, so summoning was the best choice!

But as long as there was a summons, it would confirm from the side that this was true!

However, Empress Dowager Xiao's identity was too shocking. Without solid evidence, Gao Yang could not speak, but once these words were out, Wu Zhao was not a fool and would definitely be able to guess.

This was equivalent to having a cross-check between the two sides.

If the matter was true, Li Long would be dragged into the water, and he would have no choice—after all, this guy's guts were too big, and he, Gao Yang, was also a great merit. If the matter was false and Empress Dowager Xiao had no movement, then it was Chen Qiang who lied, and the Lin family who lied!

Other than this, there was no other possibility.

When a knife is held to the neck, as time passes, it is impossible for Empress Dowager Xiao to remain indifferent; this is certain.

So the first thing Gao Yang had to do was to have Wu Zhao take more precautions, be careful of a dog jumping over a wall in a hurry, and directly stage a palace coup.

Wu Zhao's face was livid, her gaze fixed on Gao Yang. After a long while, she took a deep breath and said, "The Late Emperor's death is exceptionally important to me. I will leave this matter to Minister Gao to investigate."

"I grant Minister Gao a token; from today on, you can enter the inner palace at will, without being searched!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang's eyes lit up instantly.

Entering the inner palace at will to investigate—wouldn't it be reasonable to accidentally break into the women's bathhouse?

Wu Zhao looked at Gao Yang and added, "Except for the women's bathhouse in the palace and the Longhua Pavilion where I bathe."

Gao Yang: "..."

"Oh!"

Gao Yang soon left in disappointment.

After he left, Wu Zhao's expression returned to extreme coldness, her body filled with killing intent.

Shangguan Wan'er said, "Your Majesty, why didn't you continue to pursue the questioning?"

Wu Zhao glanced at Shangguan Wan'er, her voice sounding cold, "Gao Yang is a smart man. He seemed to say nothing, but he said everything."

"In the entire court, with his status and relationship with me, who else could make him wary?"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Wan'er's gaze turned solemn.

"In the court and the wild, only the head of the hundred officials and the second-rank officials; in the inner palace, only the Empress Dowager and the various Imperial Consorts. The Late Emperor's body was frail; if there were problems with his passing, it must be poisoning, and this matter must be related to the inner palace, or even connected to each other!"

Wu Zhao's eyes were cold, bursting with endless killing intent!

"..."

Meanwhile.

Evening.

Li Long also called for his confidant and spoke slowly to him.

"Investigate!"

"Search through all the imperial guards of the palace, find a person named Chen Qiang. If he has left the palace, find out his whereabouts for me!"

"In short, one sentence: I want to see the person alive, or see the corpse if dead!"

The subordinate confidant said carefully, "What is this person's identity? To actually alarm the Commander!"

Li Long waved his hand, "Just a small imperial guard. Although one must be careful doing things in the palace, it doesn't warrant such caution. This person set a trap to pit a brother of mine; his identity is ordinary, just investigate!"

"I'll sleep for a while first."

The subordinate confidant bowed, "Yes!"

"Your subordinate will go investigate now!"

Li Long didn't think much either, directly collapsing onto the dry bed and falling into a sweet sleep.

Late at night.

"My Lord, something is wrong!"

Li Long was sleeping when he heard this voice. He raised his sleepy eyes and looked at the person who came; it was his confidant.

He frowned subconsciously and asked, "What is wrong?"

"This Chen Qiang is wrong!"

One sentence instantly made Li Long wake up.

"What is wrong?"

"A mere Chen Qiang, a small imperial guard in the palace, what could be wrong?"

The confidant looked solemn, "Commander, I followed your instructions and went down to search immediately!"

"The imperial guards in the palace all have records in the register—name, duty, and ancestral home, all complete. But strangely, the register containing this Chen Qiang has disappeared!"

"Just that one! This is a big doubt, but I didn't care at the time and continued to investigate, and ordered my brothers to inquire well!"

"But upon investigating, I found an astonishing thing!"

Li Long's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition swept over him.

"What?"