Chapter 746

"Quickly summon Minister Xu!"

"Order him to enter the palace carefully, don't let his tracks be discovered. I have a very bad premonition right now."

Empress Dowager Xiao looked at her confidant palace maid, her voice sounding, her phoenix eyes filled with worry, her heartbeat extremely fast at this moment.

"Yes!"

The confidant palace maid Zhilan hurriedly bowed and left the bedchamber, her body hidden in the thick night of the imperial palace, heading straight for the Prime Minister's mansion.

Empress Dowager Xiao was pacing back and forth in her own bedchamber, her face, still charming, full of annoyance.

This matter concerned her life and death; she could not help but treat it with caution.

Soon.

Xu Xuanji, wearing a eunuch's robe, arrived at the Empress Dowager's bedchamber.

He took off his hat, lowered his head carefully, and said, "Your subject pays respects to the Empress Dowager. I don't know why the Empress Dowager summoned me late at night?"

Xu Xuanji looked curious; he had just fallen asleep when he received Empress Dowager Xiao's summons.

At such a late hour, Xu Xuanji instinctively felt that something big was wrong, so he hurriedly changed his clothes and entered the palace carefully.

Empress Dowager Xiao's phoenix eyes fell on Xu Xuanji, and she said directly, "The worst result has happened. This Living Yama seems to have discovered a clue!"

Once these words were out, Xu Xuanji's expression changed instantly.

He naturally knew what Empress Dowager Xiao was referring to, and precisely because of this, his expression was even uglier.

He had only heard today that Wang Zhong and Yan Zheng had hit a wall because the Living Yama had a way to deal with it as long as he dared to take it, and his view of Gao Yang had been raised another level in his heart.

He had previously wanted to send people to give gifts and then use that as a handle to threaten Gao Yang, but now it seemed he had almost wasted a wave of money.

But because of this matter, plus Gao Yang's past methods, Gao Yang was the existence that made Xu Xuanji most wary in the entire court!

"Empress Dowager, what is going on?"

Xu Xuanji asked nervously.

Empress Dowager Xiao looked solemn and looked at Zhilan to the side.

Zhilan said directly, "This evening, Imperial Guard Commander Li Long sent people to investigate Chen Qiang everywhere, claiming he wanted to see the person alive or see the corpse if dead!"

"And he has left the palace late at night. Although our people didn't dare to follow randomly, that direction is exactly the direction of the Duke of Ding Prefecture!"

Xu Xuanji's heart sank suddenly, his fists clenched. He looked at Zhilan and said, "Why did Li Long investigate Chen Qiang? Do you know the reason?"

"It is said that it is because the Living Yama's brother was set up by that Chen Qiang and cheated of money, so the Living Yama asked Imperial Guard Commander Li Long to launch an investigation!"

"Set up? Cheated of money?"

"Is it really such a coincidence?"

Xu Xuanji's eyes narrowed, a coldness radiating from his body.

"Empress Dowager, I'm afraid this matter is not that simple." Xu Xuanji looked at Empress Dowager Xiao and said with a solemn face.

Empress Dowager Xiao's eyes were cold, and she said, "I naturally know it's not simple. That Living Yama's brother was cheated of money—there are millions of people in Changancheng, why was it Chen Qiang?"

"And why not investigate earlier or later, but precisely after the Lin family arrived at the Duke of Ding Prefecture, did this investigation launch?"

"One is a coincidence, but so many coincidences together are definitely not a coincidence! I dare to conclude that this Gao Yang must have heard some wind!"

"Now I don't know how much Chen Qiang knows, and how much this Living Yama knows. This matter is truly thorny!"

Empress Dowager Xiao's phoenix eyes were cold, her voice extremely icy.

Xu Xuanji also felt it was difficult to handle, but he said, "Empress Dowager, since we can't solve this thorny problem, why not solve the person?"

A killing intent appeared in Xu Xuanji's eyes, and he made a throat-slitting gesture.

"I have many good hands under my command; their assassinations are all above standard!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Xiao looked at Xu Xuanji and scolded, "Stupid!"

"Gao Yang is a poison strategist, full of eight hundred heart-eyes. I heard that back in Linjiang City, because of great public anger, he always wore two layers of soft armor when going out and stayed close to his guards!"

"Now with such a big matter, wouldn't he take more precautions?"

"Assassination, who can kill him?"

Xu Xuanji stopped talking. Empress Dowager Xiao's words made sense; a poison strategist plans for himself, and with such a big matter, he must have taken many precautions!

Empress Dowager Xiao continued: "For this kind of matter, he ordered Li Long to investigate openly; perhaps it is a trap aimed at me. If I kill Li Long or assassinate Gao Yang, it would prove that the news in his hands is true. This point is highly likely!"

"Furthermore, the Duke of Ding is powerful. If Gao Yang is killed, the Duke of Ding will surely go crazy. Perhaps he also knows some news, which will only be more unfavorable to us!"

The more Empress Dowager Xiao spoke, the more difficult she felt it was. Gao Yang's move had truly stumped her; she now felt that no matter what she did, it was wrong.

In her first encounter with the Living Yama, she had fallen into a disadvantage before even fighting!

Xu Xuanji frowned, "Empress Dowager, what should we do? Should we just pretend we don't know anything?"

Empress Dowager Xiao took a deep breath, her eyes flickering,

"Since this Gao Yang ordered Li Long to investigate openly, the news he has in his hands is not much, and there is no evidence at all. Otherwise, why go to such trouble? He would have presented it to His Majesty, and His Majesty would have come to question the crime long ago!"

"Now we can only stay still and respond to changes with constancy!"

Seeing this, Xu Xuanji could only nod, but he always had a feeling that his life had entered a countdown...

"..."

Meanwhile.

Duke of Ding Prefecture.

In the small courtyard, Gao Yang sat on a stone chair, holding a cup of fine wine, looking up at the bright moon.

"Tsk, good wine!"

Gao Yang took a sip of wine and let out a sigh.

Beside him, Lv Luo walked up and said to Gao Yang, "Eldest Young Master, it's already midnight, aren't you going to sleep yet?"

"Could it be that tonight, you want to play something elegant?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang almost choked on the wine he had just drunk.

"What do you mean by wanting to play something elegant tonight? I am waiting for an honored guest to arrive." Gao Yang looked at Lv Luo and spoke.

"Honored guest?"

"It's so late, who would still come?"

Lv Luo looked curious, her gaze measuring Gao Yang's waist, and then her expression turned strange, "Eldest Young Master, could it be that you have been too tired recently and want to rest for two days?"

"Cough cough!"

Gao Yang coughed twice, then stared at Lv Luo's pure face that revealed a hint of "I understand." If the timing weren't wrong, he would really want to carry Lv Luo inside and teach her a lesson.

Lv Luo saw the expression on Gao Yang's face and hurriedly comforted him, "Eldest Young Master, although Lv Luo is not a man, I have heard the older sisters in the mansion say that men are oxen and women are fields. In this world, there are only oxen worked to death, not fields plowed to ruin."

"So Eldest Young Master, it's okay, it's okay. Eldest Young Master has several fields; it's normal to occasionally not want to plow."

Lv Luo tried her best to comfort him, but Gao Yang felt a deep sense of humiliation.