Chapter 172: Emptying the Private Treasury

At this moment, only a few palaces in the harem still had their lights on, and the brightest was the Empress's Palace.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor didn't come to the harem today?"

"Yes, Empress, no."

The Empress furrowed her brows, her complexion looking rather unpleasant.

"Empress, the imperial physician did not detect a joyous pulse during diagnosis, perhaps…"

"Now the time is still short, so failing to diagnose is normal, but I have already taken the medicine, and with…" At this point, the Empress's words halted: "In any case, by whatever method, the Emperor must come to my palace and stay the night."

"Yes, the old servant understands."

The Empress rubbed her temples, her face full of fatigue.

"How is that matter progressing?"

The matron lowered her body, crouching beside the Empress, and whispered: "Empress, after the assassin left that day, he headed straight out of the palace; the palace guards failed to catch him, and our people could not locate him. Moreover, all of our officials in the Ministry of Revenue have been stripped of their posts and investigated; this loss is indeed severe."

"Damn it!" the Empress slammed the table hard: "It's not surprising that our people can't find him, but the Emperor can't even find a single clue; that's abnormal, showing that the Emperor never intended to capture that assassin. The matter of the Bai family still hasn't been swept away from the Emperor's mind."

The matron, hearing this, wore a faintly cold expression: "Empress, you mean… the Emperor suspects you?"

"We must find that assassin; I will personally interrogate him," the Empress said, her eyes narrowing slightly, as the memory of the assassin's gaze that day flashed in her mind.

Her heart and eyes were filled with hatred.

A bone‑gnawing hatred.

That gaze was somewhat reminiscent of an old acquaintance.

"This matter must be kept secret; no one may get a foothold on it."

"Yes, Empress."

The Empress thought she was being discreet, but Chi Nan Yi heard everything clearly.

The Bai family affair is related to the Empress.

Is the Empress the mastermind behind this?

The Empress is the Grand Preceptor's daughter, of lofty status; Meng Hui has said that the Grand Preceptor is absolutely loyal to the court. For the Empress to try to eradicate the entire Bai family and the Situ Family on her own, it should not be that easy.

Moreover, her father was clearly caught in an enemy ambush.

That being said, it means someone was secretly colluding with the enemy and betraying the nation.

Relying on the Empress alone, it would be hard to accomplish so many deeds.

Who are her accomplices?

This matter is becoming more and more complicated.

When the lights in the Empress's Palace went out, Chi Nan Yi tiptoed into the palace; at that moment, the Empress was already sound asleep, and the night‑watch palace maid and the matron beside her had also fallen into deep sleep.

To be safe, Chi Nan Yi tossed a handful of powder, ensuring they wouldn't wake up midway.

If the Empress truly colluded with the enemy, there would certainly be correspondence.

She carefully rummaged through the room, but found nothing useful.

Could it be that she didn't keep the letters here?

Just as she was pondering, Chi Nan Yi's hand accidentally brushed a mechanism; the bookshelf silently swung open, revealing a massive treasury in her sight.

This… is the Empress's private treasury!

Chi Nan Yi's eyes lit up.

Indeed, a sudden bright turn—no evidence, yet a treasure.

The Empress's private treasury was filled with valuable items.

Among them, the most dazzling was her Nine Phoenix Crown.

The crown was inlaid with nine golden phoenixes, each holding a brilliant Eastern Pearl in its beak, exceedingly splendid.

The most precious of all was the top jewel of the crown, a huge Eastern Pearl, perfectly round and lustrous.

Chi Nan Yi waved her arm, shoving all the treasures in the vault into a void, leaving only the Nine Phoenix Crown and the Empress's Golden Seal Treasury behind.

Only all the Eastern Pearls on the crown had vanished.

Chi Nan Yi looked at her masterpiece, very satisfied.

She was very curious what expression the Empress would make upon seeing her empty vault.

It was indeed something to look forward to!

After restoring the vault to its original state, Chi Nan Yi slipped away silently, and no one in the Empress's Palace noticed any irregularity.

An hour later, as dawn approached, Chi Nan Yi returned to the vicinity of the Cold Palace, saw no one around, and threw the still‑unconscious Qing Shan onto the ground.

Chi Nan Yi pretended to be frantic, shaking him: "Hey! Wake up, wake up!"

Qing Shan slowly opened his eyes, shook his head: "I… what happened to me?"

"You fainted."

"Fainted?"

"Now is not the time to dwell on this; if we don't leave now, neither of us will ever get out."

Qing Shan's consciousness gradually returned; he grabbed her shoulder and leapt over the wall, fleeing quickly.

Early the next morning, a sharp shout rang through the palace.

The Empress stared at her empty private treasury, blinking frantically.

"No, no! It must be that my dream hasn't ended yet," she said, opening her eyes again and checking repeatedly; the private treasury before her remained empty.

"Empress… this…" the matron stammered in shock.

"What's going on? What is this? Find it for me! The audacious scoundrel actually dared to steal into my quarters—how infuriating! Find it!"

"Yes!"

The theft in the Empress's Palace quickly spread.

Mo Junyan's eyebrows twitched slightly when he heard the news.

"Prince, you haven't seen the Empress's frantic, almost mad appearance," Yun Shui said, unable to suppress a snicker.

"As if you had seen it with your own eyes," Yun Tian gave him a cold glance, "Aren't you just hearing it secondhand as well?"

Moving that many items out of the Palace in a single night is absolutely impossible.

But why does this matter feel so familiar?

Such a disappearance in one night has occurred before.

Meng Family, Crown Prince, Empress.

It seems the belongings of these people vanished in a single night.

And throughout this incident, the same person seems to have appeared each time.

Chi Nan Yi.

Mo Junyan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Chi Nan Yi, what is your real secret, after all?

Two days later, a very wide carriage slowly passed down the street, and a woman lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, peering out curiously.

In a private room, Chi Nan Yi examined the woman's appearance closely.

The Yuqin Guo envoy finally entered the capital.