Palace Fighting: Naive Concubines' Ascent to Power-Chapter 570 Staring at Changzai Zhou

Zhang Qing spoke softly to report the latest progress within the Harem.

"As for Consort Zhen, I have followed Your Majesty’s orders and everything is ready. We’re just waiting for the right moment to act."

"Hmm," the Emperor responded indifferently, having anticipated Consort Zhen’s choice long ago.

At the end of his report, Zhang Qing said, "There’s another matter. Someone passed a message outside the Imperial Palace, and when I wanted someone to investigate the source, the servant delivering the message reached the lake and somehow slipped and drowned. We couldn’t find out to whom the message was meant for, I’m incompetent."

Now that the entire Imperial Palace is under control, any message sent out could only be what His Majesty intended, but unexpectedly, there was a slip through the net.

He explained in detail how it was discovered, what happened, and the outcome, emphasizing the scene by the lake at the end.

The servant clearly went to the lake with a purpose, to a secluded spot, seemingly to report back after completing a task as arranged.

Therefore, they did not capture him on the spot, fearing detection. His men only followed from a distance. By the time the man slipped into the lake, it was too late; in the remote location, the follower couldn’t swim, and could only watch helplessly as the man drowned. By the time help arrived to retrieve the body, he was long dead.

He feared it might be a slip through the net on Xue Ping’s side. If they became alert, it could jeopardize His Majesty’s arrangements.

The Emperor pondered for a moment.

Even if messages were sent out, they could only speak of the situation inside the palace. Canglan Court is sealed tight, its true state unknown to outsiders; thus no secrets could be leaked, and all outside news was released by his appointed people.

This tactic was obviously premeditated, intended to silence someone. The location by the lake was deliberately chosen; something was done to the lakeshore, and whoever was behind it never had plans to appear, merely using the opportunity to naturally eliminate that servant.

The Emperor asked, "Was there anything unusual about that part of the lake?"

Zhang Qing replied with uncertainty, "I went to take a look personally and if there is something unusual, it would be that the mud where the incident occurred was very mucky. The slide mark into the lake was somewhat reflective, as if..."

"As if it had been slicked with oil!" A flash of realization struck him, like an enlightenment.

At the time, he thought it was just the wet mud that made the slide mark reflective, but now considering it, something didn’t add up; the gleam was too strong. His attention had been solely on the wet mud at the time, without deeper thought.

He bowed and said, "I will investigate immediately to see which palace has recently obtained oil and then went to the lake."

"You will likely find nothing," the Emperor said coolly. "Put someone on Changzai Zhou and record everything she does."

The course of events was now clear, and he was certain it wasn’t Xue Ping. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Xue Ping’s most crucial spy within the palace had been captured, and this incident was wholly managed by that individual.

When you root out a radish, the dirt comes with it, and nearly all of Xue Ping’s people buried in the palace have been caught, exposing a lot of their activities, including the methods used to transmit messages.

Apart from Xue Ping’s people, there has always been another group hidden in the shadows within the palace. One must not forget, the person behind the Serpent incident has yet to reveal themselves.

"Yes," Zhang Qing answered, bowing.

He thought for a moment and understood why he couldn’t find anything following his initial line of inquiry—the person behind the scenes was meticulous, not leaving any obvious traces. The spilled oil could easily be substituted with leftover cooking grease, and the secluded part of the lake could have been prepared well in advance, making it difficult to trace.

However, he couldn’t comprehend why he was instructed to keep an eye on Changzai Zhou.

Just then, a round, rolling shadow approached from afar, stirring up a gust of wind.

The Emperor and Zhang Qing looked together and saw that it was Hu Miaomiao who had arrived.

At this moment in the Guo residence, there was one light still on.

Under this light, an anxious figure was reading a letter. It was Guo Neng.

He, too, had received a message.

After reading the letter from Guo Shun, he was both shocked and frightened.

He was shocked to learn that the Dead Soldiers dispatched to silence those in the south had failed to succeed, had failed to kill them all, and the key informant, the head of the He family, had been rescued.

His fear stemmed from the fact that they had again encountered the well-trained men in black from Yanqing Mansion. Each one was exceptionally skilled, and many Dead Soldiers had fallen to them. The men in black were now quickly escorting the head of the He family and his only son towards the capital. If they truly entered the capital, the Guo family would be finished!

These days had not been easy for him, played for a fool by a cunning group of bandits, making him furiously angry, yet he could only wait for the right moment. Those bandits were slippery and tough to handle.

At the same time, he was worried that his dispatched wife and children would be discovered, but thankfully, Guo Shun did not disappoint. He managed the affair smoothly and moved them to a hidden location.

Having settled this matter, he had just breathed a sigh of relief when he woke from a nightmare, his eyelids twitching with a strong sense of unease. In the middle of the night, he ordered Guo Shun to send Dead Soldiers at dawn to personally take care of the affairs in the south.

But what he had not expected was that the vanguard, those useless wretches, had botched the job so badly that the key figures were nearly delivered to the capital.

Luckily, Guo Shun was a sly old hand that he trusted deeply. Acting in time and upon reuniting with his men in the south, he made a decisive strike, severely wounding the men in black.

The letter informed him that each of the men in black was highly skilled and worked exceptionally well together, reminding him that the origins of these men were likely not simple.

In the letter, Guo Shun explained that due to the urgency of the situation, he took matters into his own hands and engaged the men in black, making deadly enemies with them. He asked for forgiveness and said that now that they had struck, they could not leave any survivors. Even though the men in black were formidable, there weren’t many of them left, and after being seriously injured, they couldn’t hold on much longer. He was confident that he could kill them all before they reached the capital.

Even without the reminder, Guo Neng himself had begun to sense something. He had speculated countless times about the origins of the men in black, and given the choice, he would never wish to oppose those people in his lifetime.

But he had no choice. At this point, there was no turning back. Only by killing all the men in black and the head of the He family and completely destroying the bodies could he protect the Guo family.

Far from blaming Guo Shun, he would have to reward him handsomely for his actions.

Now, as turmoil suddenly arose in the capital, his uncle Xue Ping was arranging a grand scheme. If they could defeat the Xu Family, his uncle’s influence in the court would surely surge, potentially returning him to the pinnacle of power, which would provide him with another layer of protection.

Having lost so many Dead Soldiers, he could not afford the luxury of grief. These Dead Soldiers, raised at great expense in terms of money and effort, were something only a family as wealthy as the Guo’s could afford. Each one took years to raise, and the loss of even one was heartbreaking.

But now was not the time for grief. If the Guo family itself were to fall, the Dead Soldiers would be useless.

Except for two retained as personal guards, Guo Neng dispatched all remaining Dead Soldiers, resolved to kill the men in black and the head of the He family on their journey.

As for that gang of bandits...

He revealed a bloodthirsty cold smile. They were just a rabble; they wouldn’t require Dead Soldiers—guards would suffice.

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