"Yuanfu, check the eunuchs. Are there any eunuchs who have just been castrated?"
Yuanfu thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Your Majesty, no. All the eunuchs have been in service for some years, the youngest being one or two years. None of them have just been castrated. There are too many eunuchs in the palace now, and I am thinking of cutting some to leave the palace, so it is impossible to bring in any more people from outside."
"Oh, alright, I understand. You may leave now. I will summon you again if there is anything else."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Yuanfu withdrew, and the hall fell silent. Shilan and Fuyue stood beside Hailing, awaiting the Empress's instructions. Hailing thought for a moment, then stood up: "Let's go to the Imperial Study to see the Emperor."
She had something to say to Ye, which was a new discovery. The person hiding in the palace was likely a eunuch. If he was a eunuch, then it was certain that he was actually avenging Ruan Jingyue, because Ruan Jingyue was still the Queen of the Kingdom of Feng, and she naturally had eunuchs by her side. Ruan Jingyue was killed by Ye because of her, so that person blamed her for the crime.
Thinking about it this way, he felt even more certain that what he thought was right. He just didn't expect that a eunuch would have such a good relationship with Ruan Jingyue, and that he would be willing to take revenge on her for her sake.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Shilan and Fuyue accepted the order, reached out to help Hailing out of Liuyue Palace, and got into a sedan chair to go to the Imperial Study.
In the Imperial Study, Ye Lingfeng was discussing palace matters with Ji Shaocheng. Ji Shaocheng had been infiltrating the palace for some time, but the hidden hand had not made a move. So he came to ask the Emperor whether to continue his infiltration or find another way.
The eunuch went in to report that the Empress had arrived, and Ye Lingfeng immediately ordered the eunuch to invite Hai Ling in.
"Your Majesty, please."
Hai Ling gestured for Shi Lan and Fu Yue to wait outside, then went in herself. Seeing her brother Ji Shaocheng there, she smiled and nodded in greeting. Then she sat down next to Ye Lingfeng. Ye Lingfeng reached out and took Hai Ling's hand, gently asking, "Ling'er, what brings you here?"
"Today I summoned Yuanfu to inquire about some matters and made a new discovery. Yuanfu said that when they inspected the eunuchs, they removed their clothes for inspection, while when they inspected the palace maids, they had several familiar palace maids ask each other some private matters for verification. That's why they didn't find anyone sneaking into the palace. But judging from the current situation, this person is definitely in the palace. The entire palace has been searched, but nothing has been found. Obviously, this person is either a eunuch or a palace maid. However, it's very difficult to hide when inspecting palace maids, because if even the slightest clue is revealed, it would have been exposed long ago. So I suddenly thought of something. We've always thought that person was a normal person, hiding among the eunuchs and palace maids, but what if that person is a eunuch? Isn't it perfectly normal to hide among the eunuchs? His voice, his way of speaking, everything about him would be very difficult for anyone to detect."
After Hai Ling finished speaking, Ye Lingfeng and Ji Shaocheng were surprised. They looked at each other and then looked at Hai Ling.
Ye Lingfeng spoke in a deep voice: "Ling'er is saying that the man is a eunuch."
Hai Ling nodded, and Ye Lingfeng's expression changed drastically. His eyes suddenly turned deep, and he clenched his fingers, speaking in a dark voice: "Could it be that the person who is causing trouble behind the scenes is actually Ruan Jingyue's man?"
As soon as he spoke, Ji Shaocheng thought for a moment and agreed: "It's very possible. If it were something from the past, why would it only happen now? But this happened immediately after Ruan Jingyue was killed, which shows that the person behind this is indeed Ruan Jingyue's man, and a eunuch at that. How could a eunuch have such a good relationship with her that he would even help her avenge her?"
Regarding this, not only Ji Shaocheng, but also Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling couldn't figure it out. Why would a eunuch help Ruan Jingyue take revenge? Even if she was the Queen of the vassal state, she hadn't been in the palace for very long. What kind of relationship could she have developed with a eunuch?
The study was quiet for a while before Hailing spoke.
"Regardless of the relationship between that eunuch and Ruan Jingyue, what we need to do right now is to capture him, and then we'll find out why he and Ruan Jingyue are so close."
How do we catch him?
Ji Shaocheng asked, "There are nearly a thousand eunuchs in the palace, and this one is a real eunuch. It's probably impossible to find him one by one. It's also impossible to question each of them about their private affairs like we do with the palace maids. This person has been in the palace for so long, he must have found out most of what happened before. So this method is definitely not going to work."
Ye Lingfeng raised his long, narrow eyebrows, a hint of amusement flashing in his deep eyes, yet his face exuded an ethereal charm, making him appear dark and unfathomable. He smiled, and suddenly spoke amidst the shimmering light.
"I summoned General Ji earlier because I had thought of a way to lure out the person behind this."
"What method?"
Hai Ling and Ye Lingfeng pressed on in unison, as finding the person behind this was of utmost importance.
“Since he doesn’t move, we will. We can send someone to infiltrate among the eunuchs and then take the opportunity to poison the eunuchs and maids in the palace. In this way, the mastermind hiding behind the scenes may be happy because he has an accomplice, and when he is happy, he will give himself away.”
Hai Ling didn't say anything about Ye Lingfeng's idea, but Ji Shaocheng frowned: "Do we really have to poison those people? If it's fake, it will be easy to give ourselves away. And the person behind it will definitely be watching everything. Unless there's no flaw in any part, he won't expose himself. Otherwise, he definitely won't do anything."
After Ji Shaocheng finished speaking, Ye Lingfeng didn't say anything for a moment, but Hai Ling had an idea.
"How about this? When we poison those palace maids and eunuchs, we'll specifically target the older eunuchs or the palace maids who are supposed to leave the palace. These people should be dismissed from the palace, but we'll poison them, then get rid of them, give them the antidote, and let them go back to their lives. That way, the person in the palace won't be able to detect it, and we can naturally catch him."
After Hai Ling finished speaking, Ye Lingfeng and Ji Shaocheng agreed. Yes, that's how it should be done. In this way, the people in the palace would just think that those people had really been poisoned to death, and they wouldn't give themselves away.
"Let me handle this matter; you need not interfere."
He could simply have someone else handle it; Ling'er didn't need to do it herself.
"Okay, then I'll leave it to you."
Hai Ling nodded with a smile. Ji Shaocheng, who was in the study, had already excused himself and left after seeing the couple's affection.
Inside the room, Hai Ling, seeing that no one was around, reached out to massage Ye Lingfeng's shoulders and then his back, gently reminding him, "Don't overwork yourself, remember to rest more."
"I know, Ling'er, don't worry," Ye Lingfeng reached out and held a slender hand tightly on his shoulder, then pulled Hai Ling into his arms and gave her a deep kiss, followed by a soft, intimate kiss: "What do you think about us having a younger brother or sister for our little kitten?"
This way, the kitten won't be lonely when it grows up. Royal children are not like children elsewhere who can play with other children at will, so he can only play with his close brothers and sisters. Just think about how miserable he was when he was little, with no one to accompany him.
Now that there's only one kitten in the royal family, he's thought about this issue for a long time.
As Ye Lingfeng spoke, he moved his lips to Hai Ling's earlobe and gently bit her earlobe, causing Hai Ling to tremble slightly and quickly slap him.
"You think you can just have a baby like that? Right now, dealing with the bad guys is the priority. Don't forget there's still Feng Zixiao to deal with; he definitely won't stay quiet."
After Hai Ling finished speaking, she stood up from Ye Lingfeng's embrace. Upon hearing her words, Ye Lingfeng's handsome face instantly turned cold, and his eyes became even more icy and fierce. This time, I will absolutely not spare him again.
Even if he is Feng Qian's brother, it doesn't matter. Once they fight, I will make sure he dies without a burial place.
"I won't let him get away with this time."
Hai Ling naturally knew what he wanted to say, and she didn't want to let that perverted man off the hook. Hai Ling left the study and returned to Liuyue Palace. Ye Lingfeng immediately ordered Shi Zhu to come in and then told him to find someone to sneak into the group of eunuchs. He gave him these instructions.
Shi Zhu accepted the order and went to carry it out.
The next day, news indeed spread from the palace that several more eunuchs and palace maids had died. But this time it was different from the previous deaths. The previous deaths seemed to have been caused by being frightened to death, but this time, they were clearly poisoned. Each of them had a black and blue face, even their lips were black, and their whole bodies were black. At first glance, they looked like withered trees, which was frightening. Anyone who saw them was too scared to walk at night.
The matter caused another uproar in the palace. It quickly alarmed the Empress Dowager, who was unaware of the details and was extremely displeased.
Although Hai Ling knew the details, she didn't want to reveal anything, so she didn't tell the Empress Dowager. She simply advised her not to worry, as they would investigate the matter.
"Mother, don't worry and ruin your health. We will definitely find out the truth about this matter as soon as possible."