I Became the Devil Queen's Heart Demon

Chapter 1291 - 496: The Empress Strikes Back! This Is Just My Thing! (Part 2)

Feeling the tingling sensation, Yu Youhan contentedly closed her eyes and said, "There have indeed been some findings. After Gao Yuheng left the Imperial Palace, I followed him in the shadows. Sure enough, he couldn’t hold back and hurriedly met with the person behind the scenes that night..."

Chen Mo pressed, "Who is the person behind the scenes?"

Yu Youhan replied, "The Prime Minister, Zhuang Jingming."

"So it’s him?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.

Thinking carefully, with Wu Lie’s mindset, it wouldn’t be possible to directly arrange for Gao Yuheng to ’enter the palace to assist the Emperor’ to avoid giving others leverage. He would definitely use someone else’s hands, and that person must be one of the core few in power.

Lu Huaiyu already had suspicions of betrayal, and Wei Xuan was difficult to control, so the power-hungry Zhuang Jingming naturally became the best choice.

"Long before you returned from Qing Province, Wu Lie summoned Zhuang Jingming to the palace, expressed that his end was near, and that he was in his final moments, deciding to make him the minister to assist the Crown Prince in securing the dynasty."

"However, as Chu Yanli held significant military power and harbored resentment towards the Imperial Family, once she learned of the Emperor’s demise, she could very well seize the throne and grab power."

"So, to clear obstacles for the Crown Prince before his death, he set up this scheme."

"First, he used dispatch limits to weaken Chu Yanli’s military power, then had Zhuang Jingming accuse her of reckless militarism at court to further provoke her. With Chu Yanli’s personality, she would surely storm into Qianji Palace to demand answers."

"By then, using the earth-shaking as a signal, Wu Lie would have pre-arranged soldiers rush in through the West Gate to catch her in the act."

"Even if they didn’t catch Chu Yanli, the blame would fall on her. The national guardian general would be portrayed as a regicidal rebel, her golden body would be shattered, the army’s morale would certainly be shaken, and the military power would naturally be smoothly retrieved for growth."

Yu Youhan explained leisurely.

After hearing this, Chen Mo was dumbfounded, "Zhuang Jingming actually believed this crap?"

Yu Youhan shook her head, "He had no choice but to believe because after Wu Lie arranged all of this, he died on the spot, ’died’ right in front of his eyes."

Chen Mo’s Adam’s apple moved, suddenly enlightened.

With Wu Lie’s means, it was not difficult at all to deceive Zhuang Jingming’s eyes.

And Zhuang Jingming would never have imagined that Chu Yanli had long known Wu Lie was not in the palace, so she couldn’t have come to reckon. In fact, he was facing Consort Yu, who was even more terrifying than the Princess...

With such a difference in information, the Prime Minister became a scapegoat.

"Originally, Zhuang Jingming was also hesitant and informed Jiang Wangye, receiving strong support from the Jiang Family." Yu Youhan said, "However, in fact, the Jiang Family had long known that Wu Lie had faked his death to escape, merely wanting to seize this opportunity to grab military power."

"Wait..."

Chen Mo sensed a problem, puzzled, "How did the Jiang Family know Wu Lie faked his death?"

"This is also the biggest discovery of my trip." Yu Youhan said solemnly, "Because such a trick, Wu Lie has not only used once, and your guess was correct, Wu Lie is the former Emperor, just a change of body."

"And the reason the Jiang family knows all this is because the Empress Dowager’s surname is also Jiang."

As soon as these words came out, the air suddenly became silent.

Chen Mo’s heart skipped a beat. He had long speculated about Wu Lie’s identity. Not only was he the former Emperor, but it’s very likely that all the past Emperors of the Great Yuan were all the same person, and he was the traitor Ba She referred to as ’Lin’!

But regarding the Empress Dowager, he had never heard the Empress mention anything. Could it be there’s a secret that couldn’t be shared?

"But unfortunately, even though that Jiang family woman is a direct line, her memory is sealed by some force. I am not particularly good at soul searching, so the things I can see are indeed limited..."

Yu Youhan’s eyes flashed with a cold gleam. "If I could catch Jiang Wangye, I should be able to find more clues. That is also why I kept Zhuang Jingming around."

Chen Mo gathered his thoughts and pondered, "Now that the plan has been exposed, the other side is unlikely to show up easily anymore. We’ll have to find a way to draw him out..."

Step—

At this moment, footsteps came from outside the door.

Yu Youhan reacted swiftly, quickly got up to latch the door.

Immediately afterward, the door was pushed, and the Empress’s drowsy voice came: "Strange, why doesn’t the door open? Little thief, are you inside?"

"Your Highness..." Chen Mo walked over, just about to speak, when a soft hand covered his mouth.

Yu Youhan’s cheeks flushed, her eyes moist, whispering, "If you don’t want Jiang Yuchan to get jealous, you’d better not make a sound."

?

Before Chen Mo could react, he saw the Empress take off her long dress, her fair jade-like skin seemingly born from the heavens, her hands resting on the door frame, slowly bending down—

"Perhaps he’s asleep. Why lock me out?" The Empress leaned against the door frame, muttering. After all, besides Chen Mo, no one else dared to enter her bedchamber.

Unbeknownst to her, just beyond the door, it was a completely different scene.

"..."

Looking down at that smooth jade-like back and the graceful curves, Chen Mo swallowed, his heart both nervous and inexplicably excited.

To think, driven by jealousy, the usually proud Empress would take the initiative to do such a thing...

"At this moment, shouldn’t the Empress be the most worried about herself?"

"Hmm?"

"The person who needs to keep quiet is you, you know."

"Hm???"

...

...

The incident of the earthquake in the Eastern Royal Palace quickly spread throughout the Capital City.

The Ministry of Works Repair and Cleaning Bureau and the Internal Affairs Office’s Construction Division jointly took charge of the aftermath, performing large-scale emergency repairs and internal clean-up.

However, days passed, and the Emperor and Crown Prince still did not appear. Coupled with the sudden retirement of Gao Yuheng, the Commander of the Divine Strategy Army, everything seemed to carry an eerie air.

Perhaps hearing some rumor, Lv Bojun, Ding Yi, and other high officials in court were tight-lipped about it, and the atmosphere seemed like a storm was brewing.

Chen Mo, who was at the center of the vortex, seemed quite leisurely these days.

He spent his days flirting with Li Yuan at the Government office and occasionally visited the Imperial Music Bureau for some drink and merriment, a picture of someone indifferent to the turmoil.

However, everyone was already used to his nonchalant attitude. Once this Lord Thousand Households got serious, it usually meant something big was about to happen.

"My Lord, this is from Lin Catcher of the Six Gates, a patrol report of each district in the Capital City. No large-scale population disappearances were noted." In the Fire Department Court, Li Yuan placed a stack of documents on the table.

Chen Mo picked it up to look through carefully, most cases were related to theft and brawling, and those few cases of disappearances were mostly false reports.

"Could my thinking be wrong?"

"Wu Lie might not need to absorb large amounts of human blood to regain power?"

Chen Mo rubbed his chin with his fingers, feeling there was something inexplicable, a veil that he couldn’t see through.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Send more people over to strengthen patrols, including nearby counties that should be closely watched. Report any anomalies to me immediately."

"Yes." Li Yuan nodded.

"What about the Demon Suppression Department? Any recent movements?" Chen Mo asked.

Li Yuan replied, "Same as always, Commander Ling still claims to be in secluded cultivation, but the amount of Spirit Plant procurement is increasing day by day..."

Chen Mo’s frown deepened.

Lately, the Capital City’s winds are turbulent, and Wu Lie is nowhere to be found, with countless eyes lurking in the dark watching him.

Ling Yishan is at a critical stage of reshaping his Dao Foundation and cannot afford any mistakes. To avoid arousing suspicion, he hadn’t visited the Demon Suppression Department, and Ling Ningzhi had been busy taking care of her grandfather. The two hadn’t met in a while.

However, from the consumption of Life Continuation Pills, Ling Yishan’s physical condition was looking grim.

"Strange, Daoist Venerable said he’d return with the pill formula, but it’s been so long without any news?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "Yuan’er, I have something to do and need to go out, keep an eye on things at the Government office."

Li Yuan asked curiously, "My Lord, where are you going? Should I prepare a horse?"

"No need, just one step away."

With a thought, Chen Mo held the bronze key in his palm.

As Primordial Qi infused into it, a rift opened in the void, revealing a Light Gate.

Behind this gate was a towering mountain peak enveloped in mists and bright clouds, like a fairyland on earth.

"What’s this..."

Li Yuan was stunned by this "open a door to a mountain" sight, taking a long time to come to his senses.

"I’ll be right back. If anyone comes by, just say I’m in secluded cultivation as well."

Chen Mo pinched her cheek and stepped into the World Gate.