TGCFNM -Chapter 460 Someone is Following

Chu Ling stared blankly at Bai Su. “Aunt Su, if the Crown Prince only discovered the bugs now, then it wasn’t him who secretly had Empress Hexiao’s body examined…”

Bai Su furrowed her brows. “Then who else could it be?”

Ghost Scholar spoke gravely, “It was the Empress. The only people who could have access to her and secretly examine her body are no more than two—you all know who they are.”

Chu Ling’s eyes sharpened: the Emperor and the Empress Dowager!

“But if they knew, then why say that Empress Hexiao died of illness, and not…?” Chu Ling paused, then realization dawned on her. Her brows knitted tightly. “No wonder that after the Empress died, His Majesty flew into a rage and executed many in the harem… so that’s why…”

“The Empress, being the central consort, was killed by someone—it’s an enormous scandal. Even if someone knew something was amiss, no one would dare investigate, because the dignity of the royal family outweighs everything else,” Ghost Scholar said, his face slightly cold. He looked at Chu Ling. “Think carefully, sir. If that’s the case, why was there suddenly a demand to reinvestigate this matter?”

Chu Ling pondered. “The surface reason seems to be that Fu Qingyu wants His Majesty to acknowledge his identity. But the real reason is probably related to… something bigger… and we’re all just pawns?”

Ghost Scholar let out a long sigh. “Whether you’re pawns or not, we’ll know once we get into the palace and see if we can find evidence.”

Chu Ling understood. Empress Hexiao had died long ago. No matter how crucial the evidence, decades had rendered it useless.

Yet someone had made it matter again.

After a moment of silence, Chu Ling said, “I’d better not tell them about this.”

Suddenly, Bai Su hooked her arm around Chu Ling’s and smiled. “Want to see the largest courtyard? Maybe it’s not the Empress Dowager who lives there, but His Majesty himself.”

Chu Ling’s interest piqued. “Wonder if we might find some treasure.”

Bai Su laughed and told Wangcai to sniff carefully when the time came, then pulled Chu Ling along. Ghost Scholar lagged a step behind, glancing at the camellias before following them.

“Royal families all love camellias,” Ghost Scholar remarked.

Chu Ling nodded, noting it down.

After circling the area and returning to gather, Chu Ling looked a little dust-covered and disheveled from wiping and rummaging through boxes. Wan Sanjin also looked filthy.

Su He frowned, looking at the two with disgust. “Did you roll around in the dust?”

Chu Ling shook her head. “I found a golden camellia.” She opened her palm—it was about the size of her hand, and in surprisingly good condition.

Su He exclaimed, “As expected of you, sir. You even pluck the petals!” He then looked at Wan Sanjin. “And you?”

Wan Sanjin looked pitiful. “The house collapsed, almost buried me inside!”

A reluctant smile appeared on Su He’s stiff face, and he quickly turned and walked ahead.

Chu Ling carefully put away the camellia. “Master Wan, Master Wan, disaster comes from your mouth,” she said, striding forward.

Wan Sanjin brushed the dust from his head and pitifully shouted, “Wait for me~”

When the three returned, the aroma of fish soup immediately hit them, and they hurried over.

Uncle Hong jumped in fright, ready to take action, only to realize it was Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin following Su He.

“What were you two doing?” Uncle Hong asked, shocked.

“The house collapsed,” Wan Sanjin replied pitifully, then tried to lift the pot lid to check if the fish soup was ready. Climbing out had been really exhausting.

Uncle Hong waved him away and frowned with annoyance. “Zhang Dong, take them to wash their faces and hands.”

Zhang Dong acknowledged and led the two of them away.

Su He thought for a moment and followed along to wash his hands as well.

When they returned, Steward Liu had already served the fish soup. After taking a few sips, they finally felt a bit of strength returning.

“Someone followed us here. I saw that person with a shifty face, so I knocked him out and tossed him aside,” Uncle Hong said.

Chu Ling froze mid-sip. “Could it be that he intended to go back and tattle, saying we weren’t investigating properly, and that he just came for a picnic…? Is he trying to frame me?”

Uncle Hong brought the bowl to his lips but then put it down again. “That’s actually possible.”

Su He thought for a moment, then put down his bowl and went back to the carriage. After a while, he took out a porcelain bottle and handed it to Uncle Hong.

Without thinking, Uncle Hong twisted it open.

“This is a hallucinogen,” Su He said.

Uncle Hong immediately recapped the bottle, looking nervously at Su He.

Su He explained, “Later, give this to that person. While he’s disoriented, just talk nonsense to him—it’ll be fine.”

Uncle Hong chuckled helplessly. “You’re still softhearted, unwilling to harm anyone.”

Su He shook his head. “Not exactly. I’ll remember that person’s face. If he does anything later, we’ll just poison him outright.”

Wan Sanjin nodded. “Mm, yes, poison him. Su He has plenty of poison at hand.”

At that moment, Chu Ling suddenly suggested, “What if we use him to spread some news… For example, ‘Master Chu really did find something—it turned out to be a dead gu worm. Does this mean the Empress was killed by a gu worm?’”

Wan Sanjin slapped his thigh. “Brilliant! Anyway, it’s not us saying it—it’s him. If we’re asked later, we’ll just pretend to know nothing.”

Chu Ling nodded. “Done.”

After they finished eating, Uncle Hong personally fed the hallucinogen to the man. Su He took advantage of the man’s dazed state to say many things. Once finished, they knocked him out.

“All right, Uncle Hong, let’s go.” Su He tossed aside a stick he had grabbed and pulled Uncle Hong along.

Uncle Hong glanced back at the unconscious man. How had they become so softhearted? Were they crazy?

By the time the two returned, everything was mostly packed up. They then boarded the carriage back to the capital.

Once back, Chu Ling, Wan Sanjin, and Su He went to the Lu residence again.

In reality, they didn’t do much—just stood before Lord Lu for a while. After being shooed away with disdain, they lingered a bit, even packed some snacks before leaving.

To outsiders, though, it looked like they had found some evidence and went to show Lord Lu.

Poor Lord Lu didn’t even realize he had been used. By the time he prepared to properly reprimand the three, they had already entered the palace.

Now, stepping out of the Lu residence, the three walked contentedly down the bustling streets of the capital, carrying snacks, cheerfully greeting passersby, and leisurely heading toward the Wan residence.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the Fuyun Teahouse, someone in a loose robe and a terrifying ghost mask—gender unknown—leaned by the window, looking down silently.

“Heh… once inside the palace, go ahead and investigate properly…”