The emperor just doesn't treat everyone equally, and it's none of my business!

Tianshan Mountain is not far from the Forbidden City, and the emperor and empress returned to the palace at noon the next day.

Lu Junze knew what happened in the palace that day and had already sent people to investigate.

He has few children, and none of them are very healthy. Lu Junze has always felt that there is a problem. One or two would be an accident, but three or four would be a problem.

Lu Junze knew that there were not many people in his harem, but many of them were resourceful, otherwise he would not have been able to keep them from being caught for so long.

"Heaven is coming."

"emperor."

A man walked out from the darkness of the imperial study. He was dressed in black and had a mask on the upper half of his face, so his features could not be seen clearly.

"How's the investigation going?"

"Your Majesty, the clue is cut off at Concubine Lan."

Lu Junze's eyes were heavy: "I want to know all the details."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Tianlin recounted in detail what Yingyi had found out.

Princess Lan...

"Your Majesty, Concubine De requests an audience." Su Deyuan's voice was heard outside the house.

Lu Junze nodded to Tianlin, and with a flash, Tianlin disappeared again.

"Come in."

Concubine De walked in wearing a dark blue palace dress and a gorgeous hair crown on her head. Every step she took was dignified and elegant.

"I send my regards to the Emperor. May the Emperor be blessed with peace and happiness."

"Get up." Lu Junze raised his hand without any unnecessary movements.

De Fei lowered her eyes and a trace of disappointment flashed across her face: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"What does Concubine De want from me?"

“Your Majesty, something happened in the palace yesterday. Concubine Liu’s pregnancy…” Concubine De slowly told Lu Junze what happened in the palace yesterday.

"Your Majesty, the matter of Yue Hua Jin involves the Empress, and I dare not make a decision on my own, so I come here to report this to Your Majesty and ask Your Majesty to make the final decision."

Lu Junze was silent for a while, then asked, "Who do you think was responsible for this, Concubine De?"

Concubine De's eyes narrowed, and then she said calmly, "I dare not speak nonsense."

"I understand. I will send someone to investigate this matter. You go down first." Lu Junze said.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I'll take my leave." After paying her respects, Defei walked out of the imperial study. When her maid saw her, she hurried forward to support her.

Lu Junze is not a person who cares about appearance. When Defei first entered the palace, she was quite lively, but since she was named Defei, she has been very methodical in doing things, from speaking to walking, she is very disciplined, which makes people tired just by looking at her.

When Lu Junze was in the previous dynasty, he had to be careful about his words and actions so as not to be caught by the censors. When he finally had a chance to relax in the harem, he had to face the likes of Concubine De, so naturally he gradually lost interest.

Now he just saw that Defei's family was powerful in the previous dynasty, so he went to visit them every month.

"Su Deyuan."

"The slave is here."

"Did you hear what Concubine De just said?"

"I heard it."

"If you heard it, go check it out."

"Yes, I understand."

Lu Junze firmly believed that once anything was done, there would be traces left behind, and he didn't believe that the person behind it could handle it so cleanly every time.

This time, Tianlin and Su Deyuan's investigation, one openly and one secretly, may be able to find out something.

Su Deyuan made a lot of noise at Lu Junze's instruction, and the first person he investigated was the queen who had just returned to the palace.

The Queen did not know what happened in the palace in advance like the Emperor did. She had just finished listening to the palace maid's report when Su Deyuan arrived.

"Empress, Eunuch Su is here with his men." Yunzhi said.

Shangguan Yan already knew what Su Deyuan was here for, so he nodded and asked Yunzhi to bring people in.

"This servant pays my respects to the Queen."

"Eunuch Su, please stand up."

Su Deyuan stood up and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, Concubine Liu of Yufu Palace was murdered. The Emperor asked me to come and see how the Yuehuajin in your palace is being used."

"Yunzhi, take Eunuch Su to the storehouse."

"Yes, ma'am."

After Su Deyuan left, dissatisfaction flashed in the queen's eyes. After all, this matter was a matter of the harem. Defei did not report it to her but reported it directly to the emperor. And the emperor did not even tell her but sent people to search Fengyi Palace. Didn't he trust her?

"Your Majesty, the Emperor saw that you had just returned to the palace and couldn't bear to see you suffer so much." Yunhua, another personal maid of Shangguan Yan, said.

"hope so."

From the Queen's Fengyi Palace to Gu Shijin's Ningyu Pavilion, Su Deyuan did not miss any of them. When he arrived at Ningyu Pavilion, it was already noon.

Gu Shijin had heard about Su Deyuan's big move a long time ago. She had only one batch of Yuehua brocade in her palace, so she didn't even have to go to the warehouse. Gu Shijin had already taken it out and put it on display.

Su Deyuan also knew that Ningyu Pavilion had been checked once, so he just took a quick look and left with his men.

"Eunuch Su."

At the entrance of Ningyu Pavilion, Gu Shijin called out to Lu Junze.

"Young Master." Su Deyuan stopped and shouted.

Gu Shijin looked around, raised his hand to signal the others to go down, and then asked in a low voice: "It's difficult to travel on Tianshan Mountain, is the emperor okay?"

Su Deyuan saw that Gu Shijin was not asking questions that should not be asked, but was concerned about the emperor, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face: "My lady, the emperor is in good health."

"That's good. Thank you for your hard work, Eunuch Su." Gu Shijin stuffed a purse into Su Deyuan's hand.

Su Deyuan returned to Chengqian Palace to report the results of the investigation to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, apart from the Empress Dowager and the Concubine Dowager, only the Imperial Concubine, Concubine Lan, Concubine Zhaoyi, and Song Xiuyi have the wrong number of Yuehuajin in their palaces."

"The Imperial Concubine said that she used Yuehua brocade to make a set of clothes for the Empress Dowager and the Concubine. The Empress Dowager and the Concubine are not in the palace, so I cannot confirm it."

The imperial concubine had an elegant personality and rarely left her palace, so Su Deyuan thought that she would not be the imperial concubine.

"What about the other three?" Lu Junze asked.

"Empress Lan said that the Yuehuajin was kept by the servants and she didn't know."

Lu Junze looked up at Su Deyuan: “How much is missing from Concubine Lan’s palace?”

"Your Majesty, half a horse."

Half a piece of cloth is too much. To make a purse, only two or three feet of cloth are needed.

Seeing that the emperor did not speak, Su Deyuan continued, "The Yuehua brocade in the palace of Empress Zhaoyi was five feet short. Empress Zhaoyi interrogated the palace maids on the spot, and the maid in charge of the storehouse admitted that she had taken it for use."

“But I can’t find it anymore.”

In other words, “there is no evidence after death”.

"The Yuehua brocade in Song Xiuyi's palace was seven feet short. Song Xiuyi accompanied the Queen Mother and Concubine Dowager out of the palace. I did not ask the reason."

It had been three months since Song Xiuyi followed the Empress Dowager and the Concubine Dowager out of the palace to pray for blessings, and this incident happened less than a month ago.

"I understand, you can go down first."

Su Deyuan was about to go out when he felt the pouch in his sleeve and stopped.

"Anything else?" Lu Junze asked.

"Your Majesty, just now in Ningyu Pavilion, Concubine Jin asked me about you."

"Oh? What did you ask?" Lu Junze asked with interest.

Su Deyuan smiled and replied, "Noble Lady Jin asked if the emperor was in good health. It was difficult to travel on the Tianshan Mountain. Are you tired?"

After hearing this, Lu Junze raised the corners of his mouth slightly and a smile flashed in his eyes.

Among so many people in the harem, the last person who thought of caring about him was a noble who had just been favored for a short time.