After the cannon fodder father and daughter married into the family, the whole family regretted it

"I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep. I'll just stay here today. I don't know if there's really only this one maid. If things don't work out, will the person behind it have another plan?"

Qing Yan looked at him, then turned and ordered the palace servants: "Send someone back to the palace to tell them that it's too late tonight and I'm staying overnight at Fang's mansion."

……

The guards inside and outside the Fang Mansion were strengthened, and patrolling servants and Qing Yan's men took turns to patrol.

Fang Yin went back to the bridal chamber, while Fang Tong, Fang Nanzhi and Qing Yan sat together. Instead of relaxing because of the temporary calm, the atmosphere became even more tense because the enemy was in the dark and they were in the light.

"Something's wrong," Fang Tong's knuckles tapped lightly on the table, the more he thought about it, the more confused he became. "They only sent a maid who wasn't very skilled, and used a method of drugging that was insidious but not unsolvable..."

Qing Yan pondered and said, "Unless... this maid herself, and even her failed action this time, is just a cover."

"A cover?" Fang Nanzhi muttered repeatedly, his mind racing.

If the other party's goal was not to create chaos at the wedding or to hurt my second aunt, what would it be?

A thought flashed through her mind like lightning. She raised her head abruptly, a trace of fear in her eyes: "If they don't mean to hurt anyone, nor do they mean to stop us from investigating the case..."

She looked at Qing Yan and spoke in a hurried tone: "Chen's followers? These people didn't attack Chen Yong and me. Is it possible that they found it?!"

Qing Yan instantly glanced at his subordinates and gave the order without hesitation: "Immediately issue a curfew at all nine gates. No one is allowed to enter, no one is allowed to leave. Conduct a secret search throughout the city, focusing on gatherings of unfamiliar faces, unusual movements of people, and especially any signs of connection with the military. All East Palace secret guards are deployed!"

The order was passed down quickly.

Time passed by minute by minute in the anxious waiting. An hour later, a leader of the East Palace guards, with a cold air from all the travel, rushed into the front hall and knelt on one knee without even having time to perform the full ceremony.

"Your Highness! There are no unusual reports from anywhere in the capital, but we just received an urgent report that the late emperor's tomb has been looted, and several guards have suffered casualties!"

"The Imperial Tomb was robbed?!"

Several people were horrified.

……

In the palace, the emperor was furious upon hearing the news and smashed his favorite teacup. He immediately issued an edict, ordering the prince to take full responsibility and the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to work together to solve the case within a time limit. No matter who was involved, they would be severely punished!

Qing Yan received the order and was about to set off overnight.

Fang Nanzhi stepped forward without hesitation: "Qingyan, I must go. The Chen clan may be closely related to this matter. I may be able to recognize some clues."

Qin Yan also immediately asked to go along.

The prince looked at Fang Nanzhi's determined eyes. He knew her connection to the Chen family and that she was no weakling. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded. "Okay, Zhizhi, Qin Yan, you will come with me, but you must follow my instructions and are not allowed to act on your own."

Imperial mausoleum in the suburbs of Beijing.

The imperial mausoleum under the night sky, with its back against the vast mountains, appears particularly solemn and eerie.

The night wind blew through the pines and cypresses, making a whimpering sound. The air was filled with soil, grass, and a faint smell of... blood.

The imperial mausoleum steward was already terrified, his face pale. He crawled forward and threw himself at the prince's feet, his voice trembling: "Your Highness, your Highness, I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

"Enough of the nonsense. What's the situation? What's missing?"

The steward trembled as he reported, "Your Highness, fortunately, the mausoleum is heavily guarded. Although the outer tomb passages were destroyed, the core Xuan Palace could not be broken into. Only seven or eight of the guards guarding the mausoleum were killed or wounded..."

The prince and Fang Nanzhi exchanged glances. This was the tomb of the late emperor and it was of great significance.

"How did the thieves know about the mechanism in the mausoleum? And how could they find it accurately?" the prince asked.

The steward's face showed an even more terrified expression. He fell to the ground, hardly daring to look up. "Your Highness, please understand! It's... it's the traitor! It's Princess Qi and her family who are guarding the Xianling area. They... they are colluding with the thieves!"

"Princess Qi?" Qing Yan frowned.

Prince Qi was the eleventh brother of his father, the emperor. He was born out of wedlock and his mother was of low status. Many years ago, he was impeached by the censor for allowing his servants to seize people's land and cause deaths, which made the emperor furious.

Later, many people took advantage of his misfortune, which led to many incidents. In the end, he was exiled to the imperial mausoleum for reflection and guarding, which was tantamount to imprisonment.

The Crown Prince ordered a thorough search of the area around Xianling Mausoleum and the courtyard where Princess Qi lived. Fang Nanzhi suppressed some discomfort with the mausoleum environment and carefully examined the damaged tomb entrance and traces of fighting, trying to find any clues related to the Chen family.

Just before dawn, a guard who was searching the eastern edge of the forest suddenly reported, "Your Highness, we've discovered intermittent traces of blood on a secluded path leading to the official road."

Everyone was cheered up and immediately followed the blood trail.

The bloodstains were intermittent, dripping on the grass and stones, indicating that the injured person had difficulty moving and was trying to cover his whereabouts.

After tracking for about an incense stick of time, they found the first body behind a dense bush.

He was a man wearing the coarse cloth of an ordinary citizen. His face was blue and purple, his eyes were wide open in fear, and there was an arrow stuck in his chest. The blood around the wound had already coagulated.

His fingers dug tightly into the soil on the ground, as if he was experiencing great pain before death.

Fang Nanzhi's eyes fell on the man's hands covered with thick calluses and thick joints, as well as his sturdy physique that could not be concealed even though he was wearing cloth.

"This is definitely not an ordinary tomb robber. It looks more like a soldier who has undergone rigorous training, or a death squad secretly trained by a noble family."

The prince's eyes were cold as he ordered, "Continue searching."

It's bright.

Fang Yin came out of the new house feeling refreshed, with a look of satisfaction on his face.

It was not until this moment that he learned from the guards on duty about the shocking incident that had occurred in the imperial mausoleum last night. His face suddenly changed and he immediately strode towards the main hall.

In the main hall, Fang Tong, Qian Fengping, Fang Nanzhi and Qin Yan were having breakfast. The atmosphere was a bit depressing. When they saw Fang Yin come in, they all put down their chopsticks.

Fang Yin came over and said, "I've heard everything. What happened to the imperial mausoleum? Tell me in detail."

Fang Nanzhi and Qin Yan talked to each other, briefly recounting how they speculated last night that the other party's target might be Chen's troops, how the prince ordered martial law throughout the city, and how they later received the news that the imperial tomb was robbed, rushed to find the traitor overnight, and tracked down and found the body.

"They're robbing the imperial tomb, collaborating inside and outside. These people are truly lawless!" He looked at Fang Nanzhi and Qin Yan, "You guys went with them too? Did you run into any danger?"

"Don't worry, Uncle. With Qing Yan and the many guards here, I'm safe." Fang Nanzhi shook his head, "It's just that this matter is too strange."