Huanzhu Time Travel: Yan Luo's Unbreakable Love in the Yong Dynasty

The Empress and Consort Ling acted swiftly, reinforcing the palace's security. Squads of guards patrolled every corner of the palace, their footsteps echoing clearly in the quiet night. Moonlight shone upon them, illuminating their resolute figures.

The Empress stood at the palace gate, looking at the patrolling guards, her expression serious: "Consort Ling, we must be careful in dealing with the Shadow Cult's actions this time. We cannot overlook any part of the inner palace; we must ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Consort Ling nodded in agreement: "Your Majesty the Empress is absolutely right. I have already arranged for reliable palace maids and eunuchs to keep watch for any suspicious activity throughout the palace. They will report back immediately if any news comes in."

Meanwhile, Fu Heng's men had begun secretly monitoring Chen Qiming. Chen Qiming seemed to sense something and became even more cautious. For several days in a row, aside from attending court as usual, he almost never left his residence.

That evening, Chen Qiming finally made his move. Dressed in plain clothes and wearing a bamboo hat, he left the mansion under the cover of night. Those secretly monitoring him immediately followed.

Chen Qiming hurried through several streets and arrived at a grove of trees outside the city. The grove was pitch black, with only the occasional chirping of insects. Chen Qiming wandered through the trees, turning left and right, seemingly searching for something.

The person following cautiously trailed behind, not daring to make a sound. Finally, Chen Qiming stopped under a large tree. A moment later, a dark figure emerged from the depths of the woods and met Chen Qiming.

"How's it going?" the shadowy figure asked in a low voice.

Chen Qiming looked around to make sure there was nothing amiss before saying in a low voice, "The imperial court has been investigating closely lately, so it's been difficult for me to move around. But don't worry, I've done everything I could; it just needs some time."

The shadowy figure sneered, "Hmph, it had better that way. Don't forget, your life is still in our hands. If anything goes wrong, you know the consequences."

Chen Qiming trembled slightly: "I understand, I understand. But the situation is not good for me right now, so you must give me more support."

The shadowy figure paused for a moment: "Alright, I'll give you some more time. But you need to speed things up; the Shadow Cult's plans can't be delayed because of you."

After saying that, the dark figure turned and disappeared into the woods. Chen Qiming lingered there for a while before hurriedly leaving.

Those who were following Chen Qiming witnessed everything. After Chen Qiming had gone far away, they quickly returned to the city and reported the news to Fu Heng.

Upon hearing this, Fu Heng's expression turned grave: "It seems that Chen Qiming is indeed problematic. His collusion with the Shadow Cult must be part of a larger conspiracy. We must gather more evidence as soon as possible and bring him to justice."

The next day, Fuheng went to the palace to report the matter to Hongli. In the imperial study, after listening to Fuheng's report, Hongli was furious: "This Chen Qiming dared to collude with the Shadow Cult; his crime is unforgivable!"

Fu Heng bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Although we have confirmed that Chen Qiming has dealings with the Shadow Cult, we do not yet have conclusive evidence. Taking rash action may alert them."

Hongli frowned slightly: "Then, in your opinion, what should we do?"

Fu Heng pondered for a moment: "Your Majesty, we can continue to send people to monitor Chen Qiming and at the same time look for evidence of his collusion with the Shadow Cult. In addition, we must also prevent the Shadow Cult from taking desperate measures and doing something detrimental to the court."

Hongli nodded: "Alright, we'll do it your way. You must investigate this matter as soon as possible and absolutely not let the Shadow Cult's conspiracy succeed."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Fu Heng acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Upon returning to his residence, Fu Heng immediately summoned his men to arrange further surveillance and investigation. He knew that time was of the essence, and every minute and second was crucial.

Meanwhile, in the inner palace, the Empress and Consort Ling dared not relax their vigilance in the slightest. One afternoon, the Empress was handling affairs in the palace when a palace maid hurriedly entered, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, we just found some strange footprints in the garden of the inner palace. They don't seem to belong to anyone from the palace."

The Empress's expression changed: "Take me to see her immediately."

The Empress and Consort Ling followed the palace maids to the garden. Beside a patch of flowers, they found some deep footprints, which did not appear to have been left by ordinary palace maids or eunuchs.

Consort Ling frowned: "Your Majesty, it seems there really are suspicious individuals infiltrating the palace. We need to increase patrols and thoroughly investigate every corner."

The Empress nodded: "Notify all guards, maids, and eunuchs to conduct a thorough search of the inner palace. We must find this suspicious person."

In an instant, the inner palace was a hive of activity. Guards searched everywhere, while palace maids and eunuchs kept a close watch on their surroundings.

Just then, a guard discovered a suspicious package in a secluded corner of the inner palace. The package was wrapped in black cloth and looked very mysterious.

The guards carefully presented the package to the Empress. The Empress opened it; inside were some strange letters and a map. The contents of the letters were obscure and difficult to understand, seemingly written in some kind of code.

Consort Ling looked at the letters with a grave expression: "Your Majesty, there's definitely something wrong with these letters. They might be related to the Shadow Cult."

The Empress frowned slightly: "Immediately send these letters and maps to Lord Fuheng and have him find someone to decipher them. This may be the key clue for us to find the Shadow Cult's inside man."

The palace maid obeyed and left. The Empress and Consort Ling gazed towards the inner palace, their hearts filled with worry. This battle against the Shadow Cult had reached a critical juncture. Could they use these clues to uncover the Shadow Cult's conspiracy and expose the traitor hidden within the court? Everything was shrouded in uncertainty.

This chapter concludes here. Stay tuned for the next chapter.