The Emperor, with more men than women, made me his mistress.

Upon seeing this scene early in the morning, Jin Chenyuan's breathing became somewhat heavy. Noticing his body's reaction, Jin Chenyuan immediately lifted the bed curtains, got out of bed, grabbed his change of clothes, and put them on one by one.

Looking at the ice basin in the inner room that had turned to water, Jin Chenyuan knew why Yue Li was keeping her distance from him: she was afraid of the heat.

He went outside and ordered people to bring in two more ice basins and replace them with fresh ones. "Be careful not to wake the princess."

Upon hearing Jin Chenyuan's words, the servants who came in to change the ice basin became even more careful, making sure they made no sound when they came in or went out.

You Yun carefully helped Jin Chenyuan wash up in the outer room, and then took the jade crown that had been prepared in advance to tie up Jin Chenyuan's thick black hair.

Seeing his master stand up, Youyun asked, "Master, Qingyun returned last night. Would you like to see Qingyun first, or have breakfast first?"

Upon hearing You Yun's words, Jin Chenyuan paused in adjusting his sleeves and asked in surprise, "Oh, Qingyun is back so soon? What time did you get back?"

"Your Majesty, Qingyun returned shortly after you and the Princess Consort left the residence," Youyun replied as she hung the jade pendant and sachet around Jin Chenyuan's waist.

At this moment, Jin Chenyuan also remembered that Haoyun seemed to have something to report last night, which he guessed was about Qingyun's return.

"I will have Qingyun report to the small study after I have finished my breakfast."

After smoothing out the last wrinkles on Jin Chenyuan's robes, You Yun withdrew.

Before long, You Yun led several servants into the room carrying Jin Chenyuan's breakfast. After gesturing for them to place the breakfast on the round table in the outer room, he waved for them to leave.

Seeing Jin Chenyuan handling official business on the soft couch, You Yun stepped forward and said, "Master, let's have breakfast first."

"Hmm." After finishing his official business, Jin Chenyuan put down his brush, closed the book, went to the washstand, washed his hands again, and then had breakfast served by You Yun.

After having breakfast, Jin Chenyuan casually picked a folding fan from a tray carried by a servant, and You Yun carried the official documents placed in the outer room. Together they went to the small study in Chenxi Courtyard.

At this moment, Qingyun was already waiting at the door of the small study.

Upon seeing his master approaching, Qingyun immediately knelt on one knee and bowed, saying, "Your subordinate greets Your Majesty."

As Jin Chenyuan walked into the study, he raised the folding fan he was holding and said, "Get up. If you have something to say, let's talk in the study."

"Yes." Qingyun bowed again before standing up and following Jin Chenyuan into the study, with Youyun, who was carrying official documents, following closely behind.

After neatly placing the official documents on Jin Chenyuan's desk and putting the writing brush and ink back in their original places, You Yun left to stand guard outside the door.

Jin Chenyuan sat behind his desk, looking down at Qingyun, who had become noticeably thinner and darker, and asked, "Tell me, what have you found out this time?"

Thinking of the information she had found out, Qingyun cautiously glanced at the master's expression and recalled what Haoyun had told her that morning.

Qingyun took a deep breath and said, "My master ordered me to go to Pingchuan County to investigate the Princess Consort's whereabouts based on Madam Yuan's clues. I have indeed uncovered quite a bit of information this time, but I wonder if any of it is related to the Princess Consort?"

"Sixteen years ago, Madam Yuan gave birth to a baby girl. I learned from the servants who used to work for the Yuan family that Madam Yuan lived at her parents' home in Pingchuan County from the time she became pregnant until the birth of the baby girl. Therefore, this matter did not reach the Qingyuan Mansion. The only people who knew about it were her husbands, her parents, and the midwife. Moreover, according to this servant, on the day Madam Yuan gave birth to the baby girl, she was taken away and sent to the baby girl's biological father."

"So, the young girl's biological father wasn't one of her husbands?"

"Yes, Master. The person I found is one of the people who delivered this young girl. According to him, they took her to Qingshan Village, which is under the jurisdiction of Pingchuan County, to the home of a man named Yuecheng."

“Moon City, Moon?” Jin Chenyuan muttered to himself.

"After finding out about Qingshan Village, I went there directly. However, in Qingshan Village, I did find out about a man named Yuecheng, but he had passed away last spring. There was indeed a woman in Yuecheng's family, but her name was Yueyue."

At this point, Qingyun paused again, glancing at his master at the head of the table, unsure whether to continue.

"Speak up, is there anything you can't say?" Jin Chenyuan tapped his fingers on the table, organizing his thoughts.

"Yes."

Although his master had given permission to speak, Qingyun still swallowed hard, composed himself, and began again, "I heard that after Yuecheng passed away, Yueyue's mother, Madam Yuan, visited Qingshan Village once and arranged a marriage for Yueyue with the six brothers of the Shang family in Liupu Village, next to Qingshan Village. I heard from the villagers that the oldest of these six brothers is over 40 years old, and the villagers describe them as lazy, gluttonous, and uncivilized. However, Yueyue didn't immediately marry these six men. The villagers say that Yueyue wanted to observe mourning for her father, so she refused Madam Yuan's offer." By late spring this year, Madam Yuan visited Qingshan Village again. No one knows what Madam Yuan and Yueyue discussed at home. The following afternoon, the three Shang brothers went to Yueyue's house in Qingshan Village. It is said that Yueyue, not wanting them to enter her home, led them to the foot of the mountain behind Qingshan Village. Many of the village women witnessed this, but the four did not descend the mountain by evening. Sensing something amiss, the villagers first gathered many strong men and searched the area, but to no avail. Finally, the village head of Qingshan Village reported the incident to the county government.

That evening, the magistrate of Pingchuan County ordered the county constables and strong men from Qingshan Village to search the mountain. However, they only found bloodstained men's clothes and women's embroidered shoes, clearly torn by wild animals. Therefore, the magistrate of Pingchuan County closed the case on the spot, saying that all four had died in the mouths of wild animals. After returning to the county office, he also arrested the other three Shang brothers and interrogated them. After learning that they were also involved in the case, he directly fed them poison and threw them into the mass grave.

"Is he really dead?" Jin Chenyuan paused in tapping the table, asking in confusion.

At this point, Qingyun swallowed hard again. "He... he shouldn't be dead!"

Qingyun was uncertain. He looked at his master at the head of the table. He had never seen the princess's current appearance before and wondered what the relationship was between their princess and Yueyue, who had been declared dead.

Seeing his master frown at his words, Qingyun quickly reached into his sleeve and took out a carefully rolled-up paper tube. He then placed it on his master's desk and said, "This is a portrait of a young woman named Yueyue that I drew based on the descriptions of the villagers of Qingshan Village. You may take a look, Master."

Upon hearing this, Jin Chenyuan raised an eyebrow, reached out and took the scroll, slowly unfolding the portrait.