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

The portrait depicted a woman dressed in a simple light blue dress. Even without makeup, her striking beauty was evident. Her long, black hair was held up with a single white jade hairpin, and her features were bright and her smile radiant. However, Qingyun had only captured about five-tenths of the spirit in her fox-like eyes.

Jin Chenyuan looked at the familiar face in the portrait. Who else could it be but Yue Li, who was still sleeping in her room?

Seeing his master staring intently at the portrait, Qingyun continued, "On my way back, when I left Pingchuan County and Xinzhou City, I used some connections from the Marquis of Sheng'an's mansion to find out that after this incident, someone used Yuecheng's household registration to enter and leave Pingchuan County and Xinzhou City. On the day we met the Princess, there were also records of Yuecheng entering the city at the gate of Qingyuan Mansion."

The Marquis of Sheng'an's family is Jin Chenyuan's maternal family. When Jin Chenyuan goes out to handle affairs, he usually uses the name of the Marquis of Sheng'an's family.

When Qingyun finished speaking, Jin Chenyuan understood.

Yueyue is actually Yueli. Yueli didn't want to marry the six brothers of the Shang family, and because Madam Yuan was interfering, she orchestrated everything. In this way, she included herself in the scheme, even changing her name, so no one would suspect that she was the one who planned it all.

This explains why Yue Li no longer has a registered household with the female head of the household. It's likely that the name Yue Yue has been removed from the household registration records of Pingchuan County.

As for Madam Yuan in Qingyuan Mansion, the accidental injury she sustained after returning from offering incense meant she would spend the rest of her life bedridden, which was likely a result of Yue Li's revenge.

It's just unclear how Yue Li managed to do it. You have to understand, there were not only Madam Yuan's two husbands in the carriage, but also so many guards outside.

Looking at the portrait on the table, Jin Chenyuan rubbed his forehead. His little princess was really something else.

He killed six people with a single move, crippled one of them, and that person was a lady.

She was usually very good-tempered, even when speaking gently to her servants. Now it seems that was because no one dared to offend her. Look at the fate of those who did—they were either dead or crippled.

It's astonishing that such methods were used on a young woman.

Jin Chenyuan asked Qingyun some more questions about Yue Li's past temperament and habits in Qingshan Village. Hearing that Qingyun's description was similar to Yue Li's current behavior, Jin Chenyuan dismissed Qingyun.

Before leaving, Qingyun hesitated for a moment, but still said, "I heard something while I was at Qingyuan Prefecture. I wonder if Master knows about it?"

Qingyun's words drew Jin Chenyuan's attention away from the portrait. He looked at Qingyun curiously and asked, "Oh, what is it?"

"That's right. I heard in Qingyuan Prefecture that one of Madam Yuan's husbands, Zhong Qishuo, was arrested by officials from the capital who came to Qingyuan Prefecture to handle the case. When I arrived, the arrested man was still being held in the Qingyuan Prefecture government office, awaiting further processing."

"After hearing about this, I made a special inquiry and found that the official who went to Qingyun Prefecture to handle the case was an imperial envoy specially dispatched by the court to handle the case of unauthorized iron ore mining."

"A case of illegal iron ore mining? So, does that mean Madam Yuan's husband is involved in this case?" Although Jin Chenyuan asked this question, the certainty in his words was obvious.

He was in charge of investigating this case, so of course he knew what was going on.

No wonder Qingyun heard that this Zhong Qishuo had influence in the government office; it turns out it was a case of collusion between officials and businessmen.

Qingyun stood there without saying a word. His job was simply to report the matter to his master. As for what to do next, that was up to his master.

Upon hearing this, Jin Chenyuan did not react much. Instead, he waved his hand, indicating that Qingyun could leave.

Not to mention that Zhong Qishuo is involved in the case of illegal iron ore mining, he must be severely punished.

Even if he is Madam Yuan's husband, even if Madam Yuan is really Yue Li's biological mother, so what?

Given that Yue Li desperately wanted to fake her death in order to escape her identity as her daughter.

If Yue Li knew about Madam Yuan's current predicament, she would probably applaud and laugh at it.

How could I possibly offer to help?

Qingyun probably still hasn't figured out who's behind Madam Yuan lying half-dead in bed.

He rolled up the portrait on the desk again, took a long wooden box from the bookshelf behind him, put the portrait in the box, closed the box, put it back on the bookshelf, and then got up and left the study.

He still has to go to the palace today to get a few people who can serve Yue Li personally. Hmm, he also needs to get a few people from the clothing workshop to make clothes specifically for Yue Li. After all, it's too troublesome to call outsiders to make clothes every time, and it's not convenient for Yue Li to use them.

After glancing at Yue Li, who was still fast asleep in the room, and instructing You Yun to guard the door, Jin Chenyuan took Qingyun and boarded a carriage, heading straight for the palace.

At the beginning of the Si hour (9-11 AM), Yue Li woke up and lay in bed for a while to calm herself down before she came to her senses. Feeling refreshed, Yue Li knew she had been washed.

Yue Li snorted inwardly. Although she still felt various discomforts in her body, the physical refreshment made her feel much better.

He sat up and repeated yesterday's steps: first, he took out a repair pill from his spatial storage and swallowed it, then he took out the jade bowl and drank a few sips of spiritual spring water. Immediately afterward, he circulated his spiritual energy to refine the medicinal effects.

Sure enough, as the effects of the medicine wore off, the marks on his body and the discomfort he felt disappeared in an instant.

Feeling all of this, Yue Li smiled helplessly. She never imagined that the healing pills she refined in the cultivation world would one day be used for something like this.

Looking at the crooked and disheveled undergarments she was wearing, Yue Li simply took them off. Looking at the only red bodice she was left wearing, Yue Li thought for a moment and decided not to take out the modern women's underwear that she had been asked to make when she was cultivating immortality.

However, wearing such a loose-fitting bellyband that swayed around when she walked was uncomfortable. Moreover, her body was so well-developed that she could use a belt to hold it in place when she wore men's clothing. Now, wearing the bellyband, she always felt uncomfortable and insecure as her chest swayed around when she walked.

Now that I think about it, no wonder those ladies walked so slowly; maybe they felt the same way I did.

It seems she'll have to draw some patterns later and go to a clothing shop to have some modern underwear made for her.

Sigh! It wouldn't be good if this world didn't have embroiderers. If you want to make a few pieces of underwear, you have to find those embroiderers to do it. Although they are all laborers, they are still men, and it's always a little embarrassing to ask them to do it.