The torrential rain during the prayer ceremony lasted for a day and a night, and only gradually stopped the following afternoon.

Xiao Wu and Qi Zhou interrogated the Imperial Guards and Imperial Bodyguards on duty over the past few days and actually found a clue.

It turns out that Yang Zhaowen planted the gunpowder.

Not only that, he also admitted that he was responsible for the affair between the eldest princess and the empress dowager.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard found a seven-petaled lotus mark on Yang Zhaowen's arm," Song Ting reported the results of his investigation to the young emperor.

"Since he has confessed, let's make this public to prevent the events of the prayer ceremony from spreading and arousing suspicion among the people," the young emperor said.

A day and a night had passed, and the young emperor had recovered from his extreme fear.

Previously, with Song Ting and Zhang Bingzhi around, the young emperor liked to consult them on everything. But this time, the latter met with an unexpected accident, and the emperor was as if he had lost an arm, making him much more composed than before.

Chu Minghuan didn't know how many people believed him. After the prayer ceremony came to an end, the imperial carriages heading east departed from Baima Temple and returned to Chang'an.

—On the night of the grand ceremony, Wang Guanghe requested an audience with Chu Minghuan. The two men had a private conversation for an hour, and the emperor immediately issued an order to return to the capital.

Although no one knows what Wang Guanghe said to the emperor, everyone knows in their hearts that the Empress Dowager is probably dying.

The Dayan royal family had an unwritten rule that concubines who died outside the palace could not be buried in the mausoleum, regardless of their status or the reason for their death.

Rules are rules, and they will not change because of anyone or anything.

Therefore, if the Empress Dowager cannot return to the palace in time, she will lose her eligibility to be buried in the mausoleum.

This was a tremendous disgrace not only to the Empress Dowager but also to the Emperor. The young Emperor would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen.

The emperor arrived at breakneck speed, sharing a carriage with Wang Guanghe, and the return journey was no different. In fact, the return trip was even more urgent than the journey there, with the long procession raising countless clouds of dust on the official road.

A slender white hand lifted the beaded curtain of the carriage, and a beautiful woman in red lazily leaned out, her eyes glancing at the commander of the Imperial Guards standing beside her.

His tone was as nonchalant as ever when he spoke: "The Commander is truly impressive, daring to even defy the Emperor."

The young emperor originally wanted to ride in the same carriage as Chu Huaixu. Regardless of whether Chu Huaixu admitted it or not, he was convinced that Chu Huaixu was the one he was looking for and enjoyed being close to him.

The young emperor's admiration was undisguised, and not only Chu Huaixu noticed it, but Song Ting also saw it clearly.

Everyone says that the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is the dog of those two in the palace. Song Ting also sees himself as a dog, but what he wants to protect is not Chu Minghuan and his mother, nor the Great Yan Empire.

This vicious dog won't allow anyone to get near his precious pet.

There has only ever been one person to whom he swore allegiance and would protect with his life.

Therefore, when Chu Minghuan suggested riding with Young Master Huaiyue, Song Ting stopped him without hesitation. He would not allow anyone to covet his treasures, not even the emperor.

Not only that, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who was the emperor's lackey, actually abandoned the emperor to his subordinates and instead eagerly guarded a man.

During this time, everyone became aware of the identity of this Young Master Huaiyue, and thus gained a deeper understanding of the Commander's power and influence.

The journey was swift, and the imperial carriage returned to Chang'an safely seven days later. At that time, the Empress Dowager was barely clinging to life and could pass away at any moment.

The Empress Dowager's passing was a national day of mourning, and the entire country was in mourning. The Ministry of Rites had already begun preparing the Empress Dowager's coffin and burial items, leaving Song Ting with some free time.

Since that day at Lao Jun Mountain, Song Ting had not seen Yan Qingshan again. Now that he had finally returned to the manor, he saw him immediately.

The latter treated Song Ting's mansion as his own, setting aside a space in the backyard to blatantly raise his scorpions and centipedes, which terrified the servants who came to sweep and clean, and they dared not step into the backyard again.

He himself was happy to have some peace and quiet, and settled down to eat and drink well. Whenever something went wrong, he would scare the people in the mansion to amuse himself.

The housekeeper was also troubled by this. As soon as Song Ting returned, the old man complained with a troubled expression:

"Sir, who exactly is that gentleman in the backyard? Why does he keep... keep scary things like centipedes, scorpions, and poisonous snakes? He keeps whatever is scary."

"And he doesn't want to come out all day. He needs servants to bring him food and drink, but with all those animals he keeps, who would dare to bring him food and drink?"

"Putting everything else aside, just a few days ago, Xiao Lin finally mustered up the courage to bring him lunch, but that gentleman threw a centipede at his head, which scared Xiao Lin so much that he fell ill and had a high fever that wouldn't break in the middle of the night..."

Feeling unwell again on the way to Huaixu, Song Tingcai had just coaxed the person to sleep when she heard this and frowned, saying, "He's not going to eat you, what's there to be afraid of?"

There were hundreds of centipedes. Just hearing them crawling around together was terrifying enough. Who in the manor had ever seen such a gruesome scene?

The butler thought to himself. Of course, he didn't dare to contradict Song Ting aloud, and followed behind Song Ting with a forced smile.

Just as the two were about to reach the backyard, the butler involuntarily stopped in his tracks.

Since no one wanted to go near the backyard, delivering meals to the masked guest every day became the butler's biggest headache.

Xiao Lin was originally quite brave; if the butler gave him an extra chicken leg or a piece of meat, he would be willing to make the trip. But ever since that frightening experience, Xiao Lin has never dared to come again.

This task naturally fell to him, the steward of the Song family.

He went in three times a day, and each time he was scared half to death. As soon as he saw those scorpions and insects huddled together, tearing at each other, his scalp tingled and his legs trembled. He really didn't want to go in again.

He's such an old man, he doesn't want to end up being devoured and killed by the five poisonous creatures.

Song Ting noticed this as well, but didn't mind: "Go ahead. Tell the kitchen to prepare some palatable sweet soup."

The steward, relieved, replied, "Yes, sir!"

The side courtyard is divided into east and west sides. The west side was originally empty, but now it has become Yan Qingshan's territory. As soon as Song Ting entered, just as the steward had said, the courtyard was crawling with centipedes and venomous snakes.

Upon suddenly seeing a stranger, the Five Poisons all assumed attack postures, staring intently at Song Ting.

This should have been a terrifying scene, but Song Ting felt no fear whatsoever and walked steadily inside.

Instead, the venomous snakes, their tongues flicking, seemed to sense some danger and quickly moved aside, making way for Song Ting.

His murderous aura was so strong that even terrifying poisonous creatures feared him.