"Have you ever heard of any relatives who have helped the Empress Dowager choose her house over the years?"

The maidservant thought carefully, then replied, "This servant has never heard of the Empress Dowager having any relatives outside the palace..."

The Empress felt increasingly frightened and murmured, "Then it's probably true! When Eunuch Shou left that day, the Empress Dowager asked him to describe the appearance of the guardian in his memory to the palace painter. The woman in that portrait must be the descendant of the guardian she has been looking for. Over the years, the Empress Dowager has not only sent Eunuch Shou out of the palace to help her find the son who guarded her, but has also painstakingly found the lost descendant of the guardian."

Following this line of thought, a chill ran down his spine: "So, even the servants of the Duke of Shou already know what the Guardian looks like. However, perhaps they are unaware that the Guardian's descendant is the current Princess Consort of Qin. Otherwise, the Qin Prince's Mansion would already be the target of everyone's ire!"

Thinking about it, I couldn't help but feel a little fortunate: "I never expected that when the Princess Consort of Qin went to the palace to pay homage to the Empress Dowager, she was stabbed by the daughter of the Vice Minister of War in the Imperial Pharmacy, which actually saved that girl."

The maid seemed not to have heard the Empress's murmured words clearly: "What is Your Majesty saying?"

The Empress continued, "We must not let the Princess go out to meet anyone again! Especially, we must not bring her back to the palace. But this is not a long-term solution. Time is long, and they will eventually meet again. What should we do?"

The Empress was extremely worried and anxious: "No, we must inform the King of Qin immediately so that we can prepare a response in advance."

"Boom..."

Not long after Xuanyuan Han left the palace, accompanied by a series of loud noises, a torrential downpour suddenly began.

However, as soon as the royal decree was issued, dozens of royal guards braved the wind and rain to quickly gather in the west of the city and immediately began to divide the work to conduct a thorough search.

After a long and arduous journey, we finally found this tranquil ten-mile-long lotus pond at the foot of a very secluded mountain before dark.

After the rain, egrets took flight from the lotus pond in fright.

At this moment, a thin mist enveloped the entire mountain area, and the lake was shrouded in mist, making the lotus pond look like a fairyland.

The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of lotus blossoms, a truly refreshing and delightful scent.

In early summer, the endless expanse of emerald green lotus leaves, like jade umbrellas, covers the ten-mile-long lake.

Pink, white, and orange lotus flowers, like graceful fairies, stand proudly even in the face of strong winds and rain, displaying their tenacious vitality.

However, no one had time to appreciate even a moment of this rare and magnificent scenery.

Cheng Liang personally led his generals to search every courtyard, large and small, within dozens of miles of the foot of the mountain, but found nothing.

Left with no other choice, he finally approached his master, somewhat dejected, and reported: "Your Highness..."

At this moment, Xuan Yuanhan, who was riding his horse and stopped by the lotus pond, gazing at the majestic, verdant mountain before him, heard the voice and asked in a deep voice, "How is it?"

Cheng Liang shook his head helplessly and angrily, and reported: "I have ordered my men to expand the search area again and again. We have searched all the places that can be searched nearby, but we have not found any suspicious people."

This outcome seemed to have been expected by Xuan Yuanhan, who remained completely unmoved, his gaze fixed on the mountain before him.

Cheng Liang couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that the information is wrong?"

Xuanyuan Han said firmly, "No, this message must have been specially arranged by the Empress to be delivered to me by the Crown Prince. The Empress grew up by my father's side and was deeply loved and taught by him. She has always been a person of great principle and would not give me false information."

Cheng Liang thought for a moment, then felt extremely puzzled: "So where exactly is this villa?"

At this moment, Xuanyuan Han seemed to have finally made up his mind, and immediately ordered, "Enter the mountain!"

"What?! Go into the mountains?!" Cheng Liang exclaimed in surprise, his eyes widening.

He was utterly astonished by his master's decision: "It just rained heavily; the mountain roads must be rugged and muddy by now. Besides, it's getting dark almost here..."

But as soon as he tried to stop him, he saw that his master had already gone off alone. He had no choice but to raise his hand and lead everyone into the mountain.

However, to everyone's surprise, there was a hidden paradise inside this mountain.

Not long after entering the mountains, a ladder to the mountain suddenly appeared before us.

The stone steps, shrouded in a thin mist, seemed to lead all the way to the mountaintop when viewed from afar.

"Everyone spread out and defend around the mountain. If anyone is seen coming down from the mountain, arrest them immediately."

At this moment, Cheng Liang ordered everyone to spread out along the mountainside and form a circle to guard it, while he and Xuan Yuanhan went up the mountain alone.

Following the stone steps, the master and servant walked up one level at a time, and could see the endless mountain range beside them.

Water cascades down from a great height, crashing against the protruding cliff face. The splashes of water surge and the mist rises, as if everything in the world has come to a standstill, with only the water dancing and cheering.

The beautiful scenery along the way, accompanied by birdsong, fragrant flowers, fluttering butterflies, and babbling brooks, makes it a truly enchanting place.

Just as the master and servant reached the mountainside, a stone-paved path appeared, stretching eastward.

The two exchanged a glance and then followed without hesitation.

Night fell at that moment.

A bridge called Lan Yue Bridge appeared before us, spanning both sides of the mountain valley, its reflection cast in the emerald green stream.

Under the dim lights, the curved bridge and its reflection transform into round moons in the water, creating such a beautiful scene.

After crossing the bridge, sure enough, there it was, alone in the mountains. It was hard to believe that there really was a beautiful mountain villa with green bricks and brown tiles, standing on the cliff face, hidden in this mountain range.

Nestled among the trees and blending seamlessly with the mountain scenery, everything appears so natural and elegant.

The master and servant were instantly stunned.

After some investigation, it was confirmed that the villa was guarded inside and out.

The master and servant found a relatively secluded spot, and with a light leap, they entered the courtyard unnoticed.

However, after searching every nook and cranny of the courtyard and every room in front and behind, he still couldn't find the person he was looking for.

Cheng Liang was deflated again and asked Xuan Yuanhan beside him, "Your Highness, they're not here at all. What should we do now?"

Just then, a little girl walked by alone.

Seeing this from the darkness, Xuan Yuanhan reached out and pulled her over, covering her mouth and restraining her arms, asking, "Have two strangers come to the villa recently?"

The little girl was so frightened that she nodded repeatedly, then shook her head in a panic.

Xuanyuan Han instructed, "Don't worry, we won't hurt you. Just tell us where those two people are now?"

Seeing that the little girl seemed to have listened to him and gradually quieted down, she slowly gave up struggling.

Xuanyuan Han slowly released his hand from the little girl's mouth.

The young girl patted her chest, took a breath, and said, "These past few days, two strangers did come to the villa. They said they were sent by the Empress Dowager and had the Empress Dowager's waist token. However, this morning they went down the mountain saying they were going to have morning tea, but only one of them came back."

Cheng Liang asked in confusion, "Why did only one person return?"

The little girl shook her head and said, "Only Uncle Shou came back. He only said that Young Master Long went to a faraway place to do errands for the Empress Dowager. Perhaps neither he nor Young Master Long will come back here again. So he packed his bags and left in a hurry."

"They've all left?" Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang was surprised that his brothers had spent so much time only to be disappointed again, and he immediately asked to confirm it with him again.

"Yes, they have all left." The little girl answered with absolute certainty.

At this moment, Xuanyuan Han asked, "When did this happen?"

The little girl thought for a moment and said, "It was around noon when Uncle Shou left. I saw him go out and go down the mountain with my own eyes. At that time, I tried to persuade him to eat before leaving, but he said that things were urgent and it was inconvenient to stay here for a long time, so he insisted on leaving."

Unfortunately, realizing he was indeed a step too late, and that Shou Bo and his servants had already left, Xuan Yuanhan had no choice but to depart.

Cheng Liang hurriedly went forward to follow.

Unexpectedly, in the pitch-black night, the little girl suddenly called out from behind the two of them, "Excuse me, are you His Highness Prince Qin?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan turned around abruptly. His face was clearly covered with a thick mask, so how did this little girl recognize him?

Seeing that her guess was indeed correct, the young maidservant slowly stepped forward and stood before him, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness, the Prince of Qin!"

Xuanyuan Han asked in confusion, "You are..."

The young maid said, "I am a maid in the Empress's palace. The Empress instructed me to lie in wait here for many years, saying that if His Highness Prince Qin comes here to question me one day, I must tell him everything I know without reservation."

Xuanyuan Han looked into the little girl's eyes in surprise and said, "Was all of this arranged by my sister-in-law long ago?"

The young girl nodded and began to report to Xuan Yuanhan everything she had collected about the Empress Dowager over the years…

Upon hearing the little girl's account, Xuan Yuanhan's eyes widened in fury: "Is everything you've said true? Father... Father was really poisoned to death by the Empress Dowager herself?"

The young maid nodded and said, "What I said is absolutely true. It was something the Empress Dowager told me when she came to the villa to escape the summer heat two years ago. She was drunk one day, and I heard her say it with my own ears."

Startled, Xuan Yuanhan stumbled and almost lost his footing.

Upon seeing this, Cheng Liang and the little girl rushed over and helped him up.

Xuanyuan Han murmured in disbelief, "How could this happen? Why would this happen? At that time, Father Emperor had already disregarded Mother's feelings and made her Empress. That position was already hers. Why would she still do such a cruel thing?"