Chapter 481: Hope Shattered

Weeding is easy because the goal is clear, but it is not so easy to eradicate the roots.

The roots underneath are intertwined in all directions, intertwined and extending silently in places where there is no sunlight, mixed in the soil, sand and stone nodes. Once the time is right, they will suddenly pop up, making it impossible to guard against them.

Therefore, the situation inside and outside the court, the capital, and especially the six palaces was only loose on the outside but tight on the inside. The emperor's close confidants, such as Zhou Hansheng, had not truly relaxed their vigilance for a moment, but had deliberately allowed some loopholes to emerge, hoping to lure the snake out of its hole so that they could be caught in one fell swoop.

No one knows how long it will take for this process to be declared complete.

However, the recent actions of the second and third wives of the Duke's Mansion had given Zhou Hansheng a keen intuition that something might be going on.

In the palace.

Concubine Mi was in dire straits, waiting for the investigation by Zhou Hansheng, the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple.

Although deep down she had actually believed what Yan said, they were still her relatives from her mother's side. Now the official results had not come out yet, and she was unwilling to give up even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance of success.

More importantly, the Mi family is her maternal family after all. If her nephew really died, and in Beiyuan, Zhou Hansheng alone might not be able to cover it up, and the emperor must be aware of it.

Otherwise, wouldn't Zhou Hansheng be afraid of being exposed?

If this is the case, and the emperor chooses to cover up for Zhou Hansheng, then what does the Mi family mean to the emperor? And what does she mean to him? This is what Concubine Mi refuses to believe and face no matter what.

Doesn't this mean that her role as a royal concubine is really incompetent?

Concubine Mi waited day after day, in agony. She would question the palace maids several times almost every day, ordering them to keep an eye on the situation and report any news immediately. She also sent someone to the Crown Prince every day, urging him to pay close attention to the matter and to inform her immediately of any news.

The eldest prince was in great pain, and he knew that human life was at stake, so it was understandable that she cared so much. Instead, he patiently went to her bedroom every day to tell her the news in person and comfort her.

However, Concubine Mi was not comforted. Sometimes she would even look at him with a look that the eldest prince could not understand, which made him feel a little cold in his heart.

The eldest prince could only think that she was worried and confused, so she was uneasy and her mental state was not very good, so he endured it.

How could he know? In Mi Guifei's mind, he was already considered to be in the same group as Zhou Hansheng and the emperor. Mi Guifei believed that they had joined forces to plot against her, deceive her, and bully the Mi family.

Putting Zhou Hansheng aside, the emperor's behavior can be described as cold-blooded and ruthless, but the eldest prince is also so ungrateful, Concubine Mi is really heartbroken!

I was also extremely angry and furious!

In a blink of an eye, five days passed.

Still no news.

The eldest young master of the Mi family seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Not only could he not be found, there was not even a single clue.

The Mi family cried and screamed, and ran to the government office to make trouble every day, which gave the officials in charge a headache and they had to patiently appease them.

At first, they could offer a few words of comfort and encouragement, urging people to be patient and that results would surely come. However, as the days passed, everyone knew that it would be difficult to find this person.

An adult who disappeared in connection with Beiyuan, was smart enough to have vaguely sensed something, but was even more unwilling to put in enough effort to investigate.

Who would believe that there is no trick in this matter?

If there is no trick, it is impossible that the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Shuntian Prefecture's auxiliary forces could not find any useful information!

Who else in the capital could have concealed the matter so thoroughly, except for the royal family and the emperor?

As for the reason, no one knows.

There is no way to guess this kind of thing, and there is no need to guess

It's impossible for the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court to be focusing on just one person. After so many days, the golden period for finding him has passed. If the battle is prolonged, it will not be a matter of one or two days, and it is impossible to have such a large-scale operation and so many people.

The Ministry of Justice had no choice but to come forward and explain to the Mi family: the matter will continue to be investigated, but it is hard to say when there will be a result. However, the Ministry of Justice will still make efforts.

Of course, the Mi family was not satisfied with this answer and made another fuss in the Ministry of Justice.

Mrs. Mi and her mother-in-law went to the palace to ask to see Concubine Mi. They couldn't help but cry bitterly in front of her and asked Concubine Mi to ask the emperor to order a thorough investigation and to find the person back.

The Mi family even had to prepare to accept the worst outcome.

But there must be a result!

Who can bear to be hung upside down like this?

Concubine Mi felt a wave of despair in her heart.

She felt even more desperate as she looked at her mother and niece-in-law who were crying like tearful babies.

She couldn't bear to tell them the truth.

Suddenly waking up and realizing her position in the eyes of the emperor and his own son, Concubine Mi, who had always been impulsive and prone to become arrogant when villains succeeded, also learned to be patient.

She knew that there were some things that should be said and some things that should never be said.

She knew that her nephew was gone, but she had no evidence. However, this was something she "should not" have known, so she could not know it.

She had to pretend to be the same as her mother's family.

Concubine Mi shed a few tears and choked with sobs as she comforted her mother and niece-in-law. She was afraid that she would not be able to bear the stimulation and say something she shouldn't, so she quickly sent them out of the palace.

Afterwards, Concubine Mi went to the Qianqing Palace with tear marks on her face and eyes as red and swollen as peaches, crying and begging for mercy from the emperor.

In her heart, she still held on to a tiny glimmer of hope, one in ten thousand.

Perhaps, even she herself doesn't know what she is still holding on to.

The emperor felt a little sorry when he saw this, but now that things had come to this, hiding the truth was the best way to deal with it.

It is not appropriate to create unnecessary complications right now.

We'll keep it a secret for as long as we can. Once we've dealt with the second and third wives of the Duke of Liguo's mansion, we can reveal it to the public.

The Emperor felt sorry for the situation and softened his tone. He comforted Concubine Mi, gave some rewards to the Mi family, and promised to order the Ministry of Justice to continue the investigation. No matter how long it took, he would give the Mi family an explanation.

When Concubine Mi heard this, her heart sank a little.

She listened with tears and sobs, and her whole body felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

In the end, the emperor chose to continue deceiving her and the Mi family, and favoring Zhou Hansheng!

Yes, she was obsessed with appearances, making this trip seem ridiculous! How could the people of the Mi family compare with the dignified prince of the Duke of Liguo's mansion?

(End of this chapter)