Guo Zhi was startled: "All the records of entering and leaving the palace? That's a huge project. May I ask what aspect Your Excellency is looking for? I can narrow down the scope first."

Zuan hesitated for a moment: "I need to check the palace maids' records of entering and leaving the palace."

Guo Zhisong breathed a sigh of relief: "That's easy. The palace has four gates. The Vermilion Bird Gate in the south is only opened for various important ceremonies and grand court assemblies; the Cloud Dragon Gate in the west is used by civil and military officials to enter the palace for work on ordinary days; the Literary Glory Gate in the east is generally used by some officials of the Nine Ministers and Hanlin scholars who compile books; palace maids and eunuchs can only enter and exit the palace through the Black Tortoise Gate in the north on ordinary days, so we only need to check the entry and exit records of that one gate."

Zuan hesitated for a moment: "What if they went out through one of the other doors?"

Guo Zhi shook his head: "Absolutely impossible. With so many eyes watching at every palace gate, it's impossible for a palace maid to get out from those places."

Zu An was relieved: "I'll have to trouble General Guo."

"You're too kind, Eleventh Master." Guo Zhi then led him to the Xuanwu Gate in the north.

Soon, a golden-armored general with thick eyebrows and large eyes arrived upon hearing the news: "Greetings, General Guo, greetings to this... sir."

Guo Zhi introduced the two men: "This is the Eleventh Master of the Golden Plaque, who is here on imperial orders to investigate the case. Please cooperate fully. This is Sima Ouwu of the Xuanwu Gate. He is in charge of all matters, big and small, of the Xuanwu Gate. Please ask him directly if you have any questions."

Each palace gate had a Sima, who was responsible for leading the guards at the gate and protecting the safety of the palace.

"Greetings, Lord Eleven." Seeing that it was a gold-medal envoy personally brought by Guo Zhi, Ou Wu did not hesitate to be polite.

"General Ou, greetings," Zu An cupped his hands in greeting, "I would like to inquire about the recent comings and goings of the palace maids."

“No problem,” Ou Wu nodded. “There are detailed records of all your comings and goings from the palace. Please come with me, gentlemen.”

He quickly led the two into a storeroom near the palace gate and ordered the people inside to bring out a ledger-like book: "I wonder which palace maid's entry and exit records Your Excellency wishes to check?"

Zuan said in a deep voice, "I'll take a look myself. Just mark all the records from the last two weeks."

He didn't want others to know that he was investigating Xinrui, and he deliberately moved the timeline forward.

“Alright!” Ou Wu showed no surprise. He had seen many such things in the palace, and he knew that the less he knew, the better.

Soon a thick register was placed in front of him. Zu An quickly flipped through it, while Ou Wu tactfully waited outside, and Guo Zhi also went out to chat.

Zuan flipped through the densely packed records and realized that there were so many people coming and going from the palace on ordinary days.

This was also because he was misled by the TV series in his previous life. In fact, there was a lot of communication between the palace and outside the palace. After all, many things in the palace had to be purchased from outside the palace.

There are so many noble people in the palace, and each of them can easily command a few servants, which adds up to a large number.

Fortunately, after becoming a cultivator, Zuan's mental strength was much stronger than in his previous life, and his reading speed was also far superior to what he had achieved in his previous life.

Zu An quickly searched through the relevant records, finishing them in about an hour, but unfortunately there was no record of Xin Rui leaving the palace.

Zu An went out, but Guo Zhi had already left after waiting for so long, leaving only Ou Wu behind.

"Has the Eleventh Master made any gains?" Ou Wu asked.

Zuan shook his head and then asked, "Is it possible that someone impersonated another person to leave the palace? That way, there would be no record of her."

Ou Wu exclaimed, "I don't think so. If this is found out, it's a capital offense. Who would take such a risk?"

"So that's possible?" Zuan pressed.

Ou Wu hesitated before saying, "If the other party can obtain the waist tokens and hand warrants of the other palace servants, it is indeed possible, but that would be extremely difficult..."

Zuan interrupted him directly: "I will have my embroidered-robed messengers come to help you verify the identity of everyone who enters and leaves."

He worried that the people at the palace gates might not take the investigation seriously, since it would be their dereliction of duty if they found out anything, so he specially dispatched embroidered-robed envoys to supervise them.

It has to be said that having someone under your command is indeed much more convenient.

Ou Wu's heart skipped a beat: "Yes!"

Zuan returned to the Embroidery Tower in a flurry of activity and dispatched a team of Embroidered-Clad Envoys. As a top-ranking Embroidered-Clad Envoy, he naturally had this authority, especially now that he was carrying out an imperial decree.

He then summoned another team and ordered them to investigate various hidden places within the palace, such as wells, ponds, and the bottom of lakes, to see if any new corpses of palace maids were discovered.

He strongly suspected that Xinrui was most likely silenced after getting involved in such a thing.

However, we must see the person alive or dead.

After making these arrangements, he rushed to the Imperial Household Department to investigate Xinrui's detailed information.

He quickly found what he was looking for. Just as Bai Fei had said, Xinrui's father had passed away early, leaving only her mother and younger brother in their hometown. Over the years, Xinrui had been working as a head maid at Baihua Palace, and her life had gradually improved. She used her saved monthly allowance and rewards to buy a house in the southern suburbs of the city and brought her mother and younger brother from their hometown to live there.

It also includes her home address.

Zuan couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect houses in the capital of this other world to be so expensive. Xinrui has a decent job, but she can only afford a house outside the Sixth Ring Road."

He dared not delay, so he immediately summoned a team of embroidered-robed messengers to leave the palace with him, not knowing if it would be too late to get there now.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Palace, the Crown Princess had just finished discussing the upcoming Crown Prince's examination with some trusted ministers when Rong Mo quietly came over and whispered a few words in her ear.

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