"What a clueless one!"

Xuanyuan Che laughed in anger, slamming the table with a deafening bang that made everyone tremble again. "Do you think I'm a fool?! I'm asking you one last time, has anyone seen a stranger enter the Palace of Heavenly Purity today?!"

The eunuchs and palace maids looked at each other in silence, each one trembling in fear. They glanced around, but no one dared to utter a word. The atmosphere was so oppressive that even the air seemed to have frozen.

After a long silence, a young palace maid came out tremblingly, knelt on the ground, and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito:

"Your Majesty... I... I seem to have seen Cuihua from the Empress's palace... secretly coming to the Palace of Heavenly Purity..."

"Cuihua?"

Xuanyuan Che's eyes instantly became sharp, and his tone was gloomy, "What is she doing in the Qing Palace? Who let her come?! Li Dequan, bring Cuihua to me immediately!"

"Yeah!" Li Dequan did not dare to delay and quickly turned around and went out.

Xuanyuan Che's gaze fell on Chunlan again, like a sharp sword, as if to pierce her: "Chunlan, you'd better tell me the truth! What did Cuihua give you? What did you do?!"

Chunlan's face was as pale as paper, her lips were trembling, but she kept clenching her teeth and didn't dare to say a word.

"Don't tell?"

Xuanyuan Che sneered, walked up to Chunlan, and suddenly lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I'll give you one last chance! If you don't tell me, I'll make you feel a life worse than death!"

Chunlan could no longer hold back her tears, and they burst out. She was trembling all over, and her voice was hoarse: "Your Majesty... This servant... This servant really dares not say... The Empress... The Empress..."

"Queen?!"

Xuanyuan Che's face instantly darkened, a storm in his eyes. He jerked Chunlan's chin away and shouted, "Come here, take Chunlan away and interrogate her strictly! I want to see who gave her the courage to stir up trouble right under my nose!"

Several guards immediately stepped forward and dragged Chunlan, who was as limp as mud, away.

Xuanyuan Che stood with his hands behind his back in the center of the hall. The golden dragon on his robe gleamed coldly in the candlelight. His eyes were deep and sinister, as if filled with endless rage. The atmosphere in the side hall was extremely oppressive. Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to breathe, for fear of angering the enraged emperor.