"Your Majesty," the Prime Minister began, "this matter is of great importance. Perhaps we should detain Qi Mingxuan first and wait until the truth is revealed..."

"Absolutely not!" Xiao Chengyu immediately objected. "Mingxuan is still recovering from his injuries and is not in his right mind. How can he endure the hardships of imprisonment?"

The court officials were deadlocked. In the end, Xiao Xun ordered that Qi Mingxuan be placed under house arrest in the palace and guarded by the Imperial Guards, until the truth was found out before a decision was made.

Back in her palace, Xiao Chengyu looked at the side hall guarded by the Imperial Guards, her heart breaking. She knew this was a conspiracy by the Shadow Pavilion, but she had no evidence to refute it.

That evening, she secretly summoned the commander of the secret guards: "I want you to investigate two people: that censor and the so-called 'personal bodyguard.' I need to know who they have been in contact with recently and whether they have received a huge sum of money."

Three days later, the secret guard reported: the censor had indeed recently received a large sum of money of unknown origin, which was being deposited in the largest bank in the capital. Furthermore, the "personal guard" was not Qi Mingxuan's bodyguard at all, but someone who had only infiltrated the palace three months prior.

However, before Xiao Chengyu could present this evidence to the court, another blow came: news came from the border that the Northern Di army was using a new type of siege weapon that was extremely similar to the blueprints that Qi Mingxuan had designed!

Even Xiao Chengji, who had always supported Qi Mingxuan, wavered: "Yu'er, all this evidence is against Mingxuan. Perhaps he..."

"Impossible!" Xiao Chengyu said decisively. "Second brother, you've known Mingxuan for many years, don't you trust his character?"

Xiao Chengji sighed, "Of course I want to believe him. But now the evidence is conclusive. If we blindly protect him, I'm afraid the court officials will not be convinced and the people's hearts will be unsettled."

Xiao Chengyu knew her brother was right, but she firmly believed that Qi Mingxuan was innocent. Late at night, she went to the side hall to visit Qi Mingxuan, who was under house arrest.

He was sitting by the window, gazing at the bright moon in the sky, his expression calm. When he saw Xiao Chengyu arrive, he smiled slightly: "Yu'er, you've come."

“Mingxuan, you…” Xiao Chengyu was at a loss for words.

“I know everything,” Qi Mingxuan said softly. “They say I’m a traitor who colludes with the enemy.”

Xiao Chengyu asked anxiously, "Then what exactly happened...?"

"I don't remember," Qi Mingxuan shook his head. "But I can assure you that I would never betray the Great Liang or you."

His clear and firm gaze instantly dispelled Xiao Chengyu's doubts.

"I believe you." She held his hand. "I will definitely find out the truth and clear your name."

Just then, a soft sound came from outside the window. Qi Mingxuan abruptly pulled Xiao Chengyu into his arms, and a poisoned arrow grazed her hair before embedding itself deeply in the wall!

"An assassin!" Xiao Chengyu exclaimed.

The Imperial Guards rushed to the scene upon hearing the commotion, but the assassin had already vanished without a trace. A note was attached to the arrow: "Those who meddle in others' affairs die!"

This was clearly a warning from the Shadow Pavilion. But why would they warn Xiao Chengyu? Unless she was about to uncover the truth…

Xiao Chengyu calmed down and carefully recalled everything that had happened during this period. The reason why Yingge wanted to frame Qi Mingxuan was because he posed a threat. Therefore, he must have possessed some important secret, but he just couldn't remember it for the time being due to amnesia.

“Mingxuan,” she asked softly, “what did you discover before you fell off the cliff?”

Qi Mingxuan frowned in thought, then suddenly clutched his head: "I can't remember... but there's one place... there's a cave at the foot of Black Wind Cliff..."

Xiao Chengyu immediately realized: that cave might be the key!

She immediately ordered a secret search of the caves beneath Black Wind Cliff. However, the Imperial Guards searched for an entire day without finding anything.

Just when she was about to give up, a soldier from the Imperial Guard presented her with something: half a charred jade pendant, which matched the half that had been found at the explosion site of Mingyue Pavilion!

This jade pendant is a keepsake of the Gu family. The two halves of the pendant are put together, and on the back is engraved a line of small characters: "Shadow follows form, resides in the heart."

“Shadow follows form, dwells in the heart…” Xiao Chengyu repeated this phrase over and over, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, “Could this be a clue to the entrance to the Shadow Pavilion?”

She immediately ordered people to search for all places in the capital whose names contained the characters "影" (ying) or "阁" (ge). They eventually identified one place—"影形阁" (Yingxingge) in the south of the city, which appeared to be an ordinary calligraphy and painting shop.

The secret guards infiltrated the shop overnight and discovered a hidden passage beneath the calligraphy and painting shop leading to a vast underground chamber. The chamber contained a large quantity of weapons and documents, clearly indicating it was an important stronghold of the Shadow Pavilion.

However, when Xiao Chengyu arrived with his men, the secret chamber was already deserted, leaving only a mess. Clearly, Shadow Pavilion had once again gotten there first.

But this time, they left a clue: a strange pattern was carved on the wall of the secret room, which was very similar to the symbol that Qi Mingxuan had drawn before.

Xiao Chengyu ordered a rubbing of the pattern to be made and brought back to the palace for study. After a night of comparison and analysis, she finally deciphered the meaning of the pattern: it pointed to a royal villa in the west of the city!

This villa was a gift from the late emperor to the Gu family, and it has remained vacant since the Gu family's downfall. Could it be that the headquarters of Shadow Pavilion is located there?

Xiao Chengyu immediately mobilized men to search the villa overnight. However, just before they set off, a palace maid rushed in to report: Qi Mingxuan's condition had suddenly worsened, and he was vomiting blood incessantly!

She had to change her plans and head to the side hall first. There she saw Qi Mingxuan, his face pale and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, with the imperial physician urgently trying to save him.

"What happened?" Xiao Chengyu asked anxiously.

The imperial physician shook his head: "It seems the prince consort has been poisoned by some kind of slow-acting poison, which suddenly took effect today."

Xiao Chengyu's heart sank: Qi Mingxuan was poisoned in the palace, which means that the Shadow Pavilion's influence has infiltrated the palace!

She immediately ordered a thorough investigation of everyone who had come into contact with Qi Mingxuan's food and medicine. At the same time, she increased the number of personnel protecting Qi Mingxuan to prevent any further mishaps.

That night, Xiao Chengyu stayed by Qi Mingxuan's bedside, holding his cold hand, her heart filled with a sense of powerlessness. The enemy was everywhere, yet she couldn't even protect the person right beside her.

In the early hours of the morning, Qi Mingxuan finally awoke. Looking at the exhausted Xiao Chengyu, he said softly, "Yu'er, I remembered something… At the foot of Black Wind Cliff, I overheard a conversation between two people… one of the voices sounded very familiar…"

"Whose voice is that?" Xiao Chengyu asked anxiously.

Qi Mingxuan frowned in thought, then suddenly his expression changed: "Yes...yes..."

Before he could finish speaking, he began coughing violently again, and blood gushed from his mouth. The imperial physician rushed forward to treat him, and chaos erupted in the hall.

Xiao Chengyu was forced to leave the hall, his heart filled with anxiety. Qi Mingxuan had clearly remembered a crucial clue, but the poison took effect at that very moment.

Just then, a guard rushed over and presented a secret letter: "Princess, the brothers who were searching the villa found this."

Xiao Chengyu opened the secret letter, which contained only one line: "The truth is right beside you."

She stared at the words for a long time, then suddenly felt a chill. Were the people from Shadow Pavilion actually in the palace? Right beside her?