Emperor Mingyang stared at Qin Su's face. She was particularly striking in appearance, the kind of person who would be stunning at first glance.

But Emperor Mingyang could not see her beauty now; he could only see her stubbornness.

"Very well, I will have someone keep an eye out. You may leave now." He turned to Steward Deng and said, "Send her out."

He really doesn't want to see Qin Su right now; seeing her just annoys him.

Qin Su could see it clearly. If this matter hadn't been so serious, she wouldn't have come to Emperor Mingyang.

If Yu Shuo were in Kyoto, she would also choose to find him.

Steward Deng saw Qin Su out, his tone somewhat reproachful, "Miss Qin is being ridiculous. How can you treat something like this as a game?"

Qin Su knew that Chief Steward Deng had some influence with Emperor Mingyang, so she patiently said, "I'm not being unreasonable. Please help me one more time, sir. I can't guarantee what kind of losses Da'an would suffer if this really happened."

“You’re confused,” Chief Steward Deng continued. “The Imperial Kitchen is a highly secure place, almost strictly controlled. How could a thief possibly poison it? No wonder His Majesty doesn’t believe it. Even I can’t believe such a thing could happen.”

Seeing that he said that, Qin Su had no intention of continuing to persuade Steward Deng, and she turned around and headed towards the Empress Dowager's palace.

Chief Steward Deng had no choice but to send someone to escort Qin Su, but he did not expect that Qin Su would go to the Empress Dowager's place without leaving the palace.

He turned back to the Wolong Palace, hunched over, and asked Emperor Mingyang, "Your Majesty, would you like to rest a little longer?" He certainly couldn't go to the Fengqi Palace now, so resting in the Wolong Palace would be fine.

Emperor Mingyang was not lustful; he spent most of his time resting in the Wolong Palace.

Emperor Mingyang rubbed his temples, still feeling annoyed.

For some unknown reason, he asked Steward Deng, "Do you think what Qin Su said could be true?"

Before Chief Steward Deng could answer, Emperor Mingyang shook his head, "That's impossible."

"Although I also find this matter too unbelievable, upon further reflection, there is no way that Miss Qin would break into the palace in the middle of the night just to deceive His Majesty. Moreover, she shouldn't have the guts to deceive His Majesty."

"Your Majesty, perhaps you should instruct the Imperial Kitchen to be more careful? It's better to be safe than sorry."

Emperor Mingyang looked at Chief Steward Deng, slightly speechless, "But if nothing happens, wouldn't it make me look foolish?"

Steward Deng massaged Emperor Mingyang's shoulders. "Besides Miss Qin and this servant, no one else knows about this. Besides, who would laugh at Your Majesty? Even if it really happened, what would the result be? Those people put muscle relaxants in the imperial kitchen's food; there's no other possibility than murder."

"Have someone keep an eye out for this." Emperor Mingyang finally relented, perhaps because this matter threatened his own safety.

...

Qin Su was unaware of what was happening here; she rushed to the Empress Dowager's palace.

"Miss Qin? What are you doing in the palace at this time?"

Qin Su looked closely and realized that this person was actually Qin Mama, who served the Empress Dowager. Why was she still awake so late?

Could it be that they're keeping watch?

"I have something to ask the Empress Dowager." Qin Su hesitated for a moment. The Empress Dowager was different from Emperor Mingyang. She was considering whether or not to disturb the Empress Dowager's rest.

Who would have thought—

"Looking for the Empress Dowager? Very well, I'll go in and report to her." Granny Qin turned and left without the slightest hesitation or impatience.

Qin Su looked puzzled. Was the Empress Dowager still not resting at this hour?

Soon she saw Granny Qin come out, and the Empress Dowager was wearing an outer robe. She no longer had the cold and serious demeanor she had when they first met, and she looked like a young girl.

"You've come at the perfect time; I'm just short one person for playing cards."

"Huh?" Qin Su was dragged away by the Empress Dowager.

Isn't the Empress Dowager's evening life a bit too extravagant? Normally she would be resting at this time.

"sit."

Qin Su realized she had important business to attend to, so she immediately stood up and said urgently, "Your Majesty, I have something important to say."

"Let's talk as we play." The Empress Dowager quickly had the cards shuffled, then looked up and asked Qin Su, "Do you know how to play leaf cards?"

Qin Su frowned, feeling helpless. "Yes. But what I need to say is very important and urgent."

"If you win, you can speak." The Empress Dowager quickly drew a card and even picked one for Qin Su, stuffing it into her hand.

Qin Su truly became the emperor who wasn't worried, but the eunuch was.

These royal family members seem to be more and more unreliable than the last.

Qin Su really wasn't interested in playing cards, but who would have thought that the Empress Dowager's card skills were even worse than hers, and she won without even trying?

He's a typical example of someone who's bad at cooking but has a huge addiction to it.

"You're so amazing!" the Empress Dowager praised.

Qin Su quickly pressed down on the cards and said, "Can Your Majesty speak now? We can talk about the cards after you've finished."

The Empress Dowager was surprised by her boldness, but she wasn't necessarily angry. She simply poured herself a cup of tea, straightened her posture, and said, "Go ahead and speak. But I don't understand matters of state."

Qin Su raised an eyebrow. “No, that doesn’t count. Today, I went to war with the army and returned after curfew, so I had to find a house to rest at…” She told the Empress Dowager everything she had said to Emperor Mingyang.

The Empress Dowager clearly held a different view from Emperor Mingyang.

"So they have someone in the palace?"

Qin Su hesitated and said, "To be honest, I don't know, but the other party said that they were transferring Prince Chen away. It might be related to the border situation between Yuehai Kingdom and our country."

"In that case, the other party might be from the Yuehai Kingdom, and their purpose in doing this is not hard to guess."

The Empress Dowager stroked her chin, thinking seriously, and then asked Qin Su, "Have you told His Majesty about this?"

Qin Su nodded. "This humble woman just came from His Majesty's palace, but His Majesty didn't seem to believe her. However, he still agreed to keep an eye on things."

The Empress Dowager chuckled.

Qin Su's heart skipped a beat, worried that even the Empress Dowager wouldn't believe it.

Who would have thought—

"The emperor has never experienced hardship; he's too idealistic and arrogant. What is impossible in this world? I can handle what you said. But do you have any ideas?"

Seeing the Empress Dowager say this, Qin Su finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the Empress Dowager agreed and took it seriously, the tragedy of her previous life would definitely not repeat itself.

Qin Su looked intently at the Empress Dowager, seemingly trying to discern something from her expression.

The Empress Dowager was also amused and exasperated by her behavior. "Speak your mind. I am not the emperor and I don't have so many taboos."

Qin Su then boldly spoke up: "Why don't we turn the tables on them? Maybe this will expose quite a few people. They only administer muscle-relaxing powder; we can replace it with other powders that are harmless and will only cause temporary weakness. I will arrange for people to be on hand to capture them all as soon as they come in."

"Are you sure? This matter cannot be taken lightly," the Empress Dowager asked seriously.

Qin Su nodded emphatically, "The Imperial Guard is a fine weapon. Now that it belongs to the royal family, it will protect the royal family's safety. I, your humble servant, will also do my utmost to safeguard the peace."

"Good boy."

"Then we'll do as you say. I'll get the Tiger Tally of the Imperial Guard for you. But you have to hand it over when the matter is over. Otherwise, I won't be able to protect you."